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Old 05-03-2010, 04:32 PM
asindc asindc is offline
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Hyattsville, MD
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I consider myself a progressive, but that does not mean I expect any government institution, local, state, or federal, to "save us" (In fact, the only people I know who believe such don't have much to work with in the first place, mostly due to their own making, or are accustomed to having elected government officials do their bidding). What I do expect is that those we choose to run our government institutions to have a genuine and healthy respect for those institutions, for what they can do and cannot do, and to not treat them with contempt. Be competent and be reasonable about what can be done, but understand the role government should play. However, just as I respect the idea that government should not attempt to solve every problem, too often I see the other side of that coin being ignored, which is that the markets do not self-correct in a way that is always beneficial to society at large. Just look at the erosion of the manufacturing sector of our economy and the decades-lasting debilitating effects it has had on several communities across our country.

Considering that, what is often ignored is that the private sector, large corporations in particular, do not consistently act with the best interests of our communities in mind, if at all. That is not their collective mission, however, so no reason to expect it. But knowing that, we do need our government institutions to become involved on our behalf in areas where the private sector is not willing or able. Attempts to fix our health care system is a prime example. I will say that I see small businesses as being much more community-minded than larger businesses, which is one of the reasons why the Small Business Administration was established. I know many people have been disappointed with the SBA's performance over the years, but that seems to be more a matter of execution and administration than a flaw in the philosophy of having our government utilize our resources to actively support small business development.

It seems too often over the past 30 years that some who profess to be libertarian have been selective in advocating for limited government. For example, witness the lack of outcry from some "liberatarians" when the federal government became more aggressive in promoting religion in general, regardless of the fact that no particular religion was promoted. I do believe that the debate about the role of government should be perpetual, which is why I enjoy reading well-reasoned, sincere opposing viewpoints. I do question the sincerity of anyone, whether they call themselves progressive, liberal, conservative, libertarian, or something else entirely, when I see inconsistencies in his/her approach to the issues. Too often, IMO, libertarians have allowed government activism on some issues without protest (official government promotion of religion) to preserve their right to be at the table on other issues (tax structive, the necessity of certain government programs). For many people who do not make the distinction (I do, by the way) between libertarians and "wackos" holding signs at Tea Party events shown on Fox News and CNN, this is one of the reasons why. Accusing the President of wanting to limit the amount of money an individual can legally make, when it is quite clear he meant no such thing, can also blur those lines for some people.
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