Quote:
Originally Posted by DNinja69
Some do confuse my appreciation for personal freedom and harsh words for bad Republicans as being Liberal. Fair enough just not accurate at all. The word RINO gets used at times which just generally proves my points as I do not work off a playbook from any party or political agenda. I stay about Justice and Liberty which both can be worked towards whatever side of the fence you want to be on. My OP spoke on the right using what I consider to be a myth about Liberals being the source of violent crime in America. I did not come up with the myth but it is perpetuated daily and often as a cloak to hide under so Conservatives can claim either they are doing better (which I agree with but better isn't nearly good enough) or more often in my experience that Democrats specifically are the root of the issues. I call bullshit on that. 100%
You make some solid points on historical factors. I also recall Bill Clinton devoting resources to law enforcement and seeing some pretty good results in regards to violent crime. I don't approve of everything he did and continue to embrace my 2nd Amendment rights though not nearly as absolutely as many we do need some regulations in place to be fair.
McCain did have some good points and I agree poverty is factor to be looked at in the equation. More trade based education whether through vocational programs in schools or allowing high school students to choose those paths that are endorsed by our school system through partnerships with private entities would be a welcome change in my opinion.
Daycare is a big issue with single parents and I would much rather see free service provided in that area than programs funding without provisions to get that parent into school or the workforce. Sensible solutions that would not cost any more than we are currently paying just shift the focus to opportunities vs handouts. Agreed.
On the subject of incarceration I won't pretend to have many answers as I do understand not from being an inmate but a lot of life experience seeing the results of being in lockup that the practice of exercising control in prisons is far greater said than done. Life inside moves in ways that no written laws or corporate mission statements have much impact on but for sure we cannot continue to create these inmate welfare communities where non-violent offenders mix with all sorts of other criminals.
This is the kind of discussion I would like to believe our mayors, governors, and members of congress would engage in but it seems that is not very likely anytime soon. Both sides have a lot of work to do. There are similar issues in education which I see as a way to help address the issues by giving real priority to basic reading and math skills in preparation for later options where we teach marketable skills and try to instill work ethic once those initial concepts are achieved.
We are all paying for these solutions but not getting many results. For me that is the biggest concern. Putting our tax dollars to work toward solutions and demanding our elected officials make better effort. Currently we are often faced with no real alternatives. Vote for the lame ass candidate the floated to the surface or let 'the other side' do their thing which far too often includes agenda based ideas rather than actual work being done.
With the idea of return on investment this is how I rank 3 areas that are to me of vital importance without regard to parties at all but nationally
Education - D+
Law Enforcement - C
Social Security - F
To me these are not political issues as they literally involve everyone. Neither party should 'get their way' when we are all subjected to these public services and I am appalled at how badly we have handled some of these over the past few decades.
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I would agree with your grading. It's obvious there is room for improvement. Unfortunately not much will improve unless our elected officials will actually work for the people instead of special interest groups who entice them with incentives. Like the old saying goes, "Money talks and Bullshit walks".
