|
Comrade Tovya said: |
Fiscal - Centrist. I think people blow out of proportion the "big government" issue. If you look at the numbers, a lot of the programs that conservatives act like are ballooning the budget are actually not that expensive. I am for higher taxes during good times, lower taxes during bad times. This is one Keynsian ideal that is still pretty effective, since it helps solve deficit problems and helps prevent the ridiculous highs of the market that lead to crashes (like the DotCom bubble, crash before Depression, sub-prime mortgage policy). I am all pragmatism in terms of economic theory, and don't rely on any one theory like Keynsian economics, Friedman style conservative economics, or supply side economics. I think all have useful ideas, and there is a situation in which each of those policies has effective solutions to solving economic problems (or avoiding creating new ones). I like supply side economics the least out of those three though.
I am completely against ballooning the national debt. I think it is irresponsible, reckless, and that it will cause long term problems for the economy.
On monetary policy, inflation is the number one enemy. The Fed has irresponsibly kept interest rates lower than they should be and has meddled too much in the markets. Welfare problems are also blown out of proportion (cost a fraction of what one year in Iraq does), though I am all for independent review of government programs to determine where waste and inefficiency is occuring.
In terms of my attitude towards markets, I think that the market formula itself can solve a lot of problems. But I also think way too many people think markets can solve any problem or that markets can do no wrong. Market failures and externalities are an economic reality that are too often ignored. I am for smart regulation of industry to prevent the excessive market highs (like the one we just went through) and to prevent unnecessary externalities without imposing costs on the industries that create them.
Abortion - Fairly Liberal. I'm not necessarily for or against late term abortions and am alright with a few restrictions on abortion. But I think some restrictions are failed attempts at legislating morality, with no rational or scientific basis. For instance, allowing doctors to not have to perform abortions because it is against their religion (don't work at a place that gives abortions if this is the case!), or requiring a government mandated moralistic warning to be read before an abortion is given (yes, some states require this).
Gay rights - Very liberal. There is no rational basis for treating gay people differently. And even a lot of the religious arguments are patently untrue. For instance, the myth that marriage is a religious institution (which is sort of true, but that is not how the government treats it) or that Judeo-Christians invented marriage (completely untrue).
Civil Rights - Very liberal. I am pretty uncompromising in terms of protecting civil rights. There still is a lot of racism in this country, but the biggest thing that is ignored is how much sexism is permitted in this country. I am against government surveillance without oversight by the judiciary system. Otherwise it just opens up the system to abuse. I feel the same way about enemy combatants. No judicial oversight on how the Bush Administration has handled detainees has moved this country in the direction of fascism. Its completely unacceptable, and I am proud that the Supreme Court has intervened.
Religion - Liberal. I am a Christian myself, but I am about as for separation of church and state as a person can be. Even if we are a nation of largely Christians, that doesn't mean our government should be involved with religion. I would probably even be for forcing churches to pay taxes. I absolutely detest the Religious Right (not Christians, the Religious Right, they are different). They are essentially the American Taliban who would move our country backwards in terms of social progress if we let them.
Military - Liberal. I think the military is one of the most wasteful and expensive parts of the government. I am all for military research, but far too much deference is given to what the military and private military contractors want, and it ends up costing the taxpayers a lot of money. War is an absolute last resort in my eyes. I don't think troops should be treated like they are special either. I do respect what they do (hell, I was helping send out care packages to the troops a few days ago), but I don't give people some kind of free pass because they are in the military.
There are definitely people who are more liberal than me out there, but in terms of everything except the economy I am about as liberal as they come.
We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. –Raoul Duke
It is hard to shed anything but crocodile tears over White House speechwriter Patrick Buchanan's tragic analysis of the Nixon debacle. "It's like Sisyphus," he said. "We rolled the rock all the way up the mountain...and it rolled right back down on us...." Neither Sisyphus nor the commander of the Light Brigade nor Pat Buchanan had the time or any real inclination to question what they were doing...a martyr, to the bitter end, to a "flawed" cause and a narrow, atavistic concept of conservative politics that has done more damage to itself and the country in less than six years than its liberal enemies could have done in two or three decades. -Hunter S. Thompson
