The KGB Oracle Forums General Public Discussion (SPECIAL ACCESS) KGB Political Debate Central How the world sees Republicans

So you are saying that you were independently researching, and just happened to come to Obama's conclusions on your own and weren't parroting his talking points after reading his book?

I see concentration of power as a problem. Yes, wealth and power can certainly go hand in hand. But if you focus on one, and not the other - you achieve nothing, in fact I think the results are usually counter productive.

I also think you need to tread very carefully when addressing the issue. It would seem to be an indisputable and self evident fact , contest it if you want but - most attempts at legislation and many attempts at regulation do not reach the STATED goals of the proponents of said legislation, and instead have myriad other effects. Often times, when trying to shoot the "enemy" , the legislation misses and hits a bystander instead.

Often times the bystander was the real target of those crafting the legislation or regulation - but it would not have been politically feasible to target them openly.

Also, something I consider more important that wealth concentration is wealth fluidity.

However, on a similar note - its a historical fact that the better communication becomes, the greater centralization of power becomes possible. The kind of micromanagement of society that is now feasible - never before has been feasible in the history of the world, so we are treading on unfamiliar ground.

The problem I find with most "progressive" attempts to right the power/wealth balance, is that they completely ignore what I consider the primary opponent - which is societal control and class ossification - and even engage in "friendly fire", and strike at the heart of liberty.

To me, the real problem is not that some banker drives a Maserati and I might drive a Jeep. The real problem is that the guy driving the Maserati, be he super wealthy or connected politically - takes control of the governmental levers and work to prevent me from not only reaching his level, but exercise undue control over all aspects of my life for his own benefit.

You want to know what my biggest objection to socialized health care is? Its not even the money, though I do care about that. Its not even that I think it would deteriorate care for those who arent rich enough to afford to bypass the and go above the system with private-only care, though that bothers me as well.

Its the fact that once everyone is paying for everyone elses health care, you now have a strong argument that govt also needs to have a say in how you live your life. After all, how fair is it that I only eat brussel sprouts and tofu, yet pay for the quintuple bypass surgery of the guy who eats nothing but McDonalds burgers?

Once you give up the fight for the principle that you should be your own master, once you give up the idea that government exists to protect your individual liberty, you give up your strongest argument against tyranny of all types.

Sometimes protecting liberty means that the guy who makes 10trillion dollars also gets his wealth protected by the same principle. Sometimes protecting liberty means that kids who are born to incompetent parents have to grow up in poverty because their parents have more kids than they can afford to care for.

But in the end, we are all forced to make a choice. Do we stand up for our rights as individuals and keep govt in check, knowing that this paradigm admits that the world will be an unequal place, that some will have much and others will have little?

Or do we buy into the idea that we can achieve something better by abandoning our rights, and put ourselves under govt control with the idea that a powerful govt can make us more equal? I obviously do not think the collectivist, govt control path can work. I think it creates more misery in the long run, even in benign areas like Sweden -where big oil money helps fund the State, those on the bottom are getting sick from their govt housing. Selective "deregulation" happens that enriches connected bureaucrats - deregulation in this sense is not free market deregulation, but simply a power grab by connected people. Already they are feeling the sting of govt power. And Sweden is probably the best Statist place on the planet.

In a free market republic, it is possible to counter the influence of concentrated wealth with an informed electorate, and a govt small enough that its actions can be tracked and can be held accountable at the polls. It doesnt always happen that way, but at least it is do-able. The more power govt has, the bigger and less directly accountable it gets, the more power the Elite have - be they wealthy Elites or political Elites.

To me, this is the true face of the enemy. And in an age where a panopticon society is not only possible but marching inexorably onward.. I think we give up any fight for individual liberty, and hand over any personal power to govt or any other outside entity at our own peril.