(03-12-2019, 07:13 PM)mikesez Wrote:

(03-12-2019, 03:52 PM)jj82284 Wrote: So you just don't understand what conservatism is....  That actually makes a lot of since.

Have you read anything by Edmund Burke or Montesquieu?
What do you think conservatism is?

In the US conservatism is the basic adherence to first principles, natural rights, limited government, enumerated powers and individual liberty.  

Yes, as a philosophy heavily influenced by the enlightenment there is an obvious commitment to empiricism and rational thought but your above rationale presents two problems: 1.) you discuss rationality within the context of administering central economic planning, 2.) you don't even follow your own stated principles of observation.  

To your 4th point, conservatism doesn't define the role of government based on what the government is or is not doing now or how it may or may not be perceived.  It decides based on the concept of limited, enumerated powers.  And we should only expand those powers through constitutional processes with overwhelming bipartisan and cross regional support by passing an amendment. 

This leads to your first problem or contradiction with real conservative thought.  You describe conservatism as prudence in central administration of the economy.  That's espousing more prudent statism, not conservatism. 

To your second and most glaring contradiction, you don't really take in observations and extrapolate past results.  I would argue You're a servant to whatever makes you FEEL GOOD at the time.  Ironically in this case both the minimum wage and AGCC are both linked in their application. 

When Thomas Sowell was working for the department of labor he devised a series of tests to determine the efficacy of the minimum wage law and whether or not it caused unemployment.  When he presented this test to his superiors he expected to be congratulated or commended.  Instead he became a pariah.  Why?  Because over a third of the departments budget at that time was derived from enforcing the minimum wage laws!  There is no debate that they cause unemployment.  They only serve to eliminate jobs for those who don't have the skills to meet or exceed the economic productivity necessary to justify the minimum wage.  But Facts don't matter.  We want to feel like we are protecting the little guy from the big bad corporations who only have employees because they stole children from their beds and forced them into involuntary economic arrangements. 

As a conservative the only thought process should be, "is it the role of the state to interfere in private voluntary economic arrangements that are no threat to the public at large" not "Well since the prevailing wage is orders of magnitude higher than the minimum wage it helps me sleep at night knowing that I am saving teenagers from afterschool jobs."  WHY?  Because we know that invariably, there will be those who will abuse that power!  We see it today in plain view.  

As to AGCC its the same story.  We live on a planet covered with liquid water and powered by a massive fusion engine at the center of our solar system.  Thereby, the energy on the planet is in direct correlation to the output of the fusion engine and 95% of the greenhouse affect is based on water vapor that man has literally no control over.  of the 5% remaining, CO2 isn't even the most potent.  But let's be generous, let's say its 2.5%. Of that 2.5% our country only represents about 25% of global emitions.  So now your down to about 5/8 of 1%.  Of that ....  only half is our technology, the other half is biological.  So now your down to 5/16 ths of 1%.  So if your fuel tax is effective at achieving a 10% reduction lets say, then you are now looking at a grand total of 1/32 of 1% of the total greenhouse affect at the cost of my business and the personal freedoms of hundreds of millions of Americans...  And what price would you have to artificially set to achieve that. We've seen prices double what they are now with little affect. $10 a gallon? 20? Ask the French how that system works out over time. 

So we see that the solution to the false problem makes no sense. But why does this myth persist?  It's quite simple.  It employs thousands of employees at the EPA and billions of dollars to secondary education and to private companies that want government advantage.  Is that the role of the state?  Certainly not.  But it sure does feel good to watch captain planet in our pajamas and relive the old days!

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