On socialism and capitalism
25/12/12 11:05
I don’t see how anyone wants to argue about capitalism versus socialism. We’re no more capitalist than the USSR was communist. Really. We have subsidies for industries, instituted by conservatives, mind you, and lots of other practices that aren’t pure capitalism. How about defense, infrastructure, national initiatives like space travel, and more? And rightly so.
The issue is what services do we want to provide, and what don’t we want? And then, how do we pay? I reckon we want a social safety net, national health insurance so everyone’s covered and the cost is minimized to support national competitiveness, and investments and incentives for behavior that boosts us as a country. Add some defense, and some environmentalism.
I’m not asking for big government, I’m asking for right government, and a fair fiscal policy to support it. And the conservative movement since Reagan has been exactly the opposite, despite exaggerated blather to the contrary. Let me add “do the research” to Bill Clinton’s “do the math”.
The biggest government spending has been under conservatives, and the lowest taxation. If the government were a consumer we’d cut up its credit cards! But we wouldn’t quit the day job. Now we’ve got to pay the piper. We’ve got to invest to get the country growing again, and then we can look to streamline government, matching revenue to services. Yes, we trim waste, but not core services (read: education).
Look, we’ve had 30+ years to prove that unregulated business doesn’t lead to trickle down. Anyone pushing that barrow is just greedy or stupid (or both). Let’s get back to a time when you could get rich, but not quickly without paying your dues. Let’s get back to a set of values that says we pay for what we receive, and our effort is rewarded.
And to skewer another canard, stop that ‘those folks don’t want to work’. Sure, there are those fatheads, but there always have been. We need to provide programs to give them legitimate opportunity, and track them. If they don’t do the effort, they don’t get rewards. That’s just sensible.
The issue is what services do we want to provide, and what don’t we want? And then, how do we pay? I reckon we want a social safety net, national health insurance so everyone’s covered and the cost is minimized to support national competitiveness, and investments and incentives for behavior that boosts us as a country. Add some defense, and some environmentalism.
I’m not asking for big government, I’m asking for right government, and a fair fiscal policy to support it. And the conservative movement since Reagan has been exactly the opposite, despite exaggerated blather to the contrary. Let me add “do the research” to Bill Clinton’s “do the math”.
The biggest government spending has been under conservatives, and the lowest taxation. If the government were a consumer we’d cut up its credit cards! But we wouldn’t quit the day job. Now we’ve got to pay the piper. We’ve got to invest to get the country growing again, and then we can look to streamline government, matching revenue to services. Yes, we trim waste, but not core services (read: education).
Look, we’ve had 30+ years to prove that unregulated business doesn’t lead to trickle down. Anyone pushing that barrow is just greedy or stupid (or both). Let’s get back to a time when you could get rich, but not quickly without paying your dues. Let’s get back to a set of values that says we pay for what we receive, and our effort is rewarded.
And to skewer another canard, stop that ‘those folks don’t want to work’. Sure, there are those fatheads, but there always have been. We need to provide programs to give them legitimate opportunity, and track them. If they don’t do the effort, they don’t get rewards. That’s just sensible.
