A true conservative agenda!

[wolfsblood07]

In my view, we have not seen a true conservative agenda in this country in over 100 years.  And no Republican has the guts to confront the beast of big government head on.  When President George W. Bush proposed a minor, voluntary shift to move social security into the private sector, the uproar in opposition was so loud you would have thought it was the end of the world.
I for one would like to hear some honest debate on the following:
Social Security is unconstitutional, let's look at phasing it out over the next few decades and replacing it with voluntary free market solutions.
Health care costs are astronomical because people are not paying for their own coverage, their employers are.  Let's make it cheaper by making it a free market.  No way an ambulance ride would cost $2000 in a free market.  Let's start by scrapping Obamacare now.
The income tax is unconstitutional, let's scrap it and go to a more fair and simple tax.
Affirmative action is reverse racism, let's get end it.
Let's allow religion in schools if local communities want it, and on public properties.  After all, the money says In God We Trust.  Let's not pretend we're not a Christian country just to avoid hurting someone's feelings.  People are free to worship any god or be atheist, but we're still a Christian nation.  Deal with it.
Global warming occurs in cycles, no evidence that humans caused it or that humans can do a damn thing to reverse it, or that it even exists based on the data we have.  Henceforth, let's not spend a taxpayer's dime to stop climate change.
Just think how every Bernie Sanders loving, wealth redistributing left wing tree hugging liberal in the land would react!

[Mr. Reactionary]

The income tax is unconstitutional, let's scrap it and go to a more fair and simple tax.

Ummm ... you might want to read the Constitution.

Affirmative action is reverse racism, let's get end it.

It's not reverse racism, it's just racism. If racism is discrimination on the basis of race (which it is despite the attempt to apply newspeak to the definition), then any unequal consideration of race is discrimination. Hopefully SCOTUS will kill it for good in college admissions with the upcoming Fisher II decision.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Why can't you defend your positions on their own merits instead of hiding behind the constitution like a coward?

[Clark Kent]

Social Security: Not unconstitutional, but I agree that it should be privatized.

Healthcare: Obamacare is bad, but instead of just scrapping it, we need to provide our own solution. Otherwise we'll end up with socialized healthcare, which is even worse. I propose the following:

Allow insurers to compete across state lines.
Have the states (not the federal government) offer tax credits to low income individuals and families to help them afford healthcare, and subsidize it if they still can't afford it. This would be completely voluntary on the part of the individuals or families getting assistance (so no mandate).

Income tax: Not unconstitutional (16th Amendment), and we need some way of bringing in revenue.

Religion: We are not a Christian nation. We are a Christian-majority nation. The First Amendment (and, you know, Thomas Jefferson) made sure of that. We should allow students to pray in school, but the teachers should not be leading them in prayer.

Affirmative Action: Yeah, it's bad, and we should get rid of it.

Global Warming: Even if we are behind it, it's not particularly important enough. Let the private sector come up with alternative sources of energy.

[OSR stands with Israel]

In my view, we have not seen a true conservative agenda in this country in over 100 years.  And no Republican has the guts to confront the beast of big government head on.  When President George W. Bush proposed a minor, voluntary shift to move social security into the private sector, the uproar in opposition was so loud you would have thought it was the end of the world.
I for one would like to hear some honest debate on the following:
Social Security is unconstitutional, let's look at phasing it out over the next few decades and replacing it with voluntary free market solutions.
Health care costs are astronomical because people are not paying for their own coverage, their employers are.  Let's make it cheaper by making it a free market.  No way an ambulance ride would cost $2000 in a free market.  Let's start by scrapping Obamacare now.
The income tax is unconstitutional, let's scrap it and go to a more fair and simple tax.
Affirmative action is reverse racism, let's get end it.
Let's allow religion in schools if local communities want it, and on public properties.  After all, the money says In God We Trust.  Let's not pretend we're not a Christian country just to avoid hurting someone's feelings.  People are free to worship any god or be atheist, but we're still a Christian nation.  Deal with it.
Global warming occurs in cycles, no evidence that humans caused it or that humans can do a damn thing to reverse it, or that it even exists based on the data we have.  Henceforth, let's not spend a taxpayer's dime to stop climate change.
Just think how every Bernie Sanders loving, wealth redistributing left wing tree hugging liberal in the land would react!

