by Mr. ZObama is the candidate of the Left, stirring up a lot of “hope” for “change”. But what does that really represent, and does he have a chance? A brief analysis in a look over the ocean will shed some light on what’s going on.
Although not acknowledged by the MSM, we all know that kind of policies will be implemented in this country should Obama win. Most of us know that his ideas are pure Marxism and can be simplified in three words: “Redistribution of Wealth”, aka “Class Warfare”. “Take it from the rich, and give it to the poor”. Obama has called that "neighborly!” All other ideas, like “universal health care”, follow suit and are just a consequence of the primary theorem. That would bring this wonderful country down to the level of that huge communist “success” known as the “German Democratic Republic” (Eastern Germany) – when Germans do something, they do it big!
Forgive me for a little excursion to the past, but I think it’s important to know a little bit about the consequences of socialism/communism, and the West Germans have first hand experience since they have spent literally trillions of Euros to correct the situation.
What was found in Eastern Germany after the wall came down was truly unbelievable: A “planned economy” completely controlled by the government, i.e. all industry, agriculture, infrastructure, education, etc. was owned and operated by the government. As a result, nothing was available when it was needed, starting from simple items such as bread and butter, or even light bulbs, to more complex items such as cars, for which the waiting time was 15 years. The infrastructure of the whole country was in extremely bad shape, the environment was a huge mess, the government built/owned apartment buildings and houses were in bad shape, grey and unsightly, and the people were completely demoralized (and supervised by the Stasi, or Secret Police). The children were in the hands of the government and their education was equal to indoctrination. The only way that the country was able to garner some international respect was through sports, so athletes were supported and pumped up with drugs to improve their performance. But the party bosses (of the unifying political party, the communist party) had luxurious lives with big cars, villas, and the like. Germans know every smallest detail about socialism and communism, and they know why it doesn’t work. This is the first lesson to be learned: Socialism/communism doesn’t work.
Before we look at the situation today, allow me a short glimpse into the history of West Germany. After WWII, the only way for Germany to get back on its feet was to work together for the common good. One could call that a rudimentary form of socialism. Ludwig Erhard was the inventor of this “social capitalism”, and it worked so well that it brought Germany the so called “Economy Wonder” of the 50’s and 60’s, under the conservative government of Konrad Adenauer. But then, Germany went too far with socialism and the Socialists came to power and made things worse (including the slogan “Better red than dead” – a stark difference from the Conservatives who have always said that they rather fight than be communists). But, even Helmut Kohl, whose largest merit was that he prevented (together with President G.H Bush) all of Germany from becoming communist in their separation from the West, did not stop the progress of socialism. So, when the Socialists (SPD) and the Green Party came to power, they did their very best to drive Germany full speed into a wall. This led to the rise of the conservative party (CDU/CSU) again, and Angela Merkel does her best today to maintain her conservative platform, despite the fact that she has the Socialists as a coalition partner, to steer Germany in a different, better, direction.
Here is the situation in Europe today: It is clear that socialism entices the people to entitlement thinking (“the State owes me…”), so, with generous laws in this direction, the common thought would be that the socialist party should gain in popularity, and therefore, votes. However, the situation in Germany is that the Socialists (SPD) have fallen from about 40% to approx. 20% over the last five years, while in the same time period the polls for the conservatives (CDU/CSU) show a rise from 30% to more than 40%. In addition, quite a few other European countries have recently changed from a socialist government to a conservative government. The main reasons in general are: (1) No confidence that further move to the Left, including higher taxes, will be good for the people and the country, and (2) no confidence in the ability of the Left to deal with security issues (terrorism) and illegal immigration.
Now, la pièce de résistance, the situation of the Left in Germany: The Left mainly consists of three parties: (1) The traditional Left, the Socialist Party (SPD), (2) the new party “Die Linke”, consisting of the former ultra-left wing of the SPD with the remnants of the East German PDS (ex-SED, or communist party), and (3) the Green Party, consisting of a mixture of green nutcases and a garden variety of communists. The consistency and the programs of these parties are crystal clear, and the German media characterizes them correctly (of course, the US media will never admit how socialist or Marxist a large party of the Democrat party is). Die Linke has clearly Marxist/communist ideas in their program, to the extent that the party chief, Oskar Lafontaine, even openly praises the “Communist Manifesto” of the late 19th century. So, their idea is clear – redistribution of wealth and class warfare. Sound familiar?
