The State is a Machine the Republicans do NOT want to pay to maintain.
But the truth is that Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and the Koch's combined do not have enough money or imagination to cure cancer, develop vaccines (and yes Virginia most of the work is done in at University hospitals on the NIH dime or at the VA hospitals before the University takes a private partner to commercialize it). They do not have the money or the imagination or the drive to do the basic research in materials, physics, astronomy, and all the other government research into ...ologies that increase the knowledge, productivity and happiness of our civilization. Between them they do not for instance have what it takes to stop a 7 mile wide speck of rock if it were found to have a date with earth in 10 years. Or that super plague bug, or fungi. But we together, the coordinated us that is US, that is our government. Together we can.
They disregard the fact that the GOP is largely responsible for the deficit.
They disregard the fact that the top 1% has been the biggest beneficiary of Federal R&D, a military that makes open seas and therefore free trade possible, and stable government and state infrastructure provide means and a market.
They disregard the fact that much of what the government invests in are capitol investments which businesses would typically pay for over the lifetime for the installation.
The debt of the nation is modest compared to it's potential income, but they are choosing not to plant an extra field, but deciding we can't afford to mend the fences and they they are slashing the equipment maintenance budget.
They have the money to drive the message that government is BAD BAD BAD, and they are MAD MAD MAD.
They do not want to do research.
They do not want to educate.
They do not want to build schools, roads or water treatment plants.
They do not want to go to space.
They do not want to care for the sick.
The message is leave us with what we have, we don't want to pay to be out neighbor's keeper, and get off of my lawn.
They do not have robust romantic optimistic American Values, they are some miserly version of American Gothic.
Frankly they are old frumps who truly act like money grows on trees and is not the results of ideas and research. Ideas shake things up, most scientists are Democrats, not their kind of fixed-pie people.
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