# Legally can the federal government now force you to buy a Chevrolet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 31, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959 "2012-07-31T15:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/121 "2012-08-01T14:50:37Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, anyone. There was no reason for the private sector to develop those technologies because the private sector had no use for computing power. Whatever you are smoking, I’d like some. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/122 "2012-08-01T15:25:11Z")
> [@XT](#): > > The private sector couldn’t do that because, well, what’s the ROI on something like that? For the private sector, the ROI would probably be pretty small. But without having any figures at my fingertips, I’d guess that the ROI for the public sector has been massive: consider the amount of taxable commerce enabled by interstate system. ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/123 "2012-08-01T15:28:04Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > The is either flat out lying or being comfortable with selling people one thing and switching what you told them you were selling at the last minute and having them not have the opportunity to back out of the deal. BOTH of those options are unethical. These guys are politicians and lawyers. Could you name one of them that don’t do the above? I’m serious. You’re holding Obama to a standard and I’d like to see some evidence that you know of other politicians who have held to it. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/124 "2012-08-01T15:30:12Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > For the private sector, the ROI would probably be pretty small. But without having any figures at my fingertips, I’d guess that the ROI for the public sector has been massive: consider the amount of taxable commerce enabled by interstate system. I’d guess that the ROI for the public has been a lot less than you think, especially when you consider it took decades to really reach it’s current levels of usefulness…and it basically cost the world. In adjusted dollars I wouldn’t be surprised if we weren’t talking hundreds of billions of dollars…maybe trillions if we count all the costs over time (expansion, maintenance, enforcement and public safety costs, etc etc). Granted, it’s utility is pretty much unquestioned…now. And it’s allowed for a much more flexible system than the rail system, which we’d probably still be using (with some massive refinements) had we not built an interstate road network. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/125 "2012-08-01T15:43:29Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Hmmm. Ponder, if you will, why I _first_ provided a link to the beginnings of the internet—stating that the government _did_ play a role—and _then_ chose these words to point to TBL’s contribution: So you agree with me then. Thanks for the clarification! > [@XT](#): > > No developing the internet…not early funding. Chimera is claiming that the government BUILT the thing. Again, the government didn’t build the internet, at least not past the initial development stages. They funded much of the early technology, and funded various parts of it, but ‘the government’ (by which I assume Chimera meant the US government) didn’t build it. Hell, even if you are gun-ho on government being the be all and end all, it’s insulting to OTHER governments that had a hand in the internet as it is today. You wandered into the thread to provide a link to something I didn’t say and was basically a strawman of MY position rather nebulous position (i.e. you were responding to some Republican/Conservative assertions that, I take it, the government had no role at all in developing the internet…again, not something I said), claiming I was ‘wrong’. The US government is the primary party responsible for the creation of the internet and laying the groundwork for everyone else to take advantage of it. I really don’t see much difference in your explanation and Chimera saying that the government built the internet The point of this discussion, presumably, is to credit where government has done a good job. The internet could not have possibly been created without government help, and not only that, of all the different parties responsible for it, I’d say the government deserves the most credit. Now if people want to break it down to specifics to try and minimize the credit the government deserves, like saying so-and-so made this particularly specific part of the internet and they deserve credit, then they are just nitpicking ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/126 "2012-08-01T15:47:26Z")
[QUOTE=YogSosoth] The US government is the primary party responsible for the creation of the internet and laying the groundwork for everyone else to take advantage of it. I really don’t see much difference in your explanation and Chimera saying that the government built the internet [/QUOTE] So, you give Ford the credit for building the world wide automobile manufacturing industry today then? Edison the credit for building the power grid? Or do you give the US government the credit for both of those things as well? After all, they were involved in both to one degree or another. It’s basically the same assertion that the (US) government built the internet. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/127 "2012-08-01T15:53:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Could be. I can’t prove it, but then I don’t those who give government credit for all these technologies can prove that they deserve the bulk of the credit. > > Having your finger in every pie doesn’t give you credit for every pie. I agree - saying the government built the internet is taking it way too far. But the government more or less invented it and started it up. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/128 "2012-08-01T15:56:08Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > This. If you don’t have insurance and you can afford it, you’re one of the people fucking up the system and making it more expensive for the responsible people. No one gives a shit if you own a car. What about if you can afford it but you don’t need it, ever… ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/129 "2012-08-01T16:01:06Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > What about if you can afford it but you don’t need it, ever… How many people from birth to the grave never at any point in their lives need any medical care of any kind? Anyone? The Highlander? Wolverine? