The Political Spectrum on Economics
One of the most important topics of politics is economics: taxation, public spending, economic regulation, economic growth, etc. Liberals and Conservatives take distinct position on most economic questions.
Modern Liberalism and Big Government.
Modern Liberalism is always on the left wing in American politics. On Economic questions, the Left Believes in Big Government. By big government, we mean a government that is literally "big," which is to say it employs a lot of people. But more importantly, big government does a lot with a lot: it controls a large portion of the nation economy both through taxation and through regulation.
People who adopt this perspective are often called liberals. Modern Liberals are strongly in favor of big government in almost all economic matters.
More Public Spending.
Big government means a lot of Public Spending. The political characteristic that is most common associated with the political left is support for large public spending programs. The most important of these programs are
a. Transfer Payments. Transfer payments literally transfer money from one group of citizens to another. The aim here follows the basic pattern of charity over the last two thousand years: it is to improve the condition of the poor by giving them what they lack, and remedy injustices done in society. In the U. S. the Major examples of transfer payments are:
1) Social Security. This program transfers money from Americans who work to those who are retired. It is a major reason why poverty has largely disappeared for elderly Americans.
2) Medicare. This covers medical costs for the elderly.
3) Medicaid. This covers medical costs for the poor.
4) Welfare. This covers a wide variety of programs.
b. A second category of Public Spending is Public Works. This includes
1) the building of highways, dams, airports, etc. It includes
2) the maintenance of national parks, forests, and monuments.
3) it also includes the building of schools, universities, hospitals, etc.
c. A third category of public spending is Social Services. This includes
1) Medical care (vaccinations, etc.)
2) Education and Job training.
More Regulation.
Big Government also means a lot of Regulation. Regulation means that government controls how the economy works, making certain things illegal and legally requiring others.
a. Workplace Regulation.
1) Higher Minimum Wage.
2) 40 Hour Work Week.
3) Workplace safety regulations
4) Equal Opportunity Employment Rules
5) Affirmative Action.
b. Marketplace Regulation
1) Product Safety.
2) Price Controls.
3) Environmental Protection
4) Access limitations (no sales to children, convicted felons, etc.)
More Public Employment.
In general, persons on the Left are in favor of expanding the number of public employees. There are two motives:
1. More workers needed if government is to provide more services.
2. Public Employment is itself a social program, providing an income for many Americans.
Higher Taxes.
Higher taxes are attractive to the political left for two reasons:
1. If Government is to spend more, regulate more, and employ more persons, it will have to have access to a lot of money. The primary means of increasing public revenue is taxation.
2. Taxation is a means of reducing economic inequality: it can make the rich poorer and the poor richer.
3. Taxation is also an additional instrument of regulation. If you want an industry to locate in minority districts, you can offer them tax breaks. If you want to punish an industry for producing a dangerous product or for polluting, you can increase their taxes.
Liberalism is the Moderate Left.
