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Old 10-05-2018, 06:08 PM   #3129 (permalink)
sendler
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So I am glad to see that your original Libertarian statement has morphed into something more like a big government technocracy. Which is more along the lines of what is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5 View Post
It's not government responsibility to save people, even children, from what we perceive to be poor decisions, such as religious practices, including the increasingly popular denial of biology. Children are a product of their parents genetics and the environment they create for them. It isn't fair, but who said nature is fair.

My island country would be the haven for research on these taboo science fields.



I'm not saying my country would be a utopia; there is no such thing. It would promote truth and produce great discoveries though.

There would be social safety nets, but they would come with stipulations to make it clear that the benefits are there to catch people from utter catastrophe, not a system to game. If you take public money for healthcare for instance, the public then has a say in your health decisions. No smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no 300 lb body weight, etc.

Food assistance would be in the form of reimbursing grocery stores for staple food items like rice/beans/potatoes. No pizza parties on the citizens dime.

Flat sales tax to fund government programs. It would be made progressive in that staple food items would not be taxed, and the first $500 of rent/mortgage payments per month would be tax free. Maybe the first $5,000 on a new/used vehicle purchase is tax free too. It wouldn't matter much to people in the first place, with something like a 2% tax rate.

The function of government would be to secure national defense, enforce rule of law, protect the commons, and maybe provide some rehabilitation services if they can be shown to be effective.

If housing became expensive in a popular city, government would do nothing to address the "problem". Nobody has a right to be in a particular city, or a particular part of a city.