Rules, regulations, and politicians

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
Post Reply
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Rules, regulations, and politicians

Post by manolo »

Hi,

Over the years I have noticed that politicians seem to like coming up with rules and regulations and then applying these to the public at large. This has happened so often that I am beginning to suspect a pattern.

Why do they do this? A new politician appears, gets elected and then they have to do all the rule making stuff. They usually say that everything is bad and has to be changed. But, if there have been successions of politicians before them, why is everything still bad? I just don't get it. Also, why are the changes nearly always about more rules and regulations?

A wise pundit once said that politicians are like dogs, p****** on the previous scent to mark it with their own scent.

Is this it? Is this what politics is about? P******?

Alex.

PS, I've put this in the philosophy section as we don't seem to have a section for politics, and the OP is (I think) metapolitical, which might justify as the philosophy of politics. Hope that's OK.
noddy
Posts: 11325
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:09 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by noddy »

they only have 2 hammers - they can make things illegal or they can increase taxes/licenses/fines on things.

this is why so many are scared of change driven by politicians.

in theory their is the third one, freedom with rational discussion and inspiration but aint-noone-got-time-for-that.
ultracrepidarian
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

manolo wrote:Hi,

Over the years I have noticed that politicians seem to like coming up with rules and regulations and then applying these to the public at large. This has happened so often that I am beginning to suspect a pattern.

Why do they do this? A new politician appears, gets elected and then they have to do all the rule making stuff. They usually say that everything is bad and has to be changed. But, if there have been successions of politicians before them, why is everything still bad? I just don't get it. Also, why are the changes nearly always about more rules and regulations?

A wise pundit once said that politicians are like dogs, p****** on the previous scent to mark it with their own scent.

Is this it? Is this what politics is about? P******?

Alex.

PS, I've put this in the philosophy section as we don't seem to have a section for politics, and the OP is (I think) metapolitical, which might justify as the philosophy of politics. Hope that's OK.
A desire for relevance born of too-little self-esteem? A desire to rule born of too much self-importance?

YOUR daughter won't let you shoot YOUR crossbow on HER land? I see a pattern with your OP.

What happened to the selfless family? ;) You need to lay a yuge parental guilt trip on her.

"Where did I go wrong, my daughter has become a Maggie Thatcher control freak!" :(

;)

You need to get one of these for your granddaughter:
Attachments
arrowthruhead.jpg
arrowthruhead.jpg (18.6 KiB) Viewed 1005 times
User avatar
Nonc Hilaire
Posts: 6168
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:28 am

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Nonc Hilaire »

manolo wrote: . . . I've put this in the philosophy section as we don't seem to have a section for politics, and the OP is (I think) metapolitical, which might justify as the philosophy of politics. Hope that's OK.
Excellent idea.
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

Teresa of Ávila
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by manolo »

noddy wrote:they only have 2 hammers - they can make things illegal or they can increase taxes/licenses/fines on things.

this is why so many are scared of change driven by politicians.

in theory their is the third one, freedom with rational discussion and inspiration but aint-noone-got-time-for-that.
nod,

We agree on the general trend.

However, I have been trying to think of some exceptions to this gloomy history. There is of course the abandonment of prohibition in the US (although I think some Puritan localities are still dry, such as in Kentucky), the decriminalization of abortion and the more recent decriminalization of weed smokin'.

Its not all bad news. :)

A.
Last edited by manolo on Sat Jan 07, 2017 11:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by manolo »

Simple Minded wrote: "Where did I go wrong, my daughter has become a Maggie Thatcher control freak!" :(
SM,

Good point. I know that control is a typical feature of the conservative mind, but it may be possible for it to spread, even to the liberal, rendering the latter
oxymoronic.

A.
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

manolo wrote:
Simple Minded wrote: "Where did I go wrong, my daughter has become a Maggie Thatcher control freak!" :(
SM,

Good point. I know that control is a typical feature of the conservative mind, but it may be possible for it to spread, even to the liberal, rendering the latter
oxymoronic.

A.
alex,

Yet another data point that the definitions of liberal and conservative are reversed in the UK and the US. Over here, liberals are nanny state control freaks, while conservatives are closer to libertarian.

More interesting question is what does your daughter know about her subjects (you) that leads her to believe additional measures of restraint need to be applied to her subjects, now that she is queen of the realm? Does she view you as cruel, irresponsible, reckless, immature, incompetent, blood thirsty, unconcerned about the safety of her child/your grandchild?

Anecdote, a friend inherited the largest remnant of over 6000 acres that had been in his family for over 350 years. He considers himself a hard core leftie. First thing he did was to ban hunting on his property. People have hunted that property for eons.

Power corrupts, or, as they say the only thing you can't do with a sword is sit on it.

I think we have arrived at the answer to your OP, control freaks are motivated to act by a sense of superiority and a need to demonstrate their authority (their rank in the pack) power. Exactly the same as a pissing contest between dogs.

