Money follows power. Giving the Fed more control didn't fix the problem, just shifted it. act.represent.us/sign/the-problem
That's why no matter how small the government is, as long as it is treated as a legitimate monopoly, it will eventually become corrupt and overgrown. So the obvious solution is cut the cancer out.

@Jnutter819

Hey, you there in Covington, KY, what does “cut the cancer out” require? What will result?

I ask because I live in one of the eighteen states where voters have the direct initiative, referendum and recall. We make laws without the legislature, repeal laws the legislature has made, and remove elected people from office without assassinating them.

I want voters in the other 32 states, and the nation’s voters, to have those powers.

@yvilletom That's definitely a good start. It would be best if we could dissolve the federal government, granting what powers government should have to the states and getting rid of those that none should have. Then such laws as y'all have already and every state should have would be more effective. Also, Californians and New Yorkers could have their socialism, Texans could have their free markets, and people could get along better despite disagreeing over politics.

@rsb97080 well ideally we'd be able to eliminate state governments eventually too. Plus, people would pay more attention to the state if the Federal government wasn't distracting them. And the Federal government doesn't keep states from becoming totalitarian, it just provides power grabbers with an even bigger state to turn totalitarian.

I'm an ancap, not a libertarian socialist, so I basically agree with none of that, but as long as no one is forced to participate in the commune against their will, go ahead and try it. I won't stop you, I just won't be part of the commune. That said, it sounds like his idea of "anarchy" is basically just reorganized government.

@Jnutter819 Me too - I can see the benefit of communes, in that the group can do more than one person can by themselves. I was born and raised in rural Tennessee though, so I take a more independent and self-sufficient view on that. If everyone is growing corn or cotton, someone will eventually realize they can make whiskey or clothes to fill a gap in the economic market. Worked here for many years before industrialization and forced government regulations that choked out small businesses in may industries. Some points he makes are ok, but this isn't my favorite video by any means. There is a really good video that talks about social services in an anarchist system (LEO, health care/hospitals, road maintenance, etc), but I can't find it unfortunately.

• Prisons are about revenge, not restitution and rehabilitation. They are among the worst answers to crime in general, and that's if the laws for putting people into them are just.
• As to infrastructure, the people who need roads will gladly build them, and that's how many roads started. Who can sell a house that no one can get to? Who can make a profit when their customers can't reach them? And in the same way, those who need them in good condition will repair them, like the publicity stunt Domino's had where they filled potholes.
• Social Security kind of made sense when it was like old age insurance and it was like if you're the one of ten people who makes it past this age, you probably didn't save up enough money for your retirement, so we'll take care of you. Now most people make it past the payout age, and it's unsustainable. Pretty much no one my age or younger (mid twenties) actually believes we'll get social security at this point, but fortunately we have better options for retirement investment. The problem is we can't just decide not to participate and save our money ourselves. No, central planners need to extort and mismanage our money for us.
• Single payer healthcare is what the VA is and any vet who can afford not to resort to the VA avoids it. This is another case where giving total control to the government makes no sense at all. Everyone knows monopolies make things worse, not better. Right? Or do some people not understand competition?
• What do you remember from public school through high school? The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell? That's basically it for most people, and it's not even grammatically correct since mitochondria is the plural of mitochondrion. Why are the reading levels, scientific literacy levels, and math levels of American students falling behind? Again, monopolies make things worse, not better.
• A well educated healthy population is better yeah, which is exactly why we don't want government in charge of healthcare and education.
• As to the wealthy getting wealthier, that's only a problem if the poor aren't also getting wealthier. Even "poor" Americans these days often have microwaves, smartphones, cars...

