(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); I was wondering what the average political opinion of most people are on this forum and why they support the parties or positions they support. It'll be interesting to see what people feel are the biggest key issues and what they don't feel is important in the political arena.

I am a Socialist however I support some Libertarian ideals as well. Ideally I'd consider myself a Fiscal Socialist and Social Libertarian.

If someone is unsure about what different political stances mean or what parties stand for, speak up, I'm a very politically minded person and I enjoy taking a great interest in politics and explaining the issues to others so I'll happily explain what is often a very complex, even convoluted system. I am mostly familar with UK, USA and EU politics, but I know bits about other countries.

I've used the UK and USA parties as examples in the poll for ease. If there's no examples, that means there are no major parties I can think of in USA or UK that reasonably represent that broad ideal (or in the case of Libertarian, they're both called "Libertarian Party" so it seemed somewhat redundant). I realise some people may call foul and say "Hey, the Democrats aren't Conservatives, they're Liberals." but you'd be wrong. If you compare the ideals of the Democrat party of the United States with the average Conservative party from another country they're extremely similar, where as Liberal parties, especially in Europe support programs and ideals that the Democrats wouldn't even consider.

I am a conservative on political matters. I completely disagree with welfare programs, the whole "help the needy" kind of thing. They can go get themselves a job opening doors at Wal Mart to pay for their drug addiction, instead of using my tax money. I am all for beefing up the DOD, to make the strongest military in the world, stronger.

When it comes to social matters, I am a liberal. Gay marriage should be allowed, marijuana should be completely legal, and prisoners should serve life instead of getting the injection.

I live in the US just to clear any party terms up.

I am conservative in many issues. I feel that the private sector does a better job than the public economically wise. So you could say I believe in Capitalism. I don't believe socialism functions very well in a large scale. Personally, I believe it can work in smaller numbers. I have seen socialism in the class room before from my teacher's experiment, it never works. One or two kids do all the work and the rest screw around.

Overall, I am not supportive of Unions as Unions make all the money and the employees get screwed. The private sector realizes when you are in a recession there will be pay decreases and cuts, as what I have seen here apparently, giving days off as cuts qualifies the same for teachers, police officers, fireman, etc... I almost find some actions Unions take to disturbing.

I live in California (pretty liberal), for the most part though, it is very strange. We qualify as a democratic state, yet we actually go against some liberal agenda. Gay marriage is illegal, marijuana is illegal, etc... Overall I say it is because we are a liberal Christian state.

I support legalization of marijuana (I don't smoke it though) mainly for the fact it will bring in some tax dollars and possibly lower crime, gay marriage should be legal I understand why it is not though, the Christian faith (A lot of Californians are Christian) is mainly against it. That is for another debate altogether though.

* I do not mean to offend anyone from this post, these are my thoughts.

I was starting to wonder if anyone was ever going to post.



I can understand your issues with tax. You pay tax and you don't want it to go to people who are not trying to contribute to the collective quality of the community, which is reasonable, but I wholeheartedly disagree and I hope I can convince you as to why.

As I hope I've shown with my posts, I'm not a lazy person. I like to put effort into the things I do and generally try to better myself when possible. I am currently claiming JSA in the UK which is a welfare program and have been for a few months now. Due to the ecconomic colapse recently in the north, the job market has shrunk incredibly. I had no effect on this, it was the rich, privilaged, bankers who caused such a crash.

Now, I come from a working class family. My dad used to work for himself as a decorator, plumber and mechanic, he is very skilled however his health has forced him to retire in his early 50's where he's now a househusband. My mum is a senior nurse who put herself through college in night classes whilst working as a carer in a nursing home. She now works for a hospital for the elderly, however with my dad unable to work she is the only person in the house with a wage. I have had a multitude of jobs, all of them temp-work, and have attempted to attend university twice. The first time I had to drop out because of my health and the second time I was forced to drop out because the bill to raise tuition fees in this country passed making it so I could no longer afford to go to college. I have however completed A-levels (equivalent to a GDP in the USA) and have two college diplomas although I never did manage to get a degree. I have almost 3 years of my life unemployed overall, and my health is poor due to genetic problems I was born with. My fathers health is also poor and my sister is now attending college, and applying to Oxford University (one of the best in the world) to study medicine.

