Con-Pro

Conservative-Progressive Issues Chart

This is a work in progress. The conservative column is complete and ready to read. The other column isn't really "Progressive" as the ideas are considered to be relatively "Independent" of any particular set of political ideas. More of the Independent column will be filled in time...

Relevant Articles

• Your Political Opponents Aren't as Radical as You Think They Are, Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, July 16, 2019.

The Chart

	Issue	Conservative (by JPS)	Independent (by SRP)
1.	Immigration	Immigration is great! But the international trespassing must be stopped, and asylum laws tightened, along with other reforms. Build the wall! Voting rights, American jobs, and economic safety nets are not for aliens. Race is irrelevant: Many of our great Border Patrol officers are brown people.	The current state of our immigration laws and practices puts the burden on immigrants and lets the industries and farmers who employ them operate without much restraint. Fixing this imbalance has been exceedingly difficult since the employers have huge political influence and the undocumented workers have practically none. Here's a speech by Ronald Regan about immigrants. https://nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/ronald-reagans-final-presidential-speech-was-for-immigrants
2.	Taxation	As little as possible. Higher rates can result in lower revenue. The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. Government is not the solution to every problem. Let's just fund whatever the government is actually the best at doing.	This paper reviews fifteen lessons to be learned from the work of Abba Lerner. These lessons, which fall under the general categories of functional finance and full employment, are as relevant today as they were when they were first put forward some five decades ago. The abstract: http://www.levyinstitute.org/publications/functional-finance-and-full-employment The Paper's Download Link Is Here: http://www.levyinstitute.org/files/download.php?file=wp272.pdf&pubid=194
3.	Racism	C'mon folks, this is the 21st century. Time to stop looking for a racist or "-phobe" under every bush! We judge people by the content of their character and hire them based on their talents and experience. Slavery was ended by Christians and Republicans. The KKK were Democrats.	People who think that slavery doesn't still affect our society today need to spend some time getting to know African Americans to learn how they feel about our present state of race relations. Perhaps it might help if you try to think what life would be like if you had a big sign attached to your head that says: Since you believe that you are better than me, Degrade Me, Punish Me, Laugh At Me and if you get a chance, Kick me or Kill me, no one will care what you do to me... In places in Europe prior to the World War, Jews were forced to ware a Jewish star to define their low status in the society... African American's can't remove their star. Here's a link to an historic speech. https://publish.dvlabs.com/democracynow/360/dn2019-0704.mp4?start=107.0&end=431.0
4.	The Constitution	The Constitution is a work of brilliance. Judges should interpret it as written. If somebody wants to invent new "rights", we have a process for that: constitutional amendment--not judicial activism.	Agreed! Here's a link to a video that explains what possibly could be the worst case of judicial activism ever put over on our democracy. Corporations are not people, and money is not speech, but the Supreme Court made up these ideas in order to give new rights to their big money friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDtSSFEZY38
5.	Tradition and Morality	Moral relativism is a way for a society to go insane. Biblical and other time-tested principles were made for the survival and flourishing of humanity. What does mankind have in common if everybody invents their own "morality"?	[This is a test. If it works, then the text I am writing now will cause this column to expand and balance the other.]
6.	LGBT	Disagreement is not hate. Sodomy and certain other practices are not only morally wrong but also unhealthful. Homosexuality is as dangerous as smoking. Decriminalizing it was okay, but encouraging it is not. The LGBT campaign is demanding "rights" that supersede and marginalize the rights of others.
7.	Abortion	Abortion is homicide. Perhaps it is justifiable under extremely limited circumstances. It is unacceptable when the baby is developed enough to feel pain. Human life begins at conception, as proven by the fact that the DNA is human from the get-go.
8.	Guns	The Second Amendment is for citizens, who have a right to self-defense. Gun-free zones are the targets of choice for mass shooters. If a Second American Revolution becomes necessary, it requires an armed populace. Overzealous gun control is a tool of those who crave absolute power.
9.	Free Speech	Whether speech is unpopular, "offensive", or "hateful", the right to free speech must always be protected. "Political correctness" is the start of Soviet-style repression of thought. Academia, social media, and many professions are cesspools of anti-conservative, anti-Christian viewpoint discrimination.
