Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn Report Shows Taxpayer Money Spent on Robots That Fold Laundry, Shrimp on Treadmills - ABC News
Okay, I hear what he's saying, but ya know what? I *want* a robot that can fold laundry, and one that will clean my house, and one that will do my dishes and clean my cat boxes and groom my dogs and dust, and all that stuff, and I want them to be cheap enough that even a student with a family can afford one ('cause, really, who needs one more?), and the research has to be done to get there. Instead of sayin', "What research shouldn't we fund?" I'd like the question to be, "What can we streamline elsewhere so we can fund more research, of all kinds?" There's so much fat that could be cut out of the American system, in so many ways, and with everything that goes into that fat we could instead be creating... everything, things we imagine and things we wouldn't even be able to comprehend right now with our tiny little minds, really leading the world, maybe someday many worlds, to places the human race wants to go instead of down a path of destruction for our own (inevitably short-lived and bringing ever-diminishing returns) gratification. We love this role of hero we get to take when we come ridin' to the rescue (even if we're the ones that started the brouhaha), but we forget that in order for 'hero' to remain a viable role there must also be a victim and a villain. How is this a good dynamic for anyone other than the hero(/philanthropist/warrior/whatever), and once the two-thirds of this triangle that end up losing in some way are so broken they no longer function, where does that leave the winner? Sittin' on top of a garbage heap? Nice. Good for him/her/it/them. How 'bout a 'designer/creator/director' complex instead, where every part builds on every other and each keeps the other naturally in check. I could get behind somethin' like that. :) This bitchin' about everything as long as it's not a real part of the issue ($500,000 is a mere drop in the national budget; we had a $25m bounty on Osama's head alone, and nobody's gettin' that reward so, boom, there's money for 50m walkin' shrimp right there) is just whining in order to drum up political support - elections are on the horizon - without riskin' a pay cut.
Don't get me wrong though, I'm all for people getting paid what they need to get paid to do their job well, and I understand that good politicians work hard to make small but appropriate changes (or, if they're very lucky, a big change that doesn't throw the whole train right off the tracks) and have special financial needs, as do many people in positions for which people tend to think they just get paid too much, CEO's, entertainers, and the like. At some point many in those positions forget that they get those perks and paychecks to help them do a better job, and start to feel entitled. They forget that when the nation/state/company/project is struggling they ought to be the first to feel it in their pocketbooks and the last to get out from under the weight of it. They do what many people do when we feel the pinch of perceived need, panic and hoard (often spending wildly in the process), cocoon themselves away from society and become paranoid. They forget that they're okay. If they just keep their wits about them, streamline their use of resources, and make necessary changes, as any of us do when our budgets just won't stretch further, they'll be okay, and as long as they're okay the people and things for which they're responsible will also be okay. They're responsible for more people and things, especially politicians, especially at state and national levels, than most of us will ever even meet in our lifetimes. That's a difficult position, but if they can't handle it they shouldn't be there. I'm not sayin' they should lie and tell us all it's all okay while the country crumbles around us. I'm sayin' they should tell us the truth in a calm, adult manner, tell us what their plan is and what we can do to help ourselves and others, expect that we'll remain orderly and do the best we're able, then shut up and get on with what they've gotta do (including appropriately addressing those who choose not to stay calm or to wreak more havoc).
Anyway, yes, we need to tighten our national belt. No, this is not the way to do it. Unless of course the goal is to prevent the furtherance of our collective efficiency, since that efficiency is part of what puts plebes, I mean people out of work and leaves them, if they're not provided with the basic necessities and the tools to pursue more productive interests, discontented and restless.
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