Our family struggles. We have done everything we can to be productive members of society. Without a welfare system, I would have no income and wouldn't be able to pay my share of the bills and my parents would not be able to afford to send my sister to university. Without a national health service, neither me nor my father would likely be alive today as there's no way we could afford the medical care we need, and my mother who works for said service wouldn't have a job that is stable and unlikely to be effected by the recession, she would instead have to fight for shifts in a capitalist system where the loss of a shift or two could mean our family can't afford to eat that week. Hopefully this insight into our lives has given you a perspective as to why social programs are necessary. With these programs I can pay my bills and actively look for work, which I do. With these programs my sister can use the vast intelligence she has to become a doctor and follow her dreams, where I might add, she'll be paying tax at a rate likely much higher than most. And with these programs my dad, who worked from the age of 16 isn't tossed aside unable to have a decent retirement by an uncaring world just because his health deteriorated.

Sure taxation isn't truly "fair" as it is effectively taking money of people like you, who based on your comment I'm assuming you work a full time job, and giving it to me, who is effectively sitting at home all day. But we're not drug addicts coasting through life and it's rather insulting to imply that. We're given the bare minimum we need to survive and most of us want to work. There's no pride in collecting benefits, but without them we'd be dead and dying, surely you can see why a little wealth redistribution is necessary.

I don't expect to change your opinion in an instant, but hopefully you can see my point of view and I've given you something to think about and I look forward to hear in more detail your views and ideas. We can only become better informed from a detailed and civilised dialogue, so thank you first off, for posting and stopping this thread from vanishing unanswered.



On these issues I agree entirely. Although I personally consider life sentencing too harsh. I feel rehabilitation is the key. Turn prisoners into productive members of society. Sure it looks like a reward for crime when you see prisoners in countries like Sweden being allowed internet access, TV and even a pet if they want one, but Sweden also has the lowest murder rate, the lowest violent crime rate and more importantly the lowest repeat offender rate in Europe and it's far lower than that of the USA, so maybe they're doing something right.

I will answer this in two parts, as it is morning and I'm pressed for time. Otherwise it'll drag on me all day.

I feel that people who commit major felonies should be stripped of their freedom for the rest of their life. They should wake up everyday to the sight of cell doors, or even the little window in a solitary confinement cell. Death is what they'd want, that's a better alternative to rotting in prison for ~40 years, just to die in the end anyways.

Let's say someone grabs his illegally owned machinegun; then opens fire on children as they leave school. He is then captured wounded by the law. He does not deserve rehibilitation, he just killed dozens of innocent children. If I were the father, I'd personally want to torture him myself. In our prison system, if you rape, kill, or abuse a child, the inmates will repeatedly beat and rape you.

As it is right now, most inmates in state penitentiaries say that jail is better than life at home. They aren't alone, they have a roof over their heads, they get food without having to make meals themselves, and they are away from any kind of drug or gang problem. I've seen documentaries where inmates say they commited crimes just to be back in prison. If they could have free tv and more freedom, I think many more people would be locked up into the already overcrowded prisons.

I will talk politics later.

Fair enough, I personally feel quite differently. I've however grown up in the UK where we have what would be considered outright socialism by many people in the US. I personally find that the private sector, especially unregulated, only focuses on profit. What you end up with is a way to provide a service in the method that most rips off the customer, as a result a great example is the US health service which ironically costs the average US tax payer three times what the NHS, a socialised health service, costs the average UK tax payer. How is this possible? Well, when people can't afford their medical bills and rack up huge amounts of dept paying the high costs for medicine (often more than double the price it is here in the UK where the prices are fixed by the government, and payed for by the government rather than the patient), these patients eventually are forced to declare bankruptcy. This reduces them to effective wage slaves, unable to own any true wealth as any money they have is taken from them by the government, they also cannot have any ecconomic say in any business as a board director, which means they're also not allowed to be self-employed either. But despite this happening, the government, which is forced to foot the bill everytime someone declares bankruptcy due to medical bills, still due to the over-inflated prices and the American tendancy to avoid preventative medicine and only go to the doctor "when they really need to" in order to save money, ends up costing the government more money than it would cost to give the entire country free institutionalised healthcare twice over. Socialism when done right, can and does work.


What kind of backwards Unions do you have in USA. Unions in UK are the only reason the north isn't a complete slum. During the "Thatcher Years" if it wasn't for the massive Unionisation in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Yorkshire and Lancashire the private sector would have gone on unregulated working people unreasonable hours for low pay and minimal saftey precautions. It's the unions that forced regulations on industry, that forces the minimum wage so that everyone can make a decent living, it's what forces companies to allow maternity leave, it stops discrimination in the workplace. I cannot understand how unions can screw over the employees when all they ask of them is that they follow union decisions (ie. actually go on strike when a strike is called) and pay a small membership fee.


