What does one thnk about the attached quote?

Question

"Government can and must play the kind of role that it so successfully performed after World War II, in creating the largest middle class in America’s history. Only government can set minimum standards for wages, health coverage, health and safety, paid sick days, retirement security, and the right to organize a union that ensure that hard working Americans have the basics of a decent life. Only government can ensure that families can be both responsible workers and caring family members by updating the outdated workplace practices and supports. Only government can play the pivotal role in leveraging our resources to provide what workers need to succeed in our new global economy, and create the supports for workers and their families as they move across jobs and/or in and out of the labor force as their life and jobs circumstances change over time. And it is government which has an irreplaceable role in ensuring that all children have the tools they need to fulfill their potential..."

Answer 1

who's the author? lol. I agree that government has its place and resources are misused. The ignorant and the ill-informed will answer that we dont like/have big government here in the US but that is simply not true. We have the largest deficits in US history, ever! Its not that government spends, its that we spend on the military- industrial complex, NOT FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE. In this age of our dumbed down media, most will dislike the premise that the government has any role in retirement, health care or job security. Its not IF the government will spend trillions of dollars , its WHAT the government spends it on. BOMBS OR AMERICAN'S NEEDS?
I prefer americans needs , strongly.

Answer 2

I don't agree. It is not the government's responsibility to ensure that are children are successful. It is not the government's responsibility to amke sure I ahve paid sick days and retirement. It sounds to much like socialism. I am very skeptical about the benefits of a union.

Answer 3

Sounds like a very dangerous attitude to me. To believe that the government is responsible for the people to that degree gives it far too much power, and the expectations are highly unrealistic. People need to take responsibility for their own lives and the societies they live in....and they also need to get a tighter grip on government - which, of late, has run totally out of control in America.

Answer 4

What do I think of it?
I think it is scary as Hell!
It is scary because, in large part, it is correct. The government DOES have the power to do all of this, but it also has the power to do just the opposite, too!

The key word that keeps occurring in that quote is "CAN", it is NOT "DOES".
"CAN" = potential, but "DOES" = action and results.
"CAN" is meaningless if it never gets further than that, and in most cases, it DOESN'T.
When government grants itself the power to change paople's lives for the better and then consistently fails to do so, that's when that power is badly misplaced!
Not to mention that every coin has TWO sides. A government that has the power to affect lives for the better also has the power to affect them for the worse. As the cast of characters changes with each election, so do the agendas they bring into office with them.

We elect them based on their words and promises, which may or may not be valid. It is a trite old cliche that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." We see the politician as a good guy who gets into office and then is corrupted by the power he has suddenly acquired, but I believe that to be nothing more than a surface-level apparency. Human nature is pretty well set in concrete and it takes more than that to change it significantly.
Most of those who SEEK power, in the first place, are the very LASTones who should EVER have it! No one is going to stand up and say, "I'm corrupt, vote for me." Instead, he's going to say, "I'm a good guy, vote for me."
Then, when he gets firmly settled into office, lets his guard down and allows his true self to come out, we say, "Oh, he used to be such a good person, but power has corrupted him!"

As happens with individuals, so it happens with groups (since they are all made up of individuals). Similarly, a governemnt can say, "Give us this power and we can use it to make your lives better." So we give it to them and then wonder why they're NOT using it to make our lives better.

Answer 5

I agree with it. Some people have a problem with government, but it is a necessary part of a civilized society. As long as the PEOPLE have a say in what the govnmt does and does not do.