22 ms·

Another one of those conservative anti-deficit articles that would have been very timely if it appeared before the war started, but of course it appears after t

by hristov 17y ago

Another one of those conservative anti-deficit articles that would have been very timely if it appeared before the war started, but of course it appears after the war and the incredible amount of money it is costing us. Why did I never hear conservatives decrying deficit spending during the Bush years, when deficit spending ballooned. No, then you had conservatives talking about how the deficit does not really matter. Now it is too late, the cat is out of the bag. We need deficit spending just to keep the damn economy from collapsing, and no politician will have the guts to just exit the wars.

kiba 17y ago
The blog article is from a Libertarian, not a conservative institution.
sp332 17y ago
No, then you had conservatives talking about how the deficit does not really matter. Are you sure they were conservatives, and not just Republicans?
limist 17y ago
Except that the Mises Institute and (I believe) most Austrian economists are anti-war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute#Mission_and_activities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute#Miss... The Institute characterizes itself as libertarian and expresses antiwar and non-interventionist positions on American foreign policy, asserting that war is a violation of rights to life, liberty, and property, with destructive effects on the market economy, and tends to increase the power of government.
TomOfTTB 17y ago
I don't see this as Conservative as much as it's Libertarian (See the anti-War on Drugs part for example). From that stand point Libertarians have always been vehemently against not only the war in Iraq (http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20030310-0 http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20030310-0) but in many cases the one in Afghanistan as well (http://libertarians4peace.net/ http://libertarians4peace.net/). Libertarians in general are non-interventionist in regards to foreign policy. So I think your criticism is misplaced here
- abstractbill 17y ago
  Libertarians have always been vehemently against not only the war in Iraq ... Certainly not all of them though. ESR is the prototypical Libertarian in my mind, and has written about how awesome he thinks the Iraq was is/was (for example: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=651 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=651).
  - Semiapies 17y ago
    "ESR is the prototypical Libertarian in my mind" You might pick a more representative prototype. Even someone as iffy as Ron Paul makes more sense. But yes, like every single other political group outside of pacifists, you could find pro-Iraq libertarians. However, the huge majority of libertarians were vehemently against the war in Iraq. Many of them balked at the war in Afghanistan. (Also, a footnote: Libertarians are members of the Libertarian Party, libertarians are people who have libertarian views.)
    - DanielBMarkham 17y ago
      Note: I'm a registered independent and little "l" libertarian. I supported the use of force in Iraq and Afghanistan based on utilitarian principles -- I felt (and still feel) that less people will die and less pain would be inflicted by the use of violence in those areas) I find that the careful and appropriate use of force by the state does not conflict with my libertarian views. So there's another example for you.
      - Semiapies 17y ago
        So? I supported the Iraq war at first, and I was very keenly aware how thoroughly that put me outside of the libertarian mainstream.
        DanielBMarkham 17y ago
        Perhaps Big L libertarianism, but not the vast majority of independents who have strong libertarian leanings, I'd bet.
Judson 17y ago
If by conservatives you mean libertarians (Austrian economists tend to be libertarian), you only have check out Peter Schiff or do a search on mises.org to hear the "decrying of deficit spending". Also, you may want to check out some more articles on mises.org to fully understand what deficit spending does to the economy.
drewcrawford 17y ago
> Why did I never hear conservatives decrying deficit spending during the Bush years, when deficit spending ballooned. No, then you had conservatives talking about how the deficit does not really matter. The Mises institute (as others have rightly pointed out) is not conservative, but libertarian. Fiscal conservatism and libertarianism are similar, but there is a distinction. The Mises institute has been talking about deficit spending for well over 50 years now, regardless of who has been in power. If you haven't read Mises' Human Action (c. 1940) which deals extensively with this, I would recommend you to do so. Please investigate a bit about what you're saying before you try to write off a writer as "well the cat's out of the bag now".
- kiba 17y ago
  The institute was only established in 1982 so it is impossible to argue that the institute advocates against deficit spending for well over 50 years. It might be true for many Austrian economists to advocates against deficit spending, though.

by hristov 17y ago

kiba 17y ago

The blog article is from a Libertarian, not a conservative institution.

sp332 17y ago

No, then you had conservatives talking about how the deficit does not really matter. Are you sure they were conservatives, and not just Republicans?

limist 17y ago

Except that the Mises Institute and (I believe) most Austrian economists are anti-war: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute#Mission_and_activities http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Mises_Institute#Miss... The Institute characterizes itself as libertarian and expresses antiwar and non-interventionist positions on American foreign policy, asserting that war is a violation of rights to life, liberty, and property, with destructive effects on the market economy, and tends to increase the power of government.

TomOfTTB 17y ago

I don't see this as Conservative as much as it's Libertarian (See the anti-War on Drugs part for example). From that stand point Libertarians have always been vehemently against not only the war in Iraq (http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20030310-0 http://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20030310-0) but in many cases the one in Afghanistan as well (http://libertarians4peace.net/ http://libertarians4peace.net/). Libertarians in general are non-interventionist in regards to foreign policy. So I think your criticism is misplaced here

abstractbill 17y ago
Libertarians have always been vehemently against not only the war in Iraq ... Certainly not all of them though. ESR is the prototypical Libertarian in my mind, and has written about how awesome he thinks the Iraq was is/was (for example: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=651 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=651).
- Semiapies 17y ago
  "ESR is the prototypical Libertarian in my mind" You might pick a more representative prototype. Even someone as iffy as Ron Paul makes more sense. But yes, like every single other political group outside of pacifists, you could find pro-Iraq libertarians. However, the huge majority of libertarians were vehemently against the war in Iraq. Many of them balked at the war in Afghanistan. (Also, a footnote: Libertarians are members of the Libertarian Party, libertarians are people who have libertarian views.)
  - DanielBMarkham 17y ago
    Note: I'm a registered independent and little "l" libertarian. I supported the use of force in Iraq and Afghanistan based on utilitarian principles -- I felt (and still feel) that less people will die and less pain would be inflicted by the use of violence in those areas) I find that the careful and appropriate use of force by the state does not conflict with my libertarian views. So there's another example for you.
    - Semiapies 17y ago
      So? I supported the Iraq war at first, and I was very keenly aware how thoroughly that put me outside of the libertarian mainstream.
      - DanielBMarkham 17y ago
        Perhaps Big L libertarianism, but not the vast majority of independents who have strong libertarian leanings, I'd bet.

Judson 17y ago

If by conservatives you mean libertarians (Austrian economists tend to be libertarian), you only have check out Peter Schiff or do a search on mises.org to hear the "decrying of deficit spending". Also, you may want to check out some more articles on mises.org to fully understand what deficit spending does to the economy.

drewcrawford 17y ago

> Why did I never hear conservatives decrying deficit spending during the Bush years, when deficit spending ballooned. No, then you had conservatives talking about how the deficit does not really matter. The Mises institute (as others have rightly pointed out) is not conservative, but libertarian. Fiscal conservatism and libertarianism are similar, but there is a distinction. The Mises institute has been talking about deficit spending for well over 50 years now, regardless of who has been in power. If you haven't read Mises' Human Action (c. 1940) which deals extensively with this, I would recommend you to do so. Please investigate a bit about what you're saying before you try to write off a writer as "well the cat's out of the bag now".

kiba 17y ago
The institute was only established in 1982 so it is impossible to argue that the institute advocates against deficit spending for well over 50 years. It might be true for many Austrian economists to advocates against deficit spending, though.