Actually Steve, to be a liar requires knowing that there is truth, a major hurdle for most politicians.
]]>In the US we called it a windfall profits tax and applied it to oil companies who started making money hand-over-fist during the Arab Oil Embargo. The point was made that it was a tax on excess profits, not the normal profits a business could have expected. Then they published the data on the profits of the companies. The case was made that it wasn’t about normal business activities, it was about greed, and the government was taxing the greed. If the companies eased off on the greed, they didn’t have to pay the tax.
It is all about framing, and, given the current conditions, I don’t think greed will go over with voters, if it is explained.
Naturally, to explain the concept, you have to understand it, i.e. you actually have to believe that greed is bad.
]]>Americans โbelieveโ things and make no effort to โknowโ them.
Sad to say, that seems to be something of a global constant these days. *sigh* We just had our Federal and State budgets, and it’s really amazing how many people just look at the icing and think the whole cake is great! Thankfully, a few in the media here have asked questions and actually taken the top off and discovered they are not as good as they seem. The Gov has decided on a 4% tax on high earnings on resource companies, which is a good thing IMHO. But they didn’t think it through and put necessary controls etc in place, so the next day, gas/oil/electricity companies announced that if the tax goes ahead, they will raise domestic prices. Seems companies are better at politics than Politicians.
]]>I noticed, John, that the politicians are more protective of BP than BP’s own spokesweasels, who have to continually issue statements backing off from what the Congresscritters are saying. I assume that BP’s legal department has had a stern talk with them about over-promising, and telling out-right lies. Of course, politicians have no such constraints. It sounded like all of them were sucking up for “campaign contributions”.
To quote Paul Simon: “Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest”. Fox News depends on that, Badtux. Most of the people will never attempt to look behind the curtain, or seek the truth.
Americans “believe” things and make no effort to “know” them.
]]>– Badtux the Cynical American Penguin
.-= last blog ..Faded =-.
It’s worth recalling that the four senators and one idiot congressmen (this last, unhappily, being our own Jeff Miller from Northwest Florida) who held the press conference you mention had just spent several hours seeing, and being briefed in detail about, the undersea oil gusher. If you have the stomach to listen to them (available at http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/gulf_oil_spill/us-lawmakers-react-to-gulf-oil-spill ) you will hear Sen. Richard Shelby say (starting roughly at 12:25), “If this well is not capped in 60 to 90 days, we… we… we’ve got a [sic] unprecedented disaster on our hands. And in this area we’ve never dealt with anything like that.”
Even Shelby’s owner, British Petroleum, has acknowledged that it’s already an ‘unprecedented disaster.’ Even if the wellhead is capped in 60 to 90 days, tens of millions more barrels of oil in the Gulf will have flowed directly into the Gulf than in any previous Gulf oil boat or platform leak. You would think a senator who spent half the day being educated about the dimensions of this catastrophe would understand at least that much.
There were a number of other idiotic remarks by each of these dopes. It is painful to hear the whole thing — never mind watching them preen before the cameras like narcissistic peacocks. But it is instructive on just how very stupid are some of the people we Americans send to Washington.
]]>Someone teaches them to read? I’m amazed, really! ๐
Ya learn something every day. Still… I’m not certain that ‘See spot run!” type classics are really what Rhodes Scholars would consider ‘The Classics’, or enough of a grasp of English to be an effective Politician… Oh, right! Duh! Of course, anything more than single syllable words would make their heads explode. Not a bad thing IMNSHO. ๐
I guess that’s why most of them have to invent words that have never been within a planetary diameter of any official Dictionary (in any language). I’m certain that that’s about the limit of any form of creativity they have.
US Politicians are the penultimate proof of the GIGO principal. ๐
]]>He has been Charlie Crist’s gofor for years. He was sent to DC to keep the seat warm, not make decisions. He should never speak without a script.
]]>– Badtux the “Better idiots, please?” Penguin
.-= last blog ..Faded =-.