Good to know. What specifically did you find "tripeful"? As I said to Ricter, I'll interpret your evasion of this question: "What products or services do you think the government needs to provide that the private sector cannot? This is not a loaded question, I am genuinly interested in what you think. " as your ignorance of the answer. I am willing to admit that my ideology may have flaws, and I am certainly not 100% correct all of the time. But I like to debate the issue. Why don't you want to give an answer?
Trying to have a serious discussion here. Please refrain from trolling. There are many other threads in this forum that would welcome you.
All manner of legitimate social safety nets, including guaranteed medical care, which are the mark of First World countries. Financial and environmental regulation. Military and police and so on. Postal service, notably in areas of the country where it is not necessarily economically viable. Infrastructure. And so on...
Taken from an earlier post under my Thunderdog user name: Atlas Shrugged is one of the most overrated pieces of..."literature" that I have ever read. It is nothing more than a pseudo-intellectual diatribe which was a knee-jerk reaction to the growing fascination of a romanticized version of communism in mainstream society at the time it was written. The novel's characters have all the depth of cartoon characters and the writing is tediously repetitive, as though the author had been lecturing to a dim-witted audience. I even read Rand's The Fountainhead, and found more of the same. Here's a thought. Just because the far left is the wrong direction, let us not immediately assume that salvation can only be found in the extreme right. However, in Rand's novels, people only wear either black hats or white hats. Big ones. And all of her sentiments could have been conveyed in a pamphlet rather than a painful 1,074-page book. Some more: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2084517&highlight=atlas+shrugged#post2084517 Some more: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2223423&highlight=atlas+shrugged#post2223423 Some more: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=2253346&highlight=atlas+shrugged#post2253346 I could go on, but I think you get the point.
"What products or services do you think the government needs to provide that the private sector cannot? This is not a loaded question, I am genuinly interested in what you think." The government has an ethical mandate to protect the citizens from the production of goods and services in the private sector which threaten the well being of the people. Part of the common defense principle, providing a common defense for all citizens from threats foreign and domestic, is defending citizens from companies who will ignore safety and reasonable well being of the workers. It is a fact that corporations treat workers like a commodity, labor for them is just a price they have to pay for corporate profits, and the corporations will nearly always do whatever they can get away with to increase profit, even if it means reduces safety and quality of life of the workers, or the people who purchase the goods and services from the corporations. Watchdog and regulation on industry, which does not provide watchdog and regulation on themselves. The free market goons will argue that the market itself will regulate itself, but facts paint the real picture. Without regulation, you have nothing but greed run amok, trampling the well being of those who are not in a position to change the way business is done.
Canada is running the best economy in the G7 along with the lowest deficit as a percentage of GDP. Clearly Harper is 100% responsible for this!!! Vote Harper!!!
What is a legitimate social safety net in your eyes? Healthcare is HIGHLY debatable at best, but that is another topic altogether. Personally, I believe the best option would be a hybrid public/private combination. Military, check. Police, check. Postal service in rural areas, check. Infrastructure I would largely agree with, although not in all circumstances. So lets relate this back to the topic of corporate tax rates and their effect on the economy. Assuming the best option is to have government provide the products/services above, what need is there for further taxation beyond the need to cover the cost of these products/services? It seems to me that Canada already provides these services, and more. Considering the budget is projected to be balanced in a couple of years, does it not make sense that the government can afford to lay off the extortion a little?
You need not go on. I disagree, but I respect your opinion, and realize that the book is not for everyone.
To balance the budget and to pay off the national debt, which was exacerbated by unnecessary corporate tax cuts that DEMONSTRABLY DID NOT PAY FOR THEMSELVES.