Whenever politicians start deciding that they are indispensable and are willing to seek changes to the rules under which they were elected so as to remain in power, that is precisely the time that they should be ousted.
Replace “politicians” with “privately-owned financial corporations.” If some kind of a bailout is truly necessary, then it would seem that controlled demolition (rather than preservation) is the best course. Get the asbestos removed then implode them in a way that doesn’t take down the rest of the block. After they’re torn down, update the zoning and building codes so rotten structures like that can’t be built again.
To me the panicky atmosphere surrounding this financial mess smells like another “smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud,” or “those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty…aid terrorists,” or what-have-you. After seven years of hearing “wolf, wolf!” without any wolf ever having shown up, I’m just not buying it anymore.
Comment by Len — Tuesday, September 30, 2024 @ 6:33 pm
This is the stuff I look out for when asking myself the question, “so, are we going to go the way of the Roman Republic turing into the Roman Empire?” Little flaunting of limitations, which we will put into law (that’s the main difference in the US – we insist on codifying everything, whereas the Romans had traditions that could be flaunted without passing new laws).
Replace “politicians” with “privately-owned financial corporations.” If some kind of a bailout is truly necessary, then it would seem that controlled demolition (rather than preservation) is the best course. Get the asbestos removed then implode them in a way that doesn’t take down the rest of the block. After they’re torn down, update the zoning and building codes so rotten structures like that can’t be built again.
To me the panicky atmosphere surrounding this financial mess smells like another “smoking gun in the form of a mushroom cloud,” or “those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty…aid terrorists,” or what-have-you. After seven years of hearing “wolf, wolf!” without any wolf ever having shown up, I’m just not buying it anymore.
Comment by Len — Tuesday, September 30, 2024 @ 6:33 pm
This is the stuff I look out for when asking myself the question, “so, are we going to go the way of the Roman Republic turing into the Roman Empire?” Little flaunting of limitations, which we will put into law (that’s the main difference in the US – we insist on codifying everything, whereas the Romans had traditions that could be flaunted without passing new laws).
Comment by B. Minich — Tuesday, September 30, 2024 @ 8:09 pm
Cardoso in Brazil. And Ecuador’s Correa just last weekend.
Comment by boz — Wednesday, October 1, 2024 @ 5:21 am
[...] My initial reaction to this move has not changed since I wrote it on Tuesday. [...]
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