Comments on: Smaller Government, Lower Taxes, More Freedom

By: jason

jason — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:03:33 +0000

I’m tired of seeing them say one thing and then doing the other..
talking about Democrats!!! I like this write up very Eye Opener..
how can people think that more Govt., in ones life equals more freedom? HOW HOW HOW??? Don’t they teach History? does anyone learn from the past ????? we need more open thinking with eyes wide not cold minded day dreaming people in the river of life just going with the flow … look forwards way forwards there maybe a HUGE water fall ahead … and its NO fun going over the falls…. its too late then!

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:27:11 +0000

@Clever Dude:
Yeah, we heard about the electoral college, not sure that it’s the world’s greatest idea.

Although it’s not the same system at all over here, ours has some of the same flaws. In the national elections your vote is only likely to make a difference if you live somewhere that isn’t a Labour/Conservative/LibDem stronghold. OTOH sometimes you can indulge in tactical voting which can bring surprising results.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:39:07 +0000

Voted for Barr today in Baltimore County, MD.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:46:09 +0000

@plonkee: You’re right that I will stay unaffiliated.

I’m not sure how it is in your side of the world, but here we got this stupid electoral college, which you’re probably familiar with thanks to the debacle in 2000 (Gore won the popular vote, but not the election). If your state is normally Democrat or Republican (no state is ever majority third-party), your vote won’t help your candidate win the election if they’re considered the minority in your state. We need to get rid of this method of counting votes as it means not all the votes are heard or equal.

But as I said, you’re not throwing away your vote because you’re still letting people know that you care about that party’s stance and support them for future elections or even considerations and decisions by the elected officials.

By: plonkee

plonkee — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:28:49 +0000

I vote for minority parties in the UK all the time, and have never seen it as wasting my vote. Locally, it’s very un-American the two largest parties are centre-left (think left side of the Democratic party), and left (think socialist). As it happens, I’m a liberal and tend to vote for either the Lib Dems or Green..

I’d personally never vote for the Libertarian party because I seem to disagree with them about almost everything (other than the non-erosion of civil liberties) but I think that it’s great that you’ve found candidates that you can support. I hope you’ll still remain unaffiliated and choose afresh at each election.

By: Clever Dude

Clever Dude — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:04:01 +0000

@Nick, so you’re going to vote for someone because that’s who you think everyone else is voting for, not because you believe in him? That’s just wrong and sheepish. The point of voting is to vote for the candidate who stands up for what you value most, not who you think is the most popular in your state.

As for taxes, no libertarian would be able to implement fully lower taxes in his/her administration. It would be a progressive thing that would take years. But as you said, much of our money is wasted or lost. That obviously means the government doesn’t need that money! Let us keep it and let the government get back to what it’s supposed to do. Protecting us.

By: Nick

Nick — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:32:58 +0000

I personally subscribe to many libertarian beliefs, but voting for one this time around isn’t practical. Being a resident of a toss up state, I feel that my vote is better served to a candidate who has a chance, where my vote may actually have a real, tangible immediate impact. The one thing I disagree with on libertarians with is taxing. When you live in a country this big, with so many problems, it’s a necessary evil. Would I like to see less taxes? Sure. Does much of the money taxpayers contribute get lost in the system? Absolutely. But at the same time there are many people who are genuinely in need of government programs who wouldn’t get the help they needed, if taxes were slashed the way libertarians would like to.

By: My Journey

My Journey — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:26:38 +0000

Tear! I can only hope that our conversations (albeit brief) had something to do with this post!

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 19:41:33 +0000

I have worked in the mental health fields with people, counselors, and have seen real needs for people who can’t work and depend on medicines, therapy and services. I agree there is a lot of people using the system. I believe there is poor who is in need and there are those who can work but don’t and have some sort of disability. Taking everything away I feel isn’t the solution, finding a way to help each person function is the answer. So I vote the issues and who I feel is the right one to handle the problems. That’s why I don’t like any of the political parties.

By: Shadox

Shadox — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:24:19 +0000

In fact I agree with your argument that most Americans are wasting their votes. I wrote a post about the subject: http://moneyandsuch.blogspot.com/2008/10/voting-with-my-money.html

Our political system means that only a relatively tiny portion of Americans cast votes that matter and the rest of us are wasting our time and effort. It’s not just the matter of the electoral college that is causing this disgrace, it’s also political re-districting that has only one purpose: protect incumbents of both parties.

Our political system is simply broken. Calling this a democracy is a mockery.

I share your disillusionment with both the Democrats and the Republicans, however, in this election I am voting for Obama because I sincerely believe that he can cause a dramatic change for the better in this country across a wide range of issues. For me this is a personal vote, not a party vote. I too am unaffiliated politically.