I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table

RebSaint said
]Anybody flip-flopped or changed their mind here on any of the issues?

Let's see....

DCSaints_Fan said
Gun Control: Most houselholds in Switzerland have an M16s since all adult males are required to be in . Canada has more guns per capita than the U.S. Yet both these countires have miniscule gun deaths compared to the U.S.. Guns aren't the problem, people are. There are tons of gun laws on the books, we don't need more. Want to drastically reduce gun deaths? Legalize most drugs. Voila, drug war ended, fighting over drug turf in inner cities non-existent.

Gay marriage: Should be handled at the state level. Call them 'civil unions'. End tax breaks for married couples, but increase tax breaks for dependent children.

Pretty much agree here...

Abortion: Limit to first 6-8 weeks except in circumstance where mothers life in danger.

Thats a little harsh.... not that I agree with unrestricted abortion on demand now, but am not 100% Pro-life either. At some point, well before birth but well after conception, you have a human life that has certain rights outside the of the mother. But I am little fuzzy at what point that is.

Church and State: Separate. Against federal funding for faith-based charities. Churches tha become too political must be cracked down on by the IRS.

Taxes: Do away with payroll taxes. I think even the poor should pay some tax, as it gives them an incentive about how that money is spent (ergo, they will be more prone to be involved in government and to vote)

Foreign Policy: Speak softly and carry a big stick Implement a phased withdrawal from Iraq that gets our troops out in 2 years.

Education: Handle at state level. Department of Education should exist but only as advisory board. If state wide testing is done per subject and has any effect on graduation, it shoudl replace any final exams for that course.

Free Trade: Complicated issue. America workers are not competing on an equal footing with foreign workers, since foreing workders can be paid much less and have same standard of living since everything is cheaper. Also in many countires legal protections such unions, overtime and child labor laws are non existent.

Welfare: Support. Eliminate fraud.

Campaign Finance: Ban companies that contribute from being awarded government contracts. Some sort of free network TV and radio time for candidates that generate sufficient popular interest buy appearing on state ballot. Then ban all over TV and/or radio ads.

Death Penalty: Against, except in cases when iincarceration is not possible and convict is likely to kill again. It is not a deterrent and there is chance you can execute an innoncent. Basically the Pope's postion.

Not a whole lot of problems here.

Social Security: SS is not a retirement account or a trust fund. It is a basically 'retirment insurance'. If you die before you retire, you don't see a dime of the money you put in. SS is an invesment in America's economy, essentially buying government T-bills. If you don' t think SS is viable, that means that America at some point plans not to pay its debts. If thats the case then SS is not the problem.

Well I've learned a little bit more about SS. There is indeed a "trust fund", but it does work more like an insurance or pension rather than a retirement account. Some people get out more than they put in, some less. The SS Trust Fund is the debt that the general fund owes to the SSA. There really is a formal debt instrument process, where the SSA buys T-bills like any other institution. This was done to avoid politicizing the issue. Benefits will probably have to be adjusted though.

Energy: Barring major breakthroughs, we are going to have to go nukes. Before you say 'Chernyobl' or 'Three Mile', there are new designs that are fail safe where meltdown is not possible. The waste hazard is grossly overrated, and pollution for fossi fuel burnign plants spew more radioactive waste than any nuclear plant will.

Environment: Maintain federal parks and wildlife preserves. Encourage other countries to do so where there are habittats hat contain unique and endangered species. Once the habitat is gone, zoos aren't going to cut it.

Immigration: Enforce existing laws. If those don't work, then start having discussions about a wall.

Civil Liberties: Read the Constitution, especially that part about 'Unreasonable searches and seizures'

No problems here. Although I do have an idea about how to solve immigration: Conquee Mexico! They're no longer immigrants, if we've annexed their home country... :hihi::