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Heisman Winner [137949]
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Be insulted.
Sep 16, 2020, 1:24 PM
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Would be curious to hear actual critiques, as well. Lot to unpack here.
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Oculus Spirit [97727]
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A modern-day de Tocqueville it appears.
Sep 16, 2020, 1:35 PM
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A modern critique with much less admiration.
All I will say is freedom isn't free. You pay for it when you hear someone spout a racist or insulting remark. When a soldier dies. When you end up being poor. When you're not equal. Yep, there is a cost associated with freedom. The acceptance of the cost of freedom is relative to the appreciation for having the freedom versus not.
We are less free today because we have a problem. A big one. There is no "free" way out of it. We have faced these problems before. And we are facing it again. Another price to pay. Cleaning up the messes caused by freedom.
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All-In [31896]
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It is interesting....completely wrong on my counts, but...
Sep 16, 2020, 1:38 PM
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interesting nonetheless.
The one part I agreed with was the throwing around of "socialism" and "communism" incorrectly...of course it's not correct to say all Americans do that (or anything for that matter).
The part about being "less free" than Germans or Danes and about having no benefits for taxes paid is crazy talk.
Luckily the writer saved "military-industrial complex" for the end, else I would have stopped reading sooner.
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All-In [31896]
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*on many counts****
Sep 16, 2020, 1:38 PM
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Oculus Spirit [97727]
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Oculus Spirit [81061]
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Orange Blooded [4365]
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Re: It is interesting....completely wrong on my counts, but...
Sep 16, 2020, 4:59 PM
[ in reply to It is interesting....completely wrong on my counts, but... ] |
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flow,
Yeah, I hear people screaming about hating socialism and I ask them to define it. i have yet to receive an adequate definition.
The other point I would make is that freedom has two aspects - freedom to (do something) and freedom from (certain concerns). I think Farmer was trying to point out that America seems significantly lacking in the second aspect, especially when compare to a number of social democratic countries.
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110%er [5679]
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Re: Be insulted.
Sep 16, 2020, 1:40 PM
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Strange take by Farmer. Some comments:
- I've never thought to compare my freedom to Germans or Danes. Maybe to N Korea, China, Venezuela.
- He uses "They" Americans...I believe there are indeed many millions of ignorant Americans as Farmer suggests...50% of people are below average intelligence. But to imply *all* are ignorant is nonsense.
- Being vulnerable to medical and financial crisis has nothing to do with lack of freedom. Indeed, we have the freedoms to ensure we are *not* vulnerable to these things. If you are a socialist living in a capitalist society and depend on the government to ensure your medical and financial needs, then you get what you deserve. That is called being ignorant, stupid, naive, etc., but it is not having lack of freedom.
- Farmer suggests our government provides no substantial civic benefits. Really? What about this:
-- 36M people on food stamps
-- Social security: about 65M people will receive > $1T (that's a T) in 2020
-- Nearly 10% of the federal budget is spent on medicaid (~$330B/yr)
-- and the list goes on and on
Conclusion: this Farmer guy is either a younger lib/progressive who "does not know a thing or two because he has not seen a thing or two" or is just a basic dumbcrat.
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Heisman Winner [137949]
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Are you lumping Social Security in with tax-funded
Sep 16, 2020, 1:46 PM
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social programs?
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All-In [47796]
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Social Security is a tax. were it not,
Sep 16, 2020, 1:51 PM
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it would be unConstitutional. Just ask the Supreme Court.
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Heisman Winner [137949]
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Wasn't it reclassified as such so Congress could start
Sep 16, 2020, 1:54 PM
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dipping into it? I sorta forget my SS history/timeline, so that may not be true.
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All-In [47796]
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it has to do with the 16th Amendment. Congress
Sep 16, 2020, 2:05 PM
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could not compel payment of the social security unless it is a tax. Same thing with Obamacare - the Supreme Court ruled it was a tax in upholding the individual mandate.
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Rock Defender [53]
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Who wrote the paragraph?
Sep 16, 2020, 2:20 PM
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110%er [7207]
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Without getting into the OOP's details,
Sep 16, 2020, 2:40 PM
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American education does seem to lack in the history, other governments/cultures, civics, and econ departments. I fully admit that I am criticizing without having a good solution. Schools are already inundated with federal, state, and local curricula. This is probably a culture thing more than a policy thing.
A quick personal anecdote: My senior year of high school, we took government and economics. They taught us the basics of supply and demand equilibrium and had us track some stocks over the semester as a project. I still can't believe that was the total knowledge with which they released us into the World. I voted for W several months later.
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