I was raised as a Republican, but being non-religious (socially liberal), I quickly gravitated toward libertarianism around 10 years ago (I'm 31). In the last few years, I've been starting to question some of the free-market ideology, and Eric Janszen's book just blew the lid open on that. Try convincing a committed libertarian that the government may need to step in and interfere with certain industries (energy/transportation) to break a catch-22. Try convincing one that we, in fact, do need a minimum wage (probably a much higher one) along with trade protectionism aimed to keep productive industries here.
So to start, the right has it plain wrong on minimum wages.
For a little while, I have gotten a little twinge of doubt in my head when thinking about the minimum wage. Only this morning did that doubt crystalize. Ultimately, having no minimum wage in a truly free-market will allow employers to pay workers what they are really worth. And isn't that a good thing? Of course, the answer is no. My epiphany this morning was that the true worth of the average unskilled human worker on the planet is somewhere near zero. There are too many of us and industrial production is too efficient. Most of us aren't needed and consequently most of us are utterly replaceable and consequently marginalized. We do alright in western countries because the rich need to surround themselves with people who are somewhat content and hopeful, of course, there is trouble in those waters at the moment. I am starting to have some sympathy for OWS protesters who want to do nothing more than tax the shit out of the rich. Let's go ahead and do that and make them earn the money back from us. I'm starting to see the need for a little class warfare.
The big question is how much redistribution of wealth should we engage in? There are finite resources on the earth, and we do need to allow rewards for the skilled, hard-working and risk taking entrepreneurs. We also need to be careful to avoid blowing up a new government debt bubble once the current ones are handled via inflation or default.
I'm curious, is anyone coming into knowledge of the corrupt political system from the left? Have you come to realize that there are any big problem with cherished left-wing positions? Perhaps there are few. After all, the left plays the role of the populist party (although they mostly fail to follow through once in office).
So to start, the right has it plain wrong on minimum wages.
For a little while, I have gotten a little twinge of doubt in my head when thinking about the minimum wage. Only this morning did that doubt crystalize. Ultimately, having no minimum wage in a truly free-market will allow employers to pay workers what they are really worth. And isn't that a good thing? Of course, the answer is no. My epiphany this morning was that the true worth of the average unskilled human worker on the planet is somewhere near zero. There are too many of us and industrial production is too efficient. Most of us aren't needed and consequently most of us are utterly replaceable and consequently marginalized. We do alright in western countries because the rich need to surround themselves with people who are somewhat content and hopeful, of course, there is trouble in those waters at the moment. I am starting to have some sympathy for OWS protesters who want to do nothing more than tax the shit out of the rich. Let's go ahead and do that and make them earn the money back from us. I'm starting to see the need for a little class warfare.
The big question is how much redistribution of wealth should we engage in? There are finite resources on the earth, and we do need to allow rewards for the skilled, hard-working and risk taking entrepreneurs. We also need to be careful to avoid blowing up a new government debt bubble once the current ones are handled via inflation or default.
I'm curious, is anyone coming into knowledge of the corrupt political system from the left? Have you come to realize that there are any big problem with cherished left-wing positions? Perhaps there are few. After all, the left plays the role of the populist party (although they mostly fail to follow through once in office).
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