TEA Parties

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

What really slays me about the people who are protesting the whole tax issue, is that most of them will do better under Obama. How the right gets people to vote against their own best interests, or to go out and protest for something that is against their own best interests, is beyond me.

Really? Care to prove that?

[Urbane Guerrilla]

I can see the silly Left has leapt out in unison if not force -- and altogether stumbled in their understanding.

Glatt, you don't have to be crazy to perceive the unwisdom of the Left. It doesn't even help. See below for why the unwisdom is so easy to perceive.

Green tea, however, is definitely not crazy -- though I'm more a black-tea guy. Unsubtle palate.

Presently, a left-leaning Administration is demonstrating the Democrats' economic illiteracy in a big, nay gigantic, way. The stimulus will debase the currency by inflation. Nobody here disputes that you can't fix a problem of excessive, ill-secured debt with more debt. But Congress is behaving like they'd never heard of that idea.

The Republicans are going to be able to campaign on the idea of "Had Enough?" again after a couple of years of this.

This inflation, and growth of the almighty nanny State, are what the TEA (Taxed Enough Already) bunch is annoyed with Congress and the President about. It's not at all about airing silly ideas about Obama's citizenship, or any of the notions floated in this thread, really. It's bipartisan. If there's anything really identifiable as the center of their bell curve, it's a tendency to center-right politics, and calling for better (cheaper) governance.

Nor is it all Federal-level. TEA in California is directing at least as much attention to Sacramento's spending as to Washington's. Sacramento isn't paying attention to the idea that outlay should be slashed until it is at least somewhat below income -- state-provided services must be reduced to stay within this state's means. Instead, they raise taxes all over the place. Serve 'em right if revenue consequently declines. They won't hear the idea that maybe Californians are man enough to take care of their personal needs without going to state officials. They heap burdens upon economic activity, driving up the cost of doing business. That's bloody silly. Even sillier is how they're ignoring how businesses look at California-imposed costs and move out of state in search of better bargains elsewhere. Sacramento needs a two-by-four.

Now get out there and do something for the GOOD of the country.

Exactly, Shawnee.

Debasing the dollar is not good for the Republic. Inflationary pressures act to debase the currency.

That Government is best which governs least. Or has to govern least. As long, at any rate, as it governs a little, for anarchy isn't a fix for anything much either. Does what the present Administration is doing sound like "governs least?"

The private sector economy creates wealth. The public sector's expenditures do not. Taxation to bankroll government's outlays is to do those things a society agrees need to be done, but which are not of themselves profitable. They are more in the realm of overhead -- particularly in the general heading of security, such as police and armies.

At any rate, it is always likely that control and reduction of public-sector costs and expenditure controls inflation and frees capital to use in actual creation of wealth.

There's the good.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

See: Acorn

I judge ACORN by what appears to be habitually accepted within the organization and my own experiences with them. I don't expand that out to pass judgement on democrats, liberals, insert label here.

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Urbane Guerrilla

I can see the silly Left has leapt out in unison if not force -- and altogether stumbled in their understanding.

Given that you usually include me in your 'silly Left' category, I'd like to point out that my response shows we didn't leap out in unison either.

[classicman]

I think S123 was saying that Acorn was an example of a parties extreme.

[Pico and ME]

I dont think ACORN is extreme. I think its mission is quite noble.

[Sundae]

I'm also a silly leftist. I didn't jump either.
I only came along because it sounded like you were doing the Timewarp in here.

[DanaC]

@ Sundae: I lol'd heartily at that.

I actually think the tea parties are a brilliant idea. I disagree fundamentally with the political views they support, but as an expression of popular political identities I think it's wonderful. It's drenched in history, laden with inherent and instantly recognised symbolism, and the people involved engage with it at a family and community level as well as a public and political level. It also looks fun. There needs to be more joy and celebration in our politics. The content of the conversations one might hear at such an event may well appear joyless or founded on fear to one of us lefties, but the actual even itself seems to me a fairly joyous expression of political agency.

Shame you missed it UG. I bet you'd have had a ball.

[classicman]

I agree Pico - The cause is an outstanding one. That is partly what upsets me so much about it.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I disagree fundamentally with the political views they support,

Interesting, and a little surprising to me that you feel that way. Which would be what? What political view do you think they were/are supporting that you disagree with?

[DanaC]

Actually, I don't have any kind of clear view on that. I have leapt (rather ungracefully I admit) to a conclusion based on the fact that UG supports them...

And the few little bits I've heard about them lead me to think they object to the kind tax system that I personally am in favour of :P

But I am happy to stand corrected if I am wrong on that. My point still stands; but I'll pose it in more hypothetical terms: I may disagree fundamentally with the political views they support, but I would still consider it a wonderful expression of popular political identities.

[classicman]

I didn't mean to put you on the spot, I know only a little about what the tea parties were organized for, but it seems they attracted a whole host of other people touting other political issues at the events.

Aside/I find it rather amusing that you, a Brit, disagree with the American tea parties.

[lookout123]

They're still a little sensitive about tea, don't push it.

[Cicero]

Yah I can understand the sensitivity. I watch people ruin perfectly good cups of Earl Grey, and I wonder how I can train the masses to make it properly.

[kerosene]

What, with cream and sugar? Yummmm!