The SPD doesn’t go that far, and it follows more the idea of “social capitalism”, albeit, unlike the Conservatives, they don’t want to make a U-Turn and turn the wheel back to more individual responsibility. In other words, they are trying to attract the people who are located in the center/left of the political spectrum. And here comes the kicker: The party has changed its chief 5 times over the last 3 years, the last time having happened today. This is the result of internal fights relative to the direction of the party. The chief who resigned today let one of the State parties (in the State of Hesse) flirt with Die Linke for the purpose of getting into power, signifying a constant discussion to which degree the SPD should enter into a pact with the Ultra-Left. The persons taking over now are more of the right wing of the party, trying to appeal to the centrist voters. The party is now, consequently,in disastrous shape, losing voters on a daily basis to the conservatives and to the Left.
And here are the similarities to the situation in the U.S.: The Democratic party with Obama as the key figure pretty much represents the Ultra-Left party in Germany, Die Linke. Hillary Clinton represents only a slightly more right side of the Democrats. The party is divided about its direction even as they’re putting up a good front in backing their only hope at the moment, their candidate. The additional complication, of course, is the personality of the persons involved. By-the-way, Germany’s Mr. Lafontaine is almost as gifted as Obama in terms of demagoguery, but Lafontaine is a much more gifted speaker in terms of programmatic themes and speaking without a teleprompter. And Mr. Muentefering, the new chief of the SPD, more to the middle, is as much an attack dog as is Hillary.
Today, the people in Germany may have more of an entitlement mentality than they used to when I was much younger but, trust me, they are not dumb. While there are many people in the Eastern part of Germany who still think that communism was easier for them (no decisions had to be made, no worries about losing one’s job, etc.), the majority of German people recognize that communism doesn’t work, and that they can’t rely on the Socialists to steer them clear of it! This is why Angela Merkel has a 65% approval rating and is untouchable by any candidate brought forward by the Left.
I believe the American people aren’t dumb, either. This is why I believe that Obama is not going to win.
NOTE: The image is that WALL the Socialists want to drive Germany into! The words translate to "GOOD WORK" "GOOD WAGES" "GOOD RENT" "GOOD PENSION" (sound a lot like Mr. Obama?)
Mr. Z
60 comments:
So the essential question remains for those people who claim to understand communism:
"How much can we bleed the capitalist before he decides he's HAD ENOUGH and folds up his tent and leaves?"
That's what wealth redistribution (theft) always comes down to.
Morgan
despite all the truths you have laid out mr.z, history will keep repeating itself as "governments" will continue to "enforce" socialistic ideas for the eternity of man's walk on this earth... that may be a sad fact and fate!!
For some reason it's a constant propaganda battle to win people over to any form of socialism. Humans instinctively know it doesn't work. They have to be tricked, manipulated and lied to and people still see through them. McCain is up this week in the polls. He's made a very smart move and if he plays his cards right, he's going to get in. I for one will be really glad to see Obama disappear forever into obscurity like Al Gore.
Hey Pat I enjoyed your website, but couldn't log on as "anonymous".
Morgan
I'm confused. You attack "socialism" but you just love America's No. 1 socialist, Gidget Palin.
Back to reality. Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks No. 1 in taxes per resident and No. 1 in spending per resident. Its tax burden per resident is 21/2 times the national average; its spending, more than double. The trick is that Alaska's government spends money on its own citizens and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. Although Palin, like McCain, talks about liberating ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, there is no evidence that being dependent on Alaskan oil would be any more pleasant to the pocketbook.
Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC. It has four different taxes on oil, which produce more than 89% of the state's unrestricted revenue. On average, three-quarters of the value of a barrel of oil is taken by the state government before that oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaska residents each get a yearly check for about $2,000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1,200 pushed through by Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. Any sympathy the governor of Alaska expresses for folks in the lower 48 who are suffering from high gas prices or can't afford to heat their homes is strictly crocodile tears.
As if it couldn't support itself, Alaska also ranks No. 1, year after year, in money it sucks in from Washington. In 2005 (the most recent figures), according to the Tax Foundation, Alaska ranked 18th in federal taxes paid per resident ($5,434) but first in federal spending received per resident ($13,950). Its ratio of federal spending received to federal taxes paid ranks third among the 50 states, and in the absolute amount it receives from Washington over and above the amount it sends to Washington, Alaska ranks No. 1.
Please explain why Gidget's income transfers are okay.
I'm curious to know if Mr. Z has read Braudel or anyone similar and is sufficiently sophisticated to handle Braudel's separation of capitalism and the market economy?
Also there is Schumpeter (hardly a socialist) and his analysis on how socialism could be successful.
John Kenneth Galbraith etc.
Here's my guess ... No but Mr. Z doesn't like to pay his taxes to pay for this useless military of ours.
For class discussion:
The recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac "bailouts" have the far right going ga-ga about creeping "socialism".
1. How many of the blog readers here know that Fannie Mae was originally an entirely government owned and run entity and was only made private to make the books look better as we were trying to pay for the right wings huge victory in Vietnam?
