Skylar
Diamond Member
- Jul 5, 2014
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And government didn't. That was the people's job, not government's.
The idea that government should take care of the people, is distinctly Un-American. And it is wrong. Because it simply doesn't work. It fails every time it's tried.
Lets explore this a little. What has failed every time its tried, specifically? Something like universal healthcare has failed ever time? Social security has failed every single time? Public education has failed every single time? Anti-discrimination laws have failed every single time? State funded higher education has failed every single time? Environmental regulation has failed every single time?
Because there are nations all over the planet using those policies to varying degrees. Some far more than we are. And they're still here. Some are quite prosperous. So how do you reconcile the existence of what you insist can't exist? The success of what you insist has to fail?
There's genuine room for disagreement, on degree, on specific policy. As reality isn't a binary switch, where its either lassie faire capitalism or collapse. There's plenty of middle ground.
And that is where I think where many people have lost the ability to perceive. They get caught up in oversimplification, in bumpersticker slogans, in polarization. Where anything but what they believe must be wrong, ignorant and dangerous. And there seems to be a far higher priority placed on ideological purity over practical, pragmatic results. Which is fucking stupid in my opinion. There's plenty of room in between the polar extremes. In fact, that's where almost everyone lives.
The ideologically 'pure' are some lonely motherfuckers.
There are a growing number of people who don't see that. But their ignorance and misguided notions don't make it right. They push the notion of robbing Peter to pay Paul, by pointing out how much good it does for Paul. While glossing over the fact that it's grossly unfair to Peter, and eventually persuades Peter to stop producing or accumulating any wealth. And so the whole country slides downhill as a result.
That sounds like the last chapter of Atlas Shrugged. Where all the rich people moved to Colorado because they were taxed and regulated. But that's fantasy. We've had far higher taxes in the past than we do now and we did just fine. The idea unless we drop tax rates the wealthy and successful are just going to stop working is beyond silly. It hasn't happened. Even at a much higher tax rate, there are still enormous rewards to be had from working, inventing, building and growing. And people are going to keep doing it.
The entire premise of your argument is literally nonsense.
Those people will also scream how much it would hurt Paul if the program were stopped. While still ignoring the fact that it's far more unfair to Peter to keep it going. Or they will say Peter deserved to be robbed for some reason. They are lying.
Taxation isn't theft. We all have to pay for programs we don't like. You're outraged by say, school lunches for children? Someone else is pissed about military spending. Or highway block grants. Or subsidization of corporation farms. The idea that unless you agree with every policy, you're being 'robbed' is blithering nonsense.
The fundamental problem on both the left and right in regards to government spending is this: we want more than we're willing to pay for. And we punish politicians who either take away the services we demand, or insist on raising taxes to match their actual price tag. Leaving deficit spending the only politically viable way for them to move forward.