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I recently found a group on facebook known as the Libertarian Socialists.
If you don't immediately understand why this is an oxymoron, let me quickly explain: Libertarianism and the ideology behind it has everything to do with both economic and personal (social) freedom. Libertarians see a perfect government as one that exists, but is small and stays out of most things. Libertarians believe in self-responsibility, conservative management of funds, and that you should not punish many for what a few may do. We Libertarians also believe in keeping many organizations private and lowering taxes. I may be mis-wording some of this, but I hope you get what I'm saying.
On the contrary, Socialists welcome government intervention and support for many organizations; health care is an example. Socialists suffer from higher taxes in an effort to take from the rich to support the poor. I support helping the needy, however I do not see the point of the government taking my hard-earned money so Joe Shmoe who has no initiative and decided not to go to college can sell crack cocaine and make more money than me under the table, can own a 60" LED TV and a brand new Escalade while still reeping the benefits of government housing and assistance.
In this way, a party calling itself Libertarian Socialist is an oxymoron.
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Also, while I'm on the subject, I'd like to share something my dad shared with me a few summers ago when I asked him for advice concerning money. That particular summer I got a taste of what it's like to provide for myself, and learned that it's much harder when you don't have a degree.
I asked him about food stamps and government aid to help those in low-income situations. I worked and lived with people on a regular basis who were in these types of situations and I began to sympathize with them, despite the unwavering political views that I'd adopted. I was also finding it hard to live on what I was making. Then my dad asked me a few questions about the people I was around a lot.
He asked:
"Do they own a TV?" Yes.
"Do they have cable?" Yes.
"Do they own any sort of gaming device such as an Xbox, a PS2, etc?" Yes, or most likely.
He then asked me if I saw owning a TV, receiving cable, and owning a game console as luxuries. My answer was undoubtedly a yes. He then explained to me that he and my mom have never applied for any government assistance, even when they would have qualified. Instead, they cut back on luxuries.
He also explained that many low-income families that receive government assistance also own a TV, receive cable or satellite of some kind, and indulge in other luxuries. He asked me if I thought it was fair that they received our hard-earned money from paying taxes in the form of welfare or food stamps, but did not feel the need to cut back on luxuries when they obviously couldn't afford them. My answer was that I didn't think it was fair at all.
As a result, I feel a sense of pride that I have not had to ask the government to help me out because I can't provide for myself, and in the future if I'm in that situation again, I'll sell my TV, cancel my cable subscription, and cut back on other luxuries before turning to "Big Brother."
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Oddly enough, I have found myself in that situation again. With my husband in his last semester at college and in an internship, he had to quit his job to get everything done. For the semester we could rely on his student loans to help pay our bills, but after graduation, when we decided he would enter another internship, we only had my income and our savings to keep us afloat.
We went through quite a rough patch, draining our savings down to only $50. My husband and I were both stressed out and we would've qualified for government aid had we applied. Instead, we don't have cable. My husband sold his motorcycle so that we would have one less payment each month. We ate in more, and I made my lunch instead of ordering out with my co-workers. We didn't have to sell our TV or gaming system, but those are paid for and weren't costing us any money to keep. My husband even started driving my little compact car when I wasn't using it to save money on gas.
We got through it. And now my husband has a job and is contributing a fair amount to bills again. We'll build our savings back up and we never asked for government assistance. Self-responsibility and financial conservatism does still exist in the world, I promise!
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