In the wake of a disastrous rail accident in Ohio, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg says he doesn’t have the power to compel the rail industry to upgrade its safety equipment and procedures. But he does.
I've had sleepless nights over what I claim is a growing trend of the heads of whatever government agency or even the government itself going "wow this sucks, somebody should do something about this" and my current theory is that this is basically the logical endpoint of neoliberalism where you have a government whose assumed responsibility is literally 0 more than to provide a fair playing field for whatever 3 corporations that rule any given sector and nothing more. Basically just a figurehead.
I.e., the next logical step here is not that the government does literally anything about it, it's that it's also legal for every other railroad company to poison gas a town because it wouldn't be fair otherwise
Seems like the supposed political pendulum regresses towards the mean of corporations being in charge and calling all the important shots, with the government facilitating, protecting, and invading the enemies of, those interests. I think neoliberalism accomplishes what classic fascists could only dream of, and it does so much more efficiently. "My hands are tied" by the decisions made by the previous administration, but vote for us next time anyway or you're letting the bigots win.
Then what the fuck is his position even for
I've had sleepless nights over what I claim is a growing trend of the heads of whatever government agency or even the government itself going "wow this sucks, somebody should do something about this" and my current theory is that this is basically the logical endpoint of neoliberalism where you have a government whose assumed responsibility is literally 0 more than to provide a fair playing field for whatever 3 corporations that rule any given sector and nothing more. Basically just a figurehead.
I.e., the next logical step here is not that the government does literally anything about it, it's that it's also legal for every other railroad company to poison gas a town because it wouldn't be fair otherwise
Seems like the supposed political pendulum regresses towards the mean of corporations being in charge and calling all the important shots, with the government facilitating, protecting, and invading the enemies of, those interests. I think neoliberalism accomplishes what classic fascists could only dream of, and it does so much more efficiently. "My hands are tied" by the decisions made by the previous administration, but vote for us next time anyway or you're letting the bigots win.
Stupid cyberpunk present.
At least in a cyberpunk setting, being able to ride a bike really well makes you cool.
To prep Pete for higher office. If Trump proved anything it is that these agencies run themselves and do not answer to the elected government.
Protecting corporate transport interests