Left vs. Right, State vs. Liberty
The United States is poised to elect into power a group of people determined to maximize the Power of the State over the Liberty of the People. The Legislature, run by Democrats, is hungry for a Democrat President to sign their bills that would further the government encroachment into the private sector. The Democrats running for the presidency are more than willing to announce that, if elected, they will do all they can to encroach on the private sector. Republicans at this time seem powerless to stop them because our top teir candidates are not rejecting the premise of the Democrats' arguements on issues such as healthcare, economics or the environment. In short, the Republicans, or at least this current crop of Republicans, are not fighting for Liberty. They are acquiescing to the demands of the Democrats that government be given more authority over the transactions that happen in the private sector. But Republicans need not do this for Liberty, when championed in an articulate manner, will always sway the American People.
Healthcare
Other than the issue in Iraq, no other issue seems to dominate the political world today like healthcare. All of the top tier Democrats hoping to win their Party's presidential nomination have unvailed a plan that would provide healthcare for every American. The premise behind this push for a "single-payer" system is that there are some 47 million people in the United States who do not have health insurance. At first glance, the number "47 million" is rather daunting and demands attention to be sure, but no one ever parses the number to see why these people are uninsured or who they are. Democrats use the number to hit on the emotional nerve of the voter and Republicans are quick to shy away from the debate for fear of being called heartless. But these questions need to be asked and debated if the voter is going to make a real, intelligent decision about healthcare.
Steffie Woolhandler and David U. Himmelstein, writing in The Boston Globe, have found that the latest numbers provided by the Census Bureau show that the majority of uninsured are "neither poor nor elderly." The Census Bureau's numbers show that "[v]irtually all of this year's increase was among families with incomes above $50,000; in fact, two-thirds of the newly uncovered were in the above-$75,000 group." Woolhandler and Himmelstein's arguement is that the middle class is being priced out of healthcare and the Census Bureau's numbers seem to back this up. (I say "seem to" because the length of time these people go without insurance is, statistically, rather short as we will see.) Is it rational to say that we need to socialize one-seventh of the economy for people who make over $50,000 a year? I will not argue that the price for healthcare needs to be delt with so as to no price the middle class out, but this is not a reason to implement a Canada-style healthcare system. Furthermore, the Democrats have painted a picture of despare among the poor and elderly in regards to healthcare in an effort to push their agenda to socialize medicine. In response, the Republicans have offered to only slightly socialize medicine, in essence giving up on the debate.
So, if the United States is going to socialize medicine for the middle class, it is important to ask how long does the middle class go without health insurance. In August 2004 Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., examined Census Bureau statistics dealing with the same subject as Woolhandler and Himmelstein did this year and he found that, on average, people do not go long without insurance. Dr. Johnson's first arguement is that the Census Bureau's year-to-year statistics, called the Current Population Survey (CPS), do not measure the numbers of uninsured accurately. He suggests that looking at the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a better when it comes to getting the full picture of uninsured Americans. When looking at SIPP you can see that the length of time families/individuals go without insurance is about 5.6 months on average and "[o]nly 3.3 percent of all Americans [go] without some kind of health insurance for four or more years."
Socialized Medicine--or "single-payer" healthcare--is not going to improve the healthcare in the United States. All it will do is increase the amount of authority that the State can weild over the individual. The State will determine who your provider is, how often you should go to the doctor and what kind treatment you can receive. Moreover, it will have a detrimental effect on the provider side of the issue with more regulations on doctors than exist now. Repubicans would be better served by arguing for less State intervention.
The Economy
The economic system of the United States has produced the wealthiest nation in the history of Man. Even our poor live high on the hog when compared to the poor of the rest of the world. Our GDP is roughly $13.2 trillion and makes up about 20 percent of the world economy. The current unemployment rate in the US is just under five percent, and it hasn't reached double digits in thirty years. And despite these numbers and the importance our economic wellbeing plays on the global stage, the Democrats are deadset against the free-market philosophy of our system. Former Clinton administration Labour Secretary Robert Reich has claimed that "supercapitalism" is bad for democracy. Senator Obama wants to raise the taxes on capital gains which will discourage investment. The Democrats in Congress want to punish mortgage lenders because the borrower can't make the payments. All of these statements is an announced desire for socialism. It's not enough that Democrats want to control the healthcare sector of the economy, but they want to control the entire economy.
