Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!glee From: glee@cognos.UUCP (Godfrey Lee) Newsgroups: ont.general Subject: Re: Squeaky wheel (was Highway Driving Rules) Message-ID: <5997@cognos.UUCP> Date: 28 Apr 89 14:45:07 GMT References: <8904061731.AA21685@ellesmere.csri.toronto.edu> <400@hcr.UUCP> <89Apr26.134028edt.9320@ois.db.toronto.edu> <1673@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca> Reply-To: glee@cognos.UUCP (Godfrey Lee) Distribution: ont Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada Lines: 34 In article <1673@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca> kevin@dretor.dciem.dnd.ca (Wallace B. Wallace) writes: >'The squeaky wheel gets the grease' is not a valid form of government, >at least in my mind. Neither is government by consensus. >What we need is instant voting capability, or at least a way for the 'lazy' >person to voice their opinion. It is bad enough with the constant opinion polls on every issue these days, can you imagine the effect of instant polls? 1. this will guarantee that the first impression gets voiced the loudest, it does not allow sober second thought before casting your vote. Dangerous. 2. people who are not in a position of responsibility tend to have a short view on things. If you ask me whether the government should raise my taxes, I will always say no. If you ask me whether we should allow cheap imports, and I am a consumer, I will always say yes. 3. people tend to take the selfish view, not looking at the big picture unless it is to their advantage, see point 2 for examples. 4. people have short attention span, subject to mass media persuasions. Free trade is good... Free trade is bad... Free trade is okay... Free trade is good... In short, government by consensus will end up always taking the short term easy way out, resulting in short term volatility and long term stagnation. -- Godfrey Lee P.O. Box 9707 Cognos Incorporated 3755 Riverside Dr. VOICE: (613) 738-1338 x3802 FAX: (613) 738-0002 Ottawa, Ontario UUCP: uunet!mitel!sce!cognos!glee CANADA K1G 3Z4