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Like what? Healthcare? Yeah right. The postal service? USPS is much better than privatized post. I wouldn't go as far as claim government can do everything better, but some services would be cruel and unfair to have privatized. Also making everything for profit would mean that anything that could benefit humanity but not make money in the process would become a pipe dream.
USPS is a private business .. not federal.
The one example of total federal control of healthcare is the VA system, and it is s total disgrace, with substandard care provided by substandard doctors. This is what you have to look forward to if the liberal loons get their way and universal single payer takes over ... a gigantic VA system in all its failed glory.
The FDA? Oh what a wonderful job they are doing ... we have crap food, even worse drugs, and poisoned water .... deliberately poisoned to be precise.
EPA? Oooooh .... CO2 .... the deadly poison gas causing global warming .. they are now charging you for the air you breathe ... or rather, for the air you exhale, via carbon taxes and regulations.
BATF? Doing a fine job providing automatic weapons to mexican drug lords!
DEA? Swatt teaming legal state licensed medical marijuana producers, while controlling the illegal drug market of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
The one example of total federal control of healthcare is the VA system, and it is s total disgrace, with substandard care provided by substandard doctors. This is what you have to look forward to if the liberal loons get their way and universal single payer takes over ... a gigantic VA system in all its failed glory.
The FDA? Oh what a wonderful job they are doing ... we have crap food, even worse drugs, and poisoned water .... deliberately poisoned to be precise.
EPA? Oooooh .... CO2 .... the deadly poison gas causing global warming .. they are now charging you for the air you breathe ... or rather, for the air you exhale, via carbon taxes and regulations.
BATF? Doing a fine job providing automatic weapons to mexican drug lords!
DEA? Swatt teaming legal state licensed medical marijuana producers, while controlling the illegal drug market of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
Oh yes, Uncle Sam is on the job!
How how specifically would a libertarian government be better?
How how specifically would a libertarian government be better?
Centralized control .... i.e. bureaucrats in Washington DC deciding what's best for a local community in Idaho in a "one size fits all" decree is offensive and inefficient, while rendering that local community powerless over their own affairs and governance.
The good people on Elm Street know best what policies apply and serve the community's best interests, rather than stuffed suit bribe takers on Pennsyvania Ave making those decisions for them.
Individuals at the local level have more political control over their local representatives, than they could ever have over politicians in DC .... that's why!
It's really just common sense ... who knows best what serves the community's best interests ... people that work and live in that community, or some group of bureaucrats who have never been there, have no vested interests in that community, and who won't be personally affected by the policies they might choose to impose on that community? This is not a trick question .. and the proper answer is both simple and easy.
Centralized control .... i.e. bureaucrats in Washington DC deciding what's best for a local community in Idaho in a "one size fits all" decree is offensive and inefficient, while rendering that local community powerless over their own affairs and governance.
The good people on Elm Street know best what policies apply and serve the community's best interests, rather than stuffed suit bribe takers on Pennsyvania Ave making those decisions for them.
Individuals at the local level have more political control over their local representatives, than they could ever have over politicians in DC .... that's why!
It's really just common sense ... who knows best what serves the community's best interests ... people that work and live in that community, or some group of bureaucrats who have never been there, have no vested interests in that community, and who won't be personally affected by the policies they might choose to impose on that community? This is not a trick question .. and the proper answer is both simple and easy.
But don't communities already have local governments as well? I never get this response because we have state and local governments that are designed to have a direct effect on local communities. The people who govern where I live also live in the same neighborhoods I live in, they don't live in DC. There are things on a federal level that I vote for to have a state representative from my state to represent me and everyone in my state who probably don't all have all the same views as me.
I've spoken with a few libertarians. Not the crusty old ones repeating mantras they have been spoon fed, but truly intelligent people who have invested time and thought into their beliefs.
They dont want anarchy, they want the minimum government possible. Sometimes to a degree that to me is startling.
They are HUGE believers that "government can never ever do it better" And you see this posted here a lot. They ignore all the things that worldwide have been demonstrated that governments do better.
When I get into discussions the most surprising thing is....how well they think other people weigh decisions. They have a framework that always comes down to "yes in a perfect world". In a perfect world businesses would not pollute rivers when given a choice, because the bad press would destroy their ability to sell their product. But its NOT a perfect world, people dont make 100% informed decisions.
They have this utopian idea that people wont screw each other because everyone would have perfect knowledge of it and it would be counterproductive.
So...in a way I like them, they really do think people make good choices, and learn everything they can before making choices. Its kinda cute, like the innocence of a puppy.
Real life will run that puppy over, set it on fire, and watch the kids that own it cry, all for a extra buck.
They also tend to simplify monetary discussions, without a deep understanding of economics. They truly do not understand how a national currency is not like a family check book, and they want to go back to the gold standard so that it WILL be more like a family checkbook.
Its a different way of looking at things, and while I think a lot of it is nonsense, some of its worth considering. Shrug.
There are only a handful of politicians that argued that we should be enforcing and prosecuting those who ran afoul of the countries rules and regulations. One of them was Ron Paul. The argument is not that there should be no regulations. The arguments is that they should be enforced as opposed to instituting new regulations that won't be enforced either.
How many of those who ran afoul of Sarbanes/Oxley were prosecuted? I'll answer......none. What good is enacting a regulation like that when we are not going to enforce it?
Why aren't there more demanding that the regulations we have be enforced? If Angelo Mozilo had been sent to prison the odds of what he did happening again would be far lower than enacting new rules we will not enforce.
How how specifically would a libertarian government be better?
See my post above.
(edit)
(Reuters) – The federal judge who oversaw the recent civil fraud trial against Bank of America Corp criticized the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for failing to prosecute high-level executives over the financial crisis.
Based on this comment, I can only assume that means you are not a libertarian because I thought I was asking one how they would govern.
You don't have to be a libertarian to know how "they would govern". The problem is, libertarians don't "govern". They are opposed to imposing controls on you and what you do and what your neighbor does. Libertarians don't believe in 'governing' like kings and governors, as the word implies. They would hold the office and conduct the business of the state as unobtrusively and hands-off as is possible.
Your presumption that self governance is choosing which dictator to live under is merely symptomatic of your own lack of comprehension that governance is evil, in and of itself, as power corrupts. There are no "good" governing powers. There are only those held in strict limitation so as to limit the damage they can do to the people themselves.
Very well said. Like communism and capitalism, libertarianism is an ideology that can't work in the real world because 100% of the people do NOT act rationally or thoughtfully 100% of the time -- or even somewhat close to that.
So why do you want to elect them to office ,and give them broad powers to force that irrationality and thoughtlessness upon ALL of us?
Query: In the history of civilization, has there ever been a nation state that was governed by libertarian principles?
The United States was formed as something similar. It had minimal centralized powers, and localized, self governing units called 'states'.
We prospered immensely because of it until runamok government killed off our industry, turned a bunch into leeches, and now, has destroyed our currency and financial system.
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.. they are now charging you for the air you breathe ... or rather, for the air you exhale, via carbon taxes and regulations.
