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Willravel · 03-13-2009, 07:31 PM

In order of importance:
Education: there's nothing more important. It's the single most important contribution to society and our economy by a long shot. Our schools should be mansions with the best teachers in the world teaching the best information. There should be people from outside of the US fiercely competing to get in just so they can go to our public k-12 schools.
Science: it follows education. Once we've got them educated, we need to get them dragging us kicking and screaming into the future, regardless of whether the market thinks the investment is reasonable or not. There have been way too many accidental discoveries to excuse allowing the market to determine what should or shouldn't be pursued. And every time we make a breakthrough, we add something new to the world and to the economy, adding to our worth.
Health: we can't function if we're sick. We can't function if we're constantly feeding our money into a bloated system. Imagine where we'd be without the human genome project.
Military: it doesn't take a genius to see that private military is a disaster waiting to happen, and we'll need the military either until the entire human race grows up (pfft) or until we get wiped out.
CDC: One word: malaria.
Police/Fire/Ambulance: emergency services shouldn't come COD.
Regulating food, drugs, weapons, and goods for safety: I can't test my food for salmonella. I can't test a child's toy for lead. I can't demonstrate that the OTC for my grandparents' ulcers is going to do what it promises. That requires infrastructure that only an independent party like government can ever provide.
Utilities (Water/Electric/Gas/Bio or Hydrogen): I remember California before we privatized electricity. It was a utopia.
Transit/Transportation: It's time for mass transit to make a big comeback. We need electric infrastructure, and the auto industry clearly isn't interested.
Internet regulation: Equal access to the internet should be established and enforced by the government.
Employee Rights: We got elimination of child labor, creation of the 40 hour week, overtime pay, paid vacations, minimum wage, workman's comp, SS, health laws, and organized labor rights from the government. They know what they're doing.
Americorps: We need an organization to balance the military. Americorps and the peace corps are a perfect machine of good will and a great opportunity for volunteerism.

And there's a lot more. FAA, EPA, CES, SEC, NWS, national parks, NASA, GI Bill, and NAS just to name a few. I mean this would have to be a big, big list.

03-13-2009, 07:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	In order of importance: Education: there's nothing more important. It's the single most important contribution to society and our economy by a long shot. Our schools should be mansions with the best teachers in the world teaching the best information. There should be people from outside of the US fiercely competing to get in just so they can go to our public k-12 schools. Science: it follows education. Once we've got them educated, we need to get them dragging us kicking and screaming into the future, regardless of whether the market thinks the investment is reasonable or not. There have been way too many accidental discoveries to excuse allowing the market to determine what should or shouldn't be pursued. And every time we make a breakthrough, we add something new to the world and to the economy, adding to our worth. Health: we can't function if we're sick. We can't function if we're constantly feeding our money into a bloated system. Imagine where we'd be without the human genome project. Military: it doesn't take a genius to see that private military is a disaster waiting to happen, and we'll need the military either until the entire human race grows up (pfft) or until we get wiped out. CDC: One word: malaria. Police/Fire/Ambulance: emergency services shouldn't come COD. Regulating food, drugs, weapons, and goods for safety: I can't test my food for salmonella. I can't test a child's toy for lead. I can't demonstrate that the OTC for my grandparents' ulcers is going to do what it promises. That requires infrastructure that only an independent party like government can ever provide. Utilities (Water/Electric/Gas/Bio or Hydrogen): I remember California before we privatized electricity. It was a utopia. Transit/Transportation: It's time for mass transit to make a big comeback. We need electric infrastructure, and the auto industry clearly isn't interested. Internet regulation: Equal access to the internet should be established and enforced by the government. Employee Rights: We got elimination of child labor, creation of the 40 hour week, overtime pay, paid vacations, minimum wage, workman's comp, SS, health laws, and organized labor rights from the government. They know what they're doing. Americorps: We need an organization to balance the military. Americorps and the peace corps are a perfect machine of good will and a great opportunity for volunteerism. And there's a lot more. FAA, EPA, CES, SEC, NWS, national parks, NASA, GI Bill, and NAS just to name a few. I mean this would have to be a big, big list.