There is so much about this political climate that I am sick and tired of, but little gets me going like the Libertarian and conservative rant about “government intrusion” into our lives. According to their party platform (found on their website at www.lp.org/issues), Libertarians are “caring” and “people-centered”, and want to limit taxes so that you can keep and control your own money. Never mind that most well-off seniors elect to take Social Security, notwithstanding their income level. How many Libertarians come from the lowest rung of our economic sector?
The Libertarian website touts Chile as an attractive model because the government has created a two-tier system. Over 90% of participants have opted out of a state retirement system to place their money in individual retirement plans. Meanwhile, over in Latin America, the Chilean income distribution has been extremely poor. A Wikipedia source ranks Chile fourth worst in Latin America (ahead of Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia), and behind much poorer African countries like Nigeria and Malawi. Some model.
According to those stalwart Libertarians, protecting our constitutional rights and defending us from foreign attack are the only two things the Federal Government should do. Next time a Libertarian wants to go anywhere, let him stay off of federal roads. And next time a Libertarian wants to put a letter or bill in the mail, let her walk it to the destination instead of using the mail system (as long as she stays off of the federal roads!).
I’m a liberal, and proud of it.