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Thom's blog
Stop Complaining About Big Government & Embrace It
Bigger government means bigger smiles – but don’t tell that to Republicans. It’s nearly impossible to go a day in Washington without hearing a Republican complain about the horrors of “big government.” That’s because they love to blame “big government” for all of our nation’s problems, big or small.
Just last week in an op-ed for Time Magazine, Senator Rand Paul blamed big government for the chaos that we’re seeing in Ferguson, Missouri, saying that, “Not surprisingly, big government has been at the heart of the problem.” But somebody needs to tell Senator Paul and the Republicans that, according to solid scientific research, it turns out that a bigger government makes for a happier and more satisfied public. That’s right. Political science researchers with Baylor University’s College of Arts and Sciences found that, “the effect of state intervention into the economy equals or exceeds marriage or employment status -- two traditional predictors of happiness -- when it comes to satisfaction.”
In their study published in the journal Social Forces, the researchers looked at data from 21 OECD nations - the world's most developed countries - in the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2007. They compared the countries based on a variety of factors, including social welfare expenditures as a percentage of GDP, the ease of access to welfare and social service benefits, and overall government spending as a percentage of GDP. The researchers then spoke with nearly 50,000 respondents across the 21 countries about their general well-being, and asked them, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”
The respondents were then asked to score their well-being and satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10. The U.S. came in eleventh in the rankings, with Americans scoring their well-being and satisfaction at an average of 7.61. That’s not surprising, considering that the U.S. is just one of two OECD countries (South Korea being the other one) that doesn’t spend the highest percentage of its total budget on social services. The most satisfied countries were Denmark, Switzerland and Iceland.
-Thom
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... White Power in Ferguson (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."
The Best of the Rest...
Everything You Know is Wrong: About smart kids - Amanda Ripley, The Smartest Kids in The World...and How They Got That Way
Daily Take: Stop Complaining About Big Government & Embrace It
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Monday's Daily Stack 
Plus, Ferguson, MO explodes again...- Joe Madison, The Joe Madison Show 
Hour Two: Anything Goes Summer - plus your calls on the unrest in Ferguson, MO
Article: " 5th Amendment" (double jeopardy, witness against self, due process, due compensation).
Article: " The reason is that the people know that the Democratic Party is the people's party, and the Republican party is the party of special interest, and it always has been and always will be." - Harry Truman, Democratic Convention Acceptance Speech July 15, 1948.
Hour Three: The new Cuba/Russia alliance- Peter Kornbluh, The Nation / Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana
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Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET
Thom challenges Project 21's Michael Dozier about Ferguson, MO...how did we get to this?
Plus, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"
And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...
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Thom's Poll
Will bringing in the National Guard help the situation in Ferguson?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
Watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 8/15/14: The Bigger Picture: Ferguson
Tonight’s “Big Picture Rumble” discusses the latest news coming out of Ferguson, MO, the stepping down of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and whether Obama should counter sue the House GOP over gerrymandering. Tonight’s “Bigger Picture” panel discusses the questions about race and justice in America today following the killing of Michael Brown.
Journalists Under Fire in Ferguson...
Ferguson Explodes Again...
Ferguson cop - Judge, Jury, & Executioner?
"National Employee Freedom" - just another war on workers?
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Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
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