MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Will conservatism bankrupt America? - Michael Lind - Salon.com
By EmmaZahn on Tue, 06/12/2012 - 8:21pm |
It’s not a matter of socialism versus capitalism. It’s a matter of direct government versus indirect government. When it comes to the provision of merit goods, conservatives are just as “socialist” as progressives. They say that they want all Americans to have access to basic merit goods, regardless of their private incomes. But conservatives want “voucher socialism.” Instead of taxing us and then providing us with the goods directly, they want to use disguised taxes, in the form of mandatory individual mandates, like the ones in Romneycare and Obamacare, to fund vouchers used to purchase private products from for-profit providers.
That is the real choice facing Americans. We can save money by providing ourselves with merit goods by direct public provision or public utility price regulation, or we can waste ever more money on public subsidies for predatory for-profit monopolies that provide merit goods like higher education and housing at excessive prices.
In the long run, the choice is clear. America can’t afford conservatism. It costs too much. Big government is cheaper.
URL:
http://www.salon.com/2012/06/12/will_conservatism_bankrupt_america/
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