i think this thread demonstrates exactly why voters should at least take a lesson or two in economics so that politicians' ridiculous proposals can get laughed off.
all the reasons are sensible, but a deeper analysis as in classical economics reveals the pros and cons in fuller detail. the problem is that they proposals ARE sensible--on surface--and politicians exploit this.
not to suggest that the current state of economic theories is anywhere close to the point where it gets even the simplest of problems right. the whole subject is just too complicated, and ultimately, politicians are the ones paid to make decisions. but i hope there's at least SOME economic reasoning guiding them.
again i use the canada GST example: from what i've read, it's more politically motiviated. or bush's tax cuts--again looks more politically motivated than "stimulating the economy", though it's not at all clear-cut how the effects turned out.
people often say a beneficial dictatorship is a better gov't system than democracy. it's possibly true as long as you ignore the possibility of the dictatorship going out of whack. let's see... china, for instance, for the last 15-20 years have been doing almost everything right, making decisions that simply can't be made in democratic countries--just look at the mess India constantly finds itself in. then again, maybe 8% growth is good enough anyway, aiming for 10+% isn't really necessary.
anyway, end rant.
the Wii is an epidemic.
