Tuesday, February 15, 2011

This Time, I Am Complaining!

Last night, on my way home from work, my tire went flat. The pothole situation here in the Empire State is abysmal- literally, and motor vehicles are taking a beating. I pulled over to the side of the road, and busted my ass dealing with the problem. I'm no junior petite, but cracking the damn lug nuts was a hassle because the guy who rotated my tires went nuts with the impact gun and, foolishly, I don't have a cruciform lug wrench. So, I had to wrestle the nuts with a tire iron for a good half-hour before getting the damn lug nuts off. Luckily, I always keep a full-sized spare in the car, so I didn't have to dick around with a donut.

Today, I had to replace the spare, which cost almost a hundred bucks. This brings me to the topic of my rant. As noted by my Antipodean chum, the "libertarian" (yeah, they're really authoritarians who don't want their social betters to be burdened with responsibilities) position eschews any government efforts to improve the infrastructure. I'd rather pay my share of taxes than to be subjected to the financial fallout from poor spending choices. Yeah, I'd rather pay a hundred dollars more in taxes than to spend that self-same hundred and a couple of hours of time dealing with the consequences of deteriorating infrastructure. Recently, there has been talk to turn over major infrastructure overhaul to public-private partnerships- hey, why not hand the keys to the coop to the foxes? Foxes know how to manage chickens, don't they?

The time to demand that the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share is long past due. What the fuck does a schmuck like, for example, Michael Bloomberg know about getting his hands dirty on the side of a goddamn road at night, when the temperature is dropping and the wind's clocking in at 30 MPH?

Oh, and Libertarians, you're not the ultra-wealthy, and you'll never be. Libertarianism is aspirational capitalism. Real wealthy people love big government, as long as it's handing out subsidies and no-bid contracts. Libertarians, you're just a bunch of sociopathic fantasists frittering your time away carrying water for a class of people who don't give a rat's ass about your, or the freedoms you claim to espouse. You're "useful idiots" in a way that the kid in the Che shirt will never be, because the policies you agitate for actually have a chance of being enacted in these United States, and you'll never benefit from them.

12 comments:

Mandos said...

Sing it! My street is still covered in fallen branches from a snowstorm three weeks ago. I'm supposed to be living in the rich county now and they still haven't cleaned it up. It's a hazard!

Apropos of this: Libertarians are objectively pro-extinction by asteroid.

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

"So, I had to wrestle the nuts with a tire iron for a good half-hour before getting the damn lug nuts off. Luckily, I always keep a full-sized spare in the car, so I didn't have to dick around with a donut."


Oh, come on. This is one long veiled reference.

But, seriously, I can think of few better uses for tax money than improving infrastructure. And sometimes its not just a matter of convenience or beautification, it's a matter of safety.

Another Kiwi said...

Bloomberg would not be changing tyres, possibly he would buy a new car.
Love the "Don't tell people about the asteroid" article. He seems to have the feeling that it's not gonna fall on him, so screw it.
Libertarians are so many sandwiches short of a picnic that it's not really a picnic.

Smut Clyde said...

Luckily, I always keep a full-sized spare in the car

BBBB likes his women like he likes his tyres.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Righteous.

You could sit in on a FYF.

TruculentandUnreliable said...

You should've done what I do: act completely helpless and bat your eyelashes at the first passerby who looks like he would do it for you.

But for serious, the other thing that gets me about libertarians is that they have NO FUCKING CLUE what the practical results of their proposals would be. Of course, if they did, then they'd be liberals.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Actually, T&U, I rather think that they don't care, because like cildren, they firmly believe that it can't happen to THEM

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Oh, come on. This is one long veiled reference.

Sometimes "jacking" merely refers to getting something off... uh... the ground.

BBBB likes his women like he likes his tyres.

Stowed away in the trunk?

You should've done what I do: act completely helpless and bat your eyelashes at the first passerby who looks like he would do it for you.

I don't think I could pull this off if I had a million years to try.

Memo to self: Buy mascara...

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Apropos of this: Libertarians are objectively pro-extinction by asteroid.

Peak wingnut... still a pipe dream!

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

If only we had a political party that represented average Americans, rather than the wealthy few.

Or a professional media, for that matter. Alas, they've all been bought and paid for by the plutocrats.
~

Smut Clyde said...

Stowed away in the trunk?

With a deep tread.

Hunger Tallest Palin (or whatever handle I posted under the last time) said...

Jesus & God : Christians :: Billionaires & Money : Gibbertarians.

Sorry to hear about your tight lug nuts, B^4^. You might want to see your doctor if that persists for more than 7 days.