The Elizabeth Warren Quote Every American Needs To See

[Eddie_T]

To get back to Elizabeth Warren, her deceptive statements will be accepted by many who look for reasons to engage in the Obama class warfare. Look, if she snookered blucher how many more will buy into the concept. At a glance it sounds legit, but closer scrutiny reveals the disconnects in her logic. So, is the lady stupid or clever like a fox. I say the latter, it appears to be a planned deception.

[rivalarrival]

Originally Posted by Eddie_T

To get back to Elizabeth Warren, her deceptive statements will be accepted by many who look for reasons to engage in the Obama class warfare. Look, if she snookered blucher how many more will buy into the concept. At a glance it sounds legit, but closer scrutiny reveals the disconnects in her logic. So, is the lady stupid or clever like a fox. I say the latter, it appears to be a planned deception.

What disconnects? The only thing I've seen to challenge her statement is the fallacious idea that property taxes are the only things that paid for any of the ideas she referenced. They aren't. The only disconnect here is the black-and-white, right-wingtip logic you're using that says anything that isn't at least as far right as you is a left wing conspiracy.

She presented an incredibly centrist principle. This isn't some left-wing socialist concept; this is right down the center line of American politics. This is where America operates. Here, in the center.

The real world isn't some delusional right-wing fantasy land where Ronald Reagan, the Georges Bush, Joe McCarthy, and Jesus of Nazareth ride up-armored Velocirapters into battle against evil tree-hugging hippie-communists, hell bent on forcefully redistributing all wealth.

Come back to the real world, Eddie. Come back to the center. It's a lovely place, really.

[rivalarrival]

While I've discussed this concept in other terms, I've recently been exposed to the phrase "Tragedy of the Commons".

The idea is fairly easy to illustrate. Four herders each own some of their individual land, and they jointly share another piece of land. If a herder chooses to graze a cow on his own land, he loses one cow worth of grazing capacity and gains one fattened cow. If he chooses to graze his cows on the shared land, he loses his share of one cow worth of grazing capacity, and gains one fattened cow. By grazing on his own land, he takes 4 times the loss he does by grazing on the commons. It is to his benefit to have as many cattle as possible on that land, creating the largest possible gain for him a the expense of the largest possible loss to the other three. If allowed to continue unchecked, the commons will be destroyed, to the detriment of them all.

To balance the inequity, the four could establish a pact. Each herder could agree to allow the same number of cattle graze on the joint land. Or, they could each pay a certain amount of rent to the other three for each cow they graze on the land. We would call this rent a "tax" today.

If predators are a problem, they might establish a plan to defend the commons. They might jointly hire a hunter to shoot the wolves; three of them might pay the fourth to do it. They might jointly choose to build and manage a slaughterhouse on the commons; one might choose to build his own slaughterhouse and charge the other three for its use. If poachers are a problem, they might choose to establish joint defenses.

Government is little more than the joint management of the Commons. Warren's quote describes some basic aspects of the modern Commons that every successful business person has relied upon for their success. The "underlying social contract" she is referring to is the pact essential for maintaining the Commons.

Warren's quote is most certainly NOT out in left field. Her quote reminds us that taxes aren't just an expenditure; we receive incalculable benefit from the Commons those tax dollars support.