2. Home ownership, which almost anyone considers critical to a stable prosperous society, increased more rapidly under the government owned agency than under the private agency (and in fact home ownership has declined under President Chuck L. Nuts).
Why was the growth in home ownership higher under the socialized agency and how do right wingers explain the failure of the market?
Ducky, this is so typical.
Mr. Z has LIVED it...but I'm sure a book would help. LOL
Sarah Palin became governor 2 years ago, wasn't in office in 2005. Also, I think I already told you Alaska is set up entirely differently than any other state. Their inhabitants OWN THEIR RESOURCES; there was no socialist'windfall'..this is what they DO in Alaska.
I'll let Mr. Z respond on the rest. Just thought you needed to hear the truth again before you keep spewing this stuff that makes absolutely no sense. thanks.
By the way, she's being skewered by the Left for discussing the teaching of science AND creationism. She did discuss creationism one day and then, the very next one, came out with her advice that science be taught but if creationism was brought up, that should absolutely be discussed, too, fairly. The Left hasn't bothered to look at her 'next day' actual advice...just the one before which they know they can slam. sad, but kind of typical.
Her faith is being slammed, too......but Obama mentioned JESUS with Rick Warren.. Why not see JUST HOW FAITHFUL and SCARY HE IS? Why not REALLY question the islam rumors (the press won't).
How can we slam Sarah Palin for being a Christian of strong faith because her pastor has certain ideas about God and America when our media won't condemn Obama for his pastor's hating America/Whitey? I'm PRETTY sure nobody in Sarah's church would stand and cheer wildly (as they do at WRight's church) if her pastor talked about how evil White people are and "God D(*& America"...ya think? But...Obama's faith is NEVER questioned. He's supposedly a GOOD SOLID CHRISTIAN now. Too bad Sarah's not allowed that luxury by our media.
Neither of us are fans of Galbraith...we DISAGREE with him...is that okay with YOU?
And neither Mr. or Mrs. Z believe government helping is NEVER appropriate.
thanks.
By the way, she's being skewered by the Left for discussing the teaching of science AND creationism.
She said creationism should not be part of the curriculum.
Elbro; right, but she did say that, if a student brings it up, it absolutely should be discussed fairly and respectfully.
Ducky, Move to Venezuela please. Then come back and teach me about all the wonders of Socialism.
Thank you for this excellent article, and an important lesson. I have always found the history of European democracy interesting. The collapse of monarchies following World War I resulted in the creation of democracy, but it didn’t last very long; Europeans had become used to autocracy, which relieved them of individual responsibility. They found how difficult it is to create and maintain democracy. Yearning for a simpler time, they elected authoritarian/militaristic leaders, who were masters of popular manipulation. Some programs actually worked … and they deluded themselves into believing all was well. We all know the result, of course; tens of millions of dead Europeans.
As we look at Europe today, we find that European socialists achieved by agreement what was impossible to attain through military conquest: European Union. If we ask how this was even possible, consider that millions of Europeans migrated to the Americas: Canada, the United States, Brazil, and Argentina. They were individuals who relocated in search of greater opportunity, and less government control. Many of these immigrants became “us,” but not all. Too many brought with them a socialist mentality; today we find that many Jews, Catholics, and Eastern European have bought in to the “something for nothing” propaganda offered by the Democratic Party. They may have good intentions, but they don’t understand the long-range implications.
By any rational measure, socialism does not and cannot work. Democrats have enslaved Black Americans and poor whites by making them dependent upon government programs. As a case in point, wherever one finds “government housing,” you also find run down buildings, a filthy environment, and high incidents of crime and adolescent pregnancy. The people who live in such neighborhoods have no pride of ownership, and no interest in taking responsibility for their own safety. Interestingly, there is no difference between the slums one finds in New Orleans, and those found in Moscow, Kobenhavn, Berlin, or London. It is hardly a coincidence that people living in these slums become targets for “community organizers” seeking to register them as Democrats. I hope you are right, Mr. Z … but voting fraud may hand the election to Obama … it may be his final surprise high card.
Note: The Attorney General recently stated there isn’t much he can do about voting fraud. I was disgusted. If the American people do not have confidence in the integrity of the voting process, then Democrats will have shattered one of our most important institutions.
Mustang, thanks so much...you are so right about the voting process.
I believe Soros is busily paying for ways to win...probably laughing at the polls and people caring about them at all..he has plans for election day.
There was an article yesterday which inferred very strongly, on Yahoo, that it's Republicans one has to be careful of! That's in the face of all the Dem cheating that took place in 2004 but you'd see it for five minutes and the article'd come off. Did you notice that?
I'll repeat a story here that I shared recently:
A friend worked for thirty-five years in an all black neighborhood here in L.A. She worked for a doctor who was very sweet with his Black clients and who'd make small talk with them all day on election day... "did you vote today?"
