Tinker Belle for President
Monday, August 15, 2011
While I only digested the low lights of the Republican Presidential debate held last week, it got me thinking about their belief systems. What can we say about people who support, believe and worship the following concepts?
• Supply-side economics
• Creationism
• Tax cuts as government revenue generators
• Being gay is a choice
• Cutting spending as economic stimulus
It seems that every one of the Republican Presidential candidates has based their campaigns on various forms of fantasy.
Surely they are appealing to primary voters, so I must ask these voters: How can one go through life when everything you believe in has been shown through math, economics and science to be pure fiction? Is there comfort in blissful stupidity?
While all the above points to the GOP teahadists/diehards/candidates as being loony, it also demonstrates an electoral strength not held by the Democrats. When your supporters back you due to some sort of “faith” (economic or otherwise) it’s pretty hard for your opponents to shake their dedication at the polls.
Why do I try to understand these people?
8 comments:
When your supporters back you due to some sort of “faith”
That's just it" faith. It's not only the cornerstone of their spiritual lives, but because of their strict adherence to it, it becomes the cornerstone of everything in their lives. Never mind the numbers, I have faith it'll work. Never mind the data, I have faith in this "belief."
And the word "belief" is a subset of that faith. When someone can I say that they do or don't "believe in" a concept that is, say, scientific and/or sociological in nature, conversations cease.
That the earth is getting warmer is indisputable. The dispute is the level of human involvement in that warming. But as soon as someone says "I don't *believe* in global warming," what do you do?? It's not like there's a fucking choice in the matter, like "I don't like vanilla ice cream." "I don't believe in evolution" is the death of scientific debate. BELIEVE IN?? What the fuck is there to "believe?" There are dino bones. They are old as fuck. Here's proof. WTF does "belief" have to do with it??
Belief and faith: the end of debate, the cornerstone of what it apparently takes to support Perry or Bachmann or any one them.
I try not to use the word "belief" in discussing whether or not someone denies the existence of evolution, global warming etc. because belief does not matter to these concepts.
The conversations don't have to cease at the point that someone says they don't believe in a scientific law or theory.
To the best of my ability I quote Neil deGrasse Tyson:
"If you don't like the science because it offends your belief system, it does not make the science untrue."
I would say that there isn't proof in regards to the economic issues mentioned and you can find reputable economists that are teaching in reputable universities that support those positions. I wouldn't lump those in with something like evolution and global warming.
I would challenge you to find reputable economists who think cutting spending will improve the economy. It only takes common sense to figure out that cutting economic activity, will indeed slow economic activity.
Cutting taxes across the board only has a negligible effect on improving the economy, so I cannot see a reputable economist saying that cutting top rates will have a beneficial impact.
In addition to supply-side economics, I also mentionsed cutting taxes as REVENUE generators. No one in their right mind things cutting taxes actially INCREASES government revenue, but it is proposed all the time by Republicans.
It depends on what the tax rate is and what kind of tax we are talking about. Having a corporate tax rate that is "too high" can have the effect of forcing businesses to locate elsewhere. If we are talking income tax rates, that is a different story.
Also Steve - whenever there is a discussion of taxes, we must realize we are discussing resonable changes in tax rates. Few would argue that an extreme increase would negitively impact economic activity. Instead we fight over if the top rate will be increased by 3 points.
I agree, Bob. I don't have a problem with looking at home tax money is being spent and making pragmatic cuts, but the idea that taxes should never be raised is not reasonable. At this time, the Democrats are being far more reasonable than any other group.
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