cheese, beer, and socialism

Aug 10, 2007 00:42

I am ashamed of my state.

socialism, healthcare, politics

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urthstripe321 August 10 2007, 05:48:19 UTC
I am truly John Stossel's apostle.

You have no idea how much I want a 'stache like his.

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 05:50:49 UTC
Makest thou sacrifices unto the gods of the libertarian and chant "lower taxes stimulate the economy" 300 times and thou shalt havest a Stossel-stache of thine own.

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urthstripe321 August 10 2007, 05:55:13 UTC
Yea verily.

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vortech August 10 2007, 06:36:07 UTC
Don't forget to throw in some antifederalism and red-baiting. That mustache came from the 80's and will wither unless you carefully maintain the illusion that it still lives there.

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 06:40:22 UTC
Do not offend the gods of the libertarian by claiming that antifederalism is a tenet of the libertarian order. On the contrary, federalism is a True Ally of the libertarian.

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vortech August 10 2007, 06:47:11 UTC

Your anger is with your false idol, not me.

Want to buy insurance from another state, like nearby Michigan, where an average policy costs less? Too bad. It’s against the law to buy across state lines. Your state’s Big Brother knows best.

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 06:49:16 UTC
Well, of course Deregulation is a *better* friend of the Libertarian than Federalism. But Federalism is still a friend. Much better than, say, Federal Law, that foulest of foes.

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vortech August 10 2007, 06:54:27 UTC
I've always wondered, why do you stop there? Why not rail against state laws when we could handle everything at the municipal level? Or feudalism - we just didn't give it enough of a chance, right?

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 07:13:52 UTC
Partially 10th Amendment.

Also, certain things do not work at a local level very well. Banning smoking in public places, for instance. If done at a local level, it hurts business owners because smokers will simply go to the next town over. If done at the state level, some business owners very close to state borders may be affected, but overall the playing field is equal. Why not then push it to a federal law? Because there should be areas in which people can live if they wish to decide differently.

So I guess the latter point would be summarized nicely by saying it's a happy medium.

Then again, I'm not a true, pure libertarian. I'm a conservative with libertarian leanings.

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thebruce0 August 10 2007, 08:06:05 UTC
heh I love how the thread seamlessly morphed from silly to serious, playful to political...

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 08:06:58 UTC
I'm sneaky like that. :)

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thebruce0 August 10 2007, 08:19:37 UTC
Sly, stealthy and sneaky!
Good going... ;)

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vortech August 10 2007, 21:30:49 UTC
Oh, please. I'm still playing. I abandoned trying to have a serious discussion here a good while back. (I don't actually advocate feudalism, Though I do advocate an expansive common.)

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ubersaurus August 10 2007, 14:21:59 UTC
Not that it's cheap enough in Michigan for SOME of us to afford ;p

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caspian_x August 10 2007, 15:11:27 UTC
I'd really like your opinion on something. If you don't mind, please consider the following scenario objectively and tell me your response.

Which option would you rather have for affordable, state-funded healthcare:

A) You get absolutely free healthcare from the government. You don't pay a thing, nor do you have the option to do so. The government is the single payer and you get whatever benefits they decide go into your plan.

B) You get a tax credit if you purchase health insurance, meaning that you get this money no matter what; if you don't owe taxes it's added to your refund. The credit is enough to pay for a basic plan or you can add some of your own money to it and get a better plan. You chose which company and which plan is right for you. If you don't have the money to put forward and wait for reimbursement from the tax credit, you get some sort of voucher that lets you begin the process without having to pay it up front and wait for reimbursement.

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ikkarus01 August 10 2007, 15:16:51 UTC
C.

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