by Captain Capitalist
Election season is in full swing. As the parties debate the war in Iraq, terrorism, health care, education spending, etc., there is a certain constituency left out of the political pandering game. How do the parties rate in the eyes of a free market capitalist who believes in individual freedom, a strong defense, and the absolute separation of church and state?
The Republicans used to at least give lip service to these issues, but have increasingly bonded with religious lobbies, embraced a much more tolerant attitude toward "socialism light", and gone along with increasing regulation while doling out subsidies for their favored associates and industries.
The Democrats have gone farther left than they've ever been. They promote higher taxes and ever increasing socialist agendas, as evidenced by the recently vetoed bill that would have redefined "struggling" families as those earning up to $80,000/year for the purposes of qualifying for government subsidized health care. They have open disdain for the free market and believe in personal freedom only so long as you behave and speak in the party endorsed manner.
The Libertarians are so almost there, but their belief that a strong national defense is something we should do away with is a deal breaker. I'd sooner vote for a socialist and deal with that for a few years. We can fix the damage later. If we abandon national defense there will be nothing left to fix.
So where's a capitalist to turn? Well, the good thing about political parties is that they are more infrastructures than philosophies. Although at any given time they may attempt to promote a specific agenda, that agenda can change over time. Their main purpose is to win elections through the marketing and promotion of candidates under their banner.
One important thing capitalists often overlook when dealing with the rising political influence of socialists in all parties is that they are funding all of it. Socialists don't produce wealth, they only consume and redistribute it. Therefore, their only source of assets is from capitalists, producers, people who add value. Every dime used to promote the socialist agenda comes directly or indirectly from the marketplace they're attempting to stifle. You're providing the fuel. You hold the purse strings. Don't ask for change, demand it. While you may decide to vote for the lesser of evils, you may also decide not to vote at all, and you certainly should never provide cash for a candidate or party that's ignoring your concerns. There are subsidies going to people for no other reason than the own the right piece of land. $20,000/year jobs are being preserved at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars per job per year. The postal service continues to increase the markets in which it competes while outlawing competition against itself for the first class mail that keeps getting more expensive with no corresponding increase in value to the consumer. We tolerate dictatorship and nationalization of resources around the world in the name of stability, and there's a non-stop movement toward the nanny state in this country.
Stop funding it. Stop supporting it. Stop tolerating it. Stop endorsing it. Stop voting for it. The parties are going continue to advance bad ideas and ask for your vote because their bad ideas aren't quite as bad as the other guys. You don't have to participate. Let them wallow in the mess they make until they figure out where value really comes from.
Conventional wisdom says increased voter participation is the answer. But if the choices are between being pushed off a cliff or thrown out a window, does it really matter how many votes are cast?
