Fuzzy Necromancer wrote: ↑Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:26 am
Nevix wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 10:03 am
...
We've been trying that for years.
Okay then, I'll bite. Bridge convinced me to at least try.
I can't promise I'll like what you say or be happy about it or agree with it, but I will make a sincere, good-faith effort to see you as something other than just my ideological enemy. I will drop the posturing, the sick burns, the jokes, the point-scoring, and honestly attempt to understand you.
You mentioned small business taxes. That's a starting point. Why else do you support 45? What else about him or his policies do you see as worthy of respect and something to fight for? How did he benefit you and further your political goals? (I'm not engaging on the Nobels because anybody can be nominated, it's winning one that matters to me.)
Or don't talk to me about him. Talk to me about you. What are your beliefs? Tell me about your faith and the values of our country as you see them. Tell me why you think conservative politics are important to those ends.
Again, I'm cautious, and I'm promising nothing, but I'm gonna try, Nevix.
Thank you very much for giving my this chance.
It is VERY Much appreciated, especially given the awful experience I had yesterday with a pair of coworkers who dismissed me out of hand and insulted me repeatedly.
So, to establish my perspective and political stance: I am a Christian American Conservative, who is close to 40 years old. I believe in God through Jesus, as is in The Bible. I believe in the combination of freedom/liberty and personal responsibility/civic duty, limited government, and the preservation of the positive values of the past that stem from America's founding, while working to make a more perfect union within those bounds.
Two major defining points that define me are "People will be fine is they're left to live and manage their own lives." and "Government can't be trusted."
The Economy:
To expand on the small business examples, that benefit extends to the entire economy. Lower taxes mean that business owners small and large AND workers of all economic levels have an easier time making ends meet. A business has less overhead, and thus can make a larger profit at the same amount of work, and lower prices/keep prices the same longer. Workers can thus afford more for the same amount of money, and thus have an easier time making ends meet.
Lower taxes also have a side benefit that, once a certain threshold of "low" is met, corruption is reduced because spending thousands or millions on lobbying for tax breaks/carveouts/etc costs more than just paying the taxes.
That is also why I support switching to simpler flat tax, as the need for an army of accountants and lawyers to navigate the tax code would be reduced, also lowering overhead.
The economic growth from the lower taxes and increased capital also benefits workers, as the expanding businesses need more workers, resulting in both more employment, and
higher wages.
Prior to Covid, there was record low unemployment for blacks, a lower rate of unemployment, and increasing wages for most if not all employment fields.
A related issue is deregulation, not to eliminate all regulations, but to eliminate regulations that do nothing but cost extra with little to no benefit. Fair business practices and safe work environments can be maintained by a reasonable number of laws/regulations, lowering compliance costs and adding to production/economic growth.
Donald Trump has removed hundreds of these regulations for every one he's passed.
Energy Independence:
By supporting Fracking and oil/coal production, energy costs have fallen and the United States has become a net exporter of energy. The falling energy costs benefit everyone, including businesses, but especially the poor, who spend more per dollar earned on energy/heating/utilities than everyone else.
The increased production of gas, coal, and oil both provide employment and increased prosperity for businesses in the area of the fuel production.
There is what is called a "Cracker" plant being built in Scranton PA which will allow for easier distribution and production of natural gas/oil in PA and the northeast U.S. There's also the jobs attached to the business, and to businesses catering to the employees needed.
The "Cracker" plant might get banned under potentially more strict environmental regulations, in spite of the benefit and the higher quality production that it can make.
The decreased cost of production/energy frees up capital to spend on environmental cleanup as well as R&D for clean energy sources. (More efficient solar panels, less space intensive windmills that are less of a risk to birds, more efficient batteries that weigh less to make electric cars more viable, etc.)
Related environmental note: U.S. pollution levels are the only national pollution levels that met the Paris Climate Accords levels, and they were met without being in the climate accords.
School Choice/Charter Schools:
Public schools often suck. Hard. In a bad way. (This is a sore spot for me for personal reasons, as the public schools I went to had about 1 teacher that actually cared about my success as a student, and the rest of the teachers were either indifferent, hostile, or misguided in how they tried to motivate me, hence the bitter tone.)
School choice allows people formerly stuck in an awful school due to where they live to send their kids to a better school, which forces the awful school to either close due to a lack of students, or to improve policy/teaching practices to compete and succeed in educating students.
Public Charter Schools quite often get better results for less money per student, oftentimes in the same building with a wide variety of students.
The combination of both of these in an area increases the quality of education, and gives all students a better chance of success later in life.
Democrat politicians have consistently opposed both school choice and public charter schools. President Obama repeatedly attempted to shut down the DC Opportunity Scholarship program, which was benefitting minority children, and it had to be reinstated by Congress/The Senate each time, yearly.
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