Paul Krugman reveals what Libertarian Gary Johnson really stands for — and it’s terrifying
Paul Krugman asks in his Monday’s column how many of Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson’s young supporters have actually read Johnson’s platform. Right off the bat he clarifies that it only makes sense to cast a vote for him if you believe “it makes no difference at all whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump moves into the White House — because one of them will.” And, “Second, you have to believe that America will be better off in the long run if we eliminate environmental regulation, abolish the income tax, do away with public schools, and dismantle Social Security and Medicare — which is what the Libertarian platform calls for.”
So do the 29 percent of voters between 18 and 34 who, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll, say they support either Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein believe those things? Highly doubtful.
Krugman is pretty much begging these voters to vote as if it matters, which he clearly believes it does. Johnson’s platform in particular makes for some appalling reading. Krugman summarizes:
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http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/paul-krugman-reveals-what-libertarian-gary-johnson-really-stands-for-and-its-terrifying/
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were libertarian - because they were too chicken, or too embarrassed, to admit they were really CONS.
A friend of mine swears by living in Texas. First thing out of her mouth, in defense of that abysmal hellhole is "no taxes"!
Okay...
Well, I guess if you don't want to pay taxes, you're okay with your state trending toward THIRD WORLD STATUS. You're okay with your roads not being paved anymore and going to gravel. You're okay with no money going to women's health clinics (yes, like Planned Parenthood) even though the maternal death rate in your state has just doubled - SINCE those funds were cut back, which meant those clinics had to close. You're okay with that. You're okay with the kids not having to be vaccinated, but then sitting in YOUR child's classroom - what happens when they come down with something that puts YOUR child at risk? What happens when there are no funds to vaccinate immigrant children - OR their parents, documented or not? Never mind that they just bagged your groceries for you at the checkout counter, or waited your table and cleared your plate and refilled your water glass? "I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO PAY FOR... (fill in the blank here) ."
That entire mentality is what is now ruining our country. The tax haters like Howard "Prop 13" Jarvis and Grover "shrink government down so small you can drown it in a bathtub" Norquist have totally FUCKED this country. And that's what has to be reversed. And it's such a big job I don't know how it's going to be undertaken, or even begun. It's a national emergency by now.
"Freedom" in whichever way we understand it, COSTS. Freedom ISN'T free. It COSTS. There's a COST. There's a BIG PRICE-TAG on it. ALWAYS. It doesn't just cost the blood of patriots. It costs the blood of patriots - AND TAX MONEY. Okay????? It just DOES. And if you don't like it, that's just too damn bad. I am PROUD to pay taxes to support this country that I still believe in. Those taxes pay to support all the things that make America a country I love. I happen to LIKE it, for example, that my tax money is funding health care for the so-called "un-deserving." I happen to like it when my tax money goes to pay for public schools. Because an educated populace is what we need to continue as the leader of the world. Don't care that some can't afford it (and therefore they're somehow looked down upon as being "undeserving"
. First of all, I don't regard them as "un-deserving." They're our fellow man/woman. They're our brothers and sisters. Their children are all our children. Their needs are ALL our needs. We have to look out for one another. PERIOD. We ARE "our brother's keeper." We just ARE. Because ALL WE HAVE is each other.
WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES to help others, particularly those who can't help themselves but still have needs. If we help them stay healthy, that's how WE protect OURSELVES and OUR OWN health. If we help them stay safe, that's how WE ensure OUR OWN safety - in our own neighborhoods and the shopping centers, theaters, nightclubs, parks, streets, and schools WE ALL frequent. If we help their children learn to read and be educated, that's how WE make sure WE ALL don't live in a dumb-fuck society that decides it wants all the wrong things, because it's okay to be selfish. Because nobody tells them what to do. Nobody bothers to point out how selfish it actually is - to pay taxes. Because the results always, inevitably, come back around to affecting you yourself, directly.
Sadly, NOBODY bothers to make that connection, or that argument, anymore.
