My Political Ethics

A Right. Every individual has the right to live their lives in the way that they wish, so long as their choices do not harm another human being directly or indirectly.
A Responsibility. Every individual is responsible for his or her own actions. Their awareness of whether or their actions cause harm is their own duty and responsibility, the government has a duty to clearly define actions that are deemed to cause harm. When an individual is harmed through the actions of another individual, the offending individual is responsible for their own actions, and therefore deserves whatever punishment comes to them.
Another Right. Individuals have the right to make contracts and enter into agreements with each other that do not violate the first two individual rights. No government entity shall be permitted to meddle with the terms of a contract once the agreement has been entered into or enacted. The government has the obligation to ensure that no contractual agreement shall be permitted which violates the first two points given to the individual. The government shall void no agreement that complies with the previous two points, however, the government may invalidate and reject any potential agreement that violates the previously defined rights and responsibilities of each individual party to the contract. The government may intervene to assure all parties involved keep the terms of contracts made.
The Role and Duties of Governments. Governments are created to protect the rights and enforce the responsibilities of its subjects. They shall provide protection from internal and external harm, and are responsible for bringing those who inflict harm upon their subjects to justice. The government may provide for the collective wellbeing of its subjects, so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of its subjects, or violate the principles of tax outlined below. The government may hold a monopoly on legislation, administration of that legislation and arbitration of conflicts. The government shall hold monopoly upon military force. The government is responsible to the people for maintaining sound and effective government. When the government oversteps its authority and violates the rights of individuals, the principles of tax, fails to effectively protect the rights of its citizens or does so in an inefficient manner, the duty falls to the citizens to assure that the government’s power is checked and its path corrected.
The Principles of Tax. The Government may tax its subjects in order to provide revenues to pay for services and protections provided by said government to its subjects. Taxes shall not be used to attempt to solve societal problems, or promote specific social goals of the Government. The government shall adopt a tax structure that effectively generates the most revenue possible with the least amount of administrative overhead. The government is responsible to collect taxes in an efficient and fair manner. The collection of taxes must be as easy and unobtrusive upon the lives of the government’s subjects as possible, as to limit a loss of productivity.







Disclaimer on Disobedience. In the event that a government does not responsibly execute the previously mentioned roles and duties, or infringes upon the rights of an individual, an individual may to, on their own responsibility, violate any governmental decree or policy and in some cases openly rebel. The government has the responsibility to squash any and all insurrections within its domain.

Nuff said

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ridiculous-ways-to-spend-stimulus-money-2009-11#upgrading-two-little-used-border-crossings-to-canada-31-million-1

Abortion and Activism

As a college student, much of my time revolves around cultivating friendships. Some of these camaraderies will last for months, some for years, some for decades, and maybe even a lifetime. Friendship is a quintessential element of humanity, and as we grow and change, we strive to develop these special connections and maintain them as we move forward, and when I someday depart college and travel onward in life, I hope that the bonds that I make on campus will stay with me in the future. I hope that the experiences I have with, and the lessons I learn from those whom I choose to pass time with remain with as I develop as an individual through time. As I journey through life with my friends and internalize our experiences with them, it becomes hard to imagine a world without them by my side.

In the post Roe v. Wade world, I sometimes wonder, what if an individual, who could have been a great companion on life’s passage is not with me today because that individual fell victim to an abortion. What if one of the personalities that was placed on this planet by our Creator was struck down by an abortionist’s scalpel before I learned his name. What experiences would I have had with this fellow, what was his favorite color, his favorite food? What message was this person meant to bring to me? I will never know. There are millions, possibly tens of millions of unborn children whose lives have been cut short in the name of an unwritten, unexpressed, so-called implied constitutional right that the SCOTUS constructed from a non-originalist interpretation of the United States Constitution.
When, in 1917, the United States Supreme Court, under the leadership of Oliver Wendell Holmes, ruled that speech may be abridged when that speech represents a “clear and present danger”, the court established a dangerous and irresponsible precedent. They opened the door to court rulings based not on the writings or ideas of our founders but on the ideas of contemporary thinkers and the intellectual movements of the time. That 1917 ruling created one of the most dangerous challenges facing our nation today, the specter of judicial supremacy. When we allow the courts to enact rulings based on judicial activism and not constitutional originalism, we open the door to a state that could rule the other two branches of our government with almost dictatorial power, unelected, and unaccountable to the people. This is a challenge that must be stopped, and if we do nothing to prevent it, we do so at our own peril.

We Are the Ones

Hey Internet! Welcome to the Goggles Off Blog! This blog is an attempt by the creators of the Goggles Off Radio Show to keep the dialogue going even when the show is off the air. I am the co-host of Goggles Off along with my friend Adam Meinecke. I am a sophomore economics and business student at Cornell College and an aspiring entrepreneur.

My generation has been given its fair share of names. The names have spanned from the 9/11 Generation, to Internet Generation—plus its countless derivatives ranging from the “Blog-eneration” and the “Craigslist Cohort” to the Wikipedia and YouTube Generation—to the bigheaded “ME” generation. Though, I like to characterize of us as the next great entrepreneurial generation or, correspondingly, the next great American generation.

My cohort is the largest since the Baby Boom, giving us the power of numbers. My generation has been forced to confront many pivitol national problems in our formative years. The 9/11 terror attacks in our early formative years helped to instill an understanding of the existential threat to our nation posed by radical Islamic extremism, as well as a curiousity regarding international affairs that has lead to a record-breaking number of college graduates with interest in entering into fields relating to international affairs. The late 2000’s subprime mortgage crisis and the resulting recession has forced us to examine the concepts of generational debt transfer and unsustainable personal, commercial and governmental liability levels. The nations fragile economic state has limited the number of employment opportunites available to young adults entering the work force. Nevertheless, this scarcity has turned out to be an asset; forcing us to learn to live lifestyles of frugality, and teaching us to invest our money in savings accounts or non-volatile securities (and in doing so put the savings and investment practices of the previous cohort to shame).

Back in 2008, the election of President Barack Obama ushered in a new era of youth activism in our country. Seventy percent of his state chairs were under the age of 25. The Internet has created an entirely new economy in this country, and my generation stands to rise up as the new captains of industry in America.

If we are to achieve this however, we cannot afforded to be shackled with mountains of bureaucratic and regulatory red tape that will stifle the most innovative of new ideas that arise from our uniquely logged on generation. To me, the best thing that the government can do to help cultivate the new economic boom that my peers and I will lead is to stay out of our way.

We don’t need the government of the 21st century to cripple us with 20th century bureaucracy. We don’t need them to try and point us in the right direction. We need them to stay out of our way and let us spread our wings and succeed. Past industrial revolutions have always taken root in times when the government respected property rights and entrepreneurial autonomy, and this one will be no different.

So please, help us to make this generation the next Greatest Generation. You can help us by staying out of our way. Thank you and remember to leave the goggles at the door.