Economics and politics?

[BensFaithJourney]

A lot of Catholics are pretty socially conservative, of course, but not necessarily economically conservative.

I once considered myself a libertarian. I fell into the Austrian Economics version of libertarianism. I’ve heard that economic libertarianism is contradictory to a Church teaching. Is this true?

Should we support government safety net programs, or things like universal childcare/healthcare/education, or other policies like minimum wages or mandatory family leave?

If not, what do you do politically? I mean, Democrats often prefer a safety net of sorts, but are generally pro-choice and I am not voting for a pro-choice politician. So do we just disregard all the economic issues because of that?

How do you handle the question of what economic policies to support, and what candidates/party?

 

[upant]

Should we support government safety net programs, or things like universal childcare/healthcare/education, or other policies like minimum wages or mandatory family leave?

are these policies really delivering what the left says they are?

IMHO

welfare has broken up the family unit and we now have a generation dependent on welfare. was this a good policy? is it the policy to continue or is there something better? what is the single-parent rate compared to before?

minimum wage laws drive down employment, look at the store closings and people being let-go or having their hours reduced in cities that passed a $15 min wage. in LA the unions got a wavier for the companies hiring union labor for a reason.

education, why are only the rich allowed school choice?

healthcare went from good to bad under obamacare, how many of the increased rolls were forced on the rolls and didn’t want it? Quality dropped and things were added many didn’t need, not to mention the religious abuses.

mandatory family leaves come at a cost. someone has to pay for it. Do you think companies will eat the cost or will it reduce wages and/or force more companies out of business?

these items can be solved in more than one way, but abortion is final. I believe this is why the US Bishops prioritized abortion this year.

 

[Emeraldlady]

A lot of Catholics are pretty socially conservative, of course, but not necessarily economically conservative.

I once considered myself a libertarian. I fell into the Austrian Economics version of libertarianism. I’ve heard that economic libertarianism is contradictory to a Church teaching. Is this true?

Should we support government safety net programs, or things like universal childcare/healthcare/education, or other policies like minimum wages or mandatory family leave?

If not, what do you do politically? I mean, Democrats often prefer a safety net of sorts, but are generally pro-choice and I am not voting for a pro-choice politician. So do we just disregard all the economic issues because of that?

How do you handle the question of what economic policies to support, and what candidates/party?

In a different thread I was observing that this conundrum is really one of out own Catholic making. Catholics identify too strongly with their political parties to have any power to create a truly Christian alternative. The political infighting among Catholics leave them feeling pretty socially impotent.

We need someone to step up with true Catholic conviction similar to Konrad Adenauer in Germany after WWII. He founded the Christian Democratic Union on unapologetic Christian values. That party had been led by a similarly unapologetic Christian, Angela Merkel who was Chancellor from 2005 until last year.

Too many US leaders claim Christian identity only to give themselves political cred. and cover up their sins.

 

[HumbleIOughtToBe]

Predictions of what will occcur in this forum:

• Pro-Life before all else.
• Policy = Socialism = Communism = Venezuela.
• Rerum Novarum says no.
• Lamentations about the other party and the overlooking of ones own.

As for me, 3rd party whenever humanly possible.

 

[Marek]

Hi,

I’m Polish, not American, so my view is kinda skewed, since Poland has a socialist economy. I used to be economically libertarian, but I grew out of it and realized one important thing. It’s about the disenfranchised, but it’s much more about the children.
What I mean by this is that it’s children who are the most vulnerable as they don’t have the luxury of choosing their parents and they’re at the mercy of their parents’ life choices. Having no access to education or healthcare just because you weren’t lucky enough to be born to wealthy parents is cruelty. In many countries, education and healthcare are a luxury available to just several per cent of the population. Sure, basic services are reasonably affordable, but due to how the economy works, there will always be a group of people who will not be able to afford even the most rudimentary level of service.
Austrian liberal school says it’s okay because it helps economic growth to be sustainable. I say it’s cold and heartless and if growth suffers, so much worse for the growth.

Food for thought: There exists no adult who was not a child. Aren’t we the lucky, what, 1%? 10%? Imagine if you were in the unluckiest 1% or 10%. Wherever you are, your chances were literally the same.

 

[patrick9999]

BensFaithJourney:

Should we support government safety net programs, or things like universal childcare/healthcare/education, or other policies like minimum wages or mandatory family leave?

are these policies really delivering what the left says they are?

IMHO

welfare has broken up the family unit and we now have a generation dependent on welfare. was this a good policy? is it the policy to continue or is there something better? what is the single-parent rate compared to before?

minimum wage laws drive down employment, look at the store closings and people being let-go or having their hours reduced in cities that passed a $15 min wage. in LA the unions got a wavier for the companies hiring union labor for a reason.

education, why are only the rich allowed school choice?

healthcare went from good to bad under obamacare, how many of the increased rolls were forced on the rolls and didn’t want it? Quality dropped and things were added many didn’t need, not to mention the religious abuses.

mandatory family leaves come at a cost. someone has to pay for it. Do you think companies will eat the cost or will it reduce wages and/or force more companies out of business?

these items can be solved in more than one way, but abortion is final. I believe this is why the US Bishops prioritized abortion this year.

You’ve certainly got all the Republican Party talking points down. Unfortunately, you know a lot of things that aren’t true. And no, I don’t vote for Democrats.

 

[Rozellelily]

Hi,

I can only speak from a perspective of living in Australia and here we have safety nets like Disability Pensions, Unemployment wages and Medicare.
This is far from a perfect system and public health system is often much worse and full of beaurocratic red tape then private health system but it is surely better than third world situations (at least in regards to equipment).

I believe it is a responsibility of the rich to help the poor.

Regarding politics, sadly often the only option is to choose the “least worst option”.
They only other alternative is to go into politics yourself if you have the financial backing.

 

[upant]

You’ve certainly got all the Republican Party talking points down. Unfortunately, you know a lot of things that aren’t true. And no, I don’t vote for Democrats.

please enlighten me, which do you consider to be untrue?