Comments

1. 

   Anonymous

   May 30, 2005

   Bruce Springsteen has a song on the mid 80s classic “Born in the USA” album called “Glory Days” and it reminds me of the recent post by Barnie Day about all the wonderful things that liberals have done for the USA. Granted there is nothing in the post about the liberals of the early 20th century and their radical offspring Boomers, but let’s revisit the post point by point.

   Water Quality – If one chose to live in a city and be on a municipal supply, one is paying for that service via utility fees or taxes. If one chose to remain on the farm and suffer through spring or well water, then that would not require municipal systems of water treatment. Taxes raised to subsidize the municipal systems do not reflect the actual costs of that system and deflated the prices so that the consumer consumes with a lack of value to the product. The old saying is that “tap water is free” is horribly mistaken. If the public paid by the drop, they would conserve more. Instead, we subsidize wasteful, irresponsible behavior and tell the public how lucky they are to have government taking care of them. The regulations of the water are largely due to the delivery systems which corrode over time because they were made with inferior products. If there is a corollary between the inflated union labor costs and the product quality, I am unaware; however, that would be an interesting thesis but really why would a conservative graduate student risk an “F” taking on the “Glory Days”.

   Prescription Meds – Made safe by regulation or the free market? Is Tylenol safer because of regulation or television reporting? Are prescription meds expensive due to R&D or 11 years of FDA testing? Are they safer due to trial lawyers looking to sue anything that has money? Bet on the free market that strikes a balance with regulators to insure a safe product. Respectable companies and their products are better with a vibrant free market and reasonable regulations. Today, the federal electeds are pushing jobs overseas with too much regulation and then crying for reimportation of the meds. The cost is low because the employer pays for it? Then who pays for that the consumer? Not according to liberals. No, price has nothing to do with cost at Blue State U. Cost of regulation? Cost of litigation? Cost to produce in India? Priceless….

   Safe meat? See above for Tylenol analogy and realize that products that kill do not sell well in grocery stores. Word travels faster than a government regulator and most industries protect their products far better than government would. Nothing like profit to motivate someone. Nanny says cook your meat and if you don’t, you can always sue. Cost of regulation and litigation versus Canadian imports? Brazil has cattle you say? Oh and when did liberals start thinking bacon was safe to eat? Does that mean we can’t sue the pork industry now?

   Shampoo labeling? You got me there. A BIG THANK YOU for washing and rinsing twice! I could NEVER, EVER get by with Ivory or Dial for my hair.

   Clean air – for some odd reason liberals honestly think that they own this issue. I guess it is because they believe that they are the only ones who actually breathe. The air got cleaner in the US for a host of reasons most noticeably that most polluting companies can produce their products cheaper in other countries. China’s air versus Pittsburgh’s? You tell me? See, if liberals had not gone so over board we might have steel plants here in the US. Steel prices are now very expensive by the way which leads to higher construction costs for schools and roads = higher taxes. The “Glory Days” of the steel industry notwithstanding, what is a union retiree to do now that his pension was raided by his “brothers” to fight for more expensive labor costs and more regulations that drove the companies out of the US or out of business?

   Mass transit – this is a condition made possible by people choosing to live in cities and pay taxes to something that they think is cheaper because they pay the government to pay for them to …wait, how does it go? It is cheaper if I pay twice for something. That’s it! Right. If mass transit had to stand on its own, how much would it cost? If you choose to do something, then pay for it. If it is too ‘spensive Lucy, then you don’t. But thank you for taxing me more to provide a service that would be cheaper in the private sector.

   Pay, benefits, vacation and treatment at work are functions of the free market not the subsidized one. In global free trade, employees work for whomever they wish and at whatever rates they negotiate. Union or otherwise. Work in a horrid unsafe place or move to America? Hmmm, let’s see….that reduced the labor prices…hmmm, cheap labor means less concern for employees due to supply. Can’t find someone to work? Better raise what you paying. What this town needs is a good protectionist trade policy full of tariffs. I’m sorry Mr. Smoot-Hawley, you were saying something about the Great Depression and the wanderlust of liberal’s “Glory Days”.

   Worker’s Comp – Privately run in Virginia is half the rate of state run worker’s comp in West Virginia. Here’s a riddle, “How many employees recently applied to the company that pays less, offers no benefits, vacation or worker’s comp?” Answer – doesn’t matter they closed.

   Bankers causing Great Depression – hmmm…nothing about developing protectionist, nativist, racist trade policies which led to a shrinking economy? Bankers supply money and chose to ruin the economy? Boy, it is a good thing that they lost no money. No wonder they give gold watches to their retirees, it is a standard that lives on and on.

   Subsidizing higher ed with higher taxes – yeah, if the families only knew what a break they are getting for paying for Granola Gretchen to take 5 years to graduate with a degree in “I hate the USA”. Womyn’s studies, revisionism 101 and the plight of the KlaKlas is just not appreciated anymore. We need more of that. Set up a free marker in higher ed and you’ll see the liberal professors finding religion. There is a surplus of that because liberals became godless at the ‘68 convention not during the Great Depression(which would have been blamed on Reagan but he died)

   Social Security – Thank God (no offense to the liberals here), but there is nothing I enjoy more that earning 1% on MY money. Please, Grandma Nanny can I make 7% on just half my money and guarantee your “right” to take out 20 times more than you put in? I promise to let you come back and live in our house rather than this cinder block paradise nursing home if you do. Schools, prisons and nursing homes are similar in design, construction and operation because of what common denominator? Gubment…

   Let’s see here on my ride to work I think I will listen to CNBC to see how the market is doing and once in awhile I listen to “Glory Days” and remember how stupid I was to listen my liberal teachers talk down their noses about Ron Reagan and conservatives. But that was when Springsteen was making money on being pro-USA and standing next to the flag or was the flag in the poster being pissed on?

   Thank Gaia (mother earth god type thing) for liberals! Without conservatives, we might be speaking Russian or German depending upon how that holocaust went. The issue is and always has been about freedom. By the way, where are all the femiNazis now that Afghan women can vote, hold office and walk on the street? Oh that’s right, we’ll have to wait for the Afghan womyn to embrace lesbianism before they are real myn.

   You had me at reasonable. That was long ago…

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2. 

   Ray Hyde

   May 31, 2005

   Anonymous:

   I may not agree with your statements, but that was a great post. Why hide such a splendid identity?

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