5 ms·

As someone in the upper-middle class (I guess), I would love to pay more taxes to allow the state to help out the less fortunate. But until they stop bombing th

As someone in the upper-middle class (I guess), I would love to pay more taxes to allow the state to help out the less fortunate. But until they stop bombing the shit out of foreign countries and chasing whistleblowers around the globe, I'm never supporting said initiatives to increase my liabilities to the state. I will just donate the money that would be paid in tax to charities like Habitat for Humanity (my preferred one, as I volunteer there on a yearly basis in the summers).

eli_gottlieb 13y ago
Luckily for you, political positions in favor of helping the less fortunate, political positions in favor of a more peaceful foreign policy and political positions in favor of a more transparent government all tend to fall under the same party rubrics right now. You sound like a social democrat. Come to the socialist side. We have cookies.
- icelancer 13y ago
  I consider myself a civil libertarian and nothing else. I don't much like the idea of coercing others to pay for things I agree with, much like I don't like paying for the bombings of foreign countries. But economically I'm fine with most forms of governing if it meant that we stopped killing people.
bjhoops1 13y ago
I say this all the time - I would gladly pay substantially higher taxes if that money went towards things like universal healthcare, public education, infrastructure and social programs for the 90%+ of the population that will never have to worry about paying substantial income taxes. Today's conservatives and libertarians remind me of Captain Hadley in Shawshank Redemption, when he tells his men that his estranged brother left him $30,000 and immediately proceeds to curse the fact that the government will take a large chunk of it. Perspective, my friends! If you make enough money to qualify for the top income tax bracket, be happy about it! It should be an honor to pay more than "your share" of taxes to support your nation, community and less fortunate countrymen. John Kenneth Galbraith said it better than I can: The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
- icelancer 13y ago
  My personal feelings are that I am more economically conservative and socially liberal, aka a typical right-leaning libertarian. However, I am first and foremost a civil libertarian (Greenwald-esque), and I am willing to compromise on the economic side so long as it means civil liberties are protected. So if that means the birth of socialism and the like just so we stop bombing brown people the government doesn't like, I can deal with that. Some things are more important than quibbling over econometrics.
toomuchtodo 13y ago
What's the best route for volunteering with HfH?
- icelancer 13y ago
  Not really sure to be honest. I started with them when I was in HS and helped build houses. I was impressed that they actually gave me a nail gun and stuff to do instead of stand around and pretend like I was doing something. Any organization that empowers youth and makes them feel like they are doing something is one that I want to patronize. So I go back and just do the same thing for a week or so every summer - build houses.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago

Luckily for you, political positions in favor of helping the less fortunate, political positions in favor of a more peaceful foreign policy and political positions in favor of a more transparent government all tend to fall under the same party rubrics right now. You sound like a social democrat. Come to the socialist side. We have cookies.

icelancer 13y ago
I consider myself a civil libertarian and nothing else. I don't much like the idea of coercing others to pay for things I agree with, much like I don't like paying for the bombings of foreign countries. But economically I'm fine with most forms of governing if it meant that we stopped killing people.

bjhoops1 13y ago

I say this all the time - I would gladly pay substantially higher taxes if that money went towards things like universal healthcare, public education, infrastructure and social programs for the 90%+ of the population that will never have to worry about paying substantial income taxes. Today's conservatives and libertarians remind me of Captain Hadley in Shawshank Redemption, when he tells his men that his estranged brother left him $30,000 and immediately proceeds to curse the fact that the government will take a large chunk of it. Perspective, my friends! If you make enough money to qualify for the top income tax bracket, be happy about it! It should be an honor to pay more than "your share" of taxes to support your nation, community and less fortunate countrymen. John Kenneth Galbraith said it better than I can: The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

icelancer 13y ago
My personal feelings are that I am more economically conservative and socially liberal, aka a typical right-leaning libertarian. However, I am first and foremost a civil libertarian (Greenwald-esque), and I am willing to compromise on the economic side so long as it means civil liberties are protected. So if that means the birth of socialism and the like just so we stop bombing brown people the government doesn't like, I can deal with that. Some things are more important than quibbling over econometrics.

toomuchtodo 13y ago

What's the best route for volunteering with HfH?

icelancer 13y ago
Not really sure to be honest. I started with them when I was in HS and helped build houses. I was impressed that they actually gave me a nail gun and stuff to do instead of stand around and pretend like I was doing something. Any organization that empowers youth and makes them feel like they are doing something is one that I want to patronize. So I go back and just do the same thing for a week or so every summer - build houses.