Like what? What actions have unions taken that you find so disturbing. As for the cuts thing. A day off is fine, but when you're not paid for that day off and you have bills and rent to worry about most people would rather work and have enough money to live. Sure recessions are bad, but perhaps the guys at the top need to stop taking the £100,000 is they can't afford to pay their staff. Those are the "cuts" that should first be made. But then as a socialist I'm expected to make such criticism aren't I.


Yeah, I always found California rather strange with it's politics. You'd think the state with San Fransisco in it would be pro-gay rights.


I agree with you here.


We're mature, intellectual people having an exchange of ideas. We don't have to like eachothers opinions, we can even think the other person is a blithering idiot by the end of it. But so long as we conduct ourselves in a respectful and curteous manner I can't see any offense being caused. If it comes down to brass tacks and after a lively debate we still don't agree, we can simply agree that we have different moral opinions and accept that we disagree as adults. After all, all political opinion is based on what we consider just and fair, ie. our own independent, subjective moral standard. If we agreed on everything it would be really rather creepy.

I'm an economic conservative but on social issues, mostly liberal. I'm pro guns, pro drugs, pro gambling & prostitution, pro choice, etc. I'm a big fan of limited government, which the conservatives always promise here in the U.S., but go back on their word and give the government more power.

I see what you are saying. The problem is there is a population that would rather live off and work the system than contribute. I know people who are like that, I also understand why they are like that and respect their beliefs even if it causes problem to the system. Healthcare is a deal in its own. The problem is actually lawsuits. It is true you cannot put a price on life, but we take it to extremes. Doctors aren't perfect, they are human. There is bound to be at least one mistake made in their career. But when anything at all goes wrong and a lawsuit for millions of dollars comes up it causes problems.


LOL I know. Let me phrase this better. The main problem is government unions.

They refuse to take pay cuts and instead take You must login or register to view this content.. A school I know of had around 16 this year. It is a joke as I was saying. It would take to long to list all of the problems with them.

What happens is unions go around to all different kinds of private businesses telling them they should unionize, not even knowing the business. Let me give you a great example.

My father owns an auto body shop. One day one of his employees started asking about unions after a union spoke with him. My dad decided to hold a meeting and tell them what this would mean exactly. No overtime, they would be payed by hour etc... Now with some jobs this would work. Not at all with auto body. The men depend on commission and overtime. Yet still there are those who try to have them unionize. In fact Caliber is a union.

Anyways sorry for the rant, maybe unions work better around you but the ones in California don't compromise and go beyond means of expanding.


I know where you're coming from and expect you to based on how you were raised and your lifestyle. I was raised more so in a Christian Republican environment. Funny how I disagree with certain issues though. Such as I am now an atheist, and have some liberal views.

I personally believe many of those on top have worked through difficulty and risk to achieve their position. Anyways, like I said I believe in Capitalism which can almost be enough said.


XD. I know. It's because we are Christian liberals. We keep ethics of Christians (What they think of, not what you think of, I only mention because I feel the Bible tells a different message than they do), with the economic ideals of liberals.


LOL I suppose. In reality, a lot of your beliefs depend on your environment growing up and around you still, etc...

Which is why in a socialist system it is illegal to purposely refuse to contribute. If you're not working but looking for work, studying, a stay at home parent or too ill to work, that's fine. But sitting at home and refusing to work is lazy and unfair to all the other people paying tax to keep you. I don't see how you can respect that way of thinking. If however we can stop those who want to leach off the system from doing so would you be prepared to agree a socialist system where people are housed and fed with basic welfare, I'm not talking a lavish lifestyle, but a basic apartment and enough money for food, clothing and baasic amenities, is simply the only humane way to run a nation as it removes poverty, allows those who are out of work to reasonable look for work and remain respectable enough to gain work (after all, no employer will employ a tramp), while simultaneously stopping people from abusing the system.


Indeed it does, and I personally think it's absurd that people would sue doctors. In the UK we have the NHS review board whenever a mistake is made, doctors are reprimanded and often lose their licence if the mistake is deemed to be avoidable. If this is the case, the government issues an apology and compensation is given. We don't have the litigation culture of the US here in the UK and I'm glad for that. But while lawsuits are a major issue. The main problem for healthcare in USA is bankruptcy, people with medical bills who can't afford them recieving bailouts in order to pay massive debt. If USA had a universal healthcare program they could regulate salaries and pricing, stop excessive billing and it would cost the US government LESS, they wouldn't even need to put taxes up to do it however doctors, hospital administrators etc. would have to take a pay cut. In USA an ER surgeon gets paid almost twice as much as in UK.




