of being conservative,


Taxes: If you like paying taxes then you can't be conservative. I consider any money I pay that is not in direct exchange for goods or services as taxes; whether its medicaid or social security or whatever other govy program under the guise of a service to the people. Many conservatives believe that taxes should be as flat as possible, that financially successful people should not be penalized for their success, and each citizen should be financially responsible for themselves or their family. Regardless of the reason(s) for ones financial problems- lack of employment, a shit ball economy, laziness, vice, poor life decisions (like making babies with the guy who won't work) - each citizen should be responsible only for themselves, not that we shouldn't care for our neighbor, though such shouldn't be imposed by a government via taxes. But what about the roads you drive on? and the miles of pipe that connect your water and schools and the military and police? Of course we have to be taxed for all of these things, but they should be operated efficiently and be kept to a minimum.


Regulation: In Maryland, you have to have a license to operate a coin operated billiard. To me that is crazy. The law dictates it is illegal to operate a coin operated billiard without buying a license from the State. That is the tip of the iceberg. If you want to change the size of a window in your house then you need a permit, which costs money. If you want to make a driveway on YOUR property then you have to get a permit. If you want to legally scrape or remove lead paint you need a license. If you want to legally own a dog you need a license. If you want to add a room on your house your gonna need a permit. If you want to convert your home to a 2 unit then your going to need a permit. Regulation like this is doing absolutely no service to citizens. Licenses and permits overall serve as cash flow for various governments. Regulation is always initiated for the "protection" of the people, though always, always ends up serving the monetary interests of the government (local, state, federal) more than the well being of its citizens. Conservatives believe that a free market naturally solves the problems that regulation is enacted and fails to solve. If enough people voiced their opinion to their power company about poor environmental standards then the power company would respond in order to keep customers. People and companies that do poor work or sell sub par services and goods will not stay in business long. Companies that are found discriminating against anyone for any reason are punished by the market. Consumers in groups are very powerful. Regulation gives lawmakers great power also, think of how regulation opens the door to bribes and the ability for companies and lobbyist to "buy" our lawmakers.This does not mean that all regulation is bad; it just means that so far regulation serves the government more than its citizens.