fom wrote:
My understanding of the political right is that the republican party takes the side of the wealthy over the poor. They have a hard nosed attitude when it comes to social services and civil rights. The tea party gang seems to want something for nothing because they want to pay zero in taxes.
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I am brand new on this site, and I welcome the invitation to join it. Thank you, Glaucon. I love discussion, love getting to the heart of matters, love give and take. I will tell everyone up front that most of what I believe, what I think, what philosophies by which I live are of my personal making. No politician tells me what to think, how to vote, what to like or what to dislike. I am a doer more than a talker, and I have no respect for liars or tricksters. I have no respect for college educations as most of them in my view are not much of an education. Do I have one? Yes, I do. Has it helped me in life? No, it hasn't.
I have been to one TEA Party meeting, and had a wonderful time. No rowdiness, no messes, no fighting, nothing but very nice people sitting about in their lawn chairs beneath trees in Waco, Texas, talking about the affairs of the nation. There was no cursing, no insults hurled, nothing negative happening except trying to find some sense to all the wasted money Congress manages to lose every year. There were plenty of policemen standing around - they didn't bother us, we didn't bother them. There were no scuffles, no arguments, no messes, whatsoever. Just a pleasant bunch of people who feel the politics of our nation are growing entirely too oppressive, and we know from history than oppression grows naturally and does not recede naturally. Oppression is wisely watched and discouraged if one likes living in a free country.
I am on the political right. Have been for decades, but never saw much in the way of issues re left vs right until Bill Clinton was elected President. Even then, my issue was more with Hillary than with Bill. For the first time in my life I was aware that some of the people in office had disdain for what I considered the American way of life. She had great disdain for our military people and for people in general. She had been an activist as a young person and she brought that to the office of the President of the United States. Things in this country have only gone downhill since that time.
Some have mentioned money. I cannot speak for anyone but myself and those I know well. I have never had any problems with welfare, with EPA, with the field of education until recent years - and the issue isn't the money, but the arrogant attitude of those taking and wasting my money. I see myself as a generous person and have spent a lifetime helping others, both professionally and in my private life because I love people. What I do not love are those who make demands of me to do my charity their way. I don't see the political right as selfish in any respect, I see us as people with common sense and the desire to see resources used properly rather than wasted. Every welfare dollar wasted is a dollar that could solve a temporary hunger of some child. Every dollar wasted on expensive toilets for some elected official is a dollar that could be put to better use. Every dollar increased in minimum wage should be viewed as a dollar deducted from the more capable and dedicated employee who is worth a higher salary. When there is no incentive to improve one's self, sloth is usually the result. Additionally, increasing minimum wage does virtually nothing for the minimum wage person. With every minimum wage increase, prices of practically everything goes up - and those costs also go up for the minimum wage person. Raises in minimum wage laws are, in my view, little more than a circular firing squad. Raises in minimum wage laws primarily result in higher prices across the board for every American citizen. No adult should be working for minimum wage by choice. He should be advancing his knowledge, his worth, his capabilities thereby earning more than minimum wage.
I have a lady who helps me with housework every other week. I pay her $15.00 per hour, not because she demands it or even requests it, but because she is
worth it. I don't view her as my "hired hand". I view her as a master housekeeper who is valuable to me, and if I could pay her more, I would. I have never, from my pocket, paid anyone minimum wage. If a person isn't worth more than minimum wage, I would rather find someone who is worth more. In my nursing career when I had great helpers who were worth more than they were paid, but when someone else was determining wages, I encouraged them to get ahead and helped them find the way to become worth more than minimum wage. That is what the political right believes in - find a way
out of poverty, not a way to make poverty easier.
Again, thank you for the invitation. I welcome responses to comments I have made.