Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Justin Amash Needs A Rothbardian Refresher Course

By, Chris Rossini
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    There's a YouTube out there that shows a view of Justin Amash's office. Interestingly, there are some photos on the wall of Austrian economists Carl Menger and Murray Rothbard:


    Those are some heavy hitters. If Amash has them there for inspiration, he may need to glance up a little more often.

    EPJ readers know about the "slippery slope", and Bob Wenzel has reported on Amash's "I Am Not Going To Take Anything Off the Table" followed by the Double-Down.

    Now, to start the new year.....one of Amash's first tweets indicate a continuation of the slide down crap mountain:


    Fair taxation?

    And Amash agrees?

    Here's Rothbard on the idea of fairness in taxation:
    "There can be no such thing as 'fairness in taxation.' Taxation is nothing but organized theft, and the concept of a 'fair tax' is therefore every bit as absurd as that of 'fair theft.'"
    Does Amash also believe that government has the ability to provide "help for the vulnerable"?

    Government does nothing of the sort! It perpetually grinds the vulnerable into the dirt.

    Amash needs a Rothbardian refresher.

    Fortunately, The Mises Institute has a great online course starting 1 week from today. It's called: Rothbard: A Life Lived for Liberty and the instructor is the great David Gordon.

    I will be attending.

    Amash needs to join us.



    11 comments:

    1. I guess in John Boner's eyes, Amash has been scared straight!

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    2. "Fairness" in taxation? Government helping the vulnerable? Since when in hell has government ever even been capable of that? Justin, either get your head out of your ass or leave politics.

      Double-think and double-talk does not stand with me very well.

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    3. Perhaps someone should politely send this post over his way.

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    4. He's a politician, what do you expect?

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    5. I've also said it before. Only when you grow up and see politics for what is really is - that is, politics itself, not just politicians - can you realize that no good can come of it. You CANNOT turn a racket into a fair game; the mafia into the salvation army.
      That's why it's just so sad that a lot of libertarians keep believing that types like Rand Paul and Justin Amash are good guys that can help the libertarian cause by giving in a little.

      People who give in this way do this not because they think they can bring about more liberty. They do this because they either really believe it is good to do so for its own sake, or because it helps their career.

      Some libertarians will never learn until they've developed the special 6th sense that especially anarchocapitalists have. They MUST learn to grow a good bullshit detector.

      "Fair taxation" and "(government) help for the vulnerable", even if Justin Amash means something different, is the lingo of the liberal statist. He's gone 10 yards more down the slippery slope just by using those words.

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    6. The problem is everyone saw what Ron Paul did over several decades and think that other politicians can and are willing to do the same things. They can't and aren't, including Ron's own son.

      I am sure Amash intended to be the next Ron Paul, just like Dick Armey once talked to Lew about austrian econ and quoted Mises in the 80s. Power changes virtually everyone, with Ron being the lone exception. Not even Jefferson was immune from change - so Ron Paul is our one and only exception in American history.

      Libertarians better get used to the fact that no more Ron Paul types will ever exist in the political world.

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    7. Come on and sign up for Gordon's class already. I'm signed up and over there waiting for you.

      Thanks for the encouragement to take this course. I had already signed up for another course that takes place during the same 6 weeks. 2 courses is a bit much for me, but due to your encouragement I signed up for the 2nd course anyway.

      Besides, David Gordon is a fountain of knowledge in his own right, so this opportunity is not to be missed. Who knows how long he will be able to continue to teach? A long time, I hope. I didn't get to study under Rothbard, but I would hate to miss the chance to study under the great Dr. Gordon.

      Last I checked there were only 19 students enrolled, but that doesn't mean anything much, as most students sign up at the last moment.

      Hope to see you all there.

      gpond

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    8. Amash will be voting against the stupid bill, so you guys are barking up the wrong tree.

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      Replies
      1. Chris, watch his votes rather than his rhetoric. He's not in a super-safe district like Ron Paul sl isn't going to talk like an anarchist. He has to communicate with middle class suburbanites in Michigan. Murray never had to do that, he wasn't elected.

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      2. When Amash talks about 'fair taxes', he leaps from your average Republican's rhetoric to a Democrat's rhetoric. So it's not even like Amash is trying to appear 'sensible' compared to an anarchist, he's going way too far with it and I think Rossini is correct in pointing it out.

        What's important are both his votes AND his rhetoric. Sure, I agree he's not going to proclaim he's an anarchist any time soon (obviously he's not an anarchist, but even if he was, it's simply not politically viable), but the 'ideal' politician shouldn't be saying stuff at odds with libertarianism either.

        Amash is better than most others, but nevertheless, we need to point out when he's wrong to exert a force in the right direction. Certainly the appeal to 'get along' with the masses is constantly pushing him in the wrong one.

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    9. Ron also called for taxation. The government needs to be funded.

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