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/130 "2012-08-01T16:06:34Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > How many people from birth to the grave never at any point in their lives need any medical care of any kind? Anyone? The Highlander? Wolverine? Because you might need some kind of medical care does not equate to needing medical INSURANCE. You only need that if the benefits of having it outweigh the costs of buying it. For some folks, obviously, the benefits outweigh the costs. And for others (equally obviously, otherwise the whole system would collapse) their costs outweigh the benefits. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/131 "2012-08-01T16:06:41Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > How many people from birth to the grave never at any point in their lives need any medical care of any kind? Anyone? The Highlander? Wolverine? I was about to post this, but then I realized he said health care _insurance._ If you’re a billionaire, you’ll need health care, but not insurance to pay for it. Not sure if that was his point. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/132 "2012-08-01T17:00:57Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > So you agree with me then. Thanks for the clarification! It depends. If by “agree with you” you mean that you have a reading comprehension problem and accused me of saying things I did not, then absolutely, I agree with you. You know, usually when that is done inadvertently, the poster—you—would feel an urge to apologize. It must be nice not being burdened by such a compunction. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/133 "2012-08-01T17:03:59Z")
> [@AlienVessels](#): > > These guys are politicians and lawyers. Could you name one of them that don’t do the above? I’m serious. You’re holding Obama to a standard and I’d like to see some evidence that you know of other politicians who have held to it. You make a good point, but I think that The President elevates himself to a special status. So, yes, I expect more from him. Especially one who ran on a promise of Change the way he did. And just because they all lie and obfuscate doesn’t mean that those behavior shouldn’t be vilified when they come to the fore. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/134 "2012-08-01T17:13:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > What good is a fission reactor? Really, in the long run scheme of things? Isn’t the fission reactor just something we use while waiting for something useful? > > That’s my point, eventually some company will figure out how to make fusion or antimatter work, and some people will claim that if not for the fission reactor, it wouldn’t have been possible. Which is true as far as it goes, but it’s still crediting the molehill for the mountain. I seriously doubt anyone but the government will get us fusion either. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/135 "2012-08-01T17:14:33Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > You make a good point, but I think that The President elevates himself to a special status. So, yes, I expect more from him. Especially one who ran on a promise of Change the way he did. And just because they all lie and obfuscate doesn’t mean that those behavior shouldn’t be vilified when they come to the fore. What exactly was this lie? It needs to be documented, and then we need to decide whether it was a factual matter or a matter or opinion or interpretation, before anyone makes an accusation that someone lied. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/136 "2012-08-01T17:28:13Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > I agree - saying the government built the internet is taking it way too far. But the government more or less invented it and started it up. They invented the primitive version, the private sector tapped its true potential. But if you really want to be technical, individual inventors like Edison get credit for everything. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/137 "2012-08-01T17:31:50Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > What exactly was this lie? It needs to be documented, and then we need to decide whether it was a factual matter or a matter or opinion or interpretation, before anyone makes an accusation that someone lied. :roll eyes: Please read the exchanges. When you do you will see that your question is unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![AlienVessels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba8739/32.png) [@AlienVessels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlienVessels)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/138 "2012-08-01T17:33:02Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > You make a good point, but I think that The President elevates himself to a special status. So, yes, I expect more from him. Especially one who ran on a promise of Change the way he did. And just because they all lie and obfuscate doesn’t mean that those behavior shouldn’t be vilified when they come to the fore. It’s inherent to the process. You have to accomplish things in the context of political reality. This has been the climate from the beginning. IMO, you expect more from Obama because you set a higher bar for him. Name a successful President that didn’t lie. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/139 "2012-08-01T17:41:20Z")
Name a President who ran as a different kind of political leader, and who accused his opponent of practicing the old politics. Obama took advantage of people’s hopes that this time it was different, that he would not be like all those other politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959/140 "2012-08-01T17:42:08Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Name a President who ran as a different kind of political leader, and who accused his opponent of practicing the old politics. Probably about half of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legally-can-the-federal-government-now-force-you-to-buy-a-chevrolet/629959.md?page=8)