These are perilous times to believe in liberty. Because I oppose Obama’s plan for expanding government, people assume I was for Bush’s expansion of government, his wars, etc. Such is the world through the lenses of left-vs-right glasses.
I’ve been lumped together with neo-cons, called a Republican agent and faced comments like: “You Republicans want taxes to kill people in Iraq, while Democrats want taxes to *save* people in America.”
I’ll note that I voted for neither McCain nor Obama – neither the old white guy who believed in bank bailouts and expanding foreign, undeclared wars, nor the young black guy who believes in bank bailouts and expanding foreign, undeclared wars.
The opponents of socialized healthcare are demonized, just as the opponents of the Iraq war were demonized. In both cases, it’s ordinary people resisting the power of government. In both cases, dissenters are portrayed as fringe, radical and irrelevant, and the conflict is crammed into a paradigm of left-versus-right. In both cases, it’s an uphill battle for those of us who oppose an expansion of government.
Anyway, here are some flame wars, and excerpts from emails I’ve received from friends about their own struggles. Esoteridactyl, you have my thanks and admiration.
I got dragged into a facebook flame war on the subject. Someone posted about how “stupid those stupid fucking townhall protesters are”. I had to comment that, well, many people have very serious concerns and willfully mis-representing their arguments does disservice to oneself.
Anyway, we went back and forth a few rounds on that, until I delivered the closer: I support the interpretation that Roe v Wade guarantees certain privacy rights; how can you oppose gov’t intrusion into fertility, but support it for every other health decision. The sputtering rage was priceless.
so, i am officially out of the closet on health care, at least on facebook. and i hate to admit it, but im so scared everyone i know is going to hate me :( or that i wont have the energy or will to effectively argue the position. this shit is hard!
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its just such a frustrating thing to have to keep reassuring people that i dont want to kill all the poor people.
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oh boy, here we go: “Dude, I’m sorry but if you keep on this townhall-meeting propaganda status kick, I might have to defriend you, just a warning.”
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i feel like im having an argument with myself a year ago
Comment wars on Reddit. I should have known better than to bring the ideas of economic freedom to a post about one their most sacred cows, subsidies of alternative energy. I’ve since learned that most liberty-minded people are hiding out in the Libertarian subreddit, leaving politics and economics for the statists.
rangerkozak -6 points 15 days ago[-]
Here in Iowa, I know a guy in the bio-diesel industry who readily admits it’s complete bullshit, but if you close your eyes, tap your ruby slippers together and say “bio-diesel” or “sustainable” or “electric car”, then money begins to fall from the sky.
Problem is, the money is taken from you and me at the point of a gun. This is nothing but a giant subsidy of less efficient energy production which wouldn’t be able to compete in a free market.
ParanoydAndroid 13 points 15 days ago* [-]
This is nothing but a giant subsidy of less efficient energy production which wouldn’t be able to compete in a free market.
Exactly. Since this technology wouldn’t be able to compete in the open market, it wouldn’t get developed. This way we provide the money, the technology gets developed and improved, the efficiency increases, and then it becomes marketable without subsidies.
Suddenly everyone has cheaper fuel sources, renewable energy makes our lifestyle more sustainable, and everyone wins.
Or we could keep rabble-rousing about how since the technology is bad right now then that it means it could never, ever improve our lives at any point in the future, whatever floats your boat.
rangerkozak -6 points 15 days ago[-]
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.” ~George Orwell
captainwasabi -1 points 14 days ago[+] (0 children)
Think of it this way. It’s a new weapon to use against the middle east. It’s weapons research. That should satisfy your tiny repubtard mind.
bad_llama 6 points 15 days ago* [-]
Problem is, the money is taken from you and me at the point of a gun.
Stop with the hyperbole.
rangerkozak -1 points 15 days ago[+] (22 children)
This is no hyperbole. If you want to see the guns and just how real they are, then stop paying your taxes.
Our government’s benevolence is financed by money taken from us under threat of violence.
This is no hyperbole. If you want to see the guns and just how real they are, then stop paying your taxes. Our government’s benevolence is financed by money taken from us under threat of violence.Braggs 3 points 15 days ago[+] (0 children)
Going even further, if the government would have kept its nose out of the commercial sector in the first place (i.e. subsidies on gasoline/diesel vehicles and petroleum products) then the increased prices (due to lack of government funding) would have already forced the commercial sector to provide more economical alternatives. What is happening is the government competing against itself.
bad_llama 3 points 15 days ago* [+] (19 children)
You live in a society that has a governing body. You are represented in this governing body. You can vote, you can protest, you can debate freely. There are a million and one ways to make a change in this system. If you don’t like something (like the ways our taxes are spent) you are free to try to change it. The thing is, everyone else in this society has a say in how it operates (how it spends taxes) as well. If you have a compelling argument and can sway the people in the society to agree with you, change will happen in your favor. If you don’t have a compelling argument, society will not agree with you and things will keep moving along with or without you.