Have you heard about the 16th amendment

[Sumner 1868]

In my view, we have not seen a true conservative agenda in this country in over 100 years.  And no Republican has the guts to confront the beast of big government head on.  When President George W. Bush proposed a minor, voluntary shift to move social security into the private sector, the uproar in opposition was so loud you would have thought it was the end of the world.
I for one would like to hear some honest debate on the following:
Social Security is unconstitutional, let's look at phasing it out over the next few decades and replacing it with voluntary free market solutions.
Health care costs are astronomical because people are not paying for their own coverage, their employers are.  Let's make it cheaper by making it a free market.  No way an ambulance ride would cost $2000 in a free market.  Let's start by scrapping Obamacare now.
The income tax is unconstitutional, let's scrap it and go to a more fair and simple tax.
Affirmative action is reverse racism, let's get end it.
Let's allow religion in schools if local communities want it, and on public properties.  After all, the money says In God We Trust.  Let's not pretend we're not a Christian country just to avoid hurting someone's feelings.  People are free to worship any god or be atheist, but we're still a Christian nation.  Deal with it.
Global warming occurs in cycles, no evidence that humans caused it or that humans can do a damn thing to reverse it, or that it even exists based on the data we have.  Henceforth, let's not spend a taxpayer's dime to stop climate change.
Just think how every Bernie Sanders loving, wealth redistributing left wing tree hugging liberal in the land would react!

Have you heard about the 16th amendment

Commie amendments don't count.

[RINO Tom]

Why can't you defend your positions on their own merits instead of hiding behind the constitution like a coward?

Ugh.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Why can't you defend your positions on their own merits instead of hiding behind the constitution like a coward?

Ugh.

This is why unwritten constitutions win: you aren't held hostage by a bunch of dead guys.

[RINO Tom]

Why can't you defend your positions on their own merits instead of hiding behind the constitution like a coward?

Ugh.

This is why unwritten constitutions win: you aren't held hostage by a bunch of dead guys.

To each his or her own.  I do not view it as being held hostage, and I believe it was written in a very skillfully way that was rather unpartisan.  Sure, every now and again it needs changed; that isn't even close to an argument against such a document in my eyes.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I disagree, tbh. The constitution was a compromise between two factions, and as such was never really seen as a "perfect" or sacrosanct" document by the founders. Which is why explicitly breaking the constitution is a practice almost as old as the document itself. Of course, a compromise hashed out by rich northern industrialists and southern plantation owners a few centuries ago is hardly an ideal basis for government in the 2st century.


Even so, surely you recognise that failing to justify your position, rather, merely hiding behind a weasley "it's unconstitutional!" smacks of laziness. The constitution is not a security blanket.

[Slander and/or Libel]

Health care costs are astronomical because people are not paying for their own coverage, their employers are.  Let's make it cheaper by making it a free market.  No way an ambulance ride would cost $2000 in a free market.  Let's start by scrapping Obamacare now.

This is what we had before the ACA. It led us to where we are now. BTW, where we are now is that health care costs have been rising at a slower rate than in the last several decades, and far more people are covered than before.

Healthcare: Obamacare is bad, but instead of just scrapping it, we need to provide our own solution. Otherwise we'll end up with socialized healthcare, which is even worse. I propose the following:

Allow insurers to compete across state lines.
Have the states (not the federal government) offer tax credits to low income individuals and families to help them afford healthcare, and subsidize it if they still can't afford it. This would be completely voluntary on the part of the individuals or families getting assistance (so no mandate).

The problem with these two proposals: selling across state lines guarantees a race to the bottom, and health insurance companies setting up in the state that promises the most lax rules. It's exactly what happened with credit cards, and why all of the credit companies are headquartered in Delaware and South Dakota.

As for no mandate, that leads to a death spiral. If people can just sign up when they get sick, then they have no incentive to pay into the system when they're healthy, rates rise for everyone because only sick people have insurance, etc.

[Clark Kent]

Healthcare: Obamacare is bad, but instead of just scrapping it, we need to provide our own solution. Otherwise we'll end up with socialized healthcare, which is even worse. I propose the following:

Allow insurers to compete across state lines.
Have the states (not the federal government) offer tax credits to low income individuals and families to help them afford healthcare, and subsidize it if they still can't afford it. This would be completely voluntary on the part of the individuals or families getting assistance (so no mandate).

The problem with these two proposals: selling across state lines guarantees a race to the bottom, and health insurance companies setting up in the state that promises the most lax rules. It's exactly what happened with credit cards, and why all of the credit companies are headquartered in Delaware and South Dakota.

But it would also make insurance much cheaper for people.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

You have a point, but wouldn't most insurers already have some way of keeping you from receiving benefits if you only sign up when you're sick? If not, I'd imagine that they'd set them up.

[Slander and/or Libel]

It would make insurance cheaper for people, but it would also make it more worthless.

Prior to the ACA, insurers could just deny you for having an illness. You just wouldn't be able to get insurance. The mandate encourages people to sign up before they get sick so that they're able to have insurance once they do get sick.

