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Subject: 
Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Tue, 17 Aug 2004 21:20:28 GMT
Viewed: 
993 times
  
"Scott A" <dr_scott_arthur@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:I2LoEK.15Cw@lugnet.com...

I know I'm more likely to ask conservative friends with Libertarian • leanings
to take the quiz (which might account for the reason that there are a • lot
more Libertarians than Right-Conservatives).  Still, I wouldn't call the
Libertarian segment an "overwhelming majority".

Please check the date on the site I cited.

Or you could say "oops, that information is outdated".


Can the results be slanted by some sort of "bot"?

It could be slanted by any nuimber of factors.  The point of the quiz is to
help people approximate where on the political spectrum they might be.  In
my own experience it does this well.  But when I discuss it with you, all of
a sudden you treat it like some kind of global survey of political views.
Nobody ever suggested this was the case.

The only example I've seen first hand of a person disagreeing with the
results of the quiz was a friend who fancied himself a Libertarian but ended
up to the far Right (largely to some rather fundamental religious beliefs).


I'm sorry! Please don't invade my tiny country! ;)

You have no oil!  And you already have a McDonalds.  Do you have a Wal-Mart
yet?  Hmm...


You may see
yourself as a right-conservative within your national or contientental
political spectrum while being somewhere else on the spectrum in a • different
place.

In another post you said:
"I find it hard to see how a 'Right-Conservative' could be against free
speech or
voluntary military service?"

You need only look as far as fascists.

I'm not sure 'Right-Conservative' = fascist ?

Fascists are right-wing authoritarians.  I never said that all Right-wingers
are fascists, but fascists are right-wing.


Later in the other post you said:
"I'd also love to see how taxes could be cut by 50%..."

I guess to understand you'd have to estimate that at least half of the • money
we pay in taxes is wasted on needless bureaucracy.  By eliminating the
Bureaucracy (or attempting to), it would not be hard to save a lot of • tax
dollars.

50% on bureaucracy? Are you sure?

Do you have trustworthy numbers that prove otherwise?  There seem to be a
lot of cases around the world of bureaucrats making bad financial decisions
and not being held accountable for them.  We have the Canadian Gun Control
Registry as one example:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_gun_registry

We have the US Halliburton issue, and to many incidents of "Pork Barrel
Spending" to count.

Then we have Public funding for massive arenas that don't live up to
expectations...

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5722300/


In one prominent case, by allowing companies other than Halliburton (and
it's affiliates) to support US forces and assist in rebuilding Iraq. • One
need not look far for other examples of government waste.

Hmm. Would "rebuilding Iraq" be part of a libertarian agenda?

You don't have to rebuild stuff you don't blow up in the first place.

Still, with France, Germany, China, North Korea and others ignoring the
embargo, and Saddam not budging as a result, I didn't see a pleasant
non-military solution coming.


This may scare you, but Socialism is not without its merits:

+ Have you experienced the quality of life in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, • Norway
  or Iceland?

Have you?  I have no complaints about my quality of life.


+ Have you compared the Cuban healthcare system to that millions of your
  countrymen do {not} have?

Every American is guaranteed free healthcare.  If a patient walk into a
hospital that accepts Medicaid, they must be treated.

Of course, many countries with "Socialized Medicine" also offer private
hospitals for the wealthy.  If they're so great, why do so many wealthy
foreigners come here to study medicine and recieve critical medical care?


+ Did you know that the worlds best healthcare system (France) is state • run, and
  that your private one is the world's most inefficient?

I'd like to see some figures to back up those claims.


For one, Libertarianism extols a belief in ones self and personal
responsibility for the wellbeing of society.  The religions I am • familiar
with typically encourage a belief in an imaginary man in the sky who
protects you from personal responsibility.

Are you sure about that?

Yes.


By "predicted", do you mean "approximated"? Libertarianism may be a • theory, but
it is {not} physics.

Everything "predicted" by physics is really an approximation.  It all
depends on how accurate and precise your measurements are.

Libertarianism is also not a hat.


If we're being taxed too much (by our own estimation) and we see a lot • of
government waste going on, and we suggest that the government should • "stop
wasting our money" and take less from us - it seems ridiculous to balk • and
say "That solution is too elegant!".

Saying you'd abolish social security and reduce taxation by 50% without • thinking
about the consequences is irresponsible. If social security were cut, what • would
happen to crime?

Nobody said anything about abolishing social security.  Nice straw-man.


Let's pretend Bush cuts bureaucracy right now and reduces taxation across • the
board by (say) 5%. What do you think would happen? I'd guess inflation • (and
interest rates) would rise sharply. What do you think?

So you think that bureaucracy and taxes keep inflation in check?

I think people would just have more money to pump into a stronger economy.



Message has 2 Replies:
  Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
 
(...) That would involve admitting that an error was made... (...) Try this search: (URL) you'll find some cites that do indicate that we spend a lot of our GNP on healhcare, for instance this one (URL) this one (URL) these sorts of studies seem to (...) (20 years ago, 18-Aug-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
  Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
 
(...) Or you could say, "oops, a small part of that information is outdated". ;) (...) But everyone here, and the site I cited, appears to feel the quiz does not do that. Why do you think different? (...) What makes you think that is my view? (...) (...) (20 years ago, 18-Aug-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: World's Smallest Political Quiz
 
(...) Please check the date on the site I cited. (...) Can the results be slanted by some sort of "bot"? (...) I'm sorry! Please don't invade my tiny country! ;) (...) I'm not sure 'Right-Conservative' = fascist ? (...) From the quiz: (...) (20 years ago, 17-Aug-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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