What domestic issues concern you the most? (mission, faith, Articles)

[DreamQuickBook]

Originally Posted by nonobjective

and IMHO... the Randian 'blame the poor for their poor-ness' argument has no relevence other than the academic of abstract conversations in coffee houses and velvet-and-oak drawing rooms.

Not a fan of Ayn Rand eh? Damn shame. She is one of the very few true heroes I've come to love and adore. Of course, I don't think she ever blames the poor for being poor. I think she merely blames the poor for using guns to enslave the minds of more ambitious and successful individuals. Such despicable greed is not to be admired, in my opinion. However, I am much more compassionate than Ayn was; I deeply believe in charity and taking care of ones' family and ones' community. If we all took care of our families and communities, poverty would be much less and we would all be more free. Sadly, the easiest way to deter poverty is through the use of force and greed...yet, I wonder if it has been any kind of solution at all. For all the the social problems out there, it is hard to tell that the government is throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at them. lol Government is always a bad solution to every problem...necessary as it may be. Of course, some spirits are more easily ruled than others. Some people more desperate for security.

Obviously, we all have a duty to care for each other (Rand would disagree) - but that duty should be conducted freely and not through force. The use of government takes all the virtue out of the process. Makes compassion a vicious thing.

[Aqualung]

Originally Posted by nonobjective

Poverty (and healthcare).

As the wealthiest nation on the planet, I think it to be a reasonable expectation that we (the U.S.) could work at bringing down that 12% poverty rate.

and IMHO... the Randian 'blame the poor for their poor-ness' argument has no relevence other than the academic of abstract conversations in coffee houses and velvet-and-oak drawing rooms.

when dealing with real humans and real lives, it just falls flat and reeks of classism.

i do appreciate how difficult an issue poverty is to fix, and we can't just throw money at the impoverished and hope that solves it. similar to just about all the other issues on the survey, it's largely the result of and outcome of many other problems we as a society have and are currently facing. one can't 'fix' poverty without fixing the myriad interdependent issues.

While I definitely agree that poverty is a huge issue, I also feel that the government has gotten too big already and it needs to stop forcing me to care (by making me pay taxes). This first thing I checked was lower taxes and decrease govt spending. I don't think the government has any business telling me what to care for and what to spend my money on. If I cared about poor people I will pay for them on my own. (Now, don't anybody go misinterpreting my quotes. I do care about poor people, people who don't get medical coverage, and all that sort of thing. But it isn't the government's job to make me care if it be that I don't, or to force me to pay for programs that I don't want to pay for.)

[Sunstone]

I find it interesting that no one has yet expressed the view that terrorism is a major concern of theirs.

[almifkhar]

for me i think that figuring out a way to preserve the environment while creating a new industry that preserves the environment while creating jobs would be the best way to go. education and civil liberties are next on the list of things to do, and last but not least is to fire all of these corrupt thugs in the big seats of government. these are the things that concern me. for if we can't get these things done, i feel our country is doomed.

[DreamQuickBook]

Originally Posted by Sunstone

I find it interesting that no one has yet expressed the view that terrorism is a major concern of theirs.

I'm not worried about it. I fully expect it to happen. It's a part of war. I live just outside of DC. So... I do worry about a giant Mushroom cloud on the Horizon. However, I don't think we can stop it.

[nonobjective]

Originally Posted by Aqualung

While I definitely agree that poverty is a huge issue, I also feel that the government has gotten too big already and it needs to stop forcing me to care (by making me pay taxes). This first thing I checked was lower taxes and decrease govt spending. I don't think the government has any business telling me what to care for and what to spend my money on. If I cared about poor people I will pay for them on my own. (Now, don't anybody go misinterpreting my quotes. I do care about poor people, people who don't get medical coverage, and all that sort of thing. But it isn't the government's job to make me care if it be that I don't, or to force me to pay for programs that I don't want to pay for.)

I agree with you that the government is too large and too often incredibly inefficient - or at the very least proportioned incorrectly.

However if we are to talk about cutting back on domestic and social policy spending, we should also talk about cutting back on the mother-of-all tax expenses, Mr. 51% of our entire tax bill: the military. and by military i am mostly referring to armament and reforming the practice of bloated no-bid defense contracts. I do not support cuts to the troop levels or cuts to member and family benefits.

the constitution mandates that our government protects us... not just from foreign states or terrorists... but also from poverty, malnutrition, unnecessary death and disease, etc.

now... Aqualung, for clarity's sake, i want to repeat that I DO agree with you - at least in theory that we ultimately need less red tape, less beurocracy, less state control over our liberties (re: patriot act)... However i think we have a lot of work to do before we can get to that point, and we would only be setting our selves up for failure if we were to start cutting programs that benefit human lives while bolstering corporate-heavy benefits.


thanks for the interesting discussion!

...now let us beat our swords in to plowshares...

[Lintu]

I too want less government involvement in my life. If they aren't going to do things fairly (by unfair I mean such things as not making people payout for social security after 86k in income), forget them. I also want less of a religious influence in the government. I mostly just want to be left alone to do whatever I want, so long as it does not infringe on anyone else.

Outside of that, I'm very concerned about environmental issues and renewable energy development.

[Aqualung]

Originally Posted by nonobjective

However if we are to talk about cutting back on domestic and social policy spending, we should also talk about cutting back on the mother-of-all tax expenses, Mr. 51% of our entire tax bill: the military. and by military i am mostly referring to armament and reforming the practice of bloated no-bid defense contracts. I do not support cuts to the troop levels or cuts to member and family benefits.

Pretty much I agree, but and I don't want our military cut back at all. I'm not really too good on what exactly the military budget is spent on, but I think it could get more efficient and that would save us a lot.

the constitution mandates that our government protects us... not just from foreign states or terrorists... but also from poverty, malnutrition, unnecessary death and disease, etc.

And I think the best way to do that is to restrict the government as far as possible. Look at communist russia, for example. They tried to do all that by providing everybody with a job and completely taking over everything. What happened? Everybody was much worse off than before. A free society, on the other hand, promotes competition, which in turn promotes innovation, etc (I can't list out all the steps...) which in turn raises everybody's standard of living. Everything is better when the government just steps back and lets people's actuall wants and needs take over, not by controlling what it thinks our wants and needs are.

now... Aqualung, for clarity's sake, i want to repeat that I DO agree with you - at least in theory that we ultimately need less red tape, less beurocracy, less state control over our liberties (re: patriot act)... However i think we have a lot of work to do before we can get to that point, and we would only be setting our selves up for failure if we were to start cutting programs that benefit human lives while bolstering corporate-heavy benefits.

Well, sure. I wasn't saying that tomorrow we should immediately stop paying for anything. Most problems take a while to right.

thanks for the interesting discussion!

You're very welcome, but I hope it isn't over yet.

...now let us beat our swords in to plowshares...

No point in beating our swords into plowshares while everyone is still making thier plowshares into swords...

[Fluffy]

Civil Liberties and Education. The latter being the most important so that the former is never undermined.