Republicans have a better footing in this arguement than they do in the healthcare issue because the American People are not ready to turn the US into France. But the candidates running for the GOP's nomination are not hitting this issue hard enough. All they have to do is hold up the words of the Democrats and ask the voters if this is what they want. Voters will not choose socialism. The Democrats are using half-truths to stir up negative emotions about the economy within the voting population. For instance, the sub-prime mortgage issue has become a huge talking point for the Left. The mantra is that everyone with a mortgage on their home is having the lenders foreclose on them. This is simply not the case. Only five percent of the mortgages have resulted in foreclosure. The biggest arguement that the Left has and uses effectively is that the Bush tax cuts have only benefitted the wealthiest of Americans. But if you look at the numbers not only is the use of the term "wealthiest" wrong, but the tax cuts have benefitted all Americans.
First off, to say that a cut in income taxes helps the wealthiest of Americans is incorrect. The US does not have a wealth tax, so therefore, you cannot pay taxes on wealth, meaning money that is not earned. Second, the highest income earners in the United States are the ones who pay most of the federal income taxes. Both the IRS and the Congressional Budget Office support this claim. The IRS shows that the percentage of income taxes collected from the bottom 50 percent of income earners in 2004 was 3.3 percent. In 1994--the first year of Clinton's tax increase--the percentage for the same group was 4.77 percent. When you go from the 50 percentile to the 75 percentile the percentage in 2004 increases by 11.84 percent. The CBO shows that in 2006 the top ten percent of income earners in the United States paid 48.7 percent of the total tax share. When you look at these numbers, the conclusion that you have to come away with is that the top income earners are the ones paying the income taxes so naturally they would be the ones benefitting from an income tax cut.
Democrats use tax policy to control the lives of the People. Where there are increases, rest assured that there will not be much interaction; likewise where there are tax incentives you can be sure that there will be a rush to be a part of that. There are a few exceptions--like gas or to some extent cigarettes--to this rule, but when taxes are raised on certain actions, those actions will decrease. When an incentive is given there will be an increase in that activity. So you see, the actions of the individual are dictated by tax policy. The best arguement that the Republicans have in this debate is also the best safeguard for Liberty: the Flat Tax. One rate for all income earners with no incentives and no targetted taxes will not only foster a large economic boom, but will ensure that the federal government becomes more frugal with the money that it spends. Afterall, if Russia can implement a flat tax, why can't the United States?
The Environment
The environment has become a huge disguise for the Left's socialist agenda. They argue that in order to save the planet we must regulate industry to the point of extinction. The desire is to control how companies operate and not to save the planet. In this arguement the Republicans have completely surrenderd. The arguement should not be focused on whether or not there is global warming, but whether or not man is the sole reason for it. The Democrats and the Left are staunchly arguing that man is the culprit and because of this industry needs to be controlled. They argue that there needs to be higher CAFE standards on automobiles, even though the efficiency and cleanliness of automobiles today out perform cars produced just twenty years ago. The Left says that the US should be put under the restrictions of the Kyoto Treaty, even though that same treaty exempts China from the same restrictions. The Left also keeps us dependent on foriegn oil because they will not allow the US to drill for oil within our own territory. The response of the GOP is so silent that it is deafening.
In regards to the automobile industry, the answer should be focused on the current efficiency and cleanliness without the increase in CAFE standards. The US automobile industry is already hurting economically and having to retool their manufacturing process will only further hamper their viability. Kyoto should be refused outright because the United States should not be subject to regulation by a foriegn/global governing body, especially when the world's biggest polluter is exempt. Kyoto hits on a soveriengty issue that is a winning issue for the GOP. And the oil issue should be argued from a twofold approach: drill for oil while at the same time the energy companies come up with real, viable means of alternative fuel. The switch from oil to alternative is not going to happen over night and it will be more efficient to allow the private sector to handle the issue without government involvement. The estimated amount of oil in ANWR is said to be enough to last approximately twenty years. Well, certainly within twenty years there can be some sort of development on alternative fuels. One thing is certain, whether we get the oil from within our own borders or from the Middle East, we are still going to need oil.
The presidential election cycle of 2008 is going to be packaged as staying in Iraq or leaving Iraq. But underneath this packaging is going to be a huge debate over Statism or Liberty. As things sit right now, the Democrats are poised to win the presidency and keep control of the Legislature, leaving them with plenty of room to usher in a Statist agenda. If the GOP does not come out wholeheartedly for Liberty, not only will they loose big, but the American People will be one step closer to serfdom.
Sources:
1) Healthcare:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/17/health_reform_failure/
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/wm556.cfm
2) Taxes:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/57xx/doc5746/08-13-EffectiveFedTaxRates.pdf
(The IRS information was an Excel file and did not have a URL to paste. It can be quickly found by searching the keywords "IRS, tax returns". Sorry for the inconvienence.)
3) Robert Reich:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/18/18448185.php
There is a good video on this page. Highly recomended that you watch it to get the full story about "supercapitalism."
