 Economy
Liberal perspective The liberal perspective for the marketplace is focused on the
government being in charge of the economy and making the decisions
about that marketplace. Coming from a position of protectionism,
the liberal perspective believes people need to be protected from
unscrupulous business CEOs and their private companies that will
likely take advantage of the average citizen who does business with
that company. The liberal camp believes that the marketplace is
driven mostly by greed from those who are the owners of the business
and private sectors of commerce.
The liberal perspective is focused on looking out for the public
interest of all people who are purchasing and/or selling goods or
services to the public at large. The liberal group believes the
private sector in the marketplace needs regulations to keep the
enterprises in line so as not to place a heavy burden on the buyer
in the market. The liberal will place as many regulations as
necessary on the business and private sector as is determined
necessary by government regulators to keep the businesses in check
and prevent any harm from coming to the consumer. Even though there
are tens of thousands of regulations controlling almost every aspect
of the exchange process in commerce, the liberal perspective
believes there is always a need for more regulations. For the most
part, the liberal perspective is driven by the assumption that those
who are in business for profit somehow gain an advantage over the
consumer and establish an unfair advantage, even to the point of
cheating the consumer.
An outshoot of the liberal perspective, with assumptions about
those who have gained profits and become wealthy, is the perspective
of "redistribution" of wealth by government regulators deciding on
the process of taking the wealth from those who have it and giving
it to those who do not have it. The assumption of "greed" and "dishonesty" in achieving wealth has led to a form of class warfare,
almost making it acceptable for people with less means to dislike
those with more means. The liberal believes a set of taxes, rules,
policies and regulations mandated by the government will "level the
economic playing field."
Conservative perspective
The conservative perspective views the economy as a living, growing
process established in a free market system. Capitalism is the
driving force that fuels the economy, with each individual having
opportunity to pursue their dream in the economic world. The
conservative believes in hard work, achievement, taking risks with
personal capital, failing sometimes but starting over, and being
competitive with others who are achieving their goals and dreams in
the same economic mix. The conservative believes firmly in private
enterprise and opportunity for all.
The conservative perspective opposes large government interference
in the free market system. The more regulatory restrictions that are
placed on business by government, the more repressed the economy
will become. The example given by many conservatives will be the
"pie" analogy. The conservative believes the "pie" is ever expanding
as more enterprising people join the market, become competitive,
and offer the best goods and services, bringing customers to their door.
They reject the analogy that the "pie" is static and being used up
with someone having a smaller piece if another has a larger piece.
They believe that analogy belongs to the liberal group and offer
examples of growth when government is smaller, with less regulation and
freedom to keep most of what they earn.
The conservative perspective believes there is created in the
economy a much higher standard of living because free market
experiences, growth with lower taxes and less regulation actually
create more jobs, which in turn broadens the tax base and more free
trade. The conservative perspective believes that government
regulations should be set only at the level of protecting consumers,
not stifling commerce.
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Healthcare Liberal perspective
For the most part the liberal position regarding healthcare is
centered in the assumption that the government should provide either
free or low-cost government healthcare to those who cannot afford
it. The liberal perspective believes that every person in America,
whether a citizen or not, should have that government-provided
healthcare. To fill the gap, the government has enacted the
Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. It is a healthcare
insurance that has been mandated by the government that incorporates
all the liberal perspectives from other issues. Those who are
younger and healthier should pay more in premiums in order to help
defray the higher cost for those who are elderly and those who have
higher rates of illnesses. It is another form of redistribution of
wealth, except it does not redistribute only money; it redistributes
the health and age of the person: Younger and healthier pay more;
older and sicker pay less.
The liberal perspective is that healthcare insurance is a right and
must be provided by the government as a form of protection. The
liberal perspective is that everyone must have equalized healthcare
protection in the form of government-provided insurance, regardless
of any ability to pay. Therefore, through premium costs from the
healthy and higher taxes from those who work, as well as the
wealthy, money will be collected by the government to provide "subsidies"
to those who need it.
Conservative perspective
The conservative perspective believes insurance for healthcare
should be a part of the free market system. The conservative group
separates healthcare from insurance. The conservative believes that
America has as good or better healthcare than any country in the
world, and access to that healthcare has always been available to
those who need it.
Regarding insurance for healthcare, the conservative believes that
the laws that prohibit a person from having "portable" insurance
should be repealed. A person who has an insurance plan in one state
should be able to transport that plan to another state as the family
or person moves to a different state. The conservative believes that
with free government healthcare insurance being mandated for each
person who cannot afford it, this will move the country closer to a system
of socialized medicine. The conservative position is that it will
lower the quality of health delivery, dampen research and
development of new medicines and treatments, and result in much
higher costs for standard health services.
The conservative position is to maintain the healthcare system in
the hands of private providers. They believe there is a much better
chance of the individual being in control of their personal health
with a relationship between the private physician and themselves
rather than having the government as the middleman deciding what
treatment should or should not be provided for each individual.
So, as with the issues discussed in other articles, these issues of
economy and healthcare adds to the voter's personal political
profile and will help guide the voter through the election. Each
candidate will be examined regarding their standing, not just on
their political party affiliation, but how they stand on the issues
of abortion, energy, gun control, economy and healthcare. That
candidate who matches the voter's personal perspective will win the
vote from that person. Again, this is very important not just in the
general election, but in the primaries as well. During the primary
cycle there is usually an array of candidates from the same party,
but with differing viewpoints regarding how they will approach
solutions for any given issue. So look for discussions regarding
more issues in the next articles.
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
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