Posted on 12/14/2023 12:25:13 PM PST by Starman417
How many people marry the first person they ever kiss or date or even have sex with? Not that many. The average age an American loses their virginity is 17 while the average age they get married is 27. Nonetheless, despite a decade in the dating pool, experiencing everything from one night stands to years of living with someone, when people finally take the plunge, half of all US marriages end up in divorce.
There are lots of things that one might take from that observation, but the thing that is most compelling is that despite their best efforts, people are not perfect. They make mistakes. After spending the first 10 years of their adult lives trying to get it right for what is arguably the most important decision of their lives, half the population still gets it wrong and asks for a “do over”. Despite all efforts to make a good decision, half the time we get it wrong. And that’s with everyone involved seeking a common goal!
So the question is: If American adults, with everyone involved seeking to do what’s best, get it wrong half the time, how does our government, with its myriad players promoting conflicting and even mutually exclusive positions, get things right almost all the time?
They don’t, but with the lack of “Do overs” we get with laws and regulations, you’d think they did. In reality government fails at almost everything they try, but somehow they almost never step back and reevaluate. Which makes what we’re watching with the debate around the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires at the end of the year, so compelling. Enacted in 2008, Section 702 allows the government to collect — without a warrant — emails, text messages and phone calls of foreigners overseas, even when they're talking to Americans.
Many in the GOP suggest it should not be reauthorized or should be neutered as they argue the Justice Department has used it as a fig leaf from behind which they could spy on Americans. The GOP’s right, but that’s not the point.
Whatever the outcome, this is one of the few times in history that Congress – or anyone else for that matter – gets an opportunity to evaluate the efficacy of a piece of legislation and adjust accordingly. That’s because most laws go on the books and never come off… regardless of how successful they actually are, or more likely, not.
Take ethanol mandates… the poster child for zombie government programs that never die - regardless of the damage they do. Since the Carter administration the government has been diverting tax dollars to put ethanol into your gas tank. Initially it was intended to be a tool to help America become energy independent in the face of OPEC embargos, it then morphed into a tool to help increase gas mileage and later it became a critical element in fighting “climate change”. Now it doesn’t even do any of those dubious but theoretically positive, things. It’s simply become another failed government wealth transfer program.
Ethanol is an industry that enjoys no natural market. The only reason the ethanol market exists is because of government mandates. And who are the beneficiaries of this corporate welfare that is funded out of your pocket? You? Of course not. No, it’s mainly members of the farm / finance / producers cabal in the form of the Renewable Fuels Association. This ethanol boondoggle translated into a $41 billion industry in 2021 and is expected to grow to $124 billion by 2030, money that comes out of your pocket and could be spent elsewhere if it were not being, literally, set on fire.
The worst part of the entire ethanol fiasco is the fact that not only does it not achieve any of its stated – and oft changing – objectives; it actually causes a wide array of unintended consequences – none of which are good. Number one is the fact that it drives up the cost of one of the most important foodstuffs in the world, corn, the price for which has more than doubled over the last 20 years. That in turn drives up the price of virtually every other thing in the economy, from food to transportation to plastics. Then there’s the fact that ethanol damages engines and that the patchwork of ethanol standards across the country causes unnecessary price spikes and shortages. And if all of that weren’t enough, ethanol drives deforestation around the world and it starves third world populations and harms the environment too!
But of course there are many other programs that simply fail, yet never go away.
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
If a program can't get 2/3rds support then it most likely is a failure.
Although the reason the Dems want to move primaries in front of the Iowa caucuses is because they are self-hating, anti-white racists, it still might be a good idea if this undermines the ethanol cabal who requires all candidates to pledge their allegiance to ethanol to have any hopes of doing well in the caucuses.
“Ethanol is an industry that enjoys no natural market.”
Humans have been drinking ethanol for thousands of years.
Ethanol is also widely used as a solvent and as a feedstock for lots of industrial processes. It’s not just for drinking or burning.
“Among all currently married adults in 2016, 76% of men and 77% of women were in their first marriage.”
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/marriages-and-divorces.html
Most marriages last. A few people marry serially, making averages look awful.
They really need to sunset the ethanol business I doubt it will ever happen
This article starts out by talking about marriages failing and then makes an abrupt jump to talking about ethanol. Kind of a bait and switcheroo.
I recall reading lately that that fifty percent stat which we’ve been hearing since the seventies was debunked. So it’s been re-bunked?
...starts out all hearts and diamonds...
...but in the end, all you want is a club and a spade.
;)
I was good at marriage. I’ve done it once, and it lasted until she passed.
Divorcing an alcoholic spouse?
.
I learned quite a bit from reading it, don’t marry ethanol.
Same here, wife and I met last semester in college, graduated in 1970, married in 1971. We had 2 children. Had a good marriage.
She died in 2018, after 47 years of marriage.
I married again 3 years ago. Here I am at 75 starting over again. We are an illogical couple, we both agree that God put us together.
We spent 37 wonderful years together. She was my perfect mate. 27 months later, I still don’t quite know how to get through life without her. I miss her profoundly.
Repeats the old canard “50% end in divorce”. No, 50% of people ever married are divorced at given time.
Not that I have great faith in American ability to stay in commitment.
It was debunked long ago. I heard about that in the ‘90s.
Or was it the spouse was the reason for drinking the ethanol?
I’m very sorry. Would not try to give you advice.
My wife died of a heart attack, and I was holding her when she died. She never took another breath.
She had heart trouble and stints. I tried giving CPR, local EMT came then the EMT’s on the ambulance crew never got a pulse. The ER never got a pulse.
When she died, I focused more on my father. He died 1-1/2 years after my wife did at 94. His heart quit. He had quadruple bypass surgery and then later a pace maker.
So it was just me, one day at the local bank I misunderstood a conversation with the bank teller. Mulled it over in my head for about a month, then called the teller and invited her over to my house for Sunday lunch. We are both good cooks, we repeated that a number of times. We are both convinced that God put us together.
My father once told me, “when you quit, you die. and I am not ready for that yet.” He was a wise man.
He did not marry again, I did take him to see a high school classmate in Plano. They had talked by phone. She was in a care home, we took her to lunch and it was clear that she had dementia. When we got ready to go home, dad told her “we will see you later Mary”, she said no you won’t.
I’m starting over at 75. It is not the same, as before, but it is a good marriage.
God Bless you my friend. You have my respect.
Thank you. I think you understand in a way most people can’t.
The only advice I would give any fellow widower or widow is to get plenty of support.
We were taking online classes. She was sitting where I’m sitting now. I was next to her. The class ran from 9-11 PM (we’re on Eastern time.) We wet out, watched TV for an hour, and went to bed. She took her shoes off while watching TV.
About 2:30-ish, UI heard her calling for me. I got up and saw that she had fallen getting up from the john. I pulled her up, picked her up, grabbed her by the armpits to take her back to bed.
We never got there. She fell again by her side. The last thing she said was “I’m fine.” Apparently not.
27 months later, those shoes sit right where she left them. Her night table is just as she left it. I haven’t been able to get to getting rid of her clothes yet. It gives me a kind of comfort to see them when I go into our closet to get clothes for myself to wear for the day.
I miss her in every way, profoundly. But I’m making it.
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