Political and Social Problems and Solutions Facing the United States - Discuss

[d00mGuArD]

Do y'all have a solution to any given policy problem besides "throw white men with guns at it"?

Political problems must be solved by governments.
The governments make laws about the problem.
The law enforcement makes sure those laws are... enforced.
If the laws are already in place but not enforced, then more law enforcement is needed.

Do you know of a way for governments anywhere in the world to solve a problem without making laws about it????

Do tell, please.

[Elegiac]

Political problems must be solved by governments.
The governments make laws about the problem.
The law enforcement makes sure those laws are... enforced.
If the laws are already in place but not enforced, then more law enforcement is needed.

Do you know of a way for governments anywhere in the world to solve a problem without making laws about it????

Do tell, please.

It's extremely American to equate laws with guns, but no. Most of the world gets by just fine without equipping their law enforcement agencies like a hostile occupying force.

[d00mGuArD]

It's extremely American to equate laws with guns, but no. Most of the world gets by just fine without equipping their law enforcement agencies like a hostile occupying force.

You are making things up. I never mentioned any guns.

[Elegiac]

You are making things up. I never mentioned any guns.

Hmmmm...

The laws for this exist in every 1st world country as far as I know.
They are just not enforced.
So I guess more law enforcement is needed

Yeah, you did.

The problem is not that there is insufficient law enforcement. The problem is that existing law enforcement is poorly designed and poorly run.

Oh, and it's fucking racist. Forgot that.

[d00mGuArD]

Hmmmm...



Yeah, you did.

You are still making things up. I said more law enforcement. That does not mean more guns.

[Elegiac]

You are still making things up. I said more law enforcement. That does not mean more guns.

I mean they're *technically* using rubber bullets and tear gas right now, so.

[Jonnusthegreat]

I've always believed that dismantling and defunding the military to a significant degree (say 90%) would solve every problem the US faces right now. That amount of cash would do wonders.

[d00mGuArD]

I mean they're *technically* using rubber bullets and tear gas right now, so.

Ok your mind seems to be stuck on guns so let's start with the definition of law enforcment.

Law enforcement is any system by which some members of government act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society.

Now, let's try again.
1) There is a problem in society.
2) Government must make a law/rules to address that problem
3) Law enforcement must make sure the law/rules are followed
4) If the law already exists, but it is not followed, the problem is in step 3). Insufficient law enforcement.

Law enforcement is the answer. open your mind and see it.
Then start protesting, asking for more law enforcement, the solution to all the problems you perceive.

[Shadowferal]

Ok your mind seems to be stuck on guns so let's start with the definition of law enforcement.

At this point I'm certain he isn't interested in Law.

[d00mGuArD]

At this point I'm certain he isn't interested in Law.

hahaha yeah! Although when people are protesting, they are asking the government to make laws about something.
Wierd

[Underverse]

1. Leadership that doesn't aggravate the problem, or if we're being optimistic, allays it by at least recognizing the pain that some people are going through and have gone through.

2. Media that doesn't feed on unrest. This one is hard to do but possibly the most important and least recognized issue. I would say that there should be laws against propagating misinformation, but I'm not sure how it could be enforced. Maybe the justice department can rate different organizations on bias, or fact check. I doubt that would change anything though. Laws against misinformation are hard to enforce, though maybe you could do something like force news organizations to label themselves as opinion organizations if less than 75% of their content is objective reporting.

3. Investment in early education in struggling areas. By the time kids get to high school it's too late. Affirmative action for colleges is way too late.

4. Police reform. Standardize training and rewrite the handbook. Focus on de-escalation, implicit bias, and community involvement.

5. Cultural change. Our gun culture is nuts and is part of the reason why our police are so trigger happy. The flip side of the coin is a low-income culture that detests police, resists arrest, and openly breaks minor laws at every turn which feeds the negative cycle. Both of these aspects need to change and one can't change without the other.

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I've always believed that dismantling and defunding the military to a significant degree (say 90%) would solve every problem the US faces right now. That amount of cash would do wonders.

Probably not, unless you want to become a Chinese vassal state.

There's plenty of money in the US that isn't in government hands. But economics is weird...spreading that money around won't necessarily solve the problem. Giving people more purchasing power won't magically make low income communities livable. Note that there are much happier and much poorer places in this world than inner city slums in the US. We need to think more about the source of the problem.

[Shadowferal]

hahaha yeah! Although when people are protesting, they are asking the government to make laws about something. Wierd

His prior posts have come across as "ranting and raving" to me...and he hates cops, no matter what.
Take it from there.

[Underverse]

Hmmmm...



Yeah, you did.

The problem is not that there is insufficient law enforcement. The problem is that existing law enforcement is poorly designed and poorly run.

Oh, and it's fucking racist. Forgot that.

The problem is that too many people don't respect the law. In part because the law doesn't respect them, but in perhaps larger part because it's become a broader cultural phenomenon because of past injuries. But neither problem can be progressed without the other.

[Elegiac]

The problem is that too many people don't respect the law.

People shouldn't respect unjust laws. Isn't that literally the reason y'all split from England?

[Jonnusthegreat]

Probably not, unless you want to become a Chinese vassal state.

There's plenty of money in the US that isn't in government hands. But economics is weird...spreading that money around won't necessarily solve the problem. Giving people more purchasing power won't magically make low income communities livable. Note that there are much happier and much poorer places in this world than inner city slums in the US. We need to think more about the source of the problem.

The US has never faced a real threat to its homeland in over 200 years. That is reason enough to dismantle the military. There are zero countries in the world that can take the US on even 1 on 10 right now. We don't need that. Maybe now we do with this authoritarian rule, but once things reset, it's not necessary. Most of the world hates the US, but there will never be an invasion of any major power's country unless they are the aggressor or are systematically silencing their civilians.

Wealth accumulation is another problem, yes.

[Felya]

I've always believed that dismantling and defunding the military to a significant degree (say 90%) would solve every problem the US faces right now. That amount of cash would do wonders.

It wouldn’t... It’s a lot of cash, but what happens to the cash depends on legislation. It’s also not the most cash we spend...

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The problem is that too many people don't respect the law. In part because the law doesn't respect them, but in perhaps larger part because it's become a broader cultural phenomenon because of past injuries. But neither problem can be progressed without the other.

I don’t think respecting the law is the issue. I think the question that needs to be answered first, is what leads to crime, to have law enforcement be part of the picture.

[Jonnusthegreat]

It wouldn’t... It’s a lot of cash, but what happens to the cash depends on legislation. It’s also not the most cash we spend...

It's the most meaningless cash we spend. I do find it ironic that we have a President that chants "America First" yet spends billions overseas that doesn't directly benefit us. Invest in infrastructure and reap rewards.

[Mekkle]

I'm a big fan of having an age cap of 65.

[Jonnusthegreat]

I'm a big fan of having an age cap of 65.

How... arbitrary.

[Underverse]

It wouldn’t... It’s a lot of cash, but what happens to the cash depends on legislation. It’s also not the most cash we spend...

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I don’t think respecting the law is the issue. I think the question that needs to be answered first, is what leads to crime, to have law enforcement be part of the picture.

Crime won't just go away by doing this and that. Crimes of passion, migrants from other countries, differing ideologies will ensure that is always the case. Law enforcement is an unfortunate necessity.

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Do y'all have a solution to any given policy problem besides "throw white men with guns at it"?

In hindsight I realise the deep significance of this question when applied to American government more generally. Yikes.

A huge number of police officers are not white. I don't even know why you included that qualifier. Except, maybe, to be racist.

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I'm a big fan of having an age cap of 65.

A great first step.