I'd like to see a true conservative party. Does away with affirmative action. Lets capatalism run it's course. Put restrictions on immigration.
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Interesting thread. I would think a true capitalist would embrace illegal immigration, as any influx of cheap, unprotected labor would provide a powerful counterbalance to organized labor. If you allow capitalism to "run it's (sic) course" then a borderless society would be the ideal scenario, with no restrictions on trade, commerce, or capital (capital being any inculcation of investment potential - labor, wealth, technology, etc.).
Any how do you define affirmative action? I am not aware of any "entitlement" benefits in federal law that sets aside privileges for the disadvantaged. I believe that most (if not all) federal programs exist to mitigate racism as a factor in hiring or housing. Some state programs DO have setasides, mostly requiring certain percentages of public bids to have a certain amount of minority involvement.
Either way - my ideal (or close to ideal) political party is one that breaks down the rigidity of the federal system, and returns political power to the state and local level. Taxes are graduated with the highest taxes on large amounts of wealth, but seriously regressed taxes (or none) or escalated incentives on individual investments beneath a certain threshold. In other words, a form of quasi-capitalism that uses smaller amounts of wealth on the family or community level to stimulate economic growth. I think I'd be a radical socialist conservative by definition ...
Most of the time, political parties focus their election season approach on inane social issues, like illegal immigration, affirmative action, and patriotic duty to mask their shallow and blatantly unproductive economic platforms. We beat our drums for things that really don't matter to us, simply because someone else says we should. The parties strive not to educate, but to inflame. It would be interesting if any political party could actually be honest about their intentions. I would like to think my ideal one would be.
J