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originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: JesseVentura
Yes, and not just the US, it is bad for every country and the world as a whole.
There has been a lot of confusion about the history and nature of socialism so I think this needs to be fleshed out.
"Legal Plunder Has Many Names
Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole — with their common aim of legal plunder — constitute socialism.
Now, since under this definition socialism is a body of doctrine, what attack can be made against it other than a war of doctrine? If you find this socialistic doctrine to be false, absurd, and evil, then refute it. And the more false, the more absurd, and the more evil it is, the easier it will be to refute. Above all, if you wish to be strong, begin by rooting out every particle of socialism that may have crept into your legislation. This will be no light task."
-Frédéric Bastiat
originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: madmac5150
Agreed.
"It is vain to fight totalitarianism by adopting totalitarian methods. Freedom can only be won by men unconditionally committed to the principles of freedom. The first requisite for a better social order is the return to unrestricted freedom of thought and speech."
-Ludwig von Mises
originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: madmac5150
Agreed.
"It is vain to fight totalitarianism by adopting totalitarian methods. Freedom can only be won by men unconditionally committed to the principles of freedom. The first requisite for a better social order is the return to unrestricted freedom of thought and speech."
-Ludwig von Mises
originally posted by: madmac5150
As a retired USAF Master Sergeant, as a man that swore to defend the Constitution of the United States of America... I see Mr. Sander's candidacy for what it is... a media sham... a Socialist agenda pushed by the MSM. I would beat my head into the wall, but I am not J. Ventura...
originally posted by: reldra
originally posted by: madmac5150
As a retired USAF Master Sergeant, as a man that swore to defend the Constitution of the United States of America... I see Mr. Sander's candidacy for what it is... a media sham... a Socialist agenda pushed by the MSM. I would beat my head into the wall, but I am not J. Ventura...
The fact that you swore to defend the constitution leads you to this conclusion how?
originally posted by: woodwardjnr
I think America should stop holding European socialism up as such a great thing. I used to think the Nordic countries were successful societies until you see their recent embrace of neo facist politics, where they are now burning down refugee camps. Hardly something to aspire to. They aren't some advanvanced group of countries. Their greatest legacy will be abba and flat pack furniture and pickled fish, maybe you could make some concessions to become a more ethical capitalism trying to keep money out of politics and things like that, but Europe at the moment should not be seen as some type of utopia especially if you see what's going on in some parts right now.
originally posted by: woodwardjnr
I think America should stop holding European socialism up as such a great thing. I used to think the Nordic countries were successful societies until you see their recent embrace of neo facist politics, where they are now burning down refugee camps. Hardly something to aspire to. They aren't some advanvanced group of countries. Their greatest legacy will be abba and flat pack furniture and pickled fish, maybe you could make some concessions to become a more ethical capitalism trying to keep money out of politics and things like that, but Europe at the moment should not be seen as some type of utopia especially if you see what's going on in some parts right now.
ARTICLE I, SECTION 9, CLAUSE 4
The Constitution was intended to give the national government greater power to raise revenue—the Articles of Confederation had been a fiscal disaster—but many Framers remained fearful of taxation. Indirect taxes (generally understood as falling on articles of consumption) did not lend themselves to congressional abuse (for reasons that will be described presently), but the Framers believed that "direct taxes" needed to be cabined. The cumbersome apportionment rule, requiring that a direct tax be apportioned among the states on the basis of population (so that, for example, a state with twice the population of another state would have to pay twice the tax, even if the more populous state's share of the national tax base were smaller), made the more dangerous taxes politically difficult for Congress to impose.
The effectiveness of apportionment as a limitation on congressional power obviously depends on the levies to which it applies, and students of the Founding disagree on this point. At one extreme, some scholars, citing Rufus King's unanswered question at the Constitutional Convention ("Mr King asked what was the precise meaning of direct taxation? No one answd."), have argued that "direct taxes" had no agreed-upon meaning, or, much the same thing, that the Framers did not think through what they were doing. They created an apportionment scheme so unworkable that a cramped definition of "direct taxes" became necessary to prevent the collapse of the system.
Those views overstate the extent of the confusion in 1787. No interpretation of "direct taxes" can be consistent with all statements made at the time, but the Founding debates are full of references to two forms of taxation for which apportionment was clearly intended: capitation taxes (specifically denominated as direct in the Constitution) and taxes on land (generally including slaves as well). Although intended to be difficult, apportionment was not impossible. Between 1798 and 1861, Congress enacted several real-estate taxes, all with complex schemes for apportionment.
The serious question is whether "direct taxes" includes anything beyond capitation and land taxes. The conventional wisdom is that it does not, based on dicta in Hylton v. United States (1796), which held that a tax on carriages was an excise rather than a direct tax.
www.heritage.org...
A generation may bind itself as long as its majority continues in life; when that has disappeared, another majority is in place, holds all the rights and powers their predecessors once held and may change their laws and institutions to suit themselves. Nothing then is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man." --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:4
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.
I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thomas Jefferson.
Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on.