On the 2020 Elections
There are so many factors affecting the election this year. It has been a crazy year but I think that the most important issue is… Read More »On the 2020 Elections
Elections
Presidential Drama
It is the ritual of every 4 years. The whole world stops to debate the U.S. presidential election. Most pundits focus on the low likeability… Read More »Presidential Drama
Heart vs. Mind
Should we support a government program just to do something?
Yesterday I participated in a phone survey about a proposed ballot measure to approve the county selling bonds to finance low-income housing construction. The survey asked for my opinion about a number of sentences that support the measure. The sentences were all like “the measure will offer housing to veterans”, “the measure will help low-income people crushed by high home prices” and “this measure will give homeless people a place to live”. After I answered all the questions that I will not support the measure and ended the call; I thought about how is this measure being sold and how government programs start.
The usual government program life start when a disaster happen or with news media focusing on people affected by a certain problem. Then loud voices in the media shout that we need to do something and politicians suggest a new government program to do something. Activists then urge People then to either vote or pressure their representatives to vote to support the program that will do something. Eventually the program passes and the media and the activists move to the next issue that we need to do something about.
This story is always missing asking two important questions:
- Why do this problem exist or why did that disaster happen?
- Does the proposed program actually solve the problem?