TO A MAN AND WOMAN, the many elderly Black folks would answer (every election year for 35 years) "Oh, yes..!! Some really nice people came to help us fill out absentee ballot applications, then they came and helped us VOTE when they arrived! They told us who to vote for I voted!" The doc and my friend would be stunned but couldn't do anything about it. She told me they go into old age homes and 'help them vote', too.
Does anyone here think ROCK THE VOTE is nonpartisan?! You laugh out loud when they say "we just want kids to VOTE"
Mr Ducky,
So fair and balanced...NOT. Of course Alaska needs a lot of federal support... you won't let anybody move there or exploit its resources. It has been set aside as a park for rich Bostonians to visit on their vacations in the year 4543... if you'd stop pushing your values on the caibou of Alaska, maybe it wouldn't cost liberals so much.
You complain about a bridge to nowhere... but 99.9% of Alaska IS nowhere, as its population is less than a million in a state 2x the size of Texas.
And ducky, since when is book learning about economics more valuable than experience with the policies being considered? Are you standing on your head? You turn the world upside down.
And ducky, FNMA et al were spun off for the same reasons the Post Office was... government in not a for profit enterprise. It doesn't require the application of physical force. If those agencies were "born" in government, it was an abuse of government that gave them birth.
And your points while technically true but meaningless. Your trying to imply something that's a so-what?
And take a pill, ducky. The game is over... Obama blew it. Palin. Check-MATE!
oops morgan. thank you and i am sorry. more sorry that i don't know how to change that so you can!!!
Oh I see, FJ, if it's a structural problem then income transfers are okay.
I've been saying that all along about capitalism in general, FTW.
Gidget, however, has been presenting herself as a real hard core capitalist robber baron.
"And ducky, since when is book learning about economics more valuable than experience with the policies being considered?"
Clearly it has value by expanding your perception of alternatives.
Gidget understands one economic idea, be a good little pimp for the Stevens arm of the corrupt Alaskan Republic party and grab as much money as she can. I don't think that works on a national level unless she can find some colonial possessions to steal from.
Clearly it has value by expanding your perception of alternatives.
Not FAILED ones.
Structural problems are that... structural. Try and cure them by REQUIRING lenders to give money to uncreditworthy clients, and you simply blow up a bubble which subsequently POPS.
You can't get something for nothing, unless you're on the bottom half of socialist structure that rewards failure.
And I hate to break this to you ducky, but if you want people to populate your empty country, the best way to do so is to build a road or railroad to it and GIVE some of the land away (or as close to that as you can). THAT was the Intercontinental Railroad in 1850 and the "bridge to nowhere" in 2005.
Gidget... pimp... robber barons... Chuck L. Nuts...
The BDS/PDS is in full-blown pitch, I see.
Palin has been complaining about Federal interference restricting Alaska's resources from being utilized LOOOOONG before she was vetted for the VP slot.
Fishing and seasonal cruises don't cut it.
Biden's state of Delaware has more people living in it than the State of Alaska. And given the amount of real estate involved, we should be spending 1,000x more on the state of Alaska then we do Delaware.
After all, the federal government's purpose is facilitating interstate commerce and infrastructure. Lets stop trying to convince the people that it should should cost in each state (be it Delaware or Alaska) the same amount of money per resident.
In other words Mr. ducky, quit trying to sell 1/2 a loaf as the whole deal. Give us meaningful data and not cherry picked "legal-rhetorical" Madison-Avenue arguments.
...and if ANYONE robbed ANYONE, it was the Greenies in DC who robbed Alaskans of the ability to support themselves from their OWN natural resources.
There is no successful system that is pure, Farmer.
We can see that in the recent market failures in the U.S. as we went much to far towards an unregulated market state.
The danger we face from Libertarians is that when Libertarianism fails we are always told it's because we didn't have enough Libertarianism. Very dangerous to believe that America is a product of right wing values alone. Only brainwashed home schooled believe that.
It was the regulation borne of "Equal Credit Opportunity" legislation that KILLED the mortgage market ducky. You began to try and pick "winners" for a free market system. It's free because you CAN'T pick winners.
Stop trying to heal Plutus' (Aristophanes, "Pluts") eyes, ducky. IT HAS NEVER WORKED. IT WILL NEVER WORK.
You'd be better off passing out newly printed money from DC in the form of reparations than trying to rig the market to favor an outcome it cannot produce.
I think Ducky’s right about left-wing contributions; the Trail of Tears, Slavery, Jim Crow, Wilson’s suspension of habeas corpus, Rooseveltian socialism, Truman’s incompetence, Johnson’s Great Society and the Vietnam War … all remarkable. The question is, “Why would any thinking person see them as positive?”
No Farmer, you're totally freakin' wrong. You ain't even knocking on the door.
