This photo amounts to a giant raised middle finger to their critics. Oh wait, that's not their middle finger, that's me...
Like the old maid aunt in Elvis Costello's classic song, "I almost had a weakness." I was just about starting to feel bad for the Dixie Chicks getting continuing grief over a couple of stupid comments back in the long ago days before the war. Sure, Natalie Maines was talking foolishness, but people have vandalized their property and made threats and organized boycotts. Damn, people, get a life already.…
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76 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Al, given that this is an article about Natalie Maines, I wonder what Natalie Maines thnks about being naked and cold in a photo shoot.
But you force me to ask you some questions, and since you're available and Natalie's not, here goes.
What is a libertarian doing talking about "free stuff"? I know that Dire Straits sings about "money for nothing and chicks for free" but that's a song about the fantasies of a pissed off delivery manager in an appliance store.
Even a syndicalist socialist like me knows there is no such a thing as "free stuff". What is in the water (or beer) that you're drinking that has you talking about "free stuff"? Everything that is material costs money, and everything that is material has a price.
If you want services, you must pay for them. In its better forms, public administration is about finding ways to maximize the service delivered for the money paid, but there is always a cost.
In some places, for example, it is much more economical to have private collection of garbage. Cities where the private homes are primarily individual buildings or duplexes, like St. Paul or Minneapolis, are examples of this. Cities like Jerusalem, where the private homes are primarily apartments, by contrast, are more effectively served by a municipal garbage collection system. Whether that system should be privately or publicly owned is another question entirely.
In my own opinion, such a company should be privately owned by the workers and should compete for tenders against other companies privately owned by the workers. Thus you make sure that people actually compete and you have some guarantee that these people are not going to be in some terribly unequal income distribution pyramid, with the hardest worker getting paid the least. But that is my ideological bent speaking, not necessarily what is most economical. I haven't crunched the numbers. I'm just giving an example of syndicalist socialism and how it could work, and how it has worked, by the way.
You could ask Natalie Maines what she thinks of it after she gets some clothes on. That is, after you've explained to her what syndicalist socialism is and how it works. Think you could manage it?
As for having "more stuff and better stuff" and needing two incomes to pay for it all, that is something you might want to really think about.
Finally, I remind you that the United States has the lightest tax burden in the "first world." You pay for a lot less, and get a lot less as a result. And the way things are going, you will get even less in the future, whether you pay the same or not.
As a result of the mismanagement of the economy and the budget by your present administration, the issues in America are how to balance the budget, how to maintain a good defense system.
As a result of the terrible bump in the population caused by the "baby boomers" you face a looming decision of either payng exhorbitant amounts of money to support old farts like me, who have paid their 40 quarters into the system, or to cut us all loose with a middle finger. I'm betting on the second solution. I'll be shocked if I see a dime out of Social Security.
Finally, there is the issue of maintaining the health of your country. Once, it was a matter of shelling out $7 or $10 for a house call. Now it's a lot pricier. If health services are left as a profit drven enterprise, only those who can pay will be healthy and the rest will be sick.
It really is that simple.
77 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Too many "finally's" in thast last brief comment, I see.
78 - Arch Conservative
Even a syndicalist socialist like me knows there is no such a thing as "free stuff".
NO shit there is only "stuff you paid for yourself" America or "stuff somebody else paid for" Europe.
79 - Jet in Columbus
"syndicalist socialist"? I always figured he was a member of the SS!
80 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Gee thanks, Jet...
You're a sweetheart, too. Anyway, kid, now you know that I'm the socialist and the real leftist on the board, so now you all can leave Chris alone... He is your standard capitalist living in a social democracy.
That doesn't make me any less a Jew - I don't buy into the atheism the Marxists hustle. It doesn't mean I'm any less a Jewish nationalist, and I certainly do not buy into all the garbage about "national liberation for Palestinians" that the European social democrats spew like so much volcanic ash.
It means that I think that syndicalist socialism is a better way to go than having wage slaves at NIS 20/hr or less and a rich class that exploits them, sitting on thir asses being self righteous about it all.
And now I wish you all a happy Shavuót. I'll be in touch, G-d willing, in 50 hours or so.
81 - Christopher Rose
I am indeed a capitalist living in a social democracy, but "standard"? I'm shocked and hurt!
Have a good one, Ruvy.
82 - Jet in Columbus
My god it's finally happened! Ruvy's gone so for left in the circle that he's right, and Arch's gone so far right he's left!
Saint's be praised?
Solus mei sententia
Jet
83 - Al Barger
Brother Ruvy, when you go on about how there's no FREE STUFF, you're making my main point there. It's one of the classic critiques of democarcy that they will inevitably devolve into people voting for free goodies for themselves. Hey, someone else will have to pay for it.
I understand wanting to help people- but you should do it with your own money. It's real easy to be generous with other people's money.
Now, besides the fact that it's not right to take money from one guy at gunpoint to give to another, it tends to be very bad economics. Every dollar of relief ends up doing several dollars worth of damage in a half dozen different directions.
Perhaps Natalie Maines has some insights on syndicalist socialism vs free market capitalism.
84 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Brother Al:
We finally have the "free stuff" straightened out. Now let's look at your other observations:
"I understand wanting to help people - but you should do it with your own money. It's real easy to be generous with other people's money."
Yup, we agree there - your critique appears to be of the welfare state.
"...it's not right to take money from one guy at gunpoint to give to another, it tends to be very bad economics."
Yup, we agree there. You appear to be making the basic and most common critique of state socialism and what used to be known as Russian communism
The whole idea of syndicalist socialism is not to "redistribute" wealth but to see to it that its creation is as equal as humanly possible at the gitgo - and to see to it that you have true competition between private enterprises so that you have quality.
Examples of this were the kibbutzim in Israel. We now come unfortunately, to your final and most stinging criticism.
"It's one of the classic critiques of democarcy that they will inevitably devolve into people voting for free goodies for themselves. Hey, someone else will have to pay for it."
When the Labor party came to p[ower in 1949, it didn't take too long for the kibbutz movement to turn to banks for loans to back them up when they screwed up. With the Labor Party backing them up, it was hard for the banks to say no...
So the kibbutzim became gradually indebted to the banks for the overly luxurious lifestyle they voted their members. And when the Labor party fell from power, the banks started to call in their teds. In the mid '80's. when the Labor Party emasculated the Workers' Federation in Israel, the kibbutzim started to fall on hard times - and many of them have "gone private."
A few of the kibbutzim, particularly the religious ones, the ones who didn't borrow a luxurious life style with bank loans have been able to stick it all out.
This stuff takes discipline...
Shavua Tov,