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u/E_D_K_2 1h ago
People always say, 'it's only temporary until they fix it properly'.
Meanwhile in 5 years it'll still look like that.
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u/Trick_Statistician13 1h ago
It's still temporary as long as they dont last forever.
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u/Ninja_Prolapse 1h ago
In 5 billion years the sun explodes.. one way or another, it’s temporary.
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u/Trick_Statistician13 1h ago
On a long enough timeline the survival rate of everything drops to zero
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u/Trick_Statistician13 1h ago
You try raising taxes to rebuild city infrastructure, let alone making the city pretty.
Everyone complains until they need to pay for stuff.
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u/Adis_Pen_and_Paper 1h ago
The issue is that the taxes I'm paying currently are not being used properly. What guarantees that more taxes will be used better?
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u/Trick_Statistician13 1h ago
You vote for the right people and become more engaged civically to hold them accountable.
Till then, if you don't pay for these problems to get fixed properly, they won't get fixed properly.
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u/Adis_Pen_and_Paper 1h ago
You vote for the right people and become more engaged civically to hold them accountable.
Ooh, how I wish that actually worked. Most politicians would end up like Marie Antoinette.
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u/Trick_Statistician13 39m ago
It does work. You've tried nothing and complained when it didn't get better.
Even your example fails to engage with the suggestion.
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u/Adis_Pen_and_Paper 35m ago
Right.
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u/Trick_Statistician13 31m ago
Marie Antoinette was very famously held accountable for her actions by th e populous taking the government, and her head, into their own hands.
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u/text_fish 1h ago
I can only speak for the UK, but I imagine it's applicable to many other Western nations. The reason our taxes don't seem to be being spent well is because after years and years of conservative governments syphoning off money to their mates in big business, we're now stuck in a cycle of trying to "catch up" with paying for all the public services that went poorly funded for so long.
Where you see an ugly patch-up job on the pavement, the local council who approved it probably see some money saved for more important but less immediately visible expenses, such as social care for elderly people, or repairing the roads directly outside the hospital to allow ambulances to safely transport injured patients.
The only way we'll ever claw back enough money to adequately pay for essential services AND more satisfying services such as pretty pavements and clean streets is if we stop allowing giant (mostly American) corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes on the profits earned in our country. Some
racistsconcerned citizens will tell you that our financial woes are the fault of immigrants and benefit scroungers, but the amount of money they cost us is a drop in the ocean compared to the amount that we could take back from the likes of Starbucks, Nestle, Amazon et al. We need to close the tax avoidance loopholes that they use, and publically shame their CEO's AND shareholders.•
u/ddosn 1h ago edited 40m ago
>The reason our taxes don't seem to be being spent well is because after years and years of conservative governments syphoning off money to their mates in big business, we're now stuck in a cycle of trying to "catch up" with paying for all the public services that went poorly funded for so long.
Complete rubbish.
Back in the 90's in the UK, the public sector was fully funded, efficient and working great. infrastructure projects went forward quickly, repairs were done quickly and properly etc.
The issue started with Tony Blairs Labour government from 1997 onwards. They massively increased the size of government, especially management positions, which led to far more money being spent on bureaucracy instead of being used on what it should have been used on.
Also, as the Conservative government a few years ago found, local councils were skimming money off of dedicated funds (for example, for schools) to fund the personal pet projects of senior councillors. Which is why the Tories implemented the academy system where schools could bypass local authorities and get their funds straight from the government.
EDIT: And if right wing governments underfunding things was a problem, why have things gotten worse under the current left wing government in the UK? Roads are in worse condition than every before and councils are pretty much ignoring it. Education is worse than its ever been. The NHS is failing, despite having real-terms budget increases every year for the past 30 years etc etc etc. Most of the major cuts to the military have been done during Labour governments (the single largest reduction in troop numbers was around 2002-2004, where there were over 50,000 troops cut). Police and prisons are being cut or compromised on etc etc etc.
At some point, the idea of 'just throw money at it' needs to be reassessed.
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u/AmongTheWildlife 53m ago
Because people no longer give a shit, there is no more pride in job, only quick/easy/cheap.
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u/phazernator 1h ago
“Belgian Solutions” vibe is strong in this one.
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u/Adis_Pen_and_Paper 1h ago
It would be more correct to say: New Belgian Solutions.
Since the old one would also be Belgian.
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u/Alarming-Koala-3524 1h ago
Anybody suspiciously missing lately?
Wow looks like there's another big patch like this at the top of the pic
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u/WaffleHouseGladiator 1h ago
My gaming career has prepared me for this moment. Look around for a bomb, a pickaxe, or maybe an NPC nearby who is conspicuously talking about this patch of road. There's treasure and/or Easter eggs in there.
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u/text_fish 1h ago
Cheap.