Equal Credit Opportunity? You with those brainwashed ex-marines who think this market collapse came because we were loaning money to minorities? Come on.
You mean all those $500,000 homes in subdivisions in Cali, Nevada and Florida were occupied by blacks and illegals? Please stop.
It happened due to cheap money thanks to Mr. Bubble Greenspan and a lot of greed and front end commissions and new unregulated derivative instruments.
Bear Stearns and Lehman and Fannie and Freddie went teats up because they lent to minorities?
What percentage of the money loaned was loaned under any fair lending compulsion? If you can't answer that then go home and commiserate with mustang.
See this is the deal when you try to discuss anything with doctrinaire Libertarians. It's a closed system. They have achieved perfection but it fails because we wouldn't let them be perfect enough. Utopians, just as they say of socialists.
Ducky, you and I haven't agreed on almost anything since FPM days 7 years or so ago.
But I had you here, didn't delete, didn't go into moderation, because I like a leftwing point of view expressed here..no problem.
Since Palin, your comments have become SO vile and so belittling that it can only point to one thing, don't you think? Are you THAT FRIGHTENED?
Sure, you've always taken joy in outing gay Republicans, spewing liberalism....but I've never heard you so sexist, so hateful and so demeaning. Whassup?
CALM DOWN.....Obama has those well informed, erudite MTV viewers, Hamas, Farrakhan and other upstanding members of society behind him...you just might win!
ducky, the first reaction of the Left-Wing to the subprime crises was for Jesse Jackson to get out his army and protest and get the pols to promise NOT yo shut off the spigot filled with free money. They then all declared "greedy mortgage bankers" to be the cause of the crises INSTEAD of the regulators, who twisted the banker arms.
Win-win for politicians and minorities. Lose-lose for the mortgage industry and middle America, who now has to bail it out.
A system performing as best it can, and not EXCEEDING its limits by producing miracles is NOT utopian. Utopianism enters into the equation when you expect it to make even the most unproductive people in society unimaginably rich.
And I'm NO libertarian. Like I say, you want to subsidize poor people, then DO IT. Pass legislation diong it. But stop trying to sneak a subsidy past us by calling it something its' not.
Face the truth duckling. Palin IS the end game. She has blown away all your smoke and mirrors and what is left is the emperor with no clothes on. The strongest force in America is conservatives that are energized and ready to roll. When motivated we are unstoppable for the simple fact that there is nothing on earth or in hell that keep us from getting to the polls to vote. Your lazy fair-weather liberal loonies have no dedication to their own lives and therefore no dedication to voting or even thinking for that matter. Palin has energized the conservative wing of the party and that is why your fear is so very evident that even you should be able to recognize it. GAME OVER
Excellent comments by everybody, other than the duck-stuff. Considering the incessant attacks on Sarah, the Left must be desperate. The woman is just too real.
What the Left doesn't understand, - and that was one of the reasons I wrote this article - is that it has primarily nothing to do with persons. I don't care about Obama personally, he might be a nice guy, and I just wished he would stay in the most corrupt and infested area in the U.S. that is South Chicago (know that from own experience) and leave us in peace.
The point was a different one. We don't need books to understand socialism and communism. We have lived it in Germany, all aspects of it. From the "Soziale Marktwirtschaft" (social economics) which is a good thing, to the excessive social systems created by the Socialists and the Greens (which ran Germany as much into the brick wall as did e.g. Labor Party in GB under Blair), and we have seen the results of communism in action as described in the article.
Books and theories clutter your view from reality. Just look at the obvious simple facts, and things become much clearer along the line. Just ask yourself: Why is it that many managers and wealthy people leave Germany? Could it be the tax system? And why is it that companies are leaving Germany in droves? Could it be that the social costs are too high? Given the fact that a country lives from the success of companies, that would not be good, would it?
And here comes an even simpler way of looking at it: A well known economic research institute makes an assessment of the business climate of major countries every two years. Germany was on top of the list 15 years ago, and Ireland at the bottom. Today the situation is inverse. What has happened? Surprise: Germany increased taxes and social burden on companies, while Ireland decreased taxes for both individuals and companies, and reduced the social burden on companies. Quod erat demonstrandum.
Result: Obama's ideas go way beyond the social "achievements" in Germany which have been proven to create an extremely unfavorable business climate in Germany. We all want workers to have a just compensation for their work, but that goes too far and destroys the companies. That is why socialism/communism doesn't work. All these ideas "redistribution of wealth", "nationalization of companies", "universal health care paid for by the rich" etc. would destroy this country faster than you can think.
We know that. We have been there.
Mr.Z
Come on Farmer, don't play games. I'm not interested in the REACTION to the crisis. I'm interested in its cause and that cause was not forced lending to minorities.
