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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (328800)	12/13/2002 4:15:43 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769667

Re: "Libertarians believe that individuals shouldn't subsidize services the individual doesn't use. Libertarians believe that fair tax policy is not tied to an individual's means. Thus, a fair tax, by libertarian standards, would exclude the current graduated income tax scheme as well as any flat tax based on a percentage of income." >>> We all live in the Real World though, don't we? The World's economy that produces all our jobs and capital accumulation is what economists call a "mixed economy"... not all free, not all statist, part government sector, part Free Market. >>> Let's not go painting anyone into a rigid corner here... next you will be telling me that "all" Republicans really do believe in a smaller Federal Government (though, in practice, the size of Government continues to grow, and it's power over private lives continues to increase despite the rhetoric). >>> Just as there are many shades of 'orthodoxy' in the Republican and Democratic Parties, so there are different degrees of 'Libertarianism' within the American Libertarian Party... with some being 'economically liberal' Libertarians, and some being 'economically conservative' Libertarians. >>> If you are truly curious about my views (of which I have some doubt), I'm 'Austrian School' cum 'Chicago School' in economics... but still a 'social liberal' when it comes to States or powerful groups telling individuals how to live. I am for total equality before the Law, and anti-Authoritarian. >>> At the Political Compass site (http://www.politicalcompass.org/) I score dead in the middle on the 'economic liberal - economic conservative' scale, but very strongly into the Libertarian side on the 'authoritarian - libertarian' scale. How about you? Re: "Are you really a libertarian?" >>> Of course. Re: "Do you really believe in 'fair' taxes?" >>> Yes. Pretty hard to imagine a more neutral and 'fair' tax than a flat tax with no loopholes (although that begs the question of "consumption or income" tax). >>> Since we are quite unlikely to ever see a totally flat, totally no loophole tax system... I am willing to trade off a limited range of graduations in income taxes for a limited inclusion of specific loopholes. The result still being a VAST improvement over our current overly complicated, corrupt, loophole-ridden mess of a tax system. >>> Equity Capital and Debt should be treated equally (unlike our current system which favors debt over equity)... and we should - as a nation - encourage savings more.