Forbes has a brilliant bit from actor/economist/lawyer/writer Ben Stein on how America will lose its competitive edge if societal trends continue. The goals of liberalism are often directly opposite to the goals of a healthy and productive society, and Stein quite deftly points out why. This is a good one to print out for your liberal friends.
Common Sense From Ben Stein
Published
Some very good points made by Mr. Stein.
Upon my last read I failed to notice any mention of blame being placed on either the left or right, so I must therefore assume that you believed it was implied given the author. I’d like to know how you see more blame going to the left than the right. I see plenty for both.
And on a lighter note: what the hell happened to ‘Conservatism with Attitude’? That was a much cooler subtitle than its replacement…
True, he doesn’t name liberals specifically, and there are parts of this that are pointed towards conservatives, but a lot of what he says directly challenges liberal orthodoxy (especially in education and healthcare).
As for the header graphic, the old slogan should be back up with the new header… clear your cache and you should be able to see it.
I agree with him on healthcare- I’m against socialized medicine (I do support a better basic medical safety net, but I do believe that those who can afford it are entitled to better medicine than those who cannot). As for education, the problems of the educational system are twofold- the system is being undercut by liberals from one angle, and by conservatives from another. Both sides are contributing to it’s destruction, but at least the left is backing off it’s attacks in favor of a back-to-the-basics approach. The right, on the other hand, continues to attempt to strip the already meager budgets of the American educational system- which brings me back to a quibble that I’ve had with much of the Bush administration’s policies:
The Bush administration seems to be doing something completely nonsensical- they’re spending more and more money (huge defense appropriations, the war effort, etc), they’re promising to save Social Security and Medicare- yet they’re lowering taxes, decreasing the amount of money that the government has to work with, and driving us back into deficit spending- which will only increase the massive national debt. Please explain how this makes any sense at all…
I agree with him on healthcare- I’m against socialized medicine (I do support a better basic medical safety net, but I do believe that those who can afford it are entitled to better medicine than those who cannot). As for education, the problems of the educational system are twofold- the system is being undercut by liberals from one angle, and by conservatives from another. Both sides are contributing to it’s destruction, but at least the left is backing off it’s attacks in favor of a back-to-the-basics approach. The right, on the other hand, continues to attempt to strip the already meager budgets of the American educational system- which brings me back to a quibble that I’ve had with much of the Bush administration’s policies:
The Bush administration seems to be doing something completely nonsensical- they’re spending more and more money (huge defense appropriations, the war effort, etc), they’re promising to save Social Security and Medicare- yet they’re lowering taxes, decreasing the amount of money that the government has to work with, and driving us back into deficit spending- which will only increase the massive national debt. Please explain how this makes any sense at all…