The financial institutions were making so much dough that they would lend to anybody. They didn't have to be compelled. It's just that the minorities often got hurt a little more than some white ass hat who didn't put any money down, had no dog in the game and could walk away from the property.
And why is it that companies are leaving Germany in droves? Could it be that the social costs are too high?
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Gee, they're leaving this capitalist paradise also.
papa frank, go to the polls and vote for McCain. If you want a good reaming that's your business.
In my tax bracket he represents more wealth for ME. I have over a hundred grand in Fannie Mae bonds. Thanks for the bailout sucker.
They're leaving here because we're taxing them to death, don't you understand that, Ducky?
What's the matter with you?
Obama said we shouldn't have jobs leave our shores but he's going to tax them MORE!! Are you KIDDING?
Use your head, man...let the liberalism seep out your ears and THINK.
z, with respect, you ARE WRONG.
Our effective business tax rate is low. That isn't the issue.
Ducky -- In my tax bracket McCain represents me being able to continue to pay my mortgage and insurance and have food to feed my family. As a middle class person Obama is nothing but a thief that comes in a suit instead of at night. I'm glad that you are well off. If you really are then you are already paying 30% tax which is enogh in my opinion as I don't feel entitled to ANY of your money to help make the divide between us less. In reality we all know that the true lesson of socialism is that if we are all economically equal then we are ALL poor and hungry. My entitlement is not to your money, or anyone else's. My entitlement is to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. Right now my pursuit involves watching my twin 5-year-old girls laugh and run through the woods (both real and imagined) while they watch and discover and learn. My pursuit involves walking hand in hand with my best friend and talking the night away. My pursuit invloves becoming closer to my Creator in both thought and deed. My pursuit involves a calm lake in the evening with a fishing pole and a friend. My pursuit involves making the long shot with my rifle that I didn't think possible. My pursuit involves stopping with my girls to smell every flower we come across. My pursuit involves making my own choices about my health and the health of my family. My pursuit involves the never ending pursuit of the beautiful. Which of these pursuits will socialism help? Which of these pursuits will Obama help me pursue? Which of these pursuits need YOUR money and not my own? McCain/Palin is perfectly fine with me. I hope you find what it is that you pursue and run for it with your whole heart.
Ducky -- In my tax bracket McCain represents me being able to continue to pay my mortgage and insurance and have food to feed my family.
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And bail out my bond holdings. Thanks, Frank.
The national debt. Who do you think is sucking up all that interest?
The cause was very simple. In the 90's interest rates were going down and approaching zero, disguising the bad loans that were being made... the rates could't go down forever, and once they touched zero there was only one way for them to go from there. And when they went up, the payments on an ARM's went up...and all the people who couldn't afford their bad loans in the first place get revealed and foreclosed.
Clinton expanded home ownership alright...feeding the real estate bubble... reducing homeowner equity position requirements... and pushing banks to stop "red-lining" neighborhoods.
You remember the regulatory push to eliminate "red-lining", don't you ducky?
You want a robust mortgage and banking environment, you can't regulate on the basis of ever decreasing interest rates. And that's precisely what Democrats in the House and Senate banking Committees tried to do... in their own little private "fifedom" of Banking Committees.
. It's just that the minorities often got hurt a little more than some white ass hat who didn't put any money down, had no dog in the game and could walk away from the property
LOL! You mean they got to live the high life for a few years and then when the time came to pay up, walked away. With a 100% equity or even a 120% loan from a bank (as some were being made) nobody got "hurt" or ripped off except the poor sap currently holding the note on a worthless vacant condo... the TAXPAYER (via Fannie/Freddie)
Mr. Z,
Thanks for the great article. Another example of the left's utopia. Equality is guaranteed. Poverty for all. That is except for the favored few. Nothing new under the sun, and this is no exception.
Of course as you so aptly describe, the distinction between socialism and communism is simply a matter of degree. The danger is as always, that slippery slope from bearable, to bad, to worst, and finally, unrecoverable.
In America, I think, because we never had a monarchy, or omnipotent ruler, we have an advantage of expecting freedom, expecting the right to prosper from the fruits of our labors.
Americans still balk when taxes are too high, or when the economy slumps. We still resent, after hard work and sacrifice, paying for others not willing to do the same.
One danger IMO is that when we have a large segment of our population exempt from paying income taxes, we have millions of citizens who do not have the stake in their country's success as those who do pay those taxes, which subsidize the social programs on which so many are dependent.
Another is the education establishment which is hell bent on creating generations of citizens who expect entitlements, and the myth of "a free lunch".
Those marxists here in America are fond of saying "we can do it right here, the way it was meant to be done". It's difficult to understand how anyone can believe it could be done any differently. Marxism cannot work without total control of the people.
In order to maintain that control, the government must pass laws which are ever more invasive, until there is nothing to be gained from individual incentive, or productivity.
