A Misunderstood Lot

I've taken this afternoon to catch up on some web reading that I didn't do over the holidays and I came across this bit.ly/6x8cKn.

A bit of back story: I began watching John Stossel's new show on Fox News Business. There have been two episodes so far, one on climate change the other on health care. I was introduced to Stossel by Dr. Bob Lawson, the same man who introduced me and many other Econ 100 students to libertarianism. Libertarianism is most concisely put as liberal on social issues and conservative on fiscal issues. John Stossel had many news specials that aired on ABC which became part of a "Stossel in the Classroom" series.

The new Stossel show the first real news/politics show on TV that expresses libertariant viewpoints. I used to get so angry watching shows like The Factor with Bill O'Reilly and Hardball with Chris Matthews. They were either right or left, both of which had it wrong. Glenn Beck has been more libertarian leaning recently, but Stossel is the real deal.

John Mackey, founder and CEO of Whole Foods was a guest on Stossel. Mackey had written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (bit.ly/12Dlpb) that was against government run healthcare and against many of the reforms that are currently in both the House and Senate bills. For the record, he did not refer to "Obamacare," that title was given to the op-ed by the WSJ, not Mackey himself. Now Mackey resigned as chairman of Whole Foods; the reason given is some sort of thing about CEOs and chairmen being separate. The real reason I feel is that Whole Foods does not like his outspokenness. I feel that if he were speaking out with democratic views, there would be no problem at all.

Now Mackey is speaking out against climate change and the role human's play in it. He agrees with the book "Heaven and Earth: Global Warming--the Missing Science," saying that there is no consensus on climate change. He also fears that fear over climate change will raise taxes, call for more government regulation, and lower our standard of living.

Personally, I do not take a stand one way or the other on climate change. Is it real? Probably. Did humans cause it? To some extent. These things are unimportant and moot at this point, and this is where much misunderstanding of libertarianism comes in. It's not that I don't care about the earth. I care very deeply about God's wonderful creation for us. I just don't think government is the best way to help the situation. Scientists are unsure if we can reverse the warming or even stop it. Why spend taxpayer money, force people to buy more expensive goods, subsidize programs, etc. if it won't even work. I'm all for private enterprise solutions like the Pickens Plan. I'm also for pricing fossil fuels to account for damage to the environment. I'm also for increasing wealth the world over so that we may adapt to a change in our climate. We don't need the government outlawing lightbulbs; my father was using CFLs before they were trendy because the economic incentive was there. We don't need to use our taxpayer money to subsidize energy sources that just aren't feasible; wind energy is only useful when the wind is blowing, solar energy only in very sunny locations, etc. If they were economical and worked efficiently, we wouldn't need to subsidize them. I care about the earth, I care about my carbon footprint, I use reusable bags at the grocery store, I try to do my part. I just don't want my government (and my tax money) going to unrealistic, inefficeint programs.

My view on healthcare is the same. It's not that I don't want people to have healthcare, I just don't want to pay for it. It will only make the quality of care on the whole worse. I am all for deregulating insurance so that one might shop across state lines and the elimination of coverage mandates so that my plan only covers what I want it to cover. I am all for Mackey's plan of having a health savings program, so that I need to choose where my first X amount of money is spent. I'm also for helping elderly, disabled, and children--maybe thorugh govenment programs, maybe through private philanthropic organizations.

Libertarians are a misunderstood lot. We don't just say "Fuck you all! I don't care about you!" We do care. I care. I just think the way of dealing with issues should be different. I'm all for markets. I'm all for private philanthropic organizations. I'm all for efficiency and accountability. I like giving my money to my church to help people. I hate giving my money to the government to help people. I like organizations like Operation Christmas Child, Feeding America, The Red Cross, and the Salvation Army. I hate government run organizations that award waste and mismanage money.

People who aren't libertarian have a hard time seeing the line between "what should we do" and "what should GOVERNMENT do," and that line is paramount in the libertarian platform. There has been a shift of attitude in this country. At one time people relied on themselves and their communities for the things they needed. Certain things were provided by the government, starting with local, then state, then federal. Now, we rely on the government to do too much. We also let the federal government do things that state and local governments could do better. Libertarians want to go back to the attitude of our founding fathers. It's not that we don't want to do good, caring things. We just don't want the government to do them for us.

Right leanings are a dirty thing in today's world. You are branded ignorant, uncaring, and selfish on college campuses, workplaces, and even churches. The media has a liberal bias that would make one think that everyone is a democrat. There are few friends my age that I can have a true political discussion with. Most only want to hear people express views that are the same as their own. Others will just quit talking to you all together once they know you didn't vote for Obama. Still others feel like you are attacking them personally because you challenge their views. My views are challenged on a daily basis. If I took it personally every day, I would think the world hated me and thought I was stupid. I'm confident enough in myself and my views to not take it personally. I'm also confident enough to discuss them. I find that a lot of people my age do not want to enter into a discussion because they just aren't strong enough in their own beliefs to accept a challenge and then form a rebuttal. They don't want to talk to me, because I make them take off their blinders. There are some friends that I can go back and forth with, and I welcome it! I like hearing their points. I like it when they hear mine.

In closing, John Mackey is a libertarian. He's a libertarian in a very far left world-the world that is Whole Foods. He's been branded as uncaring about people's health and now the environment, and I think it's cost him his position of chariman of the company he founded. I feel for John Mackey. I know what it's like to have your politics dictate what others think of you. I'm often misunderstood, and I think John Mackey is as well.