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weswilsonI posted this as a reply in another forum after I had been called a liberal. I'd like some opinions, here.
I'm a die-hard center-of-the-road moderate.
I believe in the right to bear arms, but I also believe in that "well-regulated" part. I believe that weapons of indescriminate destruction are not covered in that right. A barrel of toxic sludge could be considered "arms" in the right hands, but that does not give you the right to store it in your basement next door.
I believe in capitalism and free enterprise. But I also believe that the keystone to capitalism is competition. Competition is what makes capitalism into the ideal tool to distribute limited resources to the public. The removal of competition is not capitalism... it is (edited:) a form of command economy. I believe the military budget is a command economy. I believe it is communist.
I believe that humanity should have a safety net for its citizens. We produce enough in this country to provide for those who fall between the cracks. The Phillips Curve insists that some people MUST fall through the cracks for our dollar to keep its value. If we had 100% employment, our dollar would inflate infinitely and lose its value. It is a moral and just thing to take care of those who help the economy by staying poor. Period.
I believe that it is in corporations best interest to remove competition. Thus, corporate self-interest is not inherantly tied to a good capitalistic economy. The obvious tool to turn loose on these enemies of free trade is the goverment. With the might of the masses at the throats of the oligarchical economists, we have natural preditors feeding on one another... and the public is served. Remember, no matter what Mises tells you, competition = capitalism.
I believe that certain things are the inevitable job of the goverment. I propose reducing government if all possible, but the moment that the potency of the "will of the people" is reduced, we have one ravenous predator who is unchecked by the other. It is always in our best interest to have an organized force of unionized americans, but we should never get them wet and we should never feed them after midnight.
Do I sound like a liberal to you?
I'm a die-hard center-of-the-road moderate.
I believe in the right to bear arms, but I also believe in that "well-regulated" part. I believe that weapons of indescriminate destruction are not covered in that right. A barrel of toxic sludge could be considered "arms" in the right hands, but that does not give you the right to store it in your basement next door.
I believe in capitalism and free enterprise. But I also believe that the keystone to capitalism is competition. Competition is what makes capitalism into the ideal tool to distribute limited resources to the public. The removal of competition is not capitalism... it is (edited:) a form of command economy. I believe the military budget is a command economy. I believe it is communist.
I believe that humanity should have a safety net for its citizens. We produce enough in this country to provide for those who fall between the cracks. The Phillips Curve insists that some people MUST fall through the cracks for our dollar to keep its value. If we had 100% employment, our dollar would inflate infinitely and lose its value. It is a moral and just thing to take care of those who help the economy by staying poor. Period.
I believe that it is in corporations best interest to remove competition. Thus, corporate self-interest is not inherantly tied to a good capitalistic economy. The obvious tool to turn loose on these enemies of free trade is the goverment. With the might of the masses at the throats of the oligarchical economists, we have natural preditors feeding on one another... and the public is served. Remember, no matter what Mises tells you, competition = capitalism.
I believe that certain things are the inevitable job of the goverment. I propose reducing government if all possible, but the moment that the potency of the "will of the people" is reduced, we have one ravenous predator who is unchecked by the other. It is always in our best interest to have an organized force of unionized americans, but we should never get them wet and we should never feed them after midnight.
Do I sound like a liberal to you?
no subject
Date: 2007-03-01 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-01 02:16 pm (UTC)That being said...I do think our core values are being erroded in this country. This country was founded by a group of men wishing to escape religous persecution. Now religion and God are being removed from everything at a alarming rate.
One of my key beefs living in Texas right now is the illegal immigrants. In the past 10 years the population of my town has had a huge surge in hispanic population. Almost none of them are legal. Why aren't we kicking their asses back over the border? Instead we give them free medical care which has nearly bankrupted the local hospital district and raised the cost to the point I meet my insurance deductible the first time I step through the door. They are getting social security checks. If they squat out a kid on American soil the kid is a citizen. That is complete crap. There were here illegally and should not have been here to have that kid.
The school district in which I work spends outrageous money each year on free and reduced lunch. We have schools were 90% of the student population gets a free lunch. Don't get me wrong...I don't think we should let these kids go hungry. The issue is that their parent's don't show enough income. Why? Because they are illegal and most of their income is unreported. And its unreported because they are illegal. So why is the kid even there?
My district is also spending incredible amounts of money to recruit bilingual teachers because the vast part of the hispanic population does not speak english.
Try jumping over our north or south border illegally and demand free health care, free money, free food, and that everybody address you in your native language.
End rant.