Freedom?

Anarchy = freedom. Well not really but in order for a person to really be considered “free” one must have certain rights, many of which we are lucky enough to have here in the US. Some of those being, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the freedom to have as many children as you want. However, in other reaches of the globe these rights are not as common, specifically in communist China. Based on both sets of guests who come from China it is pretty obvious to me that the citizens of the country aren’t free. People vanishing from the streets, mysterious organ donors its all very strange. The Falun gong practitioners that spoke to our class were very against the Chinese government and never wanted to go back to China, fearing their lives. The students liked China much more and wanted to go back to their mother country. I found it interesting how they didn’t really have a large selection of places they could go for college having their choices be based only on tests given in English. The definition of libel in china is very different than that of the US. In America we make fun of George Dubya all of the time. Half of the things we pin him for saying/doing aren’t true but the cartoonists, columnists and comedians aren’t put in jail for their remarks. If a Chinese columnist were to bash Hu Jintao he would most likely be in jail in a matter of hours. This isn’t freedom. Neither is the suppression of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners who are stopped from doing their exercises due only to the sheer number of followers. The government is afraid of a revolt or an overthrow of power and they want to do everything they can to stop it. When someone or something pushes others down to get ahead, neither party involved is free because they aren’t allowed to express themselves without consequences. 

political party

After taking the political quiz hosted by “advocates for self government I have discovered that in the eyes of libertarians I am a centrist. I completely agree and think that a centrist government would be best for the wellbeing of the United States. Centrists see and judge situations from the middle of the political road as opposed to the liberal Democrats and the conservative Republicans. Based on this information I think that some one to balance the two extremes would greatly benefit the country. If everyone who was elected had a sound head on their shoulders and thought like a centrist, every decision made would be a compromise of the two extremes. On one hand you could have heavily regulated economy and on the other you could have the lightly regulated economy and with a clap of those hands you could have a moderately regulated economy that would freedom and mobility but still have restrictions and regulation.  The basis of centrism is simple, just use reason and common sense to make all of the decisions. Don’t let party ties or biases get in the way. Always make the decision based on the facts and the common good.  

$12 billion dollars is a lot of money especially when it has to be cut from a state budget. With little room for tax increases New York State must find other places in which to “trim the fat”, but 12 billion won’t just be fat careful thought must be taken to decide where and how to cut state funds.

After reviewing the state’s budget divisions I have come to the conclusion that the areas that we can afford to cut and manage more efficiently would have to be Education, transportation and Medicaid. Education in New York is the largest single part of the budget and cuts made within the school system to make things work will be beneficial. For example my highschool is in the middle of construction on a $26 million addition to the high school that gets some of its funding from the state. This addition however luxurious was by no means a necessity and something that would save the state money. For the transportation system a more efficient and consolidated transportation system could make finding 12 billion dollars much easier. Also, everyday I pass road construction on the bus ride back to my home school and find it hard to believe that this is going on at this time. In the beginning of the year there was no construction and the road was fine, a few bumps here and there but overall it was driveable road, so there is no excuse for not putting off the road work until after the state has a surplus and can afford to fund construction. The third and final area of cuts is Medicaid. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for helping those who can’t afford health care, but the state should increase the co-pay for those who could afford to pay and also decrease the state stipend given to the medical workers who see Medicaid patients. 

And that is how you squeeze $12 billion out of a the damp rag that is New York State’s budget.