3 ms·
The hypocrisy of "small government" conservatives in this regard is that they ostensibly want the government to get out of marriage, indeed a socio-religious ce
by wyager 10y ago
The hypocrisy of "small government" conservatives in this regard is that they ostensibly want the government to get out of marriage, indeed a socio-religious ceremony, but they don't want the government to stop giving legal and taxational benefits to marriage.
I agree, the government should get out of marriage, but that also necessarily implies that it gets no special legal recognition, and would mean that gay people could also get married.
- judah 10y agoIt's not hypocritical to want a small government and also want less taxation. These are harmonious goals. Governments may wish to encourage male-female marriage (moms & dads => children and healthy environment => productive families => civilization). If that means less taxation for families, and thus a smaller and less powerful government, all the better.
- wyager 10y ago"Less taxation" is not the same thing as "tax favors for admittedly religious ceremonies".
- judah 10y agoYou're right, but the end result is the same, and is ultimately good: encourage male-female marriages, encourage stable homes for raising families, less taxation, and a smaller government.
- wyager 10y agoEven though I don't agree with everything you're saying w.r.t government incentivization of particular social structures, I respect that it's as reasonable as any other political standpoint. However, it's objectively wrong to claim that such policies are in any way "small government"; you're just centrally planning the social structure instead of the economic structure. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely possible that this is a good idea. However, it's pretty much the definition of "big government".