A Test to See if You’re Left or Right

1. If you could solve the fundamental problems of an entire group of people (say up to about 1,000,000 people who share an ethnicity, social status, or other background, including combinations of these) would you solve the problems of a group of people in the U.S.? Note that this question’s slightly awkward wording is merely meant to be broad. Helping all of the poor of the world, for example, would be too general, but P.O.W.’s trapped in China would be acceptable (if there are any… are there?).

2. Do you believe corporations actions inherently have a positive impact on our society, with those actions’ impact getting more positive the less restricted they are?

3. Do you believe that, in the current state of the world, wealthy people, such as executives, are paid commensurate with their worth? A corollary is to ask whether or not things like executive pay can be “gamed” or artificially inflated purely to the benefit of the executives and the detriment of everyone else.

4. Do you believe practices that you view as morally wrong, but that others do not view this way, can justifiably be banned?

5. Do you agree with the premise that there is nothing the government can do that the private sector cannot do more efficiently and more effectively? Note the structural change that requires, including fund raising.

6. Do you believe that America is always intervening inappropriately in the global market when it restricts trade or subsidizes markets?

7. Do you believe that religious beliefs have a place in the public sphere or that there exists a civic religion?

8. Do you believe that people should take care of “their own” before others?

9. Do you believe that intervening on behalf of environmental causes, such as preservation and protection of endangered species, is inappropriate for economic/political/idealogical reasons?

10. Do you believe that there is a certain set of objective criteria, related to criminal statutes, that can be set where, once satisfied, a person should be penalized by death?

11. Do you believe that a criminal, who has served is or her prescribed debt to society, can totally reform themselves and become a truly good person that shouldn’t have their past acts held against them?

12. Do you believe that regulation hinders our society and/or economy? Note that this question doesn’t specify a degree of regulation, it addresses regulation in an all-or-none fashion.

13. Do you believe that a justice can rule in a way that takes into account more than the particular wording of specific statutes? Note that this doesn’t say they ignore statutes as written, just that a justice would take more than that into account in a ruling.

14. Do you believe that, in all instances, it is better for the government to allow an individual to keep more of their earnings, or are there circumstances that warrant individuals being required to pay more of their earnings? Note that this question is meant to measure the long run, not specific instances, such as war.

15. Do you believe that lawmakers should always promote actions and policies that ensure the letter of the law is enforced? Lawmakers, to my mind, is an important distinction.

16. Do you believe that there is a balance to be struck between the ability of individuals to exercise specific rights and the interests of the country?

17. Do you believe that health care should be provided to all?

18. Do you support one’s status or wealth determining, in a substantial way, the opportunities one has to advance in life?

19. Do you believe that minorities are, on average, not disadvantaged relative to the majority?

20.  Do you believe that the U.S. has a sort of authority over the world and is justified in intervening in other nations’ affairs?

Like any test, I’ll be providing my answers to these questions.

Proof that Career Politicians are Bad

In a world where career politicians exist, a convicted felon can be given a standing ovation. He was corrupt! He corrupted the process the people of the United States rely on to ensure their tax dollars are working for them. Absolutely, positive unacceptable. The people should have ordered he be banned from the grounds of the capital. BarbinMD writing for the DailyKos makes a different point… Regardless, it’s a disgrace. An absolute disgrace. Also, look at the video below. Around 0:42 seconds in you see Robert Byrd being wheeled into the chamber. Honestly, how effective can he be as a senator? While I like some things about Sen. Byrd, and I’m not from West Virginia, I wonder why they keep sending him back to the Senate. Their interests cannot be well served by him representing them…

The Real Winner of 2008: Barry Goldwater

No, I’m not a member of the ranks of Republicans or modern conservatives who, as Kos and Paul Krugman each note, believe the electoral victory of Barack Obama is a message form a “center-right” country that conservatism and small government is the way to go. Rather, I’m here to kiss Republicans goodbye:

When you say “radical right” today, I think of … trying to take the Republican party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye.

Indeed, I think there is a case to be made that Goldwater’s views are more akin to those of the moderate Republicans we see being banished from the conversation instead of the far-right that is slowly taking over the Republican party (thank you Club for Growth!). The elctorate has been kind enough to give the Republicans two years to find themselves… Although,  still think we can deliver a permanent blow to them, but more about that in future posts.

Welcome

Hi. This is a new blog where I intend to write more about the philosophy of the left and center-left–what I believe is the plurality of America right now. I have lots of ideas, but we’ll see how this evolves. Please bookmark the page, add my feed, or even get my posts via email.