I Am a Liberal Because...

[tinytim]

Liberals are liberals because they hate the wealthy. They don't think it's fair for some people to have money, and others not.

 

[Salty]

Liberals are liberals because they hate the wealthy. They don't think it's fair for some people to have money, and others not.

TT, I would basically agree with you, but why would a extremly rich person be a liberal - ie (the late) Ted Kennendy

 

[HankD]

TT, I would basically agree with you, but why would a extremly rich person be a liberal - ie (the late) Ted Kennendy

Because of the manner in which he acquired the money - by inheritance from his patron JP Sr.

HankD

 

[tinytim]

TT, I would basically agree with you, but why would a extremly rich person be a liberal - ie (the late) Ted Kennendy

Not sure, just telling you what a recent liberal told me.. he is actually struggling with "HATE"... of anyone that is wealthy. He sees Wealth = Greed, and he can't get over it.

 

[Crabtownboy]

I am a liberal because...

Anyone of the Leftish persuasion care to share?

You may have the ability to meet this conservative's need to understand the reasoning behind the political viewpoint.

Because Jesus was a liberal putting people first.

 

[targus]

Because Jesus was a liberal putting people first.

Sorry but "putting people first" is not a defining characteristic of being a liberal.

 

[glfredrick]

TT, I would basically agree with you, but why would a extremly rich person be a liberal - ie (the late) Ted Kennendy

The old meme that it is the Rich Republicans who are trying to hold down the people has to go. It is an outright lie from hell.

Most of the uber wealthy people in America and around the world these days are anything but conservatives or Republicans! They are from Hollyweird, sports figures, entertainers, owners of the press (with some rare exceptions), the television industry moguls. drug dealers, union leaders, and Wall Street, all of whom are liberal or even Marxist without exception.

Rich "Democrats" far outnumber "rich" Republicans in today's world.

Sorros, Kerry, Kennedy family, Gates, etc.

http://newamericangazette.com/2011/01/politics/top-20-richest-people-democrats/

From the, “you never hear about that from the media” file – Those “Evil, Rich People” that Democrats are always wailing about are actually – Democrats.

In fact, the Top 4 on the list: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, Christy Walton are all Democrats. Together, they are worth $150 Billion Dollars.

An analysis of the Top 20 Richest People in America (from Forbes Top 100) reveals that a full 60% are actually Democrats. Furthermore, if you eliminate the duplication caused by people from the same family being included in that Top 20 list (Wal-Mart & Koch) that ratio widens even further to: 25% Republican / 75% Democrat.

Here is the Forbes list for anyone wishing to click through and do their own research.

http://www.forbes.com/wealth/forbes-400/list

 

[glfredrick]

Sorry but "putting people first" is not a defining characteristic of being a liberal.

Buying voters first, perhaps... :wavey:

 

[Robert Snow]

Most of the uber wealthy people in America and around the world these days are anything but conservatives or Republicans! They are from Hollyweird, sports figures, entertainers, owners of the press (with some rare exceptions), the television industry moguls. drug dealers, union leaders, and Wall Street, all of whom are liberal or even Marxist without exception.

Which is it?

 

[targus]

Which is it?

No, he got it right.

"Most of the uber wealthy people in America and around the world these days are anything but conservatives or Republicans!"

And...

"all of whom are liberal or even Marxist without exception."

Some wealthy people in America are Republicans and liberal.

 

[FundyPat]

I Am a Liberal Because...

Stupidity ain't illegal...yet! :laugh:

No, I am not a liberal. I'm a right of center --- recovering liberal. :smilewinkgrin:

 

[freeatlast]

Why am I a liberal? Before I answer that I should preface this by saying I'm probably not the best person to answer this as some of my fellow Democrats think I'm a DINO because of my views on social issues. I'll give it my best shot.

I think a big problem of conservatism is that it ties one's success to one's effort to the extent that it excludes other factors. Of course, hard work and a good work effort are very important and should be promoted. I have no room for laziness. However, one of the goals of social democracy is to enable everyone to actualize their full potential while eliminating or at least minimizing the effects of capitalist exploitation.

Some examples of non-controllable factors which affect one's success are the socio-economic level of the family a person is born into, intelligence, and personality. While these are desirable, I see no merit in being born into a well-to-do family or having a high IQ. Both of those factors are correlated with a higher income.

What social democracy strives to do is reward a person's labor more than non-controllable factors and reward labor more than capital. A person doing manual labor works harder than I do at my call center job but gets paid less. The owners of companies exploit their workers by paying them less than the value they produce. In my ideal world, most business would be structured as worker-owned co-operatives which compete on the market to maximize the value of the business for all of the worker-owners.

Liberalism also provides people with more economic security. Since I work in the insurance industry, I take an insurance-like view of this. A person who makes more money one year may make less the next. Income isn't always constant. By having a progressive tax structure with a strong social safety net and single payer healthcare, you insure that everyone has some level of economic security.

I'm a liberal because of my fidelity to the Constitution and civil liberties. Only in a society with political freedom and constitutional governance can true economic freedom flourish.

Socialism explained= liberalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMqNL7sIhGs&feature=related

 

[carpro]

I looked through the article, and it talks about stuff like "imply[ing] positive obligations on the part of others", while "Each individual's positive obligations are notoriously unclear", and that it all leads to the government as the solution.
This is the common criticism of liberal ideology, shared by both conservativism, and libertarianism, which if I understand correctly, your "Jeffersonian" philosophy would fit into.

Yet you also mention a lot about the control wielded by capitalists, banks and corporate globalism. This is what I admire so much about your observations, because others seem to think the problem with government is only "taxes for social programs for the lazy poor". At least, that's what has been focused on, when people really rally and complain about government.
The corporate powers are seen as "deserving" it, after all "a corporation is supposed to make a profit, and they pulled themselves up, etc". So that even when they crash and need to be bailed out (and use that money to continue with extravagant recreations), the president is blamed, not the corporations!

He should be blamed.

He shouldn't have bailed them out. But they own him.

That's his fault.

 

[righteousdude2]

I am a liberal, because...

....I don't know better! :laugh:

 

[carpro]

Why am I a liberal? Before I answer that I should preface this by saying I'm probably not the best person to answer this as some of my fellow Democrats think I'm a DINO because of my views on social issues. I'll give it my best shot.

I think a big problem of conservatism is that it ties one's success to one's effort to the extent that it excludes other factors. Of course, hard work and a good work effort are very important and should be promoted.

So you promote a system that ,instead, penalizes hard work?

Makes a lot of sense.

 

[FR7 Baptist]

So you promote a system that ,instead, penalizes hard work?

Makes a lot of sense.

Nope. My proposal promotes hard work and rewards it far better than our current one.

 

[carpro]

Nope. My proposal promotes hard work and rewards it far better than our current one.

Baloney.:laugh:

It seeks to marginalize anyone with intelligence and drive.

 

[mandym]

Nope. My proposal promotes hard work and rewards it far better than our current one.

And how do you know it does?

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Nope. My proposal promotes hard work and rewards it far better than our current one.

Tell us how.

 

[carpro]

Tell us how.

Sounds like he has a plan to equalize pay somehow betreen the professional, the skilled, the unskilled and inexperienced, and risktakers that sink everything they have into a business venture.

Has to be more income redistribution. Intelligence and initiative are not redistributable.