Hello, DU. I am a libertarian.

[R.Quinn]

51. Interesting.

Cut to the chase indeed! I would love to take your word as gospel, but I won't believe that "100% of all military spending is to protect and advance the interests of the wealthy" just because you say so. That sounds like an emotional argument, not an empirical one. How about instead of taxing the rich more to fund our wars, we END the wars instead? Raising taxes on the wealthy temporarily treats a symptom; ending the wars and scaling back our military cures the disease.

I don't pretend to suggest that corporations can't be corrupt. The difference between corporations and the government, however, is that the government is funded by taxpayers and does not hold itself accountable to taxpayers whatsoever. Corporations are beholden to their shareholders, their employees, and their consumers. When the tide of public opinion turns against them, say, in regards to an environmental issue, change happens much more quickly and effectively than a mere government regulation could ever accomplish (e.g. BP oil spill). I agree that the government's job is to protect the citizens. The problem is, that's not what the government does. I could cite many of the most egregious examples imaginable of government corruption, but I am sure you can find most of them yourself with a quick Google search, so I will leave you with these two recent tasty tidbits to whet your appetite:

EPA corruption: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/377760/if-you-still-need-proof-epa-rogue-agency-last-week-provided-plenty-iain-murray
FDA corruption: http://www.naturalnews.com/042562_total_corruption_drug_companies_fda_advisory_panels.html

The EPA doesn't care about protecting the environment. The FDA doesn't care about safe food and drugs. I don't even need to get into how incompetent the IRS is. The government doesn't really care about you or me; it only cares about itself and advancing its own interests (i.e. money). It's a business run just like the corporations, except that it has unlimited authority over us without any transparency. You say we can "clean it up" via elections. Tell me, now who's being naive? How has electing politicians to fix the government been working out for us? Don't you see that our politicians are funded by the very corporations they claim to regulate? The government is in it for the money and the power, not for you and me, and that is what has been demonstrated time and time again. "Regulations" from the government's politicians only serve to repay and further empower these same corporations by killing off small-business competition. Don't ever trust the government; trust yourself.

I would like to genuinely thank you for taking the time to watch the video. The purpose of the video, however, was not to provide evidence of job loss; it was to show you that minimum wage laws greatly damage a person's freedom to make choices for themselves. You carry on as if all business owners would suddenly only pay their workers $1 an hour without a minimum wage "safety net". I don't buy it, because that's not what was happening before minimum wage was instituted. Back then, if you had education and/or skills, you got paid accordingly. It's that simple. Pay people according to their ability. You shouldn't get to tell me what I can or can't pay my workers, nor should you be able to determine what I can or can't get paid for my work. I certainly don't need the government to hold a gun to my head in order to determine what a fair wage is. Do you?