Yeah I know....been away for a while...here's some food for thought:
I believe that capitalism and free markets are the single best way to world wide prosperity and freedom.
I also believe that free markets need to be regulated vigorously because some businessmen will take advantage of the system and until Wall Street rewards ethical behavior, which now it doesn't, government intervention is essential.
I believe if we're going to have a government that tends to those things which we need to have tended to in the aggregate as a society that we all need to pay our fair share so that government has the resources to do that. And as such, small or big government is a futile discussion. We need to make real and hard specific choices about what government MUST do and what can be left to the market. BIg Government vs. Small Government is a fabricated and irrelevant debate, like abortion....we all would like a smaller government IF that smaller government could provide the things that we all need. (IE we all hate abortion but I have no right to tell my neighbor what to do with her body).
I believe since we have a private education system that forces individuals to pay for their education, especially in areas of public health, they have a right to demand adequate payment for having paid for that education and we as a society have an obligation to help all of our citizens have access to those educated providers.
I believe only those who work for it and can actually afford it however have a "right" to own a home.
I believe that we have an obligation to maintain our natural resources for future generations...no matter the cost. The Tragedy of the Commons is real and we must deal with this polarity.
I believe we have an obligation to provide all of our citizens with a basic level of education, no matter their financial standing.
I believe our justice system should treat everyone the same no matter their race, religion or economic standing.
I believe that civil society depends on us acknowledging that we're in this together and some people are in circumstances that require the rest of us to give them assistance and that government has a primary role and seeing that this will happen because it requires in many cases a centralized effort.
More later...