Let me say again, you live in a society. That is a fact. Nothing you can do will change this. Everything you do affects others and everything others do affects you. Everyone gives and takes according to the agreed upon rules. That is how a society functions and this is how a society advances.
rangerkozak comment score below threshold[+] (17 children)
rangerkozak -6 points 15 days ago* [-]The fact of a society is no excuse for a tyranny. What in our Constitution gives government the right to redistribute wealth from some industries to others???
Speaking of facts, in America, 1/6th of the labor force is employed DIRECTLY BY GOVERNMENT. (source)
The taxes on every five people support the salary (and benefits) of a sixth. So I would be very, very hesitant to call for more government programs, more government spending, more government good ideas.
Yes, we live in a society. I’m not calling for anarchy, I’m calling for economic freedom, and you should too.
The fact of a society is no excuse for a tyranny. What in our Constitution gives government the right to redistribute wealth from some industries to others??? Speaking of facts, in America, 1/6th of the labor force is employed DIRECTLY BY GOVERNMENT. ([source](http://www.lostrepublic.com/archives/637)) The taxes on every five people support the salary (and benefits) of a sixth. So I would be very, very hesitant to call for more government programs, more government spending, more government good ideas. Yes, we live in a society. I’m not calling for anarchy, I’m calling for economic freedom, and you should too.[deleted] 5 points 15 days ago[-]
There are countries that operate as you suggest. The problem is they are dirt-poor and nobody wants to live there.
Look around at all the really good countries – the countries where it is possible to accumulate wealth and have a nice life-style. Do you notice how those countries all have taxes and social programs and strong central governments?
Maybe your “economic freedom” fantasy just doesn’t work as well as you think.
rangerkozak -5 points 15 days ago[-]
The fantasy is the success of centrally-planned economies. There is tremendous evidence suggesting that liberty works best:
* West German vs East Germany
* South Korea vs North Korea
* Hong Kong in the 80s vs China in the 80s
* Estonia vs Latvia or Lithuania
* Botswana vs the rest of Africa
* Chile vs the rest of S. AmericaThis debate was settled (again) when the Berlin wall fell, at yet socialist ideas continue to rise from the grave. I’ll never understand the public’s lust for tyranny.
Recommend Hayek’s Road to Serfdom
dethbunny 1 point 15 days ago* [-]
Chile? The same Chile that was ruled by Augusto Pinochet for 16 years? What a shining beacon of liberty! . . . .
rangerkozak -2 points 14 days ago[-]
Obviously, Pinochet was a murderous dictator, and deserved the condemnation he receives. In everything but economics, he was a tyrant.
If you care to to look at economics, however: The Global Competitiveness Report for 2007-2008 ranks Chile as being the 26th most competitive country in the world and the first in Latin America
WRT Scandinavia in general, and Sweden in particular, there are some good excerpted essays here which cast doubt on the common perception. They are authored by Swedes.
A smart comment I saw on reddit in response to this article:
genius_in_progress 6 points7 points8 points 2 hours ago* [+] (1 child)
Brilliant article!
The US government actively pursues policies that both drive up demand and drive down supply.
To drive supply down:* Professional licensure and immigration restrictions artificially limit the supply of physicians
* Perverse incentives at the FDA regarding safety and efficacy standards artificially restrict the supply of medication
* A large regulatory burden and a prohibition against selling health insurance across state lines artificially restrict the supply of insuranceTo drive demand up:
* Publicly funded programs encourage over-use (Medicare and Medicaid)
* Tort law encourages doctors to order excessive tests and procedures, to avoid malpractice suits
* Tax incentives for employers to shop for insurance on behalf of their employees. If employees chose their own insurance, they would likely opt for lower premiums and higher deductibles, and would therefore be more selective about what health care expenses they incurIf that’s not a recipe for high prices, I don’t know what is.
I feel the need to point out that the friend who threatened to defriend me for my townhallieness, aka Blue Paint blob above, had a picture of Castro on her wall on during college. so yeah, im actually surprised she was willing to admit i had some ‘decent’ points.
if youre going to link to my blog i should probably update it at some point… :)
The pressure is on.