That’s a great point about the IRS. Where I’m from we also make a lot of derogatory jokes about our equivalent of the IRS, but it really is a cornerstone of any civilized country. No one likes getting taxed, but everyone complains about how nothing’s getting fixed, and how the government should fund this and that. Without taxes we might as well pack it in, so it makes sense that the ‘local tax collection agency’ should be one of the better funded ones.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for changing my mind
Thanks. I was fortunate enough to go from working as a typical dumbass conservative to jaded and leaving the Hill to suddenly working at a place that focused on the civil service–things like the IRS, OPM, OMB. I suddenly found the talking points I brought with me from a GOP Capitol Hill office very flimsy–beyond insufficient in the face of the reality of these very complex agencies/issues and these people working in these agencies who were waaaay smarter than I was. And some of those people were kind enough to fairly gently go, “Here’s all the shit you’ve been wrong about until now, you fucking dumbass. OH, and just fyi, here’s some of the literal personal human fallout the bullshit you were personally working on caused on this side of things.” It was all sobering. I’m still not an expert, I just mostly try to shutup now unless I’m pretty sure I’m not accidentally still spewing some old propaganda dust bunny that I inadvertently missed.
That’s a great point about the IRS. Where I’m from we also make a lot of derogatory jokes about our equivalent of the IRS, but it really is a cornerstone of any civilized country. No one likes getting taxed, but everyone complains about how nothing’s getting fixed, and how the government should fund this and that. Without taxes we might as well pack it in, so it makes sense that the ‘local tax collection agency’ should be one of the better funded ones.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is thanks for changing my mind
Thanks. I was fortunate enough to go from working as a typical dumbass conservative to jaded and leaving the Hill to suddenly working at a place that focused on the civil service–things like the IRS, OPM, OMB. I suddenly found the talking points I brought with me from a GOP Capitol Hill office very flimsy–beyond insufficient in the face of the reality of these very complex agencies/issues and these people working in these agencies who were waaaay smarter than I was. And some of those people were kind enough to fairly gently go, “Here’s all the shit you’ve been wrong about until now, you fucking dumbass. OH, and just fyi, here’s some of the literal personal human fallout the bullshit you were personally working on caused on this side of things.” It was all sobering. I’m still not an expert, I just mostly try to shutup now unless I’m pretty sure I’m not accidentally still spewing some old propaganda dust bunny that I inadvertently missed.