Why you can't do your taxes in 15 minutes

[flintlock]

Re: Why you can't do your taxes in 15 minutes

My only hope is that the removal of the more blatant abuses of campaign finance will eventually permit the rise of leaders who in turn will use common sense to prune back many of the abuses we are seeing today.

I think this is the key. Unfortunately I also think it is very unlikely to happen given that congress must vote on it.

We need better government, not just less. Less government without improving the quality of what remains could actually make things worse. But I agree in principle that we should have as little government as possible and still do the job. Take the profit out of government and we may very well see it shrink on its own. So fixing campaign financing is the place to start.

I still see a lot of "conservatives" who believe in smaller government yet don't want any limitations on campaign finance. Well you are not going to have the first without the latter.

[Raz]

Re: Why you can't do your taxes in 15 minutes

I think this is the key. Unfortunately I also think it is very unlikely to happen given that congress must vote on it.

We need better government, not just less. Less government without improving the quality of what remains could actually make things worse. But I agree in principle that we should have as little government as possible and still do the job. Take the profit out of government and we may very well see it shrink on its own. So fixing campaign financing is the place to start.

I still see a lot of "conservatives" who believe in smaller government yet don't want any limitations on campaign finance. Well you are not going to have the first without the latter.

+1.

" ... smaller government ... no limitations on campaign finance." We might as well speak of wooden iron or water naturally flowing uphill.

[c1ue]

Re: Why you can't do your taxes in 15 minutes

a democracy is the only government that has a chance of reducing itself. unfortunately that is not what our current form of government is at the national or state level.

if all legislators spent their entire tenure only REMOVING regulations and legislation for the next 200 years, instead of passing new ones, the country might have a shot.

I think this encapsulates the difference between theory and reality.

In theory, a democracy can do anything which a majority of voters desires.

In reality, nobody wants less regulations to the extent of a majority voting for them.

Certainly it seems more people vote for, or at least pay campaign contributions for, more regulations.