10.	Globalism	All citizens of every country ought to believe in and support their country. Real diversity includes the variety of sovereign nations, each pursuing its own interests and culture without interference. Global governance invites global corruption. The U.N. should be reduced to its original peacekeeping function.
11.	Education	Stick to the basics. Kids need real skills. School choice helps poor children. Pumping more money into public schools is often counterproductive. School has become a leftist, atheist indoctrination camp. Politics should be kept out, or both sides presented equally. Religion should be let back in.
12.	Rights	Real rights are God-given, not created by law. Too many demands have been aggrandized as "rights". When the phrase "human rights" is made to include every demand, it becomes useless and obsolete.
13.	Journalism	Journalism is dead. What used to be a newsroom is now populated by activists pretending to be reporters. News and opinion must be separated scrupulously. All sides of the issues must be presented fairly. It's not up to "journalists" to make the world a better place.	I agree with the comments shown here by my friend except for the last sentence. Journalists should make every effort to be on top of the issues where the public's health, safety, rights, and prosperity are at stake.
14.	Socialism	Yes, it has been tried. Many times. It has a proven track record of failure. The examples trotted out by American socialists are merely free-market countries with bigger welfare and higher taxes. Real socialism has murdered 100 million people and counting. "Nazi" is short for "National Socialist".	When the State fills a gap in the needs of the people, it ought not be denounced. The "market" has a role to play in society, but so does government. If we gave tax collecting to a private firm, the public would be at the mercy of investors who want to maximize their profit. Public services such as the Social Security system should be the domain of government and not subjected to the whims corporate boards. Health care also should not be denied to people becaue private interests want the gravy.
15.	Climate Change	Calling somebody a "denier" is not a scientific argument. "Consensus" is not the scientific method. As long as environmentalists refuse to have a real debate, the truth will never be known. In the meantime, let's make sure the U.S. keeps setting a good example of environmental improvement.
16.	Wage Gap	The so-called gender wage gap does not exist. When you compare people who combine equal work with equal training, equal experience, and equal commitment to the job, the gap disappears. For a better wage, get a higher-wage job or a raise. Women are now graduating college at a higher rate than men.
17.	Poverty	Progressives pretend to have a monopoly on caring about the poor. Nonsense! We just go about it differently. Progressives rely too much on blaming "the system" and "the rich". Conservative policies make strong economies that give more people the chance to rise. Conservatives give more to charities.
18.	Marriage	Children fare best, as a rule, when living with their own (biological) mother and father. Divorced, "single parent", and "same-sex" households are sub-optimal. Married people are usually better off economically. When marriage is undervalued and sexual immorality exalted, the nation starts to de-populate.
19.	Minimum Wage	Wherever sharp increases are forced on employers, hours get cut. Prices rise. People higher up on the pay scale demand raises. Workers get laid off. They get displaced by automation. The best way: (1) Create so many jobs that employers have to raise wages themselves. (2) Rigorously regulate immigration.
20.	Income Inequality	For examples of income inequality, look at deep-blue places like California, where there are super-rich people and super-poor people, with fewer and fewer in the middle. Progressivism turns the areas it controls into Third World holes, with some living in mansions while others live in cardboard boxes.
21.	Healthcare	Obamacare has made healthcare less affordable. "Medicare For All" is proven by other countries' experience to lead to substandard care, rationing like World War II, perilously long wait times, waste and inefficiency, and some truly horrific outcomes. Creative free-market thinking holds much more promise.
22.	Energy	"Renewable" is a lovely idea. But solar and wind power are expensive, intermittent, and cause environmental problems of their own. They can supplement but not replace coal, gas, and nuclear. Electric cars are not a pollution-free solution. Subsidies tend to go to the affluent.
23.	Greedy Corporations	The HRC's "Corporate Equality Index" shows that Big Business has shifted to the Left. Corporations threaten to boycott states over conservative laws. They punish and fire workers for tweeting something "hateful". The "greedy corporations" problem is in your lap now, Lefties!