You have provided an example which is a lesson we should have learned from history. It is, what the government provides, it can take away. And the cost, is freedom.
Pris
See the thing is Papa Frank, that your pursuits are commendable and shared by, surprise, surprise, the left.
I don't have children but I have nieces who lost their father young and I have taken a lot of responsibility for them since my sister gave up a lot when our mother died young.
Frankly I have created a trust fund for them because I am determined that they will be comfortable in their old age and be able to educate their children.
I enjoy going surf fishing for stripers with them, listening to the oldest read Chaucer in the original, talking to the youngest about the films of Jean Luc Godard (she loves Breathless).
I enjoy going to the museum with them and pointing out that they are as different among themselves as the girls in Sargent's "Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" or going to the Gardner and musing about the difference in Mary's countenance between early Renaissance "annunciations" and Raphael's interpretation.
I go to the ball games with the oldest, the movies with the youngest and take my camera along to snap landscapes with the middle child.
Children are a wonder and if we have a soul we all do this sort of thing. However, what I find lacking on the right is the consciousness that we need a collective for all this to take place. We need to take care of each other.
My anger (sometimes rage) with right wingers is that for years we on the left have been called everything but children of God even though our goals and needs are similar. And I'm just a little fed up with the pompous nonsense especially since I HAVE achieved and my nieces are achieving and we didn't need a dog eat dog , last person standing right wing mentality to do it.
I am an unapologetic leftist who really would like to find common ground with the right but I won't take any crap doing it.
You remember the regulatory push to eliminate "red-lining", don't you ducky?
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You mean back in the 60's? Yeah, what does that have to do with today's MARKET FAILURE.
Children are a wonder and if we have a soul we all do this sort of thing. However, what I find lacking on the right is the consciousness that we need a collective for all this to take place. We need to take care of each other.
I agree we need to take care of each other, but I don't think we need the government to do it.
We know you're human ducky.
"Children are a wonder and if we have a soul we all do this sort of thing. However, what I find lacking on the right is the consciousness that we need a collective for all this to take place. We need to take care of each other."
That IS where the real rub is. As a strong conservative my opinion is that we DO need to take care of each other but not out of requirement of the law but out of decency and love. It is my PERSONAL responsibility to care for those around me but it is absolutely NOT my mandatory responsibility at the will of my government. We do not need a collective beyond what we ourselves are willing and able to participate in. The people doing some of the best work along these lines are the faith-based organizations that are largely (though certainly not entirely) conservative. I admire your care for your nieces and believe it to be a kindness that does not come out in your other comments here at Z's as of late. I believe that you ARE a good person and you do show love and care to your extended family. But I profoundly disagree that the best thing for our society is to make that care the mandatory duty of our society. Time and time again the American people have been proven to be some of the strongest and most generous people in regards to helping others in need. Also, time and time again American people have been proven to be some of the most hard-headed and defiant when FORCED to do something. The result of forcing us to "collectively care for" these things would be far less desirable than the outcome of giving Americans the opportunity to help out and seeing what they are made of. Us conservatives are not in any way about a last man standing mentality but rather are all about getting government out of our way so that we are free to show you what we can accomplish without government interfering. We don't want to be the last man standing but we also realize that some must stand tall and strong in order to be able to reach out and help others up.
And what you could do to really run a game, Farmer was to take out a no down payment jumbo. Get a crooked appraisal and then take out the fake equity and walk away.
Many of the McCain base were running this scam to great effect and not too many were minorities.
Screws up your credit rating for a little while but that's a minor problem for these bobos.
Nothing to do with minorities and what's great about this game is that the mortgage broker makes big bucks too and lets all the crap float upstream.
Hence you have big investment banking houses who just bought the junk securities and weren't forced to do anything going teats up like Lehman did today. They're toast and everyone took a big hosing in their 401K'sbut the American sucker isn't smart enough to see that as a tax.
I feel sorry for them but they are so thick headed that I have to laugh. Doesn't have to go down like this but they insist.
It's a very informative article but in my own experience I've discovered that younger people don't have a clue that there's anything wrong with Marxism or even what Marxism is or what alternatives there might be. It sounds good to them that people get taken care of, that's about it and they've learned to think it's "mean" to oppose such an idea.
Papa Frank scores a home run with bases loaded. The attitude among liberals parallels those of Islamic extremists. It isn’t a matter of obeying Shar’ia law because of personal conscience and commitment; it is rather that they obey Shar’ia law to keep from having their heads cut off with a rusty knife. True charity comes from the heart, not from government edict. Salvation comes to us by choosing to follow our faith, not when we have no choice.
