I was just playing a little word-association. When I hear "Common Good" spoken from the left in a political context, that is my knee-jerk reaction. I highly doubt I'm alone in having that reaction. So, if invoking people's sense of the "Common Good" is their message and the political strategy to win over moderate-conservatives, I think it's a loser. Perhaps, if they were to replace it with "Good of the Country", it would be more palatable, but probably far too natalionistic for the left ... "God, Family, Country" ... the right has a lock on these Calling on people's sense of responsibility to help their fellow citizen is one thing, legislating it is another. Frankly, this constant tug of war between the two extremes is necessary, as always, because we'll end up in the middle where we should be. Free Enterprise is not curtailed, and the helpless aren't left to die on the vine. Hopefully power is soon evenly split, so everyone can equally share the blame once again ...
Children have to be forced to share with their siblings and others by parents, and unfortunately we have to do the same thing with greedy self centered repubugniklans...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162267/posts Sen. Clinton said, "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
well, that's what it all boils down to. After all this hemming and hawing eventually we arrive at an equilibrium, the point were the rich can't spend any more money to protect their wealth, and where the income-redistrubutors are satisfied with their take ... and so it goes, and it goes, on and on ...
__________________________________________________ KELO - and the liberal members of the court voted in lockstep to establish that new precedent.
Problem is that the Dems want to be able to define what the "common good" is. Raise taxes = common good Condemn private property so that a higher tax base can be established = common good (This is the real consequence of Kelo.) Force you to support welfare recipients = common good Really we should have a two tiered tax system where everyone would pay for the basic running of the government and then those that are such bleeding hearts (Z10 & dddooo) should pay a higher rate to support the programs like welfare that they love so much. That's my definition of "common good" , only have to pay for the programs you really want but don't prevent those with such a higher calling from paying more for what they really want.
FYI welfare is not a "common good" program, you're so confused, you don't even know what you're talking about. "the common good describes a specific "good" that is shared and beneficial for all (or most) members of a given community." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_good Public roads and infrastructure are common good programs, so is our legal system, public education and air traffic control. Welfare is a social program to help a very small segment of the pupulation, it has nothing to do with the concept of "common good".
What is your response to this quote? Simply a bad choice of words, or a Fruedian-like slip. I think she said what was on her mind. "Our Things" really aren't "Our things" unless the government says-it-is-so ... this may have been why I had that initial knee-jerk. I stored away this quote from a couple years back ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1162267/posts Sen. Clinton said, "Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
I would not read too much into it, our taxes pay for our government, I think even doubter does not have any doubts about that. It's the size of the government and specific responsibilities it should or should not have that we disagree on, not the fact that the taxes pay for the government's daily activities, military, police, roads, EPA, FDIC etc and as such serve the common good.