Am I Turning Into a Libertarian?

When I first learned about the Libertarian point of view I couldn't understand it. I used to never understand why people didn't want anything that wasn't liberal. Why can't we tax the hell out of the insanely rich so we can provide services for those who are less fortunate?

I still don't disagree with the morality behind that, but I feel that I'm projecting a personal bias on that point of view. If you're asking me to feel sorry for taxing those who make over $250,000 a year, you're barking up the wrong tree. I don't give a fuck about anything that you have to complain about regarding money if you make that much per year.

But does that make it right? Does that make it American? Is it the idea that our forefathers had in mind when they built the country?

It's tough to say. They had slaves for God's sake.

But more and more, as I listen to the Libertarian point of view, it makes more sense. Our current two party system makes no one happy. As soon as a Conservative gets into office, the Liberals shit their pants and criticize everything about them. Now that we have a Liberal in office, the criticism from the right is nonstop. What we end up with is a moderate compromise. Abortion laws go back and forth, tax laws go back and forth, school curriculums go back and forth, etc. Then no one gets what they want and no one is happy.

I used to think that this moderate compromise was the best solution for the country since everyone got at least a little bit of what they want. There is still a part of me that feels this way. We should be willing to compromise because we are adults. That's how adults behave. But the Libertarian point is that we minimize government involvement (especially at the national level) and people get to decide for themselves what they want to do.

A perfect example of this is Domino's CEO, David Brandon. David Brandon is a Conservative Christian that started his own neighborhood of Christian values where people can live under Christian rules and the drug stores don't sell contraceptives. This sounds like goddamn nightmare to someone like me, but that's what's great about it.

That IS America. Why can't a group of like-minded people get together and say, "We want our own Christian society where the kids learn Creation science instead of evolution, aren't exposed to sex or pornography, R rated movies aren't allowed, and abortion is illegal?" Then those who oppose can open their own community where pot and polygamy are legal. Since taxes would be stripped away, you don't have to worry about money from your pocket supporting things that you don't want. No bail-outs. You just put your money directly into the hands of those who you want to give it to, and it won't be mishandled by any self-righteous politicians.

Everyone gets what they want, and if they don't, they can move a short distance to where they will get what they want. It truly is Power To The People.

This does come with some problems, which I'm not sure how to address. Some people think that privately owned schools are bad, and I'm not sure what to think of it. I don't see how it would be that different from college. Private colleges are their own private entity that set their own standards for education. Obviously if you went to Harvard and got a business degree and the guy next to you went to Community College, you'd have a leg-up in the interview. That's because you get what you pay for, and Harvard has a reputation of high standards.

The difficulty that you'd come across is the issue regarding the poor. I like that we live in a country where if you grow up in a poor family you at least have a government sponsored education, and if you apply yourself enough, you can get into a good school for very little money, do well, and get out of poverty. It's possible that with lower taxes there will be more money to give to charities that would grant scholarships, but I just don't know. I'm not sure that we can know unless it was actually implicated.

Another problem is public roads. I would hate to have privatized roads. I don't want to have to pay a toll just so I can go to work using the freeway. Maybe that could be a tax that gets attached to gasoline.

But while we're on the subject of gasoline, let's stop subsidizing it. Our government uses our tax money to make gas cheaper. I like the idea of getting rid of that and letting gas cost $5 a gallon because it would lower taxes and force us to come up with real solutions to transportation problems. Maybe I wouldn't have to worry about paying a toll for going to work because there would be an actual light rail that would take me to my job (there currently is no public transportation that will bring me from my house to my job).

This entry only a scrapes the surface. I'm not saying that I'm a Libertarian. I've decided to stop defining myself to any political affiliation. I think what I think. That's it.

I just think that we might be even more free if we have less federal government and more power to the individual.