CJ is correct … liberal agenda in public schools brainwash our children to think that government control is normal. It is both overt and covert. What message do we send to children when there are never any consequences for their failure to learn, or poor behavior? School systems are infamous for accommodating abhorrent behavior. As a case in point, teachers in some school districts must retest students who fail their examinations. Under such rules like this, why should any student “prepare?” Liberalism … bleah.
Ducky. I'm right. Higher taxes will do nothing for employment and it will send jobs overseas even more.
I know this firsthand, don't try to BS anybody.
If you have 'respect', you'll continue like you are now; I appreciate this line of comments because you're not belittling. PLEASE stay that way.
Friend just sent me this by Thomas Sowell which echos some of what has been said here:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28449
You mean back in the 60's? Yeah, what does that have to do with today's MARKET FAILURE.
I'm thinking more of things like the 1995 changes to the Community Reivestment Act, that "securitarized" subprime mortgages in minority neighborhoods for the very first time... and regulated us down the slippery slope to the failures of Freddie and Fannie, today.
All policies designed to "overcome" the "structural deficiencies of the marketplace" and a practice previously condemned as "red-lining".
Ducky makes the argument here that the "hosing" of 401(k) plans is hidden tax, but argues that Obama's tax increases on capital gains wouldn't affect the middle class, to wit: "...nearly all of them own stock through 401K which is non taxable but only the left understands a complex idea like that...."
And just when you wanted to know what makes him so devoid of rationality that it is possible to post his comments on taxes from my blog to refute his comments on taxes here, Ducky reminds us that he's an "unapologetic leftist."
I think this is the longest distance Ducky has ever gone to prove that he's an imbecile.
Papa John a question.
I actually prefer calm discussion and since we are in somewhat conciliatory moods I would like to address your statement on health care.
You want to be able to make your own decisions. Fine, I would want to make my own also and there is no conflict here.
However where this diverges is the assumption that the right often makes in believing the current system can allow EVERYONE, not just you or I, reasonable choice.
Right now we have a large percentage of our health dollar going to insurance companies who really do nothing but look after there profits and often block your decisions.
The overhead for a single payer government system would be far lower and the regulations would not be any worse than the for profit insures impose.
Call me reasoning incorrect if you like but my main intent here is to point out that the left vision at least is to supply something you and I value, health care choice, to a wider group. Clearly in America if you don't have insurance you don't have much choice.
I think the resistance on the right comes from a pathological hatred of government (hatred not distrust) and I don't know where that came from.
Give it up Farmer. Loans to minorities are waht sank Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Washington Mutual and Lehmans?
We gave so many failing loans to minorities that five of the largest financial institutions in the country went teats up?
Please, you are too intelligent for that line of nonsense.
Ducky, I've started deleting you; you'll have to find another site to haunt. Tell KOS geeeez and its readers aren't having any of it.
What I've finally realized is you REALLY think any of us could support anybody like Obama for president and I'm tired of it. It's silly, hubristic and ridiculous. How much must you read to realize we ALL think you're dead wrong and that he's a danger to America?
And that it doesn't mean WE are wrong. We all have a right to our opinions and I only delete those who feel that's not acceptable.
Keep it up and you'll be typing to the wind. I have told you I welcome civil dissent here, but you and another poster go too far. You'll be gone if you insult.
I have no other way to say it, and I'd rather not do this in public, but you leave me no choice. thanks.
Ducky -- I wholeheartedly agree with you that something needs to be done to bring health care to a greater number of people. The problem is many faceted and not on a single front. Much of our health care dollar does go to insurance companies as you have said. Part of the reason for that though is culture of solving our problems or even things that make us feel cheated through lawyers. Health care companies are very much like casinos. You will win but the profit will ALWAYS go into the pocket of the house otherwise they would be out of business. Lawyers have raised the cost of health care tremendously which in turn raises insurance on us and on doctors and on hospitals and on ambulences and so on and so on. Until we can reign in lawsuits we won't ever make the problem better. Just about every nominee in the last 40 years from the democrats have been lawyers. That's a problem. Their values are not the values of the American people. The best way to expand health care is to have business and industry thrive and to encourage them to provide health care in a way that does not kill their ability to thrive.
Farmer, there's an analysis of Llehman Brothers in Bloomberg today.
Apparently they got nailed by bad sub prime housing loans IN ENGLAND.
Now don't tell me that the Thatcherite heaven made them loan money to Jamaicans.
A Brit called into one of the radio shows the other afternooon warning America "Don't do what WE did... our growth now is ZERO, all the good Thatcher did is gone because of Blair, our economy's thrashed and will be for years...don't make the same mistake"
Ducky, no administration is perfect. It always amazes me how it's the left which always demands a kind of utopia.
We need another Thatcher.
I'd just say...look at what happened to home ownership rates starting in 1995 (see post above and chart), and look who the prime beneficiaries were.
A DELIBERATE regulatory bubble was blown.
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