Healthcare
Other than the issue in Iraq, no other issue seems to dominate the political world today like healthcare. All of the top tier Democrats hoping to win their Party's presidential nomination have unvailed a plan that would provide healthcare for every American. The premise behind this push for a "single-payer" system is that there are some 47 million people in the United States who do not have health insurance. At first glance, the number "47 million" is rather daunting and demands attention to be sure, but no one ever parses the number to see why these people are uninsured or who they are. Democrats use the number to hit on the emotional nerve of the voter and Republicans are quick to shy away from the debate for fear of being called heartless. But these questions need to be asked and debated if the voter is going to make a real, intelligent decision about healthcare.
Steffie Woolhandler and David U. Himmelstein, writing in The Boston Globe, have found that the latest numbers provided by the Census Bureau show that the majority of uninsured are "neither poor nor elderly." The Census Bureau's numbers show that "[v]irtually all of this year's increase was among families with incomes above $50,000; in fact, two-thirds of the newly uncovered were in the above-$75,000 group." Woolhandler and Himmelstein's arguement is that the middle class is being priced out of healthcare and the Census Bureau's numbers seem to back this up. (I say "seem to" because the length of time these people go without insurance is, statistically, rather short as we will see.) Is it rational to say that we need to socialize one-seventh of the economy for people who make over $50,000 a year? I will not argue that the price for healthcare needs to be delt with so as to no price the middle class out, but this is not a reason to implement a Canada-style healthcare system. Furthermore, the Democrats have painted a picture of despare among the poor and elderly in regards to healthcare in an effort to push their agenda to socialize medicine. In response, the Republicans have offered to only slightly socialize medicine, in essence giving up on the debate.
So, if the United States is going to socialize medicine for the middle class, it is important to ask how long does the middle class go without health insurance. In August 2004 Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D., examined Census Bureau statistics dealing with the same subject as Woolhandler and Himmelstein did this year and he found that, on average, people do not go long without insurance. Dr. Johnson's first arguement is that the Census Bureau's year-to-year statistics, called the Current Population Survey (CPS), do not measure the numbers of uninsured accurately. He suggests that looking at the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a better when it comes to getting the full picture of uninsured Americans. When looking at SIPP you can see that the length of time families/individuals go without insurance is about 5.6 months on average and "[o]nly 3.3 percent of all Americans [go] without some kind of health insurance for four or more years."
Socialized Medicine--or "single-payer" healthcare--is not going to improve the healthcare in the United States. All it will do is increase the amount of authority that the State can weild over the individual. The State will determine who your provider is, how often you should go to the doctor and what kind treatment you can receive. Moreover, it will have a detrimental effect on the provider side of the issue with more regulations on doctors than exist now. Repubicans would be better served by arguing for less State intervention.
The Economy
The economic system of the United States has produced the wealthiest nation in the history of Man. Even our poor live high on the hog when compared to the poor of the rest of the world. Our GDP is roughly $13.2 trillion and makes up about 20 percent of the world economy. The current unemployment rate in the US is just under five percent, and it hasn't reached double digits in thirty years. And despite these numbers and the importance our economic wellbeing plays on the global stage, the Democrats are deadset against the free-market philosophy of our system. Former Clinton administration Labour Secretary Robert Reich has claimed that "supercapitalism" is bad for democracy. Senator Obama wants to raise the taxes on capital gains which will discourage investment. The Democrats in Congress want to punish mortgage lenders because the borrower can't make the payments. All of these statements is an announced desire for socialism. It's not enough that Democrats want to control the healthcare sector of the economy, but they want to control the entire economy.
Republicans have a better footing in this arguement than they do in the healthcare issue because the American People are not ready to turn the US into France. But the candidates running for the GOP's nomination are not hitting this issue hard enough. All they have to do is hold up the words of the Democrats and ask the voters if this is what they want. Voters will not choose socialism. The Democrats are using half-truths to stir up negative emotions about the economy within the voting population. For instance, the sub-prime mortgage issue has become a huge talking point for the Left. The mantra is that everyone with a mortgage on their home is having the lenders foreclose on them. This is simply not the case. Only five percent of the mortgages have resulted in foreclosure. The biggest arguement that the Left has and uses effectively is that the Bush tax cuts have only benefitted the wealthiest of Americans. But if you look at the numbers not only is the use of the term "wealthiest" wrong, but the tax cuts have benefitted all Americans.