@Jnutter819 The Quakers started one of the first prisons - in Philadelphia - it was harsh, small cold cells with a window up high to let the light of God shine on them and they could contemplate their life. It was about redemption. The war on drugs and racism with privatization is used as a means to separate families and harm poor PoC and their communities.
After WWII the government realized if America was invaded moving troops and equipment in the numbers needed would be impossible with the roads they had in the 1940's, hense our interstate road system. Many of the technologies we enjoy came about because of government funding for spy and covert operations. It would not have happened without government funding.
Prior to de-regulation under Reagan the VA was well funded and conditions were better. Our government sent these young people off to war, funding for care and services should be the TOP priority at the best level. But what really toasts my butt? In order to get the GI Bill passed the only way southern states would get on board was if the states got to direct where the funds could go - yeah black GIs down south were denied home loan money, education money, etc. So many left which many whites down south cheered. But racism was alive and well up north and out west. The problem is not the government it's the biased nature of many of our elected officials. The Constitution and Bill of Rights is for ALL Americans.
My education at the public level was pretty good - a nice white middle class area. There is nothing wrong with public education as long as it is funded equally and it is NOT.
As to the wealthy getting wealthier, I do not have a problem with it, the problem lies with allowing others to accquire wealth or not. We all see the cost of living has gone up, but wages HAVE not. Sure the poor can get microwaves and smartphones but they cannot acquire WEALTH - a home, a savings account the true vehicles that constitute wealth. The GDP has gone straight up since the 1950's (higher taxes on the wealthy and corporate level) and 70% of that growth trickled down to 90% of Americans but since Reagan and de-regulation the GDP continues to rise but 0% of that money is going to 90% of Americans - it's a fact. The dollars go to the wealthy and there is nothing left but crumbs for everyone else.
Studies by even conservative think tanks have realized single payer healthcare will save American tax payers trillions of dollars now and in the future.
There are problems with government no denying that, I would suggest stop funding the rich and provide equal footing for all Americans. Whites make up 75% of our population and receive a disproportion amount of government funding and subsidies.

@silverotter11 If a prison's primary purpose is reforming the prisoners, that's not a big deal. You can recognize these by the classes they offer and the structure of them. That's nothing like what we have now though. They're warehouses to hold people in as punishment for their crimes.
The interstates were indeed made by government, but that doesn't mean no one else could or would make them. The transcontinental railroads were indication enough of that. One was made by government, and it was the worst and least efficiently made.
I kind of agree that the elected officials are the problem. The question is, where are you going to get the perfect angels who wouldn't abuse their power nor make a mistake, and how would you get them into office? The way our system works, the more power a position offers, the more corrupt you have to be to be able to afford the campaign.
So your twelve year prison term for being born was productive? That's nice. But for most people, it isn't. There are always outliers, so the mean is more informative. The mean shows that the public school system sucks, especially for those too poor to move to a good school district. If we instead give the parents their choice of schools (say, with a voucher system) then even the poor can escape the cycle of poverty. One other problem with the public school system is that it's so hard to fire teachers that there are some schools where they will pay teachers to sit and do nothing in a room with no students. If someone is a bad teacher, they need to find another career.
Deregulation didn't stop wage growth, regulatory capture did. Even if a president makes a show of cutting a little red tape for his legacy, the regulations will only increase overall because of corruption. Money follows power. If a giant corporation is worried about competitors, there's no better solution than using lobbyists to have the competitor's product proclaimed unsafe and illegal in some way. Have you noticed that in racecars, fighter jets, helicopters etc. they have harnesses, not seatbelts? Why does no production car in America have harnesses? Because they have to have seatbelts by law. Why do they all have mirrors when sideview cameras would be more aerodynamic and useful? Again, they have to have mirrors. There are a million other regulations stifling progress, but I think you're starting to get my point. Wages have stopped increasing because no one can compete with the giants. Furthermore, zoning laws, construction licenses, etc. make it harder to build houses, so real estate value climbs artificially quickly and those who are just starting out get priced out of the market.
I'd like to see such studies. I am highly skeptical of their methodology. America's governmental spending is already dominated by social security and healthcare, each taking about a quarter of the total budget. As over regulated as healthcare already is, the solution is not regulating it more by giving the government total control over it. The mishandling of social security funds should tell you enough about that.
The rich receive a disproportionate level of subsidies. Just because the rich are majority white doesn't mean we all get money for being white. I live in a pretty rural area, and it's funny how the biggest farms are always the ones getting subsidies. Basically, if there's a corporation running the farm, it's probably getting subsidies. Again, it all goes back to corruption. act.represent.us/sign/the-problem

@Jnutter819 Corruption is the biggest issue this country faces. Personally I wish I had an answer. For starters better vetting and campaign finance changes. I would love to see every candidate alloted the exact same amount. They can spend it how ever they want. The fairness doctrine reinstituted so any media outlet has to present equal time for each candidate. If an outlet is going to follow the circus of one candidate down the road then they must give equal time in an equal manner to the other candidate(s). The other thing alloting a set amount would accomplish would be eliminating funding races that begin as soon as a person wins their election. They were elected to do the people's business not play dialing for dollars. I think if a president is going to stump for a congressman or senator the American people should not be paying for it. The political party he/she represents pays for it - that includes the security personnel covering the president. Work at ways to elimnate the need for corruption.

I disagree that individualist anarchy would result in chaos and destruction. My position is basically that if monopolies are bad in business, why do we put one in charge of all of our lives? What can it possibly achieve that the assembled people it rules over and takes money from by force couldn't do themselves?

In other words, what is the government good for when everything it touches turns to shit?