Showroom Of Compassion
2011 | Rock
“You’ll receive the federal funding, you can have a hefty grant. -- Strategize the presentation, make them see that you’re the man.”
Trivia
- The album was recorded in a studio the band built in Sacramento, it was solar-powered & took over five years to build.
- Lead vocalist John McCrea & trumpet player Vince DiFiore are the only original members.
- The band was formed in Sacramento in 1991 & it's first single was Rock & Roll Lifestyle.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
I'm a man of univeral truths. These things are always true, in all times and places. Things such as: 1) I hate the state. 2) I value autonomy more than security. 3) I love Cake. Anyway, let's get to it. The lyrics are pitched at a nice, slow pace. Easy to digest. What we're dealing with here is the various things that tax dollars go to, presented in the weird, whimsical Cake way. You can add another wing to the government. You can take people out to extravagant dinners. You can pay your family members inflated sums for services and performances. It's easy to do! Fill out the grant form, do a bit of basic research...and bam! The limitless printing and taxing power of the ultimate power on earth--government--is yours! It's such a joke when you look at it through this cynical lens, but there you have it. The question with government is never "who has the best proposal," but rather "who is the favorite?" As a bit of an illustration, once upon a time I had an extremely short-run job delivering auto parts to various body shops. My boss, who had been in the business for many years, told me one day that the city government has a fleet of vehicles and there's a bidding process every year to see what auto parts supplier gets to earn the business. However, there was a 0% chance that we could win this contract. Why? Someone on city council has a brother who runs an auto parts store, so they always get the contract. You see, you have to make a proposal for all of the parts the city needs, nothing can be split up. And the city councilman ensures there is a part on the list that doesn't actually exist. A genuine offer cannot be made for this part, so only the chosen favorite store makes an offer than "includes" this part and wins. Corruption at its finest.
Sherry Voluntary
Nepotism. It’s been called the easiest and most unimaginative form of corruption. That said, the ease and how widespread it is make nepotism a very common and damaging form of corruption. It can sew such resentment in a company that it can destroy job satisfaction, employee retainment, and affect the bottom line. Whenever there is a perception of unfairness it trips the sense that most humans have about fairness and sets up a system where people stop caring about their job and the quality of the work they do. No one wants to put their effort into doing promotion worthy work and knowing there is no way to get ahead because you don’t know the right people, or have the right last name. Politics is, has been, and always will be rife with nepotism for both big and small positions and advantages. Lucrative government contracts are good trade in the land of the nepotists. I don’t think any of us are surprised when people who steal from us, also participate in corruption. I like this song. It’s message is that nepotism is bad, and that’s good.
Nicky P
I'd like to counter Sherry a little bit. I think nepotism is a natural thing. The issue is that in a situation where profit motive and customer happiness are the primary feedback a company receives, the issue tends to work itself out naturally. The issue truly begins with a funding model that doesn't require customer feedback. Federal funding subverts the model. It disconnects the product/service from the customers because it's going to get paid for no matter what. You add to this the fact that so many of the people making these decisions aren't even elected officials. The "deep state" as its sometimes referred to is a perfect example of how nepotism in tandem with government subsidization can destroy a nation. I think most libertarians would tell you its why private property and profit motive are the best ways to keep negative incentives under control. It always comes back to incentives.