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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Oeconomicus who wrote (9077)	12/16/2010 1:11:44 AM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

I am sorry, but I was state director of three different agencies. I created entire programs and had very little resistance or imposed direction. Programs evolved as our knowledge evolved, and all in the bright of day. Most of th eideas came from public council meetings. Board meetings, council meetings, advisory meetings. All public, all open to everyone. But when I was coordinating the Valdz oil spill for health and social services and governors office, Exxon had a bunker mentality. Everything was done behind closed doors. And they were SOB's. State government was always very civilized and a place where everyone worked together. We are pretty socialistic in Alaska, and by the way, we are also the wealthiest state in the union (45 billion in the bank)because our socialized state saved 25% of all state oil money in a permanent fund for the kids! We put it in the constitution and the principle cannot ever be touched and must be inflation proofed each year before anything else is done with the money. And no investing in alaska so the crooks can never get it. We pay no state taxes and run our whole government from that socialized revenue and give everyone $1,500 a year. Socialized state.. <<It would almost certainly be more. Socialism of any stripe calls for centralized direction of the economy, differing only in degree of intervention and the political authority over it. Whether party apparatchiks, government technocrats, or elected representatives are making the decisions, favoritism and corruption will win out. It's the nature of power, especially economic power. The more concentrated and centralized is the economic power and decision-making, the greater the favoritism and corrpution. And where is there greater centralization and concentration of economic power than in a socialist system? Business (or at least big business) and government are one. Business combined with the coercive power of government. Political power perpetuating and strengthening itself by directing economic activity.