Re: [LPNM-discuss] Help with student questions

[KCUF Media [ Mike Blessing ]]

Bruce Bush wrote:

> I just received the following request and questionnaire from a Las
> Cruses High School student named Chantal Walker. I no longer feel
> right about answering such things on behalf of the LPNM. Would one or
> two of you excellent writers please volunteer to let me send Chantal
> your e-mail address? Or, if you don't want your address given out,
> would someone please write up good Libertarian answers to these
> questions that I can send off to her?
>
> Thank you,
> Bruce

I'd like to add a little bit to Bill Koehler's responses to these
questions, found on the web at this URL --

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lpnm-discuss/message/2882

Permission is hereby granted to forward, repost, whatever, as
desired.

Where he says that

> The constitution grants no such authority.

What he's talking about here is that the Congress isn't authorized
under Art.I Sec.8 to take up issues related to homelessness, unless
those issues are explicitly listed in that part of the Constitution.

> To do this would clearly violate both the 13th Amendment and the 7th
> Commandment.

The Seventh Commandment is the one that goes "Thou shall not steal."
Sometimes it pops up as the Eighth Commandment.

http://www.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a7.htm

Notice that the Catholic Church cuts itself an out where it comes
to theft via politics or law --

"2406 Political authority has the right and duty to regulate the
legitimate exercise of the right to ownership for the sake of the
common good."

The Thirteenth Amendment is the one that outlaws involuntary
servitude unless the subject has been convicted of a *felony*-level
offense. I'm wondering where roadside chain gangs fit into the
equation here.

I would add the Fifth Amendment to the list, as I contend that
taxation and restrictive regulations are takings committed without
any attempt at just compensation on the part of the officials doing
the taking.

> I am a student of Las Cruces High School and am requesting an
> interview for an argument-based research paper being done by all
> pre-AP sophomore English students. I am researching the subject of the
> government spending money on homelessness and would like to interview
> you via e-mail for the con side of the issue. Would you like to be
> interviewed? If so, please answer and explain, if possible, the
> following questions:
>
> 1. Do you believe the government should provide residences for people
> who are poor and cannot afford one? why or why not?

This insistence that people who can't afford houses of their own still
have the "right" to one is a big contributing factor to the current
economic meltdown / panic / recession / depression.

How did this work?

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 forced banks to make unsafe
loans, while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received dumptrucks full of
federal (tax-paid) subsidies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act#Relation_to_2008_financial_crisis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis

> 2. Do you think the government should provide houses for the poor who
> have a mental and/or physical illness, or to everyone whether they
> have an illness or not?

See my answer for question #1

> 3. Should the government provide the homelessness with shots, such as
> the flu shot?

Where in the federal Constitution is the Congress authorized to
appropriate funding for flu shots for anyone other than federal
employees?

That is, of course in addition to my objections to funding such
flu shots via taxation (see above).

Finally, I've never gotten a flu shot and have no plans to get one
in the future. I've noticed that while I would get sick with the
flu for one or two days in mid-February, everyone around me who
does get the shot gets sick for a week or two.

> 4. Should taxes be raised even higher to help contribute to the
> problem of homelessness? Why or why not

Absolutely not, for several reasons.

As Bill noted before me, taxation is legally-sanctioned theft and
slavery. Read Bastiat's _The Law_ for more --

http://bastiat.org/en/
http://bastiat.org/en/the_law.html

> 4. If it was decided that taxes would be raised, then do u think they
> should only be raised on wealthy people and not on families who are
> poor? Why or why not?

Taxes should be LOWERED for EVERYONE across the board.

> 5. Do you believe tax abatements should be given to developers who
> create housing for people? Explain

Considering that a tax abatement is defined as follows --

A tax abatement is when a taxing board grants a taxpayer a stay of
paying a tax for a short or long term, for a total or percentage of the
tax.

[From http://landrights.com/tax_abatement.htm]

I have no problem giving tax abatements to private developers, as a
first step to giving them to everyone else.

I have no problem with making those abatements permanent, either.

> 6. Some people believe squatters are criminals because they trespass
> on government property while other believe they are just trying to
> survive, What is your opinion on this situation?

I don't have any problem with people "squatting" on *government*
property. Bill uses the National Forests as an example. After all,
it's *public* property, right, owned by everyone in the jurisdiction
in question. The homeless in that jurisdiction are thus part owners of
that public property, and have just as much right to be there as anyone
else.

