"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...

"Michael 182" wrote in message
news:QJS1c.177934$jk2.656404@attbi_s53...
Jay,

You seem to confuse being a liberal with being a socialist. I am a life
long
liberal - I believe that government and industry has a responsibility to
help those in need, that the environment needs extensive protecting,
that
most social programs do enough good to outweigh the inherent waste and
transfer costs...

The RESPONSIBILITY for those is need is those people themselves.

I respectfully disagree. It is the responsibility of the fortunate to help
the less fortunate. Almost everyone believe this to some degree, hence the
extensive charitable contribution structure. Perhaps I lean toward more
redistribution than you, and different methods. But I don't want to live in
a society where we ignore hardship.



I am also a confirmed capitalist. I built a company with over 300
employees
over a 15 year period. I sold it for enough money to enjoy a comfortable
retirement in my mid 40's, and started another company last year when I
found retirement boring. I've paid pretty extensive taxes - well worth
it
for the privilege of living in the USA.

You're living the the USA is your RIGHT, not a priviledge.

It's both a right and a priviledge. They are not mutually exclusive.




For some reason conservatives have stereotyped liberals as anti-business
and
anti-patriotic. Neither is the case.

Well, the evidence is sure strong enough.

What evidence? This is the stereotype I was referring to.


You may look up George McGovern's quote about the failure of his business
after retiring from the Senate -- something about "If I'd known then what
I
know now, my voting records would have been much different."

George McGovern is a great example. He was a patriotic war hero and clearly
a liberal. His realization that the governmental burdens on small businesses
were too extensive came, unfortunately, too late in his life for his voting
to help the problem. I disliked many government intrusions on my business.
This isn't a liberal/conservative issue. For all the party line about
shrinking government, it has expanded dramatically under Republican rule.
Conservatives have been no more successful than liberals in streamlining the
government/business relationship.

Michael