Unions in UK are entirely democratic and run by commitee. They're not focused so much on expanding but more on reporting. They rarely go larger than a single city or company Union although occationally some Unions will work together like the Teacher's Union and the Emergency Services Union often works together when they're asking for changes to government job contracts.



I've never found Capitalism to be much of a sucess. Capitalist ideals always seem to fall into two categories. Either they're ways of trying to improve the ecconomy and general quality of life, proposed by the incredibly misguided middle class who think the working class and unemployed have no money because they don't want to work and spend their time "sitting on the beach, smoking pot" (that's an actual quote from a 15 year old conservative who I spoke to once, who's never had a job and has no idea what he's talking about, who lives with his middle class parents in a detached suburban house in Seattle). These methods rarely work and are often extremely insulting to the lower ecconomic classes but they're at least genuine meaning if poor ideas. The other type are nothing more than rich people trying to con more money out of poor people because they can't think of anything else to live for other than earning money.

I've never understood "investors". If I had millions of pounds I'd want to invest in things because I think they're good ideas. Space programs, great. More advanced computers, fantastic. Interesting video game ideas, go for it... but no, every investor seems to only care how much money they'll get back. I don't know why. They have hundreds of millions in the bank but they will only invest a few million pounds in an idea if they think they'll get more back next year. I don't get the motive. They already have so much money that they want for nothing, why do they care if their money makes a profit? Why not invest in making something tangeble that you care about instead, but then I've got no money so what the hell do I know. I wasn't lucky enough to be the guy born into money, probably because I'd do something interesting with it, and God forbid the world be interesting.



Indeed. I've not really had a very Christian influence on my life. Liverpool isn't a very religious area now. Almost everyone I know is an atheist, so much so that in my current circle of friends we have only one Christian and even then he doesn't seem very vocal, yet we have three quite outspoken athiests, not including myself. America has for years now been considerably more religious than Europe, ironic considering the founding fathers where largely atheists or possibly deists based on their writings, yet the UK at the time was quite institutionalised Christian.

No offense, but that would never pass in our society.

I personally believe you should be able to do better in a society based on work, risks, etc... In a sense, climb the ladder. Now as for why it would not pass is that we always thrive for something better. Also, it would involve completely redesigning our system which would be nearly impossible at this point as the number of small businesses out there are numerous.

To me, most business owners take risks. I know they do actually, as my father took a large one. He worked for Caliber Collision Center. He was a manager of one of their shops. This means he was in Corporate. Well Corporate ended up screwing him because of certain issues not related directly to him so they were going to lay him off. Instead, he and his business partner left to start their very own business. My father had only about $50,000 with him at the time. He was scared stiff for a long time as how his business would do. It now is multiple shops and he has grown in a recession. My point being that most high ups take very large risks and must have experience or skill to do well.


I am all for universal health care to a degree (my point being that out of the people who don't have healthcare, around 40% don't want it and want extra cash). I do not like Obamacare on the other hand, but that is a different debate on its own again.

Also, it depends on which doctor. Doctors that are better get paid more, by better I mean more reliable. This is why there are HMO's and PPO's. PPO's cost more as they give you more freedom with your choosing. If I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I would want the best possible, which is why I am on PPO.


Wow. Way different contrast to here.

For example, my grandfather retired as a Battalion Chief (Fire Department). By the end he was making about $180,000 per year working in Palm Springs. There were around 7 fires a month he had to report to. When he retired, he retired at 100% income... that is absurd! What had happened was the Union had stated they were not making enough salary to the point where they raised it. What they had forgotten was the fact he worked around 4 times of the week, had a retirement rate of 100%, and they only had to work 25 years for it.

The unions here just push and push and once they get what they want they continue to push. Why? Because the fees they charge go straight to the ones in charge of the unions.


I know the unemployed are hardly made of pot smokers. I would say though, 2 out of 3 unemployed people don't choose to get a job because it doesn't suit them though. I don't blame them with the fact unemployment has been extended to 99 months, outside of California you could live on that pay.


I'll be honest, the whole point of investing is to make money. But there are different types of investors you must realize. There are short-term and long-term. Most invest to have a descent retirement (a good reason), or to make a living off of it. Now what you are speaking of does occur with many wealthy during there "end years". For example, Bill Gates has donated around 90% of his money to causes he believes in, curing diseases, etc...

Businesses open stock to raise capital so they can grow. This can be beneficial to both the investor and the business. When it all boils down, it's all about capital so growth can be made.


I couldn't imagine to live somewhere were religion is constantly around you. Personally, I have been harassed to a degree about being an atheist. Sure you can believe in Yahweh, but heaven forbid you not believe in a God.