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Are you not including Social Security and Medicare in social services? The complaint from the right is that the federal government confiscates the wealth of it
by Nwallins 17y ago
Are you not including Social Security and Medicare in social services?
The complaint from the right is that the federal government confiscates the wealth of its citizens and redistributes it, presumably suboptimally. Leaving aside the objections to coerced wealth redistribution, there are questions of inefficiency, corruption, fraud, etc. i.e. One can easily imagine that a free market in social services would result in a more prosperous nation.
In any case, I think the right does not distinguish between Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements in its objections to a spendy fed.
- camccann 17y agoThe complaint from the right is that the federal government confiscates the wealth of its citizens and redistributes it, presumably suboptimally. No, that's the complaint from the Libertarians. The complaint from most of the right wing is that it redistributes to the wrong people (e.g., ones who vote Democrat). In particular, old people tend to vote more right-wing, so you're raving mad if you think they'd ever oppose Medicare.
- Nwallins 17y agoAs to libertarian complaints, really I am articulating the position of the fiscal right, i.e. fiscal conservatives. We are discussing the federal budget, after all. Whether old people and the AARP embrace Medicare in a selfish stab at the identity-politics cookie jar does not affect the classical republican (and indeed, liberal) platform. Note that I am not referring to and am in fact counter-indicating the GOP. The are plenty of old democrats, too.
- rw 17y agoWant to convince others? Then don't assume that they'll "easily imagine" that you're right. Save that stuff for the choir.
- Nwallins 17y agoWell, I am just saying that is the right's position, and I can see that it is at least plausible (i.e. I could imagine such a state of affairs). I am not claiming that it is correct, nor am I trying to convince others.