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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday July 05 2017, @04:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the government-by^Wof-the-people dept.

The World Socialist Web Site reports

Three US states--New Jersey, Maine, and Illinois--with a combined population of 23 million people entered a new fiscal year [July 1] without a state budget, forcing widespread shutdowns of public services, state offices, and schools, as well as the closure of state parks on the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

In a fourth state, Connecticut, Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy ordered across-the-board spending cuts totaling $2.1 billion after the legislature failed to pass a balanced budget. Malloy's cuts include the elimination of summer youth employment programs and rental assistance for low-income families, as well as a reduction in education funding.

Six more states entered the new fiscal year without a final budget, but without, as yet, any significant shutdown of state services: Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Cuts are to be expected in all of these states if new budgets are not enacted by July 5, the first workday after the holiday.

[...] In a display of elitist arrogance, [Republican Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey] spent the weekend with his family at an official residence in a state park that had otherwise been closed to the public by his own executive order.

[...] In Maine, Republican Governor Paul LePage ordered the first statewide shutdown of government services since 1991 after the legislature failed to bow to his demand that it adopt a new, two-year, $7 billion budget without any tax increases.

In a brazenly antidemocratic action, LePage and Democratic and Republican state legislators had already agreed that the new budget would repeal a measure approved last November by the votes of more than 357,000 people in a statewide referendum. The referendum imposed an additional three percent income tax on the wealthiest state residents--those who make more than $200,000 a year--to increase funding for public education.

Additional Coverage: ABCNews


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @05:25PM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @05:25PM (#535282)

    Either resources are allocated profitably [soylentnews.org], or they are not. That's it.

    There is NOTHING else in this universe.

    A bank balance is just one way to try to measure profit, but it's not the only way. Maybe that is your confusion.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by DECbot on Wednesday July 05 2017, @06:21PM

    by DECbot (832) on Wednesday July 05 2017, @06:21PM (#535320) Journal

    I agree with the grandparent on this one. A government should not be judged on its profitability, but entirely on its RESPONSIBILITY. It is responsible for collecting taxes for the services it performs and its obligations. It is responsible for not overspending its revenue. It is responsible for treating is citizens and residences fairly. It is responsible to creating, enforcing, and following its laws. Protecting its people and providing them with opportunity for success is yet another responsibility. Countries like Cuba, North Korea, or Venezuela may be able to balance a checkbook enough to make the government 'profitable' but its government is still a failure to its people as it is not responsible.

    I'm sure you're able to propose the scenario where 'profitable' becomes interchangeable with 'responsible'. However, I encourage you to forgo the mental gymnastics and use the word generally better suited for our expectations on how our government should operate.

    --
    cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @06:31PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @06:31PM (#535328)

    There is NOTHING else [besides profitably] in this universe

    Now, describe the profit motive WRT SoylentNews.
    Repeat for your town's community chest.
    Hint: Not all endeavors need to make a profit.

    You have been brainwashed by greedy people for whom "enough" is never enough.

    A system that provides social stability for all (Socialism) is more viable than a system (Capitalism) that maximizes profits for a few individuals.

    We're seeing the implosion of that latter archaic, obsolete system today.
    In several of his songs, Springsteen[1] has written about the hollowing out of USAian towns by Capitalists offshoring jobs.

    [1] Arranging/performing "Born in the USA" as a cheerleader stomp was a bad choice.
    (People only pay attention to the chorus.)
    I've heard that tune performed as a dirge by another act; if you look at the lyrics, that is more appropriate.

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday July 05 2017, @08:00PM

      by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday July 05 2017, @08:00PM (#535390)

      A bank balance is just one way to try to measure profit, but it's not the only way. Maybe that is your confusion.

      Now, describe the profit motive WRT SoylentNews.

      You're not listening to him. In this case, SN's profit is the value of the discussions we have, not dollars. If at a certain point our discussions' value sinks too low, it may not be worth "buying" anymore.

      --
      "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @08:01PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 05 2017, @08:01PM (#535391)

      Y'all are talking at cross purposes. There's profit as counted in strict cash terms, and then there's profit in the broader sense of desirable outcomes for acceptable costs.

      "A system that provides social stability for all (Socialism) is more viable than a system (Capitalism) that maximizes profits for a few individuals."

      Citation needed. And, while we're at it, measures of "viable" and comparisons of net outcomes, society-wide.

      "In several of his songs, Springsteen[1] has written about the hollowing out of USAian towns by Capitalists offshoring jobs."

      Sure, lots of people have chronicled all sorts of things about the shifting economic and social grounds in the USA. Gangsta rap is one example.

      The good news is that you can model a socialist system within a capitalist ruleset. Very techy. Go on, gewg! Instantiate VirtuaSociety on the CapitaloHost!

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday July 06 2017, @09:46AM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday July 06 2017, @09:46AM (#535642) Homepage
    > Either resources are allocated profitably [soylentnews.org], or they are not. That's it.

    > There is NOTHING else in this universe.

    > A bank balance is just one way to try to measure profit, but it's not the only way. Maybe that is your confusion.

    Either resources are hot, or they are not. That's it.

    There is NOTHING else in this universe

    A pyrometer is just one way to try and measure heat, but it's not the only way. Maybe that's your confusion.

    How the fuck did anything you say better respond to your parent post than the equally, if not more, true bollocks I've just written. If you agree to forget about profit for a second, I'll promise to forget about heat. And then maybe you'll be able to enter a discussion from which you'll be able to learn a bit more about how the world can work (rather than how the bubble you live in currently works, if you can call it working).
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06 2017, @04:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06 2017, @04:29PM (#535774)

      Try again.