Conor Friedersdorf has this article in the Atlantic Monthly’s on-line edition, “Cautiously, Libertarians reach out to Occupy Wall Street.” Although the article is not about Libertarian Party leaders, it does focus on Gary Johnson. Also it has an interesting section on campaign finance laws, although unfortunately it does not discuss public funding of campaigns.
How many usual suspect spread- the- wealth communists in the OWS gang — who like nothing better than to kill / exile / enslave libertarians ???
To LP readers I put these questions:
Is not the widening gap between the wealthy, super-thin crust of American society and the rest of us not the inevitable outcome of removing government constraints on the private sector?
Did you think that the markets would “regulate” themselves? What other proof do you need to see that they don’t?
If we need a military maintained by the government to protect ourselves against threats of force that we can’t defeat individually, why do we not need the collective defense of government to defend ourselves against the threats of unrestrained capitalism that also cannot defend against individually? And please…no “caveat emptor.” If you believe that, we can stop requiring that annual statements of publicly traded companies be independently audited. We can just accept whatever the CEO’s tell us about their companies’ performances on a wink and a nod.
How many lives need to be destroyed by an economy wrecked by unfettered capitalism to in order for you to see that less government is not necessarily better government?
Do you care, or are you heartless idealogues?
Oh…please disclose your personal net worth along with your responses. If it’s in seven figures I’ll understand that you’re one of the filthy rich, and not one of their unwitting shills.
Thanks.
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2.0 Economic Liberty (From Libertarian Party platform)
Libertarians want all members of society to have abundant opportunities to achieve economic
success. A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. Each
person has the right to offer goods and services to others on the free market. The only proper role of
government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes, and provide a
legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute
wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
“Is not the widening gap between the wealthy, super-thin crust of American society and the rest of us not the inevitable outcome of removing government constraints on the private sector?”
Quite the opposite, it is the result of increasing government-corporate collusion. That includes the pernicious ways in which taxes and regulations stifle small businesses from starting, surviving or growing. Big businesses, which are far better equipped to deal with taxes and regulations than small businesses, thus avoid competition. They become huge, fat, lazy and protected, and grow ever larger, using their ill-gotten government connections to crush upstart competition.
Don’t be fooled; by far the greater bulk of government activity is not to constrain big business, but to protect it from competition and insure its profits. Everything else is just public relations window dressing.
Govt taxes/borrowing are now about a mere 40 percent of the GDP — compared to about 10 percent in 1929.
i.e. more LOOT-the-Govt-Treasury folks than ever — govt officers and bureaucrats (mostly getting above average compensation), govt contractors (getting those sweetheart contracts), govt interest getters and govt welfare folks — all competing 24/7 to get the most from NET taxpayers and savers
— i.e. the EVIL minority rule gerrymander governments since 1929 have directly caused the income/assets spread.
One 1929-2011 main result – the almost total destruction of the self-employed since 1929 — see the many vacant store front buildings in all once upon a time larger cities — i.e. most folks now getting govt or corporate income.
Super-easy to be a jealous COMMUNIST spread-the-wealth statist — using the income and assets of OTHER folks — to make ANY body having above average income or assets an enemy of the People.
Result – see the many now near Stone Age cities — Detroit, Cleveland, etc.
Sorry less than 7 digits Net Worth — like most REAL Democracy fans on this list.
“Did you think that the markets would “regulate” themselves?”
Yes, if only big government would get the hell out of the way, which it has never come close to doing.
Certainly not recently, all progressive propaganda aside.
“If we need a military maintained by the government to protect ourselves against threats of force that we can’t defeat individually”
A standing maintained by government is a greater threat to our liberties than whatever threats it is supposedly protecting us against (which it utterly fails to do, while working overtime to create new ones).
“why do we not need the collective defense of government to defend ourselves against the threats of unrestrained capitalism that also cannot defend against individually?”
Because government doesn’t work that way. It’s like putting the fox in charge of guarding the hen house.
“And please…no “caveat emptor.” If you believe that, we can stop requiring that annual statements of publicly traded companies be independently audited. We can just accept whatever the CEO’s tell us about their companies’ performances on a wink and a nod.”
“we” (you and pocket mouse?) can stop requiring anything whatsoever once and for all. Once people stop relying on a massively defective monopoly for information about which investments are sound, competing independent agencies will seek and report such information more so than now and will be sought out for information by greater numbers of people. Anyone seeking investors that refuses to provide information would have a hard time, and the quality of information analysis available would rise due to increased competition among such information sources,
“How many lives need to be destroyed by an economy wrecked by unfettered capitalism to in order for you to see that less government is not necessarily better government?”
Which economy is that? I have never visited whatever (possibly fictional) nation or planet you speak of. Here in USA, Earth, markets are far from “unfettered.”
“Do you care, or are you heartless idealogues?”
Have you stopped beating your wife yet?
“Oh…please disclose your personal net worth along with your responses.”
It’s way negative. I quit counting exactly how negative a long time ago.
“If it’s in seven figures”
What would I be doing here? LOL
“I’ll understand that you’re one of the filthy rich, and not one of their unwitting shills.”
That would be you, bubba. Big government plays directly into their hands. It cuts down on economic turbulence, thus causing more people to stick to the top and bottom longer and more firmly.
“Thanks.”
You are most welcome.
3, 5-9 –
So…big government colluded with big business to repeal Glass-Stegall, and to allow unregulated financial instruments to pollute the markets for the benefit of big business. Ergo when big government regulates it gets in the way, and when it doesn’t regulate it is colluding.
OK…got it.
Say – how’s the weather out in Idaho?
True Foe: I make $16,000 a year and am a laissez-faire radical capitalist. I do not need protection from capitalists, I need protection from know it all collectivists who want to tell me how to live my life, educate my children, and take away what little I do have to redistribute it to abunch of lazy bums who will not work.
11 –
Wow. You’d really hate living in Northern Europe, where socialist governance has been so intrusive for so long that they’ve absolutely ruined their countries. Fully paid medical care, 6 month maternity leaves, full retirement benefits, 6 week vacations, fully paid college education, better educated children, lower rates of infant deaths, lower rates of maternity deaths, higher employment rates, lower dependence on welfare…it’s a freaking horror show over there!
Would repealing child labor laws here be sufficient to convince you that we’ve gotten big government out of your life? Or how about taking the environmental protection laws off the books and letting a neighboring business pump cyanide into your kids’ water? Would that do it for you? We can trust the capitalists to do the right thing, after all.
Hang in there! We’ll get back to the 19th century soon enough.
BernieB: I would be very happy to get rid of all child labor, minimum wage and environmental protection laws. It is a fallacy that only government regulation can keep people safe. A business will not stay in business if it sickens or kills their customers. I know you are being sarcastic, but I really would welcome the end of all laws from the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Great Society. Yeah, that would do it for me. But then again I am a radical.
As for Northern Europe, in country after country they are scalling back the welfare state. Europe is becoming more capitalist.
13 –
Well, Seinfeld said, good luck with all of that.
But you should write a book. Raising children on $16,000 a year? Amazing. Especially after the government takes $0 in income taxes from you to redistribute to socialistic welfare cheats like me.
As for socialistic northern European countries “scaling back” the “welfare state”…well, you’re entitled to any fiction you want to advance about your personal life, especially since they can’t be fact checked, but as for other fictions…be careful! People who know better are reading this. Maybe even some northern European citizens who don’t mind “intrusion” by their governments which results in a security and comfort that 75% of Americans can only dream about.