We have a lot of fraud, waste, and abuse in our Government today, and a government that doesn’t protect whistleblowers and isn’t transparent so the costs of holding the government accountable are exceedingly high. That problem is sustained by both the Democrats and the Republicans. If you think both parties don’t contribute to and willfully sustain the bad system we have, then your bias has blinded you.

“ Here is why it is our own fault as citizens these things happen. First, majorities of Americans in particular areas buy into Republicans’ “starve the beast,” mentality.”

Let me restate that for you. First, majorities of Americans all over the country buy into the lies their party sells them rather than demanding a more transparent and functional government.

Obama got elected in part because of brilliant use of modern technology provided by the for profit sector. When he goes to implement healthcare.gov website doing business as usual for the government, it was an unmitigated, non-functioning disaster. The solution was to break existing contracting rules, go outside the box and bring in talent and people from the for profit world who care. It worked.

They are trying to do it in other areas of government, and are of course meeting resistance by the people profiting from the existing system rules that promote fraud, waste and abuse.

The ‘starve the beast’ mentality you refer to, when not being used to promote fraud, waste, and abuse, exists because those people know of no better way to curb the existing fraud waste and abuse in our government, and the very people like you, who should be their allies in this cause, just sit back and call them stupid. That essentially makes you just as much a part of the problem.

I see this country filled with people so desperate to be right they cannot see how many opportunities they are missing to unite and actually affect positive change.

I asked you questions because I have genuine desire to understand your point of view and how you got to it, and what information you use to support it. I really appreciate the time you have taken to answer back, but I still do not understand how you can support either party or how you cannot see that both parties have failed to address the issues.

Which is fascinating to me, because I see an entire generation of young Americans instinctively understanding how corrupt and self serving our existing political system is. Perhaps it is because they have not invested in a side and fought hard for what they believe in yet, thus they retain their objectivity enough to know that both sides are failing badly.

I cannot buy into the narrative that Reagan, and his ideology, was the cause of all our problems. I cannot buy into the narrative that we if went with the opposing ideology, it would fix all of our problems. The issues are complex and require solutions from both ideologies. They require compromise, patience, and a high resistance to the bullshit spewed forth by people who simply want to commit fraud, waste and abuse for their own enrichment to the detriment of the people.