[wolfsblood07]

Obamacare doesn't fix the problem of high health care costs.  Let's simplify it, cut out the bureaucracy and let the free market bring the costs down.  No mandates!  The whole notion of forcing young healthy people to pay is unconstitutional.
Get the government out of it, except the VA. 
If people paid out of pocket, it would be cheaper for everyone.  And besides, health care is not a right! 

[Mr. Reactionary]

Even so, surely you recognise that failing to justify your position, rather, merely hiding behind a weasley "it's unconstitutional!" smacks of laziness. The constitution is not a security blanket.

It's not a security blanket, but it is a limit on power. Congress only has the powers granted to it under the Constitution. Violating the Constitution is a non-starter when discussing potential law-making because it assumes an impossible act. You can discuss amending the Constitution to cure this problem, but absent such an amendment discussing unconstitutional policies in a conversation about realistic outcomes is a lot like discussing a timeline in which Newt Gingrich is Moon President. It can be fun, but there's no real point to it. I'm all for philosophical debate about certain policies in the right contexts, but pointing out that something is unconstitutional is merely a reminder of reality. I mean, should Hillary and Bernie and an unidentified man spend time at the next debate planning how to spend a fictitious $1 Trillion surplus left by Obama? Should Carson be asked "assuming there was no 3rd Amendment, would you quarter soldiers in private homes"? Discussions of a realistic policy agenda should be grounded in reality, so the unconstitutionality of a proposal is very important to that discussion. 

[courts]

The income tax is unconstitutional, let's scrap it and go to a more fair and simple tax.

Ummm ... you might want to read the Constitution.

Affirmative action is reverse racism, let's get end it.

It's not reverse racism, it's just racism. If racism is discrimination on the basis of race (which it is despite the attempt to apply newspeak to the definition), then any unequal consideration of race is discrimination. Hopefully SCOTUS will kill it for good in college admissions with the upcoming Fisher II decision.

do you support anti-discrimination laws? i can see the pros and cons with having quotas but that seems sort of implicit to enforcing those. i.e. you have a low % of minorities and/or women, therefore that is automatic evidence that you are discriminating against qualified applicants. if anything more so than affirmative action, which as it exists now is at least supposed to be more of a tiebreaker type thing

[Mr. Reactionary]

It's not reverse racism, it's just racism. If racism is discrimination on the basis of race (which it is despite the attempt to apply newspeak to the definition), then any unequal consideration of race is discrimination. Hopefully SCOTUS will kill it for good in college admissions with the upcoming Fisher II decision.

do you support anti-discrimination laws? i can see the pros and cons with having quotas but that seems sort of implicit to enforcing those. i.e. you have a low % of minorities and/or women, therefore that is automatic evidence that you are discriminating against qualified applicants. if anything more so than affirmative action, which as it exists now is at least supposed to be more of a tiebreaker type thing

Quotas are per se illegal under Bakke. Expecting micro communities to reflect the larger population in terms of percents is silly. My position is that any preferential consideration of race is both racism and also unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. While I don't rule out disparate impact analyses outright, I would not say they are "automatic evidence" of discrimination.

[Hillary pays minimum wage]

As for healthcare, I'd scrap Obamacare and expand Medicaid to cover the uninsured whose employer doesn't provide benefits.  Many more companies would have the courage to take the risk and cover their employees if Obamacare ceased to exist.  Singles making less than $25,000 a year and couples making less than $50,000 would qualify.  Children of uninsured parents would qualify for SCHIP until the age of 18.  You may remain on your parents' insurance until the age of 24.  How much expansion to what Medicaid actually covers is debatable. Illegal immigrants can participate in the system with a don't ask, don't tell policy.  Gays should be allowed to be on their partner's insurance too.  Now the debate comes regarding how much should Medicaid cover?  It could be expanded a great deal with higher taxes on the wealthy.  I propose a 50% federal tax bracket on those making over $217,000 annually.  Most of us will pay much less. If it saves lives then it's worth it.  We have a responsibility and it begins with dismantling Obamacare yes, but it does not end there.  Let's help each other out.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

An authoritarian government that wants to torture people will do so, no matter what the Constitution says. It's civil society and constant vigilance that protects our rights. It's unions, and political parties, and religious organisations, and NGO's, and law firms, and the media, and business and charities and (most importantly) and engaged and aware citizenry. That's why several African states with 'good' constitutions tend to fall into despotism - because years of poor governance and foreign looting has robbed them of civil society; and states with no written conditions (like the UK and NZ) or crappy outdated ones (like America's) are relatively well run.