[sunshinelackof]

> given the track record of the federal government doesn't sound like a good idea

For the vast majority of Americans, their only interactions with the federal government are through social security and through medicare--two of the most widely popular functions of government. Government has plenty of failures, but that's the nature of enterprise writ large.

[pitaj]

Obamacare was a massive failure for most Americans, and the VA is filled with horror stories. A large portion of young people don't think Social Security and Medicare will be around when they're older. And the financial stability of those systems doesn't look very good.

[sunshinelackof]

Government can with the stroke of a pen decide to fully fund any program. Even in the case of social security it's just an accounting mechanism. Anyone who says that social security and medicare depend directly on a larger taxable population today is lying. Young people being told that today are being lied to.

[cr0sh]

> Government can with the stroke of a pen decide to fully fund any program.

This is largely true.

Notice how easily our government, "with the stroke of a pen", can fully fund state-sanctioned violence and institutions of violence.

And we the people have no problem with this; some of us even cheer it on; some encourage their sons and daughters to join up to these institutions of violence. Others shake the hands of those who already are a part of it, and say "thank you for your service" - in almost reverent fashion.

I'm not saying we don't need these people or those institutions - they do serve a needed purpose - but let's not pretend that need is anything but ultimately for terrible violence.

Yet - we and our government somehow has a problem fully funding things like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and a whole host of other programs, which again could be easily done, "with the stroke of a pen". But we'll hem and haw on that all day long...

...our teachers will never be thanked "for their service" in reverent fashion.

Unless of course they were veterans of those institutions of violence.