President Trump: The NEW one and only politics thread

We will fundamentally disagree, I think, but respectfully. I think you are a libertarian in the grand scheme of things, and I have no problem with true libertarians. It's a philosophy that's grounded in reason, and I can't expect everyone to agree on something as complicated as how to govern a society.

But "reduced standards of living in the aggregate" is just... wrong. The Canadian system might somewhat reduce the standards of living for the rich, but it improves it for the poor. And ideally, it improves it for the middle class, too, or at least is close to neutral, in creating a society that's safe, where the environment is protected, and so on. There are lots of ways people are "coerced" when they live in a society. There are speed limits, for instance. You have to have a driver's license to drive a car. It's illegal to drink and drive, or even to drink at all if you haven't reached a certain age. As a society, we've agreed that those rules are good rules to maintain the order of things.

Where you and I disagree is on the scope of those rules. I'm assuming you'd agree that murder should be punished, for instance. But you'd probably dislike a lot of environmental regulations that I find necessary. I don't mind taxes, because I do see them as an investment, not just in my own standard of living but in the needs of strangers. I like Canadian society. I come back from America and I literally feel my shoulders relax. So what's that worth? What's it worth not to have to worry about benefits, or not to have to worry I'm going to get shot, or not to have to worry that my subway isn't going to work anymore, or not to have to worry that we're in the "wrong" school district?

What you and I differ about, deep down, is the definition of freedom. To me, true freedom is freedom from fear, from worry. That's what we're paying for up here. Our taxes pay for peace of mind. And for me it's a small price to pay.

 

I don't think Americans are smarter or better educated. It's a question of resources. You have ten times the population. Ten times the audience for work like mine. A bestseller in Canada is 5,000 copies. The same work pays better down there, because the demand is greater. It's just a matter of volume.

 

The Sons of Jacob only paid lip service to the parts of the Bible that served their ideological ends.

 

Hey brah, I think Starman hacked your password.

 

I approve of both these posts.

 

LOL

 

Ragu has his. That’s all that matters. It doesn’t matter what is best for society as a whole. Get yours.

 

It's tough to decide who's more ambitious, Pence or Pompeo.

I read a story yesterday that sources have actually said there are stains all over the White House from dipshit's clown makeup.

 

I'd say the answer to your question is =. But Pompeo is marginally smarter than Pence (most carbon-based life forms are) which gives him a big advantage.