q_and_a

Q&A: Direct Answers to Specific Questions

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Politicians have a habit of not answering questions [1][2][3]. This, in my view, is for two reasons. One: they mostly don't want to get pinned down, and two, it's a bad question. (I wrote a whole blog post about unfair questions.)

But it's mostly #1. So I am going to try and answer as many questions as I can:

Q: What do voters need to know about the economy?
A: That it's complicated, and despite what you hear we really don't know much about what kinds of interventions help or hurt. (More...)

Q: What's going on with the government?
A: It's a bit of mess (but obviously still gets things done), and in order to really understand it requires trusting someone to evaluate it—but we don't trust institutions like government so we're stuck in a vicious cycle. (More...)

Q: What should be the relationship between the government and scientific research?
A: The track record is mixed, and our evaluation and conflict of interest mechanisms need tons of work, but some level of government support for basic research is a good thing. (More...)

Q: What is the role of the free market?
A: It is the main driver of opportunity in our country, but we have to continue to work on the rules of the market by understanding our values. Today, there are probably both too many and not enough regulations. And we're need to have serious conversations to figure out to how to move forward. (More...)

Q: What does the government have to do with society and social issues?
A: The government should support the social institutions that a society values, and discourage trends and behaviors that the society doesn't value—but society should take the lead. (More...)

Q: Should the government be involved in sports and entertainment?
A: Maybe a little, to help provide some support and protection for the people who work in these fields as well as the audiences—but that's about it. More...

Q: What is the role of each in the lives of children—family, community, and government?
A: Children are part of families first, their communities second, and citizens in their government third. That means that that any role that government has in the lives of children should be minimal and rare, because most of children's experiences should be among their families and communities. More...


[1] Here are 35 ways they avoid it.

[2] YouTube's Jay Foreman on why politicians don't answer questions.

[3] More from the Guardian.

q_and_a.txt · Last modified: 2022/04/11 06:25 by rslaughter