#governmentfail

Little Morsel #1: Crusade Casual

They call it socialism when it feeds the poor.

They call it patriotism when it fattens the state’s wallet.

Funny how the same people who clutch their pearls at food stamps will throw roses at a government equity stake in Intel. Suddenly, centralized control is noble. Suddenly, state ownership is “strategic.” Suddenly, the iron hand is holy—so long as it’s wearing a red tie and quoting Corinthians.

This isn’t policy. It’s cosplay.

We’re not governing. We’re reenacting the Crusades—with better branding and worse theology.

The religious right used to preach humility. Now they preach vengeance.

They used to talk about grace. Now it’s grievance.

They used to wash feet. Now they want to stomp necks.

And they do it all while screaming about socialism, communism, and authoritarianism—without realizing they’ve built a gilded altar to all three.

Let’s break it down.

Universal healthcare? “Socialism.”

School lunch programs? “Dependency.”

Affordable housing? “Moral decay.”

But when the government takes a 10% stake in Intel, it’s “genius.”

When it demands a 15% cut of AI chip sales to China, it’s “protecting national interests.”

When it uses executive orders to bypass Congress, it’s “strong leadership.”

So let’s be clear:

They don’t hate socialism.

They hate who it helps.

If it uplifts the poor, it’s tyranny.

If it enriches the state or the elite, it’s strategy.

The Authoritarianism They Love

Executive orders used to be a red flag. Now they’re a red carpet.

The Constitution used to be sacred. Now it’s a prop.

Checks and balances? Optional.

Due process? Inconvenient.

They want one man, one voice, one decree.

As long as it’s their guy.

And if you question it, you’re un-American.

If you resist it, you’re a threat.

If you remember history, you’re a heretic.

The Religion They Weaponize

This is where it gets rich.

The same crowd that quotes Jesus to justify tax cuts is now cheering on policies that mirror the very empires he resisted.

They talk about freedom while building surveillance states.

They talk about morality while gutting social programs.

They talk about family values while cheering on cruelty.

It’s not Christianity. It’s Crusade cosplay.

A holy war against nuance.

A spiritual purge of empathy.

They don’t want the Sermon on the Mount.

They want the sword of Constantine.

And they’ll swing it in the name of righteousness, even if it cuts the poor, the immigrant, the sick, and the stranger.

The Irony They Can’t See

We’re living in a paradox so thick you could spread it on toast.

The government is now part-owner of a private tech giant.

It’s dictating trade terms like a Soviet ministry.

It’s bypassing democratic norms with executive fiat.

And the people who once screamed “tyranny!” at mask mandates are now silent.

Or worse—cheering.

Because it’s not about ideology.

It’s about identity.

If the policies come wrapped in nationalism, religion, and grievance, they’re palatable.

Even if they’re authoritarian.

Even if they’re socialist.

Even if they’re hypocritical.

The Morsel

America doesn’t hate socialism.

It hates sharing.

It doesn’t fear authoritarianism.

It fears losing control.

It doesn’t worship Jesus.

It worships power dressed in scripture.

And the irony?

The very people who claim to defend freedom are laying the bricks for its undoing—one executive order, one corporate stake, one holy war at a time.

But hey, at least the flag’s still waving while the fridge stays empty.

Chew slowly. Well, that is your little morsel for the day. Thank you for reading. Next edition will be: Little Morsel #2 – Safety

These days, every week there are calls for a Federal ICAC, or another Royal Commission, or Board of Inquiry, or internal review, or report into another scandal.

These are always being called by one group in an effort to either attack an opponent or appease some members of the constituency.  That is why we had to have a Royal Commission into trade unions and why we have had about a thousand commissions into black deaths in custody and bridging the gap, but very little changes.  

 Seems like the system isn’t working, doesn’t it?

 Because it isn’t.  The problem we have is that the fundamentals of our Westminster based government are broken.  

 We have institutionalised the bias by creating a system for lobbyists and money to be paid to politicians. This makes sure that the bias happens all the time and for everything.  Like I talked about in my first post, you have to get the money out of politics, if you ever want to fix the government.

 What’s more successive governments of both persuasions have made the public service into a political play thing.  Many positions have become highly politicised, with senior executive staff changing based on which side of politics is in power.  What’s more we have seen a hollowing out, over the last 20 years, of any real policy capability in most governments around Australia.  In part this is so that the government can spend a lot more money on consultants. So instead of employing a person in house to give advice, they remove the position and but the same advice back at 4-5 times the price from a Big 4 Advisory house or one of the hundreds of second tier boutique advisory facilities that specialise in Government advice.  These are generally staffed by ex-public servants and many of them have ties to lobbyists, donate to political parties, or employ ex politicians in senior management positions.

 A foundation of our government is supposed to be the independent, non-partisan civil service that provides frank and fearless advice to the decision makers of the day based on significant experience, capability and high moral standing.  Instead the central agencies of the public service have, in part become a place that employs the party faithful to engage consultants to give the advice the politicians want to hear.

 This means that instead of having the best and the brightest developing policy reform and leading the development of new strategies for our Nation and State, we get political hacks that are focussed on growing their powerbase and bringing in money for the party.

 How do we fix it? Easy – get rid of private money from politics and properly invest in building a public service that can actually do the job properly and without fear of intervention and recrimination from politicians.

I think that a good Audit office with broad ranging responsibility would also be a good thing, to provide proper transparency on the machinery of government.  This could help get rid of some of the closed shop, shonkery that occurs in places like the LGAQ, the Infrastructure Sector and the building and property development sectors.  But I will save that for another article.

Me: I have a question about the new VAT system.

VAT Hotline: Yes it is happening.

Me: ...No I know that. I have a question regarding [technical crap about forms and implementation]?

VAT Hotline: Oh. Yeah, no idea. We don't know about that.

Me: So the hotline is just to tell people yes it's happening without any clue how it's happening?