joshuago’s politics Bookmarks

The conservative view fails to acknowledge the social costs of unrestrained economic innovation — costs that have made themselves powerfully apparent in American politics throughout our history. The liberal view, meanwhile, betrays a misunderstanding of the global economic environment.

When I have been asked why I, as a conservative, support this man [Obama] the way I do, I can only answer: listen to him.

Imagine if there were no reliable records of global surface temperature. Raucous policy debates such as cap-and-trade would have no scientific basis, Al Gore would at this point be little more than a historical footnote, and President Obama would not be spending this U.N. session talking up a (likely unattainable) international climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

Imagine the economic value of knowing, with mathematical certainty, exactly what the law is. If organizations could calculate legal risk as efficiently as they can now calculate financial risk (recession notwithstanding), millions of dollars in legal fees could be rerouted toward economic growth.

We need to send a clear message that we value the contributions of immigrants to this country. We need to condemn those elements, including those in the media, who use race-baiting as a political strategy. We need to harness the power and the passion of those who love Sarah Palin in ways that build a well-rounded, balanced and forward-looking party, one that’s built not on the politics of fear but, rather, on the politics of future prosperity.

While providing a huge market for Europe's goods, we've also substantially relieved the European powers of the burden of defending themselves. By assuming Europe's defense the U.S. has, in effect, allowed it the luxury of extremely expensive and ultimately unsustainable social-welfarism. If the U.S. economy weakens because of increased regulation, heavy-handed unionization, and higher taxes and debt to support an expensive social agenda, it will hurt Europe.

And so the Republican Party should get serious, as serious as the age, because that is what a grown-up, responsible party—a party that deserves to lead—would do. We are going to need the best.

A horror story about one company's ordeals with the city of Los Angeles. LA classified them in a lower tax bracket in 1994 and then arbitrarily bumped them up in 2007, ignoring its own ruling. Explains why business is fleeing LA and why one would think twice about establishing a business in Los Angeles.

Niche social and political movements try to argue with everyone they run across and convince the whole country, but that's stressful and hopeless. Why not just do it: build a version of the world you want to live in? Then you get to live in it, regardless of whether anyone else is convinced it’s proper or makes sense.

Given the realities of America's debt situation and the trajectory of spending, a value-added tax (VAT) seems more and more likely as the only solution. Income taxes won't cover the shortfall.