tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363566791696022607.post5882458167628584752..comments2023-03-25T03:33:02.288-07:00Comments on Musings-from-Claremont: The Two-Nation SolutionRonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06893205050152322198noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363566791696022607.post-71302282719955312922009-10-14T12:04:03.051-07:002009-10-14T12:04:03.051-07:00Dear anonymous, thanks for a thoughtful comment. ...Dear anonymous, thanks for a thoughtful comment. Perhaps you didn't see the continuation of this post on "Two Nations" 2 weeks subsequent to this entry, in which I at least partially (and deliberately) debunked my own argument. Of course "two nations" is simplistic, which is why it wouldn't work. But I don't entirely agree with everything you said. For one thing, at least some experts suggest that California does not have "an incredible tax burden," and that in fact this state is at about the middle of all states in this category. Nor do I suggest that citizens should simply accept government as the solution to every problem and allow it to spend money on ridiculous things (which of course it does from time to time). You devalue your own argument by introducing such red herrings and straw men. I encourage you to read the subsequent post on this topic and comment once again when you have the benefit of more of my thinking on this issue.Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06893205050152322198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363566791696022607.post-40497431180167323062009-10-12T18:35:03.580-07:002009-10-12T18:35:03.580-07:00I believe that this post does only a disservice to...I believe that this post does only a disservice to your apologetics for liberal ideology. This sounds to me like nothing but a partisan diatribe that includes nothing of the so-called liberal values of open-mindedness or tolerance. With a broad brush you paint the country into two polar extremes, selectively using statistics to bolster your case that we have a liberal, enlightened America vs. an ignorant, backwoods underserved America. For a country of 300 million people (a rather large number I would say) you suggest the characterization of people in the most diverse country in the world is a simplistic exericise that can be reduced to drawing on simple material factors. Your argument that quality of life in liberal states far outpaces the quality of life in "red" states collapses when one learns the actual statistic that the happiest state in the United States is "Utah". Hardly a bastion for the leftwing elite wouldn't you say? I'm not saying I want to move to Utah, but I am raising question the way you manipulate criteria to denigrate states that are predominately conservative. (Hawaii is number two, Wyoming number three on the happiness scale) I find the argument that states with high tax rates are necessarily better to live completely ludicrous. California has the highest rate of people fleeing the state due to its incredible tax burden. Anyone wanting to pursue entrepreneurship (that evil practice of the free market) usually look for states that don't impose such heavy tax burdens on small businesses. After all more than 95% of the workforce is employed by small businesses. If government spending contributed to human happiness then we wouldn't expect all the Norwegian countries to have much higher suicide rates than the United States. Where's the nuance in your thinking? Where's the so-called tolerance for other points of view? I think libertarians are the only ones anymore who have an open mind toward political discussions. This kind of posting merely reinforces the idea of liberals as self-righteous elitists with nothing but disdain or condescension toward anyone who does not share their worldview based on the folly of materialism. No government program ever made me happy. Not saying government shouldn't fund any services but low taxes doesn't exactly strike me as such a preposterous notion either. The government of the U.S. has spent money so irresponsibly it's projecting debts of over 9 trillion dollars. Tax-heavy California has put itself deeper in the hole than any other state. Yet according to your logic, we the people should just be complacent to pay whatever taxes government deems necessary to redistribute it for their programs. That's the so-called "evolved" way of thinking right? If government needed every penny of tax revenue they take from us, why have they found so many ways to squander money on waste? They couldn't even give 1% of the so-called stimulus to small businesses which generate by far the most jobs in this country? How the hell do you create jobs without helping small business? How did the morons in Washington DC spend all their budgets into such a nightmarish deficit? I'm not saying taxes can't go to useful projects (when government stays within what should be its limits), but the correlation you're constructing between great standards of living and tax rates seems miscontrued. I just don't see eye to eye with you here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363566791696022607.post-65972335482687426462009-09-07T20:52:34.956-07:002009-09-07T20:52:34.956-07:00Yakpate,
I would definitely envision an initial t...Yakpate,<br /><br />I would definitely envision an initial treaty between the two nations that would permit unfettered immigration for a period of several years. Those concerned about living in a regime that would be repressive to them for any reason (e.g. liberals, racial minorities, gays, intellectuals, pot smokers, people who enjoy "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," etc.) would have ample opportunity to move north. Those who desire low taxes above all else and want to learn how to pronounce "y'all" could move south. :)Ronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06893205050152322198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2363566791696022607.post-10887474472471681302009-09-07T19:30:45.689-07:002009-09-07T19:30:45.689-07:00PLEASE... nobody pinch me! I don't want to wak...PLEASE... nobody pinch me! I don't want to wake up from this dream!<br /><br />A few questions... would we reciprocate among the two nations by returning from the "free" region to the Southern region anyone who had an abortion here, knowing that their punishment would be death... in exchange for the Southern region returning to us anyone who accidentally crossed the border with a joint in his or her pocket, legal in the free region but a capital crime in the Southern region? I mean, it could happen... some of us have relatives in the South! And let's be honest, at least 50% of born-again Southern women (maybe more) have had secret abortions. They would storm our borders more regularly than their periods.<br /><br />What would our official position be on the war criminals who would reside in the Southern region... Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bush et al? If they cross the border into our free region, would we turn them over to the court of international law for trial?<br /><br />And what about all the sex offenders who live in the South? Oh, grow up! Half of them live in Florida! Can we bar them from entry, or imprison them for crimes committed in the South if they enter illegally?<br /><br />And what about all of our black brothers and sisters who live in the Southern region... can we abandon them to a nation that likely would reinstitute the separate but not really equal doctrine? I vote no! <br /><br />Is it possible to relocate Louisiana from the Southern region to the free region? The South doesn't deserve anything as wonderful as New Orleans, and we can't let Brad and Angelina do ALL of the rebuilding!<br /><br />When the old white men who rule the South die out, and their children are finally free to use the Internet again, how will we accommodate the mass exodus of culturally challenged white kids from the South to our free region? Will they have to get a green card in order to work here? Learn to use polysyllabic words in order to attend our schools? <br /><br />STOP! Don't adjust my covers! I'm still DREEEEAAAMMMMIIINNNGGGG!!!Yakpatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09788658793693064873noreply@blogger.com