First off, to say that a cut in income taxes helps the wealthiest of Americans is incorrect. The US does not have a wealth tax, so therefore, you cannot pay taxes on wealth, meaning money that is not earned. Second, the highest income earners in the United States are the ones who pay most of the federal income taxes. Both the IRS and the Congressional Budget Office support this claim. The IRS shows that the percentage of income taxes collected from the bottom 50 percent of income earners in 2004 was 3.3 percent. In 1994--the first year of Clinton's tax increase--the percentage for the same group was 4.77 percent. When you go from the 50 percentile to the 75 percentile the percentage in 2004 increases by 11.84 percent. The CBO shows that in 2006 the top ten percent of income earners in the United States paid 48.7 percent of the total tax share. When you look at these numbers, the conclusion that you have to come away with is that the top income earners are the ones paying the income taxes so naturally they would be the ones benefitting from an income tax cut.
Democrats use tax policy to control the lives of the People. Where there are increases, rest assured that there will not be much interaction; likewise where there are tax incentives you can be sure that there will be a rush to be a part of that. There are a few exceptions--like gas or to some extent cigarettes--to this rule, but when taxes are raised on certain actions, those actions will decrease. When an incentive is given there will be an increase in that activity. So you see, the actions of the individual are dictated by tax policy. The best arguement that the Republicans have in this debate is also the best safeguard for Liberty: the Flat Tax. One rate for all income earners with no incentives and no targetted taxes will not only foster a large economic boom, but will ensure that the federal government becomes more frugal with the money that it spends. Afterall, if Russia can implement a flat tax, why can't the United States?
The Environment
The environment has become a huge disguise for the Left's socialist agenda. They argue that in order to save the planet we must regulate industry to the point of extinction. The desire is to control how companies operate and not to save the planet. In this arguement the Republicans have completely surrenderd. The arguement should not be focused on whether or not there is global warming, but whether or not man is the sole reason for it. The Democrats and the Left are staunchly arguing that man is the culprit and because of this industry needs to be controlled. They argue that there needs to be higher CAFE standards on automobiles, even though the efficiency and cleanliness of automobiles today out perform cars produced just twenty years ago. The Left says that the US should be put under the restrictions of the Kyoto Treaty, even though that same treaty exempts China from the same restrictions. The Left also keeps us dependent on foriegn oil because they will not allow the US to drill for oil within our own territory. The response of the GOP is so silent that it is deafening.
In regards to the automobile industry, the answer should be focused on the current efficiency and cleanliness without the increase in CAFE standards. The US automobile industry is already hurting economically and having to retool their manufacturing process will only further hamper their viability. Kyoto should be refused outright because the United States should not be subject to regulation by a foriegn/global governing body, especially when the world's biggest polluter is exempt. Kyoto hits on a soveriengty issue that is a winning issue for the GOP. And the oil issue should be argued from a twofold approach: drill for oil while at the same time the energy companies come up with real, viable means of alternative fuel. The switch from oil to alternative is not going to happen over night and it will be more efficient to allow the private sector to handle the issue without government involvement. The estimated amount of oil in ANWR is said to be enough to last approximately twenty years. Well, certainly within twenty years there can be some sort of development on alternative fuels. One thing is certain, whether we get the oil from within our own borders or from the Middle East, we are still going to need oil.
The presidential election cycle of 2008 is going to be packaged as staying in Iraq or leaving Iraq. But underneath this packaging is going to be a huge debate over Statism or Liberty. As things sit right now, the Democrats are poised to win the presidency and keep control of the Legislature, leaving them with plenty of room to usher in a Statist agenda. If the GOP does not come out wholeheartedly for Liberty, not only will they loose big, but the American People will be one step closer to serfdom.
Sources:
1) Healthcare:
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/17/health_reform_failure/
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/wm556.cfm
2) Taxes:
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/57xx/doc5746/08-13-EffectiveFedTaxRates.pdf
(The IRS information was an Excel file and did not have a URL to paste. It can be quickly found by searching the keywords "IRS, tax returns". Sorry for the inconvienence.)
3) Robert Reich:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/09/18/18448185.php
There is a good video on this page. Highly recomended that you watch it to get the full story about "supercapitalism."
posted by Robert A. McReynolds | 7:27 AM
2 Comments:
Wow... I think it's time for a (any) Republican Candidate to TRY to bring this knowledge to the people. Strategy, at this point, is key. Moreover, with the proper education on the top issues, I think the majority of the American populous would be hardpressed to vote anything but RIGHT, if you know what I mean.
I actually work with the Auto Alliance and I couldn't agree with you on your stance on CAFE standards more. The auto makers are trying to work with Congress on a raise in standards, but one that does it responsibly with a separation of cars and trucks. Its important that the public truly understands this issue and lets their representatives know what they think. Please check out Drive Congress - it has a lot of the details on this issue.
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