Life in USA vs. Argentina

[garryl]

You don't seem to understand anything about BART: https://www.bart.gov/about/history

Well, you really think BART is run by a few guys, and not supported and governed by federal government ?
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13971634 all employees are with federal government benefit. Who is really keeping it going ?

 

[garryl]

And tell me how much you know about BART.

 

[Ries]

I havent worked directly for BART, but I have worked for five different light rail systems across the USA, and am under contract for a job on another right now.
All have some Federal Funding, and ZERO day to day "governing" from the Federal government.
Huge swaths of my life have been spent with transit system bureaucrats, and, unfortunately, they are locally run.
But a good conspiracy is always fun.
Me, I am sure that the Waco biker thing was actually just an internal scuffle between two factions of Jade Helm- the Bandidos are obviously ISIS terrorists from their base in northern Mexico, and the Cossacks are Acorn Storm Troopers led by Alinsky in Chicago.
Luckily, Hillary sent down her Benghazi Brigade of UN troops, disguised as Waco Police, to break it up, so they could all get back to the main agenda of taking away the guns of law abiding citizens, and imprisoning them below abandoned Walmarts.
But I digress- of course the Kenyan Muslim Usurper personally drives the trains on Bart.

(Actually, now that I think of it, I spent 3 years or so working on the San Jose light rail, which is an extension of BART, and connected both physically and administratively. And I still never saw a single federal employee, directive, or influence, beyond the usual federal labor laws.)

 

[Ceviche]

garryl: Be so kind as to give us an idea of the other countries where this is possible outside of Canada,Australia and New Zealand? Is it possible in Latin America,for example?

Its possible anywhere . yes, we are not dicussing countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, South Sudan etc. But other than such countries, one can certainly work his way from the bottom to the top.

Some things which help would be :-

a) If you had a good upbring / decent parents

B) Completed school/ competed/ studied hard

c) Made appropriate career choices in sync with your capabilities

d) Spent time learning /// **Learn More = Earn More**

e) Most importantly - have the burning desire to make it big in life! (What you want in life is enough trauma to motivate you, but not enough to paralyze you.)

g) Focus. Great people are focused. They don't just send 100 texts a day. They use creativity to build the actual companies like WhatsApp, Twitter, or Facebook that most people spend all day. So aim to be a focused creator not just a distracted user.

If one is smart - one can make money/rise to the top, anywhere in the world. Blokes are saying, there are no opportunities to make money outside USA. This is moronic. Truth is hardly anyone has real skills. Get really good at something and it will earn you money.

 

[sleslie23]

Good corporations are a fantasy, but there are many well-governed countries - most notably, but not exclusively, in Scandinavia.

We have many good governments in California, such as the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). Yes, those are autonomous governments, with elected officials and the power to tax. They even have their own police departments.

BART is hardly a model of anything other than disfunction. Sure they have their own police force, which murders handcuffed suspects in front of a crowded train of onlookers.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

BART is hardly a model of anything other than disfunction. Sure they have their own police force, which murders handcuffed suspects in front of a crowded train of onlookers.

And are held responsible when they do so: the cop in question went to prison. BART is primarily a transit system and, as such, it works extremely well.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Bad governments are a reality, the only difference is the extent. Good governments are a fantasy.

But I can agree to disagree.

When incoherent pseudo-conservatism takes the reins, they are indeed fantasy: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gops-shape-shifters/2015/05/24/4ea58e32-00b4-11e5-805c-c3f407e5a9e9_story.html

 

[ElQueso]

Yep, when only neo-Liberals and such have control are things rational, coherent and indeed for everyone's good.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Yep, when only neo-Liberals and such have control are things rational, coherent and indeed for everyone's good.

So-called "neo-liberals" (in truth, pseudo-conservatives) are among those who work hardest to ensure that good government fails.

 

[steveinbsas]

BART could be the best local/regional transportation system on the planet and it may have it's own government, but that was not the subject of this thread.

Life in Argentina versus life in the USA is the question and the impact of the government on the citizens should certainly be part of the discussion.

But then, to me, the majority of problems caused in this world on either a local, national or international level are all a result of government. When will people realize that they let themselves get screwed by the very organizations that are supposed to protect them...

I am not a Libertarian or an Anarchist. I believe that government is essential for the protection of individual rights and the freedom to take the actions that having those rights entail. Individual rights can be violated by other individuals as well as the government within the country and by governments outside of the country.

Regarding the USA: We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.

Perhaps the best way to achieve this goal (at least in the USA) is to encourage every law-abiding individual to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, but I do not believe it should be accomplished with government subsidies of any kind or any laws which actually require Americans to purchase firearms.