(10-14-2021 05:16 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(10-14-2021 07:52 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(10-14-2021 06:52 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(10-13-2021 05:51 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  I’m really interested by that pragmatic term you used, since a hallmark of conservatives in government over the past decade plus has been to do nothing and not fix any problems - sort of the opposite of pragmatic.

Maybe some of those "problems" are not so much problems as opportunities to manufacture a crisis that you can then not let go to waste.

And not every problem, whether real or artificial, requires a government solution. And not every problem that requires a government solution is best addressed at the federal level.

So the federales jumping into the middle of every "problem" is hardly pragmatic, except perhaps if the only goal is to seize ever more power from the people.

I agree with what you say - not every problem people say is a problem is real, nor is every one solved via government. I don't want the federal government to jump into the middle of every problem, but I do want government (from federal on down to local) to act pragmatically and actually address problems that they can.

I see too many problems that need to be addressed by state and federal governments not being addressed, speaking from personal experience. And a lot of this is focused on infrastructure and environment - areas where market forces don't often drive change.

Just look at Texas, the state government has continued to drag its feet on major flood mitigation and storm surge protections along the Gulf Coast since Ike - we're only just now getting a feasibility report for a coastal protection regime in the Galveston Bay area. You mention the Dutch a lot - talk about an example of a pragmatic government in regards to flood protection! Nothing major happened after the winter freeze - the bills that passed seem to be ineffective bandaids at best.

At the federal level, I don't know what the Republicans are proposing in regards to infrastructure improvements, do you? There are so many issues we could be tackling - removing lead-lined pipes, expanding broadband access, repairing and building new bridges, updating aging infrastructure - that have real and tangible benefits outside of just producing jobs, but I only see one party actually trying to get things moving.

I guess you dont want to acknowledge how the system works. Awfully hard for 'Republicans [can] propos[e] [anything] in regards to infrastructure' 'at the federal level'. If you havent noticed the opportunity to amend any bill, let alone get one onto the floor, from the minority is pretty much non-existent these days. Has been for close to two decades.

Not quite what I meant. There is an entire media landscape they could use to put forth their proposals to try and negotiate with Dems to find a middle ground.

C’mon, have a little creativity!