Free Republic

The Left has always been pro criminal.

That is what got Rudy elected in the liberal city of NYC. The left had been so pro criminal for so long that the city had a real crime problem, and Rudy came in and made the city safe again.

Global Warming is just another example in history of scientific junk. Of course, history is full of scientific junk and shows why science should not be trusted on matters like global warming.

The only thing I was disappointed in was to hear Bush say there is a "inequality of wealth" problem. That is democrat class warfare rhetoric and a bunch of BS or lies.

It is a lot like Bush saying that there is a man made global warming problem when it is BS and lies.

I am not sure what his strategy with all of this is unless he is trying to steal the bogus issue away from the democrats and use it in a different way.

"It's John McCain folks. Wake up folks before our country is completely destroyed."

No. It is not McCain. If McCain is our candidate, we will lose.

Let me make sure I understand this: There was never any crime for leaking Plame's name and the prosecutor knew this from day one, yet he is complaining that someone might have lied about a recollection even though the recollection is moot and will never point to any underlying crime.

The judge should have thrown the case out early on on a matter or principal and the prosecutor should be hung for wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.

"Bush's plan is similar to the Clinton scheme to tax people on the "imputed income" they would receive if they rented out their houses."

No it is not.

When an employer pays for your health insurance, that is compensation. Basically, it is the same thing as if the employer gave you the money as wages and you used it to buy health insurance. Under current tax law, it is not taxed.

However, Clinton was advocating phantom income where no money changes hands. That is totally different and absurd.

What Bush is advocating is a step in the right direction of lowering health care costs. When an employee does not have to directly pay any health care costs, it causes some employees to use too much health care (because it is free) and to pay too much for health care (because it is free). In short, it makes are free market not work for the cost of health care.

The media has less influence, but they still have plenty to do damage. Anytime there is a method for broadcasting propaganda, that propaganda is going to have an effect and influence some people. It is just like advertising. It does not work on everyone, but it works well enough to get some people to buy your product. Bush and the republicans have got to learn to effectively push back and challenge the media and point out what they are doing. That needs to be done daily and it is not being done.

Conservatives are going to have to find ways to counter all of the Left's methods. We should have our own ACORN and register our voteres, etc.

"It's a Marxist rag, not progressive."

They are one in the same. I have never met a liberal, or progressive as they now like to be called, who did not believe most of what Marxist believe.

I sure hope not. The terminator just jumped in bed with the democrats. That is a coward's way or girly man's way of turning things around. I hope Bush does not follow the Governor.

That "sweet health insurance plan" is one of the major factors that is causing our high health costs in this country.

Allow me to briefly explain:

A free market economy works when people make buying decisions based on a cost/benefit analysis. That decision helps make sure that people don't buy too much or pay too much for them. Furthermore, it makes sure that the prices, which are determined by supply and demand, are correct as determined by the market.

If you take that decision making process away from people, it leads to the wrong allocation of resources, high prices, wrong demand and supply, etc.

Our government has made tax laws that make health care "free" or without cost to employees who get free health insurance from their employers. Therefore, there is no cost/benefit price decision making process when they run to the doctor for a cold or a scratch and it is free. In short, people waste, overuse, and buy things at too high of a cost when they are not paying for it directly.

The fix is to not have insurance that covers every little scratch, cold, etc. and is not totally free to the person seeking medical treatment so that the person will have to decide how much health care is worth the cost and whether to get the care in the first place.

Also, the tax laws are illogical in the sense that employees get health care from untaxed dollars (compensation that is not taxed) from their employers, yet people who buy health insurance themselves (self employed, unemployed, etc.) have to pay for it with taxed dollars.

The main problems that are causing high health costs are (1) too much insurance that covers too many non-catostrophic illnesses and thus leads to using too much health care, (2) bad tax laws that give people "free health" care and cause people to use too much and pay too much for health care.

In short, the government has caused this problem with tax laws and insurance laws that make insurance companies provide health care coverage that covers too many things.

