As I noted in a Locker Room post during last Fall’s elections, on a whole range of issues Democrats and progressives typically insist on accusing Republicans of being libertarians–or as I like to think of it–as being better on the issues than they actually are. It is happening once again, this time with respect to the Dem’s over-the-top response to Paul Ryan’s plan to save Medicare. Unfortunately the Democrats and progressive pundits are claiming that Ryan is attempting to abolish Medicare, which, of course, is not a Republican position but a libertarian position. They make this claim in spite of the fact that Ryan’s proposal increases spending on Medicare and is an attempt to rescue it from bankruptcy. As a libertarian I’d like to implore the left to please stop associating our positions with Republicans. The fact is that the Republican perspective on most issues is much closer to yours than it is to ours. Medicare is a case in point, but you can also throw in Social Security, Medicaid, the Patriot Act, the EPA, the Dept. of Education, the Federal Reserve…
by Dr. Roy Cordato
Senior Economist Emeritus