[ExI] Freedom (was: "PC")

[Spargemeister]

On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 4:05 PM, Damien Sullivan
<phoenix at ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
>
> But what are legitimate public assets and federal laws?  Big loopholes
> there.

I didn't say that implementing libertarianism was easy, just that it
isn't anarchy, and should approached in terms of personal freedom.
Some assets are clearly public, some are clearly private, and some
aren't so clear. Finding the appropriate boundaries is a job for
voters, legislators, and courts. Legitimate federal laws in the U.S.
are those defined in the Constitution.

> Is the atmosphere a public asset?  Does the government get to regulate
> chemical and noise pollution?

I have my own opinions, but I'm just one person. Luckily, I'm not king
and I don't have to decide that by myself on behalf of the entire
country. And, luckily, we have mechanisms in place for making those
decisions.

> What's the difference between national defense against biowarfare and a
> national health care system?

Besides the obvious? I mean, the two could be pretty similar, I
suppose, but I'd expect biowarfare defense to be more about preventing
a successful attack via intelligence and border control, and a health
care system to be more about dealing with natural illnesses and
injuries. Obviously, there'd be some overlap in the case of a
successful attack, where the existing health care system would be
employed to distribute vaccines or other treatment.

> How is this paid for?

How about taxes?

-Dave