I recall a Bill Clinton discussing a budget surplus, "We could have given that money back to you, the taxpayers, but you might not have spent it in the right ways."
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by manolo »

SM,

Haha! If D.Trump isn't a control freak then I'm the Duke of Edinburgh. :lol:

More seriously, I doubt that Trump is a Republican, but wears conservative 'new clothes' so let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Watch this space, as they say.

A.

PS - I have considered your 'family' comments and shall do a little more of that. ;)
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

manolo wrote:SM,

Haha! If D.Trump isn't a control freak then I'm the Duke of Edinburgh. :lol:

More seriously, I doubt that Trump is a Republican, but wears conservative 'new clothes' so let's give him the benefit of the doubt. Watch this space, as they say.

A.

PS - I have considered your 'family' comments and shall do a little more of that. ;)
Thruout his whole campaign, there were scads of members of both the republican purebreds and the conservative purebreds who claimed Trump was neither. IIRC, he considered himself a democrat as recently as a couple years ago.

Whether there is any connection between conservatives and republicans, or between liberals and democrats...... that debate will never end.

re your family. Kids rebel. All family leaders need to learn to let go of the reigns of power sooner or later. You had your day.... ;)
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by manolo »

Simple Minded wrote: re your family. Kids rebel. All family leaders need to learn to let go of the reigns of power sooner or later. You had your day.... ;)
SM,

My daughter made a revealing comment to me the other day. She said, "The hardest thing with her (the little 15month old) is just letting her be herself, but I have to do it." My reply, "That was my biggest message to you." :)

A.
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

manolo wrote:
Simple Minded wrote: re your family. Kids rebel. All family leaders need to learn to let go of the reigns of power sooner or later. You had your day.... ;)
SM,

My daughter made a revealing comment to me the other day. She said, "The hardest thing with her (the little 15month old) is just letting her be herself, but I have to do it." My reply, "That was my biggest message to you." :)

A.
We're funny creatures who are full of contradictions aren't we? Your daughter sees allowing her daughter to "be herself" as virtuous, and not allowing her father to "be himself" as also virtuous. And we wonder why our social institutions are also full of contradictions.

As we say in the colonies, "the nut don't fall too far from the tree." and "her failures as a daughter, are your failures as a father." ;) Luckily, with grandkids, you get another chance to get thing right.....
manolo
Posts: 1582
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:46 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by manolo »

SM,

I'll leave you with that thought.

Alex.
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

manolo wrote:SM,

I'll leave you with that thought.

Alex.
Alex,

Individuals are full of contradictions, and since individuals are microcosms of "society," our social institutions are also full of contradictions.

As I noted before, "In the long run we're all a bunch of me's."

Once each of is on the path of "being our self" we're in constant flux. I'm not the same person I was when I started typing this thread. I've grown! ;)
noddy
Posts: 11325
Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:09 pm

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by noddy »

manolo wrote:
noddy wrote:they only have 2 hammers - they can make things illegal or they can increase taxes/licenses/fines on things.

this is why so many are scared of change driven by politicians.

in theory their is the third one, freedom with rational discussion and inspiration but aint-noone-got-time-for-that.
nod,

We agree on the general trend.

However, I have been trying to think of some exceptions to this gloomy history. There is of course the abandonment of prohibition in the US (although I think some Puritan localities are still dry, such as in Kentucky), the decriminalization of abortion and the more recent decriminalization of weed smokin'.

Its not all bad news. :)

A.
those examples are american ones and irrelevant to me.

my country was never stupid enough to ban those things, it just slowly and continuously raises the sin taxes on them, all under the banner of public health and reducing costs to the public healthcare system.

which happens to be the very thing you complained about in the UK :)

woops, ive reposted simple minded.
ultracrepidarian
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

noddy wrote:
woops, ive reposted simple minded.
Kinda feels good, don't it? ;)

:o Whoa!

"In the long run..... we're all simple minded!" ;)
User avatar
Typhoon
Posts: 27267
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:42 pm
Location: 関西

Re: Rules, regulations, and politicians

Post by Typhoon »

The Bear's Lair - M. Hutchinson | One-party governance kills economic progress
The United States is currently in a situation where, after a short and beleaguered period of partial opposition control, one party controls the Presidency, both houses of Congress, much of the judiciary, the media and the tech sector. We have seen such dominance before in Britain: in the Whig Supremacy of 1714-62 where with Royal support Britain became a one-party state; the Industrial Revolution was thereby delayed by half a century. We should examine the structural reasons why this happened and their applicability to our day.
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
Simple Minded

Re: Rules, regulations, and politicians

Post by Simple Minded »

Colonel Sun wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 1:45 pm The Bear's Lair - M. Hutchinson | One-party governance kills economic progress
The United States is currently in a situation where, after a short and beleaguered period of partial opposition control, one party controls the Presidency, both houses of Congress, much of the judiciary, the media and the tech sector. We have seen such dominance before in Britain: in the Whig Supremacy of 1714-62 where with Royal support Britain became a one-party state; the Industrial Revolution was thereby delayed by half a century. We should examine the structural reasons why this happened and their applicability to our day.
We might only be at the top of the first inning, but so far, the "permanent Republican supermajority" is not exactly going as prophecized.

Prophets are never respected in their own countries.....
Post Reply