Why do conservatives incite 1984 so much when referring to Obama's "socialist" policies?
The correct word is "invoke" not "incite". I dont see any socialist policies Mr. Obama has proposed. Social services are available in every modern country. All democracies are capitalist with some socialism when it comes to health care, disability, divorce, death. There are many more fallacies about Pres Obama than the ones you mentioned. The candidates for office try to make him look bad when he has been very successful, and many right-wing blogs and news sources try to smear him. Note to ?: That means Americans in Portland cannot afford elective surgeries but Canadians have disposable income to pay for them, or they can skip the country without paying.
When conservatives talk about "small government," what are they describing? Most conservative commentators or activists who talk about small government also support military spending, which is $600 billion a year. How is that "small," exactly?
Thanks for the A2A.Our government worked much better when it was much smaller as intended by our founding fathers. So what is that?We the people hold all the power not explicitly granted to the government. And the powers of government start locally and move to the state and finally to the fed. Anything that can be done locally or at a state level is. The fed is mostly focused on our safety.So, all these laws about what light bulbs we can use, what size soda we can buy, etc. should be repealed.Do you remember the sequester? Something like 20% of the government workers were sent home temporarily. And what was the negative effect? Nothing. So, using this inspiration - take 20% off all agency budgets, letting them choose how to save the money.And while we're at it - government workers used to earn about 80% of what they could earn in the commercial sector. Now? They earn about 140%! Keep in mind - all government funding comes from the private sector, which is the only way to create wealth, so all government spending for buildings, employees, etc. is a drag on the economy. They can never cause real long-term growth in the economy.To keep these messes from recurring, we should set term limits for all government positions. The founders did not intend us to be cursed with "professional" politicians. They meant for those positions to be part time, filled by people that had actual jobs doing other things. Civil service was a part time service, not a lifelong gravy train.Another important part of smaller government: get the government out of education. Let the private sector solve these needs. The government schools have proven to be a dismal failure. And do not allow unions in our schools. So the Department of Education is gone.Cut back on the EPA. We absolutely need clean air and water, but we don't need to swamp our businesses with heinous regulations. And the government should sell a lot of the land it "owns" in the western US. We want some parks and natural areas, but the government doesn't need to control so much land (84% of all of Nevada?! 291 - Federal Lands in the US | Big Think).There is a lot that can be done to move us back to smaller government. These are just a few points to get the ball rolling.
Conservatives talk about the "Good Old Days" of the 50s and 60s--aren't they right?
The purchasing power of minimum wage was higher in the 50s and 60s. Today, it takes TWO minumum wage workers to match the buying power of one minimum wage woker in 1968. The current effective rate on the richest 1 percent, whose income is at least $900 billion per year, is about 25 percent. During the prosperous decades of the 1950s and 1960s, an effective tax rate of 50 percent on the very richest 1 percent of Americans was imposed. The effective tax rate on corporate profits was 50 percent in the 1950s. Today, corporate profits have risen dramatically, to over $600 billion per year, while taxes have remained at an effective rate of about 25 percent. I think we should strive to get back to these good old fashioned values! What say you?
Why do so-called conservatives (Republicans) in the United States have liberal beliefs (and vice versa)?
Originally, the two parties were as you imagine them to be- the Republicans were the Liberals, and believed in individual human rights, and the Democrats were the conservatives, and believed that governments and groups can overrule individual rights.The big issue was Slavery.Lincoln created the Republican Platform on the concept that slavery should be abolished, while the Democrats, who were mostly southerners, believed their economy was dependent on slavery.That was how it was, Liberal Republicans and Conservative Democrats, until 1948. The Democratic Party supported the Civil Rights movement, and that got the Southern Conservative Democrats so ticked off they formed their own party- the Dixiecrats.United States presidential election, 1948Then in 1968, along came Richard Nixon.Audience, you can boo now, because he is the villain of the story.Nixon devised the "Southern Strategy". The Republican party openly embraced Racism and Evangelical Christianity to win the Dixiecrats over, and it worked.The formerly Democratic South turned Republican, And the Democrat North, turned from the Republican party in horror and became Democrats- who were Liberal since the Dixiecrats left. By the Reagan administration, the transition was complete.Southern strategyThat is why you will find poor white southern Christian men voting for the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer- because of god, gays, guns, and blacks.To this day it is amazing how you will find Republicans in complete denial of the racism in their party, when the Republican Party even ADMITTED it.RNC Chief to Say It Was 'Wrong' to Exploit Racial Conflict for VotesAs for women's rights, gay rights, and the rights of non-Christians, those issues go hand in had with racism. All forms of bigotry are the same- those people over there are inferior, and must be put in their place. So, along with embracing racism, it was only natural for the GOP to embrace sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia as well.Now, the GOP is is a quandary- the bulk of the population is against racism, so much so we elected a black president, so the GOP has to abandon it.But if they do, they will loose those poor southern whites who would otherwise not vote against their own economic interests.
Whats the difference between liberal and conservative?
Truthfully. In the real political spectrum of ideologies, they are just right (conservatives) and just left (liberal) of moderate or middle of the road. The conservatives are are between moderate and libertarians. The liberals are between moderate and socialist. The true difference comes in there beliefs. Liberals believe in "social justice" or fairness. This entails a certain level of equality in society of the people. To get to this point of "fairness" they are willing to give a little freedom. They to an extent believe in equality over freedom. This entails a certain level of socialism in society. Education, Health care, and other programs. While some of these programs may be necessary in a civilized society, others are generally referred to an invasion on certain liberties or freedoms. Liberals also believe that the constitution spells out our rights, and therefore our rights are given to us by the constitution and the government. Conservatives on the other hand believe in freedom over equality. While they realize that some programs that are socialistic in nature are necessary in a civilized society, they feel that an overly intrusive government is detrimental to freedom. They feel that our rights are bestowed to us at birth (conception for those with a more religious emphasis) and are ours for being human. The only thing that government can do is to place restrictions or even remove those rights from the individual. Conservatives believe that the constitution was written as a limitation on the federal government and not on the people. Now please don't confuse these with the titles of republican and democrat. They do not hold true to the ideals of either ideology. Even within the parties there is a grand swing to both ends. We must be careful with either end of the spectrum. Without a balance the liberals can become socialist (many over one), the conservatives can become libertarians (one over many). Both can in the end wind up as totalitarians (one or group over many).