The State of Affairs in Russia

[Admiral Yi]

The movie, even if set in the 80s, was made in 1994.

No shit.  Coulda sworn it was older than that.

[Sheilbh]

I had a couple Spanish teachers who gushed over how beautiful it was when they visited in the 70s & 80s.

An industrial port-town isn't necessarily a bad thing. Naples is one of the best places I've been to and when I was in Morocco Casablanca was one of my favourite cities. So Barcelona was, I'm sure, great and quite popular before the Olympics. Since then it's been a European cultural and business capital and I think a lot of that is because the Olympics gave them the opportunity and the money to do a lot of work on the city.

[Iormlund]

Well it certainly worked, Barcelona is gorgeous now. 

Yeah. Pity it's full of Barceloneses ...

[alfred russel]

Atlanta also had a big improvement from the Olympics. Our infrastructure was upgraded and is now beyond reproach.

[The Brain]

I was in Barcelona in the 80s. Seemed fine and popular to me.

[Jacob]

I mostly oppose the idea of the state getting involved in enterprises such as sporting or other cultural events. Profit or not. If there is no profit, it shouldn't do it. If there is profit, private investors should do it. Not enough profit for that? See point one.

Of course. You oppose the spending of tax money on anything other than the military or infrastructure and services you see yourself using.

[Jacob]

No. But as I keep saying, government spending should be reduced to a bare minimum necessary. The government should be a mediator in the affairs of the citizens, not the major influence. Where to draw that line is up for a debate most certainly, but I feel like in today`s world, the "government should fix it/finance it/ban it" sentiment has reached too big proportions especially in Europe. The "goal" to try and move for should be minimal state involvement, not maximum.

That's silly.

[The Brain]

Jacob supports bloated, intrusive government?

[Jacob]

Jacob supports bloated, intrusive government?

Nope! I support government carrying out functions that are useful and/or necessary as efficiently as possible. And I believe the fetishization of private enterprise and the belief that it can address most or all of the needs of a modern society to be silly.

[The Brain]

Jacob supports bloated, intrusive government?

Nope! I support government carrying out functions that are useful and/or necessary as efficiently as possible. And I believe the fetishization of private enterprise and the belief that it can address most or all of the needs of a modern society to be silly.

You sound like a poor.

[Jacob]

You sound like a poor.

And you sound like an idiot.

[derspiess]

Jacob supports bloated, intrusive government?

Nope! I support government carrying out functions that are useful and/or necessary as efficiently as possible. And I believe the fetishization of private enterprise and the belief that it can address most or all of the needs of a modern society to be silly.

  Sounds to me like you're fetishizing big government, Comrade Yakov.

[Jacob]

  Sounds to me like you're fetishizing big government, Comrade Yakov.

Not at all.

I simply hold that there are a bunch of situations where issues like the problem of the commons, non-monetary priorities, the public interest, etc mean that they are best addressed through action accountable directly to the public rather than to shareholders.

Also, having spent my entire career in private industry - and having experienced competent government bureaucracies - I do not agree with you and your fellow travellers that private actor solutions are inherently more efficient or competent than government ones.

[Jacob]

My starting point is basically: what is likely to provide the best outcome? In some cases it's competent government services and action; in others it's purely private unregulated actors; in others yet it's private actors operating in a well regulated environment; and many times it's some sort of combination.

To reject any given mode of action and to vilify a specific actor or set of actors on purely ideological grounds is foolish.

[Sheilbh]

Yep.