Posted on 02/06/2016 10:15:07 AM PST by hoagy62
I've been up fighting a cold...you know, the kind that keeps you up and you can't get to sleep. I've been thinking about the upcoming elections and all that is at stake.
It's plain to see that there are many opinions out there about what direction the country should go. Even among conservatives, there is some disagreement about the changes that must be made.
Even so, I was thinking...what if the election DID go our way? What if we elected the candidate who would do what they promised and got America's government back to promoting the ideas the Founders intend...personal freedom, individual responsibility, limited government, and so on? Let's say we got what we wanted...illegal immigrants deported, all immigration stopped (especially Muslims), 5 or more unnecessary government agencies closed (Dept. of Education, Dept. of Energy, EPA, IRS, just to name a few), government limited by the strictures of the Constitution. All this is great and would help get our country back on track. May it happen!
However, I got to thinking about other things that would also need to be addressed, things the candidates can't really promise to do anything about...and, if something isn't done, have the potential to put us right back in the hole again.
Jobs and Wages: Getting rid of illegals and foreign workers will help get jobs back into the hands of Americans, no doubt about it. What about the wages? I have seen a lot of arguments about how much workers should be paid, and I have NOT seen a consensus. I know the idea for a business is to make money for those who own the business. Even so, a worker needs to be paid enough to live. I know, and anyone with a brain and the ability to do math can see that paying $15-an-hour to flip burgers or serve coffee is insane. Even so, there's no possible way a man can work an 8 to 10-hour day and feed a family of four and pay the bills for keeping a decent home running on $3-an-hour...or even $5-an-hour. And the workers themselves...the statements are made that "If they want more money, they'll have to want to better themselves, get training, and get a better job". Great conservative principle...in theory. Yes, there are those capable of doing so...but there are also those, due to lack of physical ability, or lack of mental ability, who can't. What about them?
Families: I am thinking about the young people out there. They are addicted to technology...or at least, social media, video games, and the like. They have little to no idea how to interact with society. You try taking the tech and the games away from them, and there's going to be trouble. Many fathers and/or mothers are unable or unwilling to deal with the grief that will surely follow. "Discipline them!", you might say. That's all well and good, but these days all a kid has to do is tell a teacher or other authority figure that Daddy or Mommy spanks them (or "beats" them) or grounds them or whatever, and the next thing you know Child Protective Services shows up, takes the kid away, and possibly even presses charges against the parent for child abuse. How do we deal with getting the kids back on track to grow up into 'normal' adults? How do we deal with the backlash that's sure to come from the kids when parents try to take the reins over their families again? How do we give the power back to the parents and adults?
These thoughts bug me because even if conservatives win the elections (Presidential or otherwise), these issues WILL eventually come up and need to be answered. I know there are answers out there...I just can't see them right now.
Do you have any thoughts about this?
Yes. Vote for Bernie.
What if we win? Consider the rethoric of the left: it is that of the religious fanatic. In their view literally Evil would be ascendant. War. that’s where we are headed and nothing can stop it.
I'd sooner eat broken glass.
I'm looking for conservative answers.
Look into the benevolent societies that existed before the great depression. All localized.
During the gd, it was worth it for gov to step into the role of charity as charities dried up when the middle class tightened its pocketbook.
Prob is, when the gd ended, gov never stepped out. Just kept piling on.
Bored/lazy kids is not really the govs prob to solve. However, get rid of all those mandatory auto regs that aren’t really needed and the guys at least will be able to get cars to work on.
1. I agree on jobs and illegals. A conservative president should deport all illegals, secure the border, cancel all executive amnesty for illegals, and compel “sanctuary cities” to follow immigration law.
2. Cut the size of government, and eliminate whole departments/agencies. It’s a whole lot easier to support yourself and your family on whatever income if taxes are lower. Taking the rich doesn’t help either, since they pass that cost along to those who pay them, which is eventually the working class.
3. Repeal the vast majority of restrictions on our individual, God-given right to keep and bear arms. We need to make sure that the next time America’s enemies on the left start tightening that ratchet, it starts out very loose.
4. Repeal Obamacare (not repeal and replace, just repeal). That added cost to hiring is discouraging the creation of new jobs, which hurts those looking for work. Additionally, Obamacare policies provide insurance, but they often provide no accessible care. Particularly those on subsidized plans cannot afford the time needed to get to the few in-network providers for those plans.
After that, we can look into the right agenda to make government work better on what it is supposed to do. The problem now is that it is doing so much it shouldn’t that there is no room for the right thing too.
If you think we need a “consensus” about what people should be paid, you don’t know anything about economics. Or freedom.
Also, technology is not an enemy to be taken from children it is something that can be harnessed to make them even better. Years ago my friend would tell me how smart their children/grandchildren where when it comes to technology. I would always ask if they were designing technology or just good at turning stuff off and on. There is a difference, you know.
I suggest conservatism means leaving people alone to live their lives.
0a. Investigate the past four administrations and hold them accountable
for the damage they have done.
How likely is that to happen?
Even Reagan didn't do that.
To ignore the moral shift as our society turned fom God to an agnostic viewpoint, is to work with the effect and ignore the cause. Society worked then because is personal responsibility and work ethic, it fails now because of a lack thereof.
We shifted to a welfare state, and corrupted legislature to support a lack of ethics.
You are wise to see getting a new car with no gasoline is worthless.
Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.
Oh, I understand that one’s wages should reflect what the job entails. Low skill levels equals lower wages.
I also know that some employers, if they were able to do so, would keep wages very, very low in order to make more money for themselves. Is that right? Not for me to say.
And yes...freedom also says that those who aren’t able to make the money they need to survive have the option to go where there IS money and do what they need to in order to survive.
I suppose freedom also means that those who can’t make more money....have to deal with the consequences.
In a free rational society, the free market will take care of this.
An investigation and accountability cannot happen until we have accomplished the most urgent things for our future. We do not want to get bogged down, and bogging us down would be the goal of every evil parasite in DC, which includes 100% of elected democrats and more republicans than I like to think about.
Better to fix things that are operational, rather than making McCain, McConnell, and other insiders worry about their own skins.
DEFUND socialist collectives foreign and domestic. DOWNSIZE/DEFUND/DISMANTLE all agencies, bureaucracies, ngos as needed to place the republic on a road to solvency (reversing debt clock). Limit all government work to “x” number of years (2-5) with good pay and no lifetime retirement/medical/pension benefits (no legacy costs). Prison for anyone in government (including judges) abusing constitutional limitations, especially spending us into an uncertain future with debt slavery. Enemies foreign - declare the war - obliterate.
Good advice, and I've heard the same sentiment before: 2 Thess 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat." Faith and logic both tell me that this is the most loving option. God is love, so we know He told us this out of compassion for the perpetual problem of those who "will not work". Logically, I object to the money wasted on welfare, but I object far more to the lives wasted because people who choose (rather than need) welfare throw away their time doing nothing that gives them a sense of purpose.
What’s that old Kenny Rogers song where he says you do not count your chips at the table? You are getting WAAAAY ahead of yourself there. There are too many factors. You can’t plan too far ahead.
Treat it like driving a car at night. Just focus on what are lights are seeing on the road.
If it goes our way in November, then we can war game it on who to put in place, etc...
There is no point in getting way ahead of yourself. Just spinning your wheels.
Reagan didn't face a $20T debt either. That gives us a stronger incentive to do the right thing. Then it was mostly about freedom, but there is now an economic urgency too.
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