> 7. Do you believe the government should care for homeless people
> before everyone else or vice versa?

I don't understand why government agencies should make any one
segment of society a "priority" over any other.

> OR Do you believe the government should treat everyone equally?

YES!

> 8. What do you say to the pro side of this topic?

First, what exactly is the "pro side" of this topic?

> 9. Many homeless people live on the streets and beg for money, They
> say they need the money for food and water when they really spend it
> all on drugs and/or alcohol, Should this be illegal? Explain.

As Bill noted before, this is an issue of fraud if they are buying
booze and dope after they tell people that they'll use the cash to
buy food and water. Still, it's pretty much taken as a given by
many people that this is what's going on, so give at your own risk.

The greater fear that I have in these cases is that when you pull
out your wallet to give, the homeless person forgets about the
dollar and goes for the whole thing. And they have been known to
carry knives, blackjacks, and other weapons for such purposes.

The best answer to this problem is that you should be prepared to
defend yourself, both while armed and unarmed.

> 10. Do you believe people have a right to life? If you deny people a
> home then their lives are at stake.

Who exactly is "denying" anyone a home?

-- Mike Blessing / http://xanga.com/mikewb1971

[KCUF Media [ Mike Blessing ]]

Rob Taylor wrote:
> Hey Bob,
>
> I went to campaign at our community college here in Coos Bay, OR and
> one kid asked if Ron Paul would pay for his tuition. I said, "hey you
> want a beer, dinner and a hooker?" The American public has
> collectively stepped up on the curb with a card board sign that reads,
> me too....

Too true, but still funny.

> Good luck Bill with the responses and hopefully Bruce's disillusionment
> isn't spreading. Delusional is where I'm at, it all just seems so unreal.

I've been disillusioned since 30 May of this year, considering what's
been going on with the LP and the rest of the American political
scene. The Republic is dying if not dead, and American Empire slithers
and shambles on.
______________________________________________________________________

[KCUF Media [ Mike Blessing ]]

Tim Claiborne wrote:
> It is funny that the Catholic Church has come up in the conversation,
> I am amazed at how they tend to combine the worst of extreme
> liberalism on economic issues with the worst of extreme conservatism
> on social issues into a very strange culture

I threw that in to expound the idea of the Seventh Commandment, i.e.,
"Thou shall not steal."

I don't buy the idea that the original idea was to outlaw kidnapping.
Kidnapping involves stealing away a person's freedom of movement, but
there are other forms of stealing that don't involve kidnapping, that
are just as bad.

[Mike Blessing]

On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 8:27 AM, <mle...@comcast.net> wrote:

-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Rob Taylor" <obet...@msn.com>

>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: w9ya

>>> To: lpnm-d...@yahoogroups.com

>>> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 5:46 AM
>>> Subject: Re: [LPNM-discuss] Help with student questions
>>>

>>> They got this from their parents, so the "problem" had been "brewing"
>>> (fermenting ?) for awhile.
>>>
>>> Someone asked me at this LP Convention if I was ready to "leave" with two
>>> weeks notice. I *now* understand what he meant. Although I am not sure where
>>> to get a ticket for the space ride, as finding somewhere else better on the
>>> spaceship earth may not be so easy.
>>>
>>> Any ideas ?
>>>
>>> Bob F.

>

>> I used to think Costa Rica would be fun, but since we are all going to be
>> commie's anyway then Cuba has nicer weather than the states. I used to be all
>> for space exploration, but now that we will be exporting our Nazi/Commie values
>> to the next place just forget it. Why ruin paradise?
>
> Rob
>

> The author of "6 Minutes to Freedom" highly recommends Panama.  A/C costs

> are probably high.  I think you can get by with english.

 

There's a mountain range running through the middle of the country with elevations
up to 3500 m (11000 ft), so if you pick the right spot, you won't need the A/C that
much, but will probably need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to get in and out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordillera_de_Talamanca
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Panama_relief_1995.jpg

From what I've read, Panama is not only English-friendly, but the laws allow foreigners
to own property, and the gun and tax laws are pretty lax there, too.
______________________________________________________________________
Mike Blessing -- http://xanga.com/mikewb1971
Phone -- 505-918-6567 / Yahoo IM -- mikewb1971

Who owns you? Who runs your life? Who wipes your ass?
Who should -- you or someone else?

KCUF Media, UnIncorporated
Commentary and Opinion for the Undamaged Mind
http://xanga.com/kcufmedia
______________________________________________________________________