The biggest threat to the global economy is banks.

So, CB, what would you like done with regards to the banks to make them less of a threat? 

 I personally think the over-lawyering of our country is a big problem, the prison-industrial complex we have going, where 1 in 30 persons is in some part of the process of being a criminal at this very moment.  First, kill all the lawyers, I say...or did I hear that somewhere?  (snarky grin)...but then, don't lawyers run pretty much everything? 

Some problems I want to see solved include just that, the over-hauling of our system of criminal justice, massive streamlining, doing away with victimless crimes such as smoking pot, prostitution, etc. and certainly of mandatory sentences, all of which affect the minorities and poor the hardest, then

more safety nets for the truly disabled, the seriously mentally ill, brain-damaged or developmentally disabled people, but that is a pipe dream.  Mental illness includes drug and alcohol and other forms of addiction which are genetic in origin, but end up being psycho-bio-social, and all those elements need proper funding and supports.

umm...but I don't hear you guys speak of any of these things.  "Officer Krupke!  he's depraved on account of he's deprived!"...well, there's more to that than any of you realize.  Want a level playing field?  start there.  Otherwise, don't be surprised if we don't have more McVeigh's, who was a schizophrenic who thought the government implanted some sort of chip in his behind, or the massively deranged psychotic man who shot Gifford---it being extraordinarily silly to make any sort of sense out of the random acts of destruction of either of those two deranged individuals.  No, the failure of our society to take care of the mentally ill, including a realistic look at removing them from being able to harm others in a humane way!  (yes, that can be done),  was the real cause of what happened to Gifford, and even to the Federal Bldgs in Oklahoma, though that is a bit more complicated, McVeigh being a pawn for those who weren't psychotic. 

It's nice to agree on something! 

Yes, this country is profoundly and deeply over-lawyered,  a problem identified...this does lead directly to the over-imprisonment of Americans, the rise of the prison-industrial complex...but also, lawsuits of all kinds simply drag this country down.

But that is not as important in my mind to the problem of brain illnesses, not even ever acknowledged as such, when they are, the brain our most complex organ, which goes hand in hand with the over-imprisonment of US citizens, which Obama has now had a serious hand in expanding, btw, though the left doesn't squawk about that...

Jul 17, 2012 -- 1:12PM, amcolph wrote:

Jul 17, 2012 -- 10:58AM, Bodean wrote:

 

There's no way to change direction withour reforming the way we take care of the needy.  The resistance to making those changes is purely ideological, and rooted in the flawed policy of Social Justice.

No doubt about it.  the problem is, that the Left hasn't got the gumption to make any changes and the Right just wants to stop doing it.  Either that, or make it an occasion to steal what little the poor have left (for example, let's have the people give their social security contributions to Wall St. bankers).

As many have said on this board ... "the rich make too much money".  

No, you haven't got that right.  The rich steal too much money.  Take that SpaceX example I mentioned earlier.  The Right doesn't celebrate the success of SpaceX because they really don't like enterpreneurs.  They don't like people who actually do stuff, put rockets in space, build cars, whatever.  the Right despises them, regards them as potential victims, in the same way as they regard the working class. 

The Right doesn't celebrate the success of SpaceX, but if a corporate raider came and stripped them of their cash and sold the equpment off to China he would do it to a round of Right-Wing applause. 

 The very premise of Social Justice, will prevent them from ever comming to grips with any solution.

The 'very premise' of Social Justice is that you don't let the poor actually starve and you don't let the rich steal from them what little they have.

Is that what you are repudiating?

Well, there ya go again, confusicating me again. I've always assumed "the right" and/or conservatives love enterpreneurs. I love SpaceX! I think we need more people like Elon Musk. The way I see it, too many crony politicians are in the way of enterpreneurs. Does that make me "liberal" in my views in this situation? or are we all beholden to stereotypes of the other side that have no basis in reality?