Websites Blocked In China

[kosydar 0]

Vapor-

Have you ever read any Milton Friedman? He is right up your alley.

[Vapor 0]

I read Capitalism and Freedom and loved it. A lot of his ideas are great and idealistic in some cases. Its tough to say if they would work in such a large and powerfull country as the US. I am a libertarian (basically socialy liberal and fiscally conservative, but its more complex than that) as was Friedman. I remember seeing an interview with him and he said at heart he is a libertarian, but he is a member of the Republican party because he has to be (or something like that) which is pretty much what I am. My views are libertarian but in our two party system it is tough to be libertarian. Plus the fact that libertarianism would never work in the US...

[flaming_june 2]

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

[Chadd 916]

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

Socialism > Communism from a theoretical point of view

[Vapor 0]

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

That is common sense though. I have never heard of a peaceful Coup d'état. If you are going to overthrow a government it is going to be done with guns not words.

Socialism > Communism from a theoretical point of view

Socialism is largely based on marxism which of course is also the basis for communism. Now I would agree that socialism is a better form of marxism today, it makes more sense and works far better than communism has. There is socialism in the United States. Price control, rent control, medicare, social security, etc. There are all socialist ideals. Pushes for socialized medical heath care are also on the rise in US, and are standard in countries such as Canada and France. My problem with socialized programs is that nothing ever gets done correctly or efficiently when it is run by the government. Private companies are far more efficient when it comes to... everything.

Socialism is also seen as a stage inbetween capitalism and communism. The big difference is that in communism everybody is equal (they make equal wages from the government) whereas in socialism the goverment runs everything, but wages are NOT equal. It is thought that communism will grow naturally out of socialism. The question is, will that naturally happen or must it happen by force.

[Vishi05 0]

I read Capitalism and Freedom and loved it. A lot of his ideas are great and idealistic in some cases. Its tough to say if they would work in such a large and powerfull country as the US. I am a libertarian (basically socialy liberal and fiscally conservative, but its more complex than that) as was Friedman. I remember seeing an interview with him and he said at heart he is a libertarian, but he is a member of the Republican party because he has to be (or something like that) which is pretty much what I am. My views are libertarian but in our two party system it is tough to be libertarian. Plus the fact that libertarianism would never work in the US...

That's how I'd describe myself.

[foppa21 0]

The Dep. of Veteran Affairs is a perfect example of why programs like this should be privitized. They have a budget of well over 60 billion and more than 220,000 employees. There are approx. 25 million veterans and you need 220,000 employees and over 60 billion dollars to take care of their needs? A private company could do this with an 97 employees, 6 thousand bucks, and a handfull donated 133 pentium computers.

Coming from the point of view of someone working in health care, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in quite some time.

[Vapor 0]

Obviously it was said with much exaggeration. Do you believe that the government can operate more efficently than a private company?

[foppa21 0]

That would depend on the particular government agency and private company in question.

[Vapor 0]

That would depend on the particular government agency and private company in question.

let us hear one.

[kosydar 0]

Law enforcement, the FBI, etc. all need the legitimacy of being the government. Private security forces just wouldn't work as well.

[Vapor 0]

Under Libertarian govenrment the military and police forces are still under government rule, these are just common sense. I mean things like health care, schools, etc.

[Drewhunz 3]

USPS

[Vapor 0]

perfect example. I have had much better experienced with FedEx and UPS. Much more dynamic tracking, much better customer service, etc. I know most people have had problems with one of the aformentioned private parcel companies, but in my experiences I definitely prefer the private companies vs. that damn PS.

[Drewhunz 3]

Although, I do have to say the USPS is the best way to ship sticks on a small scale.

[Vapor 0]

The private companies can just offer more services. Same day delivery across the globe, next day, etc. Down to the second tracking. It is much easier for a private company to implement something vs. a government bureaucracy

[foppa21 0]

So just what would you suggest as far as health care coverage for vets? Take away their VA health care and what do they have? A lot of them don't qualify for Medicare yet. Many of the disabled vets are going to told they're uninsurable or bankrupt themselves paying an outrageously high amount for private insurance. So now you've got several million people running around without health coverage.

Let's take it a step further, this is a personal favorite of mine. Joe Vet doesn't have a primary care physician because he can't afford to pay without insurance. That being said, Joe Vet can't get the prescriptions written that he needs for his hypertension, high cholesterol, yada yada. However, emergency departments, by law, cannot turn away any patient for lack of insurance. So, Joe Vet goes in every couple months to a different hospital for shortness of breath(really, a cold), chest pain(really, a little heartburn), or any other little thing that you can think of...and while there he lets it slip that he has a couple prescriptions that have run out and needs to get refilled.

Wanna know why your bill is so much for your visit to the emergency room? Visits like I described above happen all too often, and the ER doc never doesn't get paid for his services, I don't get paid for the nursing care that I provide, drugs and supplies used in the treatment area don't get paid for...so you and I get to pay for them in addition to what it costs to care for us when we have to go in.

A little off topic, but that's a huge pet peeve of mine.

[Vapor 0]

As I have stated before, a true libertarian system would not work in current day America. America is too big, has too many enemys, and has too many people depending on social programs. Why should it be societies job to bail out failures. Yes that sounds (and is very) harsh. The question that comes in to play in this argument is, what is the role of government? Some people will say to protect it's people. Some people will say to make sure everybody has the same standard of living and some will say make sure that people are clothed, fed, and housed. It is usually the people who do not believe they can do it on their own and are dependent that want more from the state.

[flaming_june 2]

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

That is common sense though. I have never heard of a peaceful Coup d'état. If you are going to overthrow a government it is going to be done with guns not words.

Its just the basis for violence against the people. They [various communist parties] committed War crimes during revolutions, and keep control by fear inducing violence after they take power.

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

That is common sense though. I have never heard of a peaceful Coup d'état. If you are going to overthrow a government it is going to be done with guns not words.

Its just the basis for violence against the people. They [various communist parties] committed War crimes during revolutions, and keep control by fear inducing violence after they take power.

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

That is common sense though. I have never heard of a peaceful Coup d'état. If you are going to overthrow a government it is going to be done with guns not words.

Its just the basis for violence against the people. They [various communist parties] committed War crimes during revolutions, and keep control by fear inducing violence after they take power.

vapor, the beef i have with comm is:

- communism specifically indicated that a violent revolution is a must to take power. The problem with this is when they do, they use violence to stay in power.

ie, soviet union gulags, the killing field of cambodia, 30 mill dead during chinese culture revolution, labour camps of east germany. the list goes on.

That is common sense though. I have never heard of a peaceful Coup d'état. If you are going to overthrow a government it is going to be done with guns not words.

Its just the basis for violence against the people. They [various communist parties] committed War crimes during revolutions, and keep control by fear inducing violence after they take power.