It is said that people tend to evolve towards conservatism as they get older. I guess I slept through that class, as I have become more progressive as I get older.
While taking the victory lap remember that there are those among us who will never except equality and freedom for all. That segment of the population opposed vaccines, scientific facts and supports banning books and the attempted coup of 1/6! We must never let our guard down. Thank you President Biden for your perseverance!
Please forgive me: I'm not wanting nor trying to nitpick, but to understand what you mean by "free." I take it that you mean by it "free of government influence or action or agency"? Or do you mean markets whose participants are freed of anxiety about continuing their existence on a basic level?
We can all evolve if we are open minded enough. The key is to educate ourselves. When we step forward and protect one group we take a step for the better for all. I wish we could remove the financial punishments that the disability community encounter when they contemplate marriage.
And I have gone from being a fiscal conservative (as if I even knew what that was)/moderate progressive to a full-on I-don't-know-what. But I've retained my lovely smile.
Sure. I think some things are probably better off in a free market. Things like arts and creative pursuits, crafts and trades, restaurants and food businesses. Not that government wouldn’t provide some support of some kind. The big stuff like energy, health care, infrastructure, housing and education to some degree, shouldn’t be in private hands and subsequently prohibitively expensive if not out of reach for too many. Sort of a Europeanish model, though I’m sure none of them are perfect. If we all had to worry less about our basic needs, I’m guessing the sectors I mentioned in the first sentence would flourish. So that’s my definition, for now anyway.
Oops. I thought I'd responded, but apparently didn't press Post.
I don't want to be a pain in the neck, but I do want to understand what you mean by "free markets," or by "free" in this context. Do you mean by "free" that government is not setting or enforcing rules, or is not an actor? Or that humans acting on the markets should not be facing existential challenges?
I mostly think about the small business sector. There’s been a bit of a resurgence of small businesses in my town, people being creative about identifying needs and niches to fill and I’m not talking expensive boutiques. I think our local government has become more sensitive to ways to support these places. A few years back a friend had a small restaurant that she furnished with cast off furniture and the town placed an assessed property tax value on the furniture as if it was brand new. The fight over the appeal contributed to her going out of business. The town doesn’t do stuff like that anymore. It’s not a case of government not having a role, just them being better at it. When it comes to the government’s role in the small business sector, health and safety, zoning, local taxation, sure, but government doesn’t need to be baking our bread. On a bigger scale, better protection against predatory pricing from the big box chains and Amazon (especially since the big boxes have gotten big tax breaks to put downtowns and mom and pops out of business). A market built on fairness can still be competitive and creative and maybe most of all, nurturing of small businesses. I think there is a freeness in a market built like that. This is all a bit of a pipe dream built on my nostalgia for a busy downtown but you never know. The past few years has folks looking at things a little differently.
It is said that people tend to evolve towards conservatism as they get older. I guess I slept through that class, as I have become more progressive as I get older.
I’ve read that and that has not been my experience, either.
I think that’s true for many as they want to hold onto their money. I feel differently but want money to be spent wisely.
Socially, I am more liberal as I age, if that’s even possible. 😉
Yep. I find myself so far to the left I'm about to fall off.
While taking the victory lap remember that there are those among us who will never except equality and freedom for all. That segment of the population opposed vaccines, scientific facts and supports banning books and the attempted coup of 1/6! We must never let our guard down. Thank you President Biden for your perseverance!
There’s a verse in the Bible about the poor always being with us. I think that holds true for the willfully ignorant, as well.
Please forgive me: I'm not wanting nor trying to nitpick, but to understand what you mean by "free." I take it that you mean by it "free of government influence or action or agency"? Or do you mean markets whose participants are freed of anxiety about continuing their existence on a basic level?
We can all evolve if we are open minded enough. The key is to educate ourselves. When we step forward and protect one group we take a step for the better for all. I wish we could remove the financial punishments that the disability community encounter when they contemplate marriage.
And I have gone from being a fiscal conservative (as if I even knew what that was)/moderate progressive to a full-on I-don't-know-what. But I've retained my lovely smile.
I pretty much have always been a free market socialist. I find it difficult to define but I can use it in a sentence.
And if you can also spell it, we will elect you chairman.
Would you be willing to say what you mean by "free" in this context?
Sure. I think some things are probably better off in a free market. Things like arts and creative pursuits, crafts and trades, restaurants and food businesses. Not that government wouldn’t provide some support of some kind. The big stuff like energy, health care, infrastructure, housing and education to some degree, shouldn’t be in private hands and subsequently prohibitively expensive if not out of reach for too many. Sort of a Europeanish model, though I’m sure none of them are perfect. If we all had to worry less about our basic needs, I’m guessing the sectors I mentioned in the first sentence would flourish. So that’s my definition, for now anyway.
Oops. I thought I'd responded, but apparently didn't press Post.
I don't want to be a pain in the neck, but I do want to understand what you mean by "free markets," or by "free" in this context. Do you mean by "free" that government is not setting or enforcing rules, or is not an actor? Or that humans acting on the markets should not be facing existential challenges?
I mostly think about the small business sector. There’s been a bit of a resurgence of small businesses in my town, people being creative about identifying needs and niches to fill and I’m not talking expensive boutiques. I think our local government has become more sensitive to ways to support these places. A few years back a friend had a small restaurant that she furnished with cast off furniture and the town placed an assessed property tax value on the furniture as if it was brand new. The fight over the appeal contributed to her going out of business. The town doesn’t do stuff like that anymore. It’s not a case of government not having a role, just them being better at it. When it comes to the government’s role in the small business sector, health and safety, zoning, local taxation, sure, but government doesn’t need to be baking our bread. On a bigger scale, better protection against predatory pricing from the big box chains and Amazon (especially since the big boxes have gotten big tax breaks to put downtowns and mom and pops out of business). A market built on fairness can still be competitive and creative and maybe most of all, nurturing of small businesses. I think there is a freeness in a market built like that. This is all a bit of a pipe dream built on my nostalgia for a busy downtown but you never know. The past few years has folks looking at things a little differently.