Friday, June 10, 2011

A Tea Party plan to put "Big Government' on a diet


Homeowners and employers are downsizing. Why shouldn’t government, too?

Click here to read the latest Bluegrass Beacon.

9 comments:

Hempy said...

To arbitrarily downsize a government agency because by doing so it furthers your goal of promoting the atheistic ideology of your patron saint Ayn Rand is no justification for doing so. Rand believed that government and The Market (her god your golden calf) have no mutual beneficial relationship.

I'd remind you that the current Great Recession is the result of an unregulated and untaxed OTC derivatives market.

Reagan's "government is the problem" promoted Ayn Rand's philosophy that government and The Market should be separate regardless of who it hurts.

If the Kenton County planning commission is larger than necessary, then the Commissioners need to determine if cuts can be made without harming its functions. To say that it should be comparable to surrounding counties is no data either. That’s just opinion.

Government exists to serve the needs of all the people. That's the basis of the Judeo-Christian religions, which advocates providing for the good of all. Obviously neither you nor Ayn Rand share that philosophy. Downsizing just to be downsizing is not a solution.

That Boone County allegedly does the same for less is an unwarranted assumption. Without comparative data, there’s no basis for making such a claim. Comparing dollars spent is not data.

Are tea baggers really more interested in finding out if there’s justification for the Kenton County planning commission, or are they just interested in promoting their Ayn Rand atheistic ideology?

It's just as plausible that perhaps Boone County is not providing the level of services its citizens expect and deserve.

Anonymous said...

Hempy, you are wrong on every point in your rant.

Wrong: "To arbitrarily downsize a government agency because by doing so it furthers your goal of promoting the atheistic ideology of your patron saint Ayn Rand is no justification for doing so. Rand believed that government and The Market (her god your golden calf) have no mutual beneficial relationship."

will continue in next entry...
Truth: This is not "arbitrary." The Northern Kentucky Tea Party has researched the cost and inefficiencies of this government agency. You should do your research, too.

Wrong: "...the current Great Recession is the result of an unregulated and untaxed OTC derivatives market."

Truth: The current economic funk is a result of: (1) Government spending out the wazoo that has given us a $14.3 trillion debt. (By the way, whatever happened to all that economic activity and all those jobs that were supposed to be stimulated by all that government spending?) (2) The uncertainty created by activist government and its sixties-type regulators in Washington who know nothing about business. They especially are lite when it comes to understanding that businesses don't hire and expand when there is uncertainty in the air -- even if "love is."

Wrong: "Reagan's "government is the problem" promoted Ayn Rand's philosophy that government and The Market should be separate regardless of who it hurts."

Truth: The people getting hurt right now are taxpayers, families and business owners paying higher gas and food prices. The marketplace works best when government acts as the rudder instead of the captain of the ship. It's like a traffic cop; he limits his involvement to his specific role of ensuring safe traffic flow and not harming others. .

Hempy said...

Anon:

http://swampland.time.com/2011/06/03/paul-ryans-ayn-rand-problem/

You might want to watch this short video and find out what Ayn Rand says, what her values are and her rejection of the values of the Abrahamic tradition of providing for the good of all.

To understand the OTC derivatives market and the current economic crisis, you might be interested in watching the video "The Warning.". It's available free. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/

Another video with more history and detail on the OTC derivatives market and the consequences of deregulation is "Inside Job" directed by Charles Ferguson. It's available at Amazon.com.

Adam Smith, the father of capitalism advocated making everyone pay to defray the expenses incumbent on the whole society. In Wealth of Nations he wrote:

"What are the different methods in which the whole society may be made to contribute towards defraying the expenses incumbent on the whole society…?"

Smith, although a deist/atheist, nevertheless promoted the principles of the Abrahamic covenant in his writings. Those principles are found throughout "The Wealth of Nations."

Ayn Rand has no use for the principles of the Abrahamic tradition that it's to our mutual benefit to work for the good of all. She speaks contemptuously of it.

The article had little if any data that was corroborated. It may well be that the teabaggers have more info, but it was not in the article.

Bluegrass Policy Blog is notorious for making superficial claims, which are subsequently refuted because they provided no research. Calling itself a "think tank" does not make it a think tank.

Anonymous said...

Proof, Hempy Man. Proof is what we're looking for.

Hempy said...

Watch the videos and you'll see your proof.

Your Ayn Rand atheistic philosophy is not proof. It's simply ideology.

You're the ones making the claim. It's your responsibility to produce the evidence. The article utterly failed to do that.

The article was proof-texting without corroborating data.

Logan said...

Hempy -

You are the one creating a false argument by bringing up Ayn Rand constantly.

It isn't about Ayn Rand. It is about reducing costs associated with government - a faceless, bloated, and impersonal entity.

Hempy said...

Logan:

It was Bluegrass Policy Blog (BPB) that touted the movie "Atlas Shrugged" not so very long ago. "Atlas Shrugged" is BPB's sacred scriptures.

Ayn Rand's ideology is a rejection of the value of the Abrahamic covenant. She espouses atheism and specifically rejects the values of the Abrahamic covenant. Her view of government is that government and the market should be separate.

That's essentially the views of BPB and their fellow traveling teabaggers. Their ideology is identical with hers.

BPB also rejects the values of the Abrahamic covenant and its main theme that it's in our own interest to work for the good of all. That's called the common good (a biblical phrase). In the US Constitution, it's the general welfare.

BPB's atheistic agenda is to seek punitive actions against anything government it perceives as promoting anything that supports the Abrahamic values of the common good.

BPB had no basis for cost of Kenton County’s planning commission. It totally lacked corroborative data. But that’s characteristic of everything that BPB does.

That doesn’t mean that BPB doesn't have a legitimate question. But BPB jumps to the conclusion that its info is the only true side and therefore government has to be reduced. That’s BPB’s atheistic Ayn Rand ideology at work.

Not once did BPB question, what’s best for the common good of the people of Kenton County. To do so would’ve embraced the values of the Abrahamic covenant and rejected Ayn Rand’s atheistic ideology.

Logan said...

Hempy:

I've actually never read any Ayn Rand.

I do agree with helping others though I don't pretend to understand what is always good for others.

I certainly don't think the government can claim to know what is good for others.

Anonymous said...

RE: Hempy on June 14, 2011 4:56 PM


You say BIPPS has no cost data, but if you go back and read the publication linked from the main article, it outlines cost differentials for the same services in three N. KY counties.

Please read before you jump.

And, please stop defending every single expensive government program. Surely you must see some of the inefficiency. There is so much you would have to be blind to miss it.