Opinion of describing yourself as 'fiscally ________'

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

'Why can't the GOP be fiscally conservative, but socially liberal?'

'I'm a fiscal liberal/moderate'

Obviously a dreadful practice that should be stamped out with haste.

[Cranberry]

Is this just me, or do you hear this sh-t only from people that are somehow in their view on "the other side" when it comes to social issues?

[RI]

Within context, it's as useful as any other political label.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Codespeak for "I like to pretend I know more about economic policy than I actually do"

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

It's normally from conservatives who think they're somehow better than SocCons because they do weed; or from inane people who pretend to be 'above partisan politics' but actually speak in vague McPlatitides that don't mean anything.

Within context, it's as useful as any other political label.

I don't know. It's frustratingly vague. I've seen such disparate politicians as Gary Johnson and Michael Bloomberg be described with the phrase 'fiscally conservative, but socially liberal'. What does it even mean? It's a trite political slogan that has somehow wormed itself into use by actual real people.

[Antonio the Sixth]

HD unless it's used to describe the political leanings of Western Ukraine.

[King]

I believe in Monetarism, so I guess I am fiscally conservative but economically liberal.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Within context, it's as useful as any other political label.

This.  Even if you question the logic behind it, everyone knows what you mean by those terms, and they've pretty much come to mean the fiscal policies of the GOP/Dems.  As long as that's how society uses them, I'm fine with going along.

[they don't love you like i love you]

It's kind of like the phrases "big government" and "small government", while in theory it's easy to see how it can mean something, its overuse and reduction to a simple platitude has robbed it of meaning and it's just a meaningless buzz phrase now.

[Mr. Smith]

Within context, it's as useful as any other political label.

[TDAS04]

Within context, it's as useful as any other political label.

This, even if the terms themselves are meaningless. 

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

I'm biased against it, but that could just be because I'm biased against 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal' people.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm biased against it, but that could just be because I'm biased against 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal' people.

Well, "fiscally liberal but socially conservative" people rarely describe themselves as such. They have the taste to use more intelligent labels like "populist", "Chistian-Democrat" or "communitarian".

[RI]

I'm biased against it, but that could just be because I'm biased against 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal' people.

Well, "fiscally liberal but socially conservative" people rarely describe themselves as such. They have the taste to use more intelligent labels like "populist", "Chistian-Democrat" or "communitarian".

Do "fiscally conservative but socially liberal" people have a strong aversion to "Libertarian"?

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'm biased against it, but that could just be because I'm biased against 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal' people.

Well, "fiscally liberal but socially conservative" people rarely describe themselves as such. They have the taste to use more intelligent labels like "populist", "Chistian-Democrat" or "communitarian".

Do "fiscally conservative but socially liberal" people have a strong aversion to "Libertarian"?

Well, "Libertarian" in the US context carries a connotation of extremism and whackery that doesn't fit many FCBSL people. See on this very forum people like King, Oakvale, JerryAR or Clarko.

[morgieb]

Annoying buzzword for VERY SERIOUS PEOPLE

[ElectionsGuy]

I mean, I consider myself a fiscal conservative, but that's because I actually am. If the label is used accurately its ok. But to be fair its kind of stupid because no one calls themselves 'fiscally liberal'.

[Indy Texas]

I think the narrowest definition of the term would be one's views on fiscal policy -- that thing where the government buys things (goods and services from businesses, labor from individuals). So a fiscal liberal would perhaps be someone more eager/less reluctant to make changes in fiscal policy, whereas a fiscal conservative would be less eager/more reluctant to do so. (Of course, changes could mean a fiscally expansionary policy as well as a fiscally contractionary one.)

But people tend to use "fiscal ______" to lump the amount of money the government spends on things in with how it regulates economic behavior in general. That only makes sense to the extent that when the government enacts a law, it has to have a way to enforce it, and that requires spending money. But the amount of money that goes to the "regulatory arm" of the state isn't all that significant in the grand scheme of things.

You can be generally in favor of the government spending less money. It could spend less on weapons and soldiers. It could give less money to elderly people and spend less money paying for healthcare for the elderly and the poor. It could scale back "welfare" by spending less on food stamps. But there's no inherent contradiction between doing that and simultaneously enacting strict regulation of derivatives trading, requiring employers to abide by much stricter laws about how they hire and fire their workers, or enacting a 90% marginal income tax rate on "millionaires and billionaires."

[Phony Moderate]

It's kind of like the phrases "big government" and "small government", while in theory it's easy to see how it can mean something, its overuse and reduction to a simple platitude has robbed it of meaning and it's just a meaningless buzz phrase now.

Also, those terms are almost exclusive to U.S. political discourse, just as the "fiscally whatever" terms are. It's largely down to the fact that a high proportion of the population follows politics in the U.S. than in pretty much any other Western country - the greater the number of people interested in politics, the vaguer and stupider the language becomes.

[Mr. Illini]

I'm biased against it, but that could just be because I'm biased against 'fiscally conservative but socially liberal' people.

Well, "fiscally liberal but socially conservative" people rarely describe themselves as such. They have the taste to use more intelligent labels like "populist", "Chistian-Democrat" or "communitarian".

Do "fiscally conservative but socially liberal" people have a strong aversion to "Libertarian"?

They should, since that isn't necessarily what they are. Mainstream libertarianism in the US has a very clear ideology that you could operate outside of while still being fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Generally uttered by Republicans who care more about their pocketbook than about opposing (or supporting) LGBT and women's equality, or civil rights for minorities in general.

But yeah, no one ever describes themselves as "fiscally liberal" anyway, so saying "I'm fiscally conservative" in the context of American politics is pretty meaningless. Furthermore, if Ronald Reagan can be described as a "fiscal conservative", then the phrase is beyond meaningless.

[Goldwater]

Meaningless.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

"Fiscal conservative" always seems to mean people who want to give huge tax cuts for the rich and then borrow a lot of money to pay for bloated military budget. Obviously a terrible term.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

This is the second thread that's really bloody depressing.

Not everyone is an ideological purist.

[Rockefeller GOP]

This is the second thread that's really bloody depressing.

Not everyone is If you're normal, you're not an ideological purist.