The Proper Role of Government
To a conservative, the purpose of taxation is to fund government operations. It doesn’t matter that we want less authority and lower taxes; the purpose is to fund basic Government functions, period. Certainly we can debate among ourselves what those functions must be, but the objective is the same: Low taxes, small government, and more individual freedom. We can argue about exactly what should be the scope of the specific limited government tasks, but taxation is to be imposed only to fund the rudimentary basics, not to redistribute wealth. A very wise man once said: “you can’t multiply wealth by dividing it.”
Liberals see the purpose of taxation as their means for behavior modification and redistribution of wealth from those who earn it to those who don’t. The role and purpose of government is not basic, it is vast. They too may argue within that ideology, but in the end, even the purpose of taxation can’t be agreed upon. Liberals want high taxes to fund a big government that controls the actions of the people for the common good. Conservatives want low taxes to minimize government to increase individual freedom and responsibility. There is increasingly less middle ground.
We can’t even agree what government should do; never mind how they should do it. If we separate the nation, each side no longer will have to battle over what government should do within their geographic regions, they can discuss how to best get it done.
Liberals want controls on energy usage and emissions because they say that they believe that it causes climate change (formerly known as “global warming”) and is harmful to the planet. Some say they just want control over all production to promote their primary interest of redistribution of profits and money, but let’s assume their motives are pure, and they believe there is a real danger.
Conservatives want clean air and water too, but do not want such limitations that cripple business with ludicrous claims of devastation. We do not believe the “proof” the global warming alarmists claim because their data has been proven to be doctored to meet their preferred ends. They also have another little minor problem with their argument; According to NASA we have gotten cooler over the past decade again because of the sun’s lack of activity.
I for one am tired of trying to convince a liberal that that giant ball in the sky is responsible for much of the “climate change” here on Earth, so please don’t force me to buy one of those ugly Smart Cars in which I will be crushed should I collide with an angry mosquito on the highway. I support their right to buy a tiny car and place their own families at risk if that is what they want. The problem is that it isn’t enough for them to be green and buy a flimsy fuel efficient ugly car; they want to force me to do it too – or pay the penalty for not doing so.
We can’t agree.
Next: Geographic Divide