If this were left up to the free market, there would not be any health care problem in this country. However, government intervention caused the market not to work.

"It's not class warfare rhetoric. His father worked for Nixon, and Stein himself has a great conservative resume."

It is class warfare rhetoric. He is using the exact same language and logic that the Left is using, talking about inequality of wealth and income distribution, etc. It is pure Marxism no matter how you slice it or dice it.

"It is well to remember that even von Hayek said that there is a role for government in maintaining a level playing field so that the free market works properly."

He was not referring to wealth redistribution, socialism, and the Welfare State, which is what the Left is trying to lead us into. He was talking about a limited role of government to make sure there is good contract law, good anti-competition laws that prevent people from colluding and avoiding competition, etc. You have misquoted him and his ideas.

"I don't know what macro factors are producing this situation, but it's beginning to look to me as though the free market is not functioning properly. If it were, surely failure would not be rewarded so handsomely."

You obviously don't have a clue about free market capitalism. If these people were really failing as you say, they would not be paid what they are being paid. The market pays people what they are worth. You have bought hook, line, and sinker into the Left's propaganda about "executives making too much money", "too much wealth and income inequality", "people are not living a higher living standard than in the past", etc. Every bit of that is a lie. People today are living a higher living standard than every before, including the middle class. Most people could live on one income if they really wanted to live a lifestyle that comes from one income, but they want more and more (bigger houses, big SUVs, etc.) and the government is taxing more and more, so it takes two incomes to get all of this.

Ben Stein is a liberal on fiscal matters--not a conservative. Nixon certainly was not a conservative either. He even did such stupid things as price controls, etc. Ben Stein is dead wrong about our economy, and so are you.

Ben Stein is correct in his article about the media trying to bash Bush into low approval ratings. The media Bush bashing played a large part in the last elections, sending many Republicans out of office as a consequence.

However, Mr. Stein sounds like a liberal democrat with his class warfare rhetoric. In fact, he even sounds like Senator Webb on that point. There is no inequality in our economy (That is a bunch of Leftist B.S. straight from their old Marxist rhetoric.). Our free market economy should be the only distributor of income and wealth, and our government should not interfere or try to reallocate what our free market economy has allocated. Mr. Stein calls himself an economist, but he is not much of one if he does not understand that point.

I forgot to add, the democrats are looking for more "cooperation" (as I defined it above) and using phony polls like this to pressure republicans into "cooperating".

The only time it is "cooperation" is when the republican concedes and goes with the liberal democrats. If the republican does not concede, it is not cooperating and partisan.

I would like to read more articles rebutting Webb's economic populism/Marxism. No body is really challenging him and the other democrats on this nonsense.

"This thread needs a Barf Alert in the title line."

Big time!

It amazes me how misinformed and ignorant people are about our free market economy and basic economics. I read some really silly things on this board. It is sad really.

Those are the same people who will read an article like the one by this author and not see that he is clueless and completely wrong about everything he wrote.

"Yes you are. Americans forget how rich the country is. You must think you are "poor" if you have to watch a 29" standard def TV instead of a 50" HD plasma."

Relative to other countries, yes, but not rich in the sense that this guy is some evil person that the democrats should punish with highly progressive, punitive, Marxist redistributive tax rates.

Everyone in this country, including our poor, is rich compared to a lot of countries, thanks to our free market capitalism.

"You are subsidizing that $X million. Stop corporate welfare and this problem will go away."

WRONG! Taxpayers are not subsidizing anyone's compensation. That is misinformation in this article by an author who does not have a clue about basic tax law. Corporations are taxed on the profits that they get to keep. If a corporation passes part of the profit to employees as compensation, the corporation should rightly get a deduction for the compensation it paid to the employee because it did not get to KEEP that money. However, the employee pays the tax on the compensation so there is no tax avoidance or subsidy of any kind involved. Just more lies and nonsense from dumb Leftists.