FIRST PRINCIPLES

Hello, All!





In the interests of keeping the point of view of this blog front and center, I would like to take this opportunity to state clearly and for the record exactly what my ideological point of view is. This is not to say that I am closed minded or that I won't entertain other ideas. However, one must have a firm bedrock on which to look at the issues and matters of the day. This then, is my foundation.





The short form is that I am a radical free-market social Conservative with major Libertarian tendencies. I believe that each man or woman is an adult who is quite capable of managing his own affairs and doesn't need constant regulation from a Nanny State. For, instance, when Chuck Schumer said during his debates with Al Damato that he has "a passion to legislate", I was struck by fear -- fear that he would legislate all my Liberties away. His career to date has done little to quell that fear.





My point of view is a belief in a strictly limited government that taxes far more lightly than today, that deregulates all but the most commonly agreed upon crimes, and that strongly defends our People and our Liberties.





To illustrate, please let me list, issue by issue, where I stand and why.

• THE CONSTITUTION: The Constitution is the rule book for how we are to be governed. As such, what is written in the Constitution is sacrosanct. It was written in plain English, not the legalese that our elites think it should be read. And it is not a living document! For example, just try to play a game of Monopoly with the rules for that game a "living document". Being a living document, the rules then become an ever shifting miasma, meaning just what the players want it to mean when they want it. If you think that you could get a good game going in that situation, then, perhaps, you'd like to be governed by a living Constitution. However, I doubt most folks would agree. Sure, I know that the Constitution was written 230 years ago and that times change, but that is why there is a provision to amend the Constitution. This way, it becomes a matter of the Will of the People, rather than the Will of the Courts, or government of the lawyers, by the lawyers and for the the lawyers. It is very important to have as many judges as possible like Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito, who actually read the Constitution, do not look to foreign law, and make their judgements, not on their own policy preferences, but on what the Constitution actually says.
  


• FOREIGN POLICY: Let's face it, Folks! There's only one country in the world that actually cares about everyday people. The United States has done more in the last century to improve the standard of living of every human on the face of this planet than any other nation in history. No other nation has made more people free than the United States. No other nation has done more to raise the standards of living for more people than the United States. And what of our critics? Mostly, they are the nations that owe their owe existence and freedom -- what freedom they have, alas -- to the United States. As such, the United States should have no feelings of guilt, should cower to no other nation or body of nations, and should, in fact, lead the world. This is not because of some divinely granted right, but because it was earned with the blood and treasure of Americans who fought and died for the cause of Liberty. What America needs is a strong, independent and forceful foreign policy that guarantees, not only Americans, but all people life, Liberty, property, and opportunity. As for the United Nations, I suggest that they pay rent to meet in New York, but that the United States should cancel its membership.
  


• NATIONAL DEFENSE: Taking into consideration what I wrote above about the Constitution, it should be obvious that National Defense is one of the few powers actually granted to the federal government. As such, I believe that national defense has become a poor relation regarding the importance that social spending, which is actually forbidden by the Tenth Amendment, has taken on in recent decades. The fact of the matter is, despite the good America has done in the last century, there are plenty of folks who would like to see our downfall. This being the case, America must have the strongest, most robust, and most flexible military in the world. Ours still is, but it is no where near strong enough. On average, the military takes only 20% or so of the federal budget. This is an outrage. Our enemies aren't impressed with Liberal downsizing of our military. During the 1990's, we slashed our military by 50% or more. Al Qaeda looked at that as a sign of weakness and attacked us often and relentlessly. It was Ronald Reagan's buildup of the military that defeated the Soviet Union. It was only when George "Dubya" Bush took the fight into Afghanistan and Iraq that America was given a respite from the almost annual attacks that were allowed in the 1990's. Therefore, whatever the military budget, if it isn't at least 50% of the federal budget, it just ain't enough!
  
• TAXES: The short story is, Americans are taxed way too much. The average American pays more than half of his gross income in taxes, when all is said and done. Even the lowest 50% of wage earners, who pay almost no federal income tax, pay that much in local taxes, state taxes, excise taxes, sales taxes and the taxes that are levied upon the businesses that supply their food and clothing. This is also an outrage. But we have so built into the system a means of confiscating these monies without our really seeing it that the status quo continues anon. If any taxes are to be collected, the proper way would be to have only one low tax rate for all wage earners and all businesses, regardless of income. Furthermore, said taxes should be paid monthly with a check, just like the phone bill or the electric bill. In this way, the People will know, up close and personal, just how much of their money is confiscated and will, I am sure, vote accordingly.
  
• SPENDING: When one considers the Tenth Amendment and then looks at what our government actually spends our money on, it is immediately apparent that more than 80% of our federal budget is unconstitutional. The Tenth Amendment reads as follows:
  

  The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
  prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or
  to the people.
  

  This means that, if it ain't in the Constitution, the federal government can't do it! Now, having read the Constitution, I can find no provision for enforced charity (welfare) for instance. Or for health insurance (Medicare/Medicaid) or retirement planning (Social Security) or any of hundreds of government programs. They simply aren't there. If, for some reason, Americans wanted these things provided for -- I assume they do, since they haven't voted to have them removed -- the Constitution provides for an amendment process. Of course, this brings us back to the idea of a "living document" and I risk repeating myself.
  

This is a short list of my worldview. As subjects and issues come up I will expand on these and other matters. I look forward to reading your responses.

Copyright Nov. 15th, 2006