Barack Obama...or "La Bamba" as one of my less than astute friend calls him is a professed and unabashed "progressive."
Now, in and of itself there is nothing inherently wrong with having those beliefs...among which are:
Progressive Tax:
The more you make, the more you pay with no apparent threshold on how much of your income should be confiscated/taxed/whatever. It, like all progressive policies are subject to arbitration and short-term/sighted emotionally driven "facts".
Social Engineering:
Government can and should be the tool of choice to change society. The change that should be effected is: Reduction in class stratification and economic stratification to achieve an arbitrary notion of social and economic "justice" based on racial, political and economic identity.
Government Function:
Government, and more importantly those in the government, know better than the common citizen about how life should be lived on a day to day basis and should take over such functions as are deemed appropriate at the time. any failure on the part of the government to succeed is not a failure of the idea itself, rather incorrect implementation of the idea. The entire concept revolves around the idea that one can perfectly engineer government to do whatever is necessary as long as the right people are running it.
So, let us say you are one of those few who are sick, no not a cold but something more deadly, and you do not have any insurance because you are any of the following:
A) Unemployed and cannot afford COBRA, or have not filed for Social Security Disability/Medicare becuase you are a lazy f'ing bum.
B) Work only part time jobs so you do't get benefits.
C) Are an illegal immigrant/wage slave/slave
D) Feel you are entitled to health-care as a right so you have purposefully NOT bought insurance...OR
E) Are young, dumb, and stupid and think you won't get sick..so you elect to not take insurance that is offered in order to pocket more cash...yay a new iPod/consumer good!
A Progressive believes that you should be covered by tax money for every level of care as a fundamental right. Who pays? Those that the have the money to pay...will pay. Those that do not have the money will (to the theoretical benefit of all) leech off those that have the money at no benefit of form or function to those that pay.
Even then...the people that have no money won't be "getting away with it" because those entitlements will not be tax free...you as the payee will have to pay taxes on those benefits. So really this is just a ploy for the state to get more control and more money all in the guise of benevolence.
Social security recipients get taxed...even though it was money that was taken long ago and inflation has devalued every dollar in the fund to the point of the benefits having to be cut, retirement age raised and the talk about buying out 401K's and merging them into Social Security as a hodgepodge way of trying to shore up an entitlement that is leaking like a siv!
Progressivism is no different in practice than Marxism/communism/syndicalism/corporatism/fascism, rather it appears benevolent and appeals emotionally to the lowest common denominator that always feels like it gets the shaft.
it does not lift people up, or inspire people to do great things, rather it lowers those at the top to make them closer to misery.
Rights are low level concepts:
Low level means that it is something that is not mutually exclusive, like you have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The caveat to that is that all those rights are contingent that they not interfere with the rights of another to have those same rights.
Free Speech: You have this right as long as you do not prohibit the safe and free expression of political speech of another...talking does not prohibit another talking.
Bearing of Firearms: You owning a firearm does not prohibit another from doing the same.
Quartering of Troops: not without owner's consent, even in war-time, rather a lawful manner that is consistent shall be provided for troop housing.
Search and Seizure: Warrants are required for everyone
Due process: Everyone is entitled to due process to make sure all other rights are respected and you have as a result of Amendment 1 not to be compelled to incriminate yourself...but they can still trick you ;)
from wiki..
Sixth Amendment – Trial by jury and rights of the accused; Confrontation Clause, speedy trial, public trial, right to counsel
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Seventh Amendment – Civil trial by jury.
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Eighth Amendment – Prohibition of excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment.
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Tenth Amendment – Powers of states and people.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
It is the last two that give progressives a real issue with the Constitution.
See the idea that government is the solution...gets cut off by saying any powers not enumerated here are reserved for the States or the People...which is a backwards way of saying: "If it isn't here the Federal Government can't do it...but the States can...as long as it doesn't unreasonably regulate the aforementioned rights".
so someone will say..."but the government ALREADY does stuff that isn't in the Constitution! so NYAH!"
and I say, "Well that doesn't make it right now does it? That is like saying...you sholdn't rob a bank...but your neighbor did it...so you can too." Bad behavior doesn't excuse or make acceptable further bad behavior and it is the fault of the average citizen for not taking responsibility for his/her own life that this crap is going on.
Progressivism doesn't free anyone...it makes slaves of us all...slaves with chapped asses.
