[Peace-discuss] Lakoff Idiocy

[C. G. Estabrook]

It is pretty silly - it reminds of things we used to see in school in Cold War 
America - "What Do Communists Believe?" (nothing good.)  Only here 
"Conservatives" are the bete noire - as if the world of political opinion were 
divided between two ideal types, which exhaust the possibilities.  What nonsense.

But I need to invoke News From Neptune's "Incompleteness Principle" (viz. & to 
wit, "No One Can Be Wrong All The Time").  There's actually one good paragraph 
in this mishigas, viz & to wit:

"Democrats help radical conservatives by accepting the deficit frame and arguing 
about what to cut. Even arguing against specific 'cuts' is working within the 
conservative frame. What is the alternative? Pointing out what conservatives 
really want. Point out that there is plenty of money in America, and in 
Wisconsin. It is at the top. The disparity in financial assets is un-American -- 
the top one percent has more financial assets than the bottom 95 percent. Middle 
class wages have been flat for 30 years, while the wealth has floated to the top."

Ignore the "frame" nonsense.  He means rightly that there is no deficit 
problem.  "Deficit" stands for the difference between government revenues and 
expenditures.   The later often exceeds the former, and the government borrows 
to make up the difference.

It needn't. The government should tax away the money it needs from the very rich 
rather than borrowing it from the same people and paying them interest!

A 15% tax on investible assets (as opposed to income or even net worth) over $1 
million would have eliminated last year's deficit - and 99% of Americans would 
have been exempted from that tax.

Of course the budget should be adjusted - and not because of a deficit - but in 
ways just opposite to what the Obama administration is actually doing. To 
reverse the American bromide, "Millions for tribute to human needs, not one 
penny for defense!" --CGE


On 2/20/11 12:49 PM, David Green wrote:
> It's "progressive" analyses like these that keep us mired in the dark ages:
>
> "Conservatives really want to change the basis of American life, to make 
> America run according to the conservative moral worldview in all areas of life.
>
> In the 2008 campaign, candidate Obama accurately described the basis of 
> American democracy: Empathy -- citizens caring for each other, both social and 
> personal responsibility -- acting on that care, and an ethic of excellence. 
> From these, our freedoms and our way of life follow, as does the role of 
> government: to protect and empower everyone equally. Protection includes 
> safety, health, the environment, pensions and empowerment starts with 
> education and infrastructure. No one can be free without these, and without a 
> commitment to care and act on that care by one's fellow citizens.
>
> The conservative worldview rejects all of that."
>
> Lakoff makes no attempt to discern what Obama and Democrats actually believe, 
> and what explains their behaivor.
>
> http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/02/20
>
>
>
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