Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs

Lue C Fur

Evil member
Affirmative Action


Liberal: Due to prevalent racism in the past, minorities were deprived of the same education and employment opportunities as whites. The government must work to make up for that.
America is still a racist society, therefore a federal affirmative action law is necessary. Due to unequal opportunity, minorities still lag behind whites in all statistical measurements of success.


Conservative: Individuals should be admitted to schools and hired for jobs based on their ability. It is unfair to use race as a factor in the selection process. Reverse-discrimination is not a solution for racism.
Some individuals in society are racist, but American society as a whole is not. Preferential treatment of certain races through affirmative action is wrong.
 

Lue C Fur

Evil member
The Death Penalty:

Liberal:
The death penalty should be abolished. It is inhumane and is ‘cruel and unusual' punishment. Imprisonment is the appropriate punishment for murder. Every execution risks killing an innocent person.

Conservatives: The death penalty is a punishment that fits the crime of murder; it is neither ‘cruel' nor ‘unusual.' Executing a murderer is the appropriate punishment for taking an innocent life.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Based on these descriptions (with the following caveat) I am a Conservative.


Here is the caveat--the death penalty should not be applied with a broad brush. Criteria should be establised upon which each capital murder case be reviewed as to the appropriate sentence imposed.

I prefer the death penalty as it saves the taxpayer a ton of money and acts as a disincentive for others to commit murder.
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
Based on these descriptions (with the following caveat) I am a Conservative.


Here is the caveat--the death penalty should not be applied with a broad brush. Criteria should be establised upon which each capital murder case be reviewed as to the appropriate sentence imposed.

I prefer the death penalty as it saves the taxpayer a ton of money and acts as a disincentive for others to commit murder.

University of Vermont's report on effectiveness of death penalty in it's deterrent value and the total cost to taxpayer, death penalty verses life as to which is more cost effective.

Deterrence:
One argument in support of capital punishment is that the threat of death deters murder more effectively than prison. However, research indicates that the death penalty is no more effective as a deterrent to murder than the punishment of life in jail. States with the death penalty on average do not have lower rates of homicide than states without the penalty. The average murder rate per 100,00 people in 1999 among death penalty states was 5.5 and the average murder rate among non-death penalty states was 3.6 (US Dept. of Justice, 2001). A study examining executions in Texas between 1984 and 1997 found that the murder rate was steady and that there was no evidence of a deterrent effect. The number of executions was found to be unrelated to murder rates (Sorenson, Wrinkle, Brewer and Marquart, 1999). Furthermore, a survey of experts from the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Law and Society Association shows that the overwhelming majority of these experts do not believe that the death penalty is a proven deterrent to homicide. Over 80% believe the existing research fails to support a deterrence justification for the death penalty. Similarly, over 75% of those polled do not believe that increasing the number of executions, or decreasing the time spent on death row before execution, would produce a general deterrent effect (Radelet and Akers, 1995).

Cost to Taxpayer:
A study found that the death penalty costs North Carolina $2.16 million per execution over the costs of a non-death penalty murder case with a sentence of imprisonment for life (Cook & Slawson. 1993). On a national basis, these figures translate to an extra cost of over $700 million dollars spent since 1976 on the death penalty.
What many Americans do not realize is that the death penalty is more costly than incarcerating an inmate for life. A murder trial takes much longer when the death penalty is being pursued. The taxpayer is paying the salaries of the judges, prosecutors, public defenders, court officials, and the cost of briefs. "A 1982 study showed that if the death penalty were reintroduced in the state of New York, the cost of the capital trial alone would be more then double the cost of a life term in prison" (Bright, 1996). The Duke University study estimated that a death penalty trial takes about four times longer than a non-capital murder trial (Bright, 1996). And, of course, not every death penalty trial results in a death sentence. Based on the experience in North Carolina, the authors found that less than a third of capital trials resulted in a death sentence.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
And actually, according to most shows, like Dateline or 48hr Mystery, even though the victums family did wish the death penality at the beginning, they changed their minds to let him/her "ROTT in jail".
I say it should be up to the victums involved, not the public,to decide, and like Upstate said, only the death penalty when it's 100 and 1 % proven, and it was totally disgusting.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
I'd be for the death penalty if they stopped trying to make it such a clean, sterile activity. Make it public, make it brutal, make it swift. Thing is, most western nations that took that road abolished the death penalty years ago.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
I'd be for the death penalty if they stopped trying to make it such a clean, sterile activity. Make it public, make it brutal, make it swift. Thing is, most western nations that took that road abolished the death penalty years ago.

Yup, and they won't extradite a US prisoner unless the death sentence is off the table.
 

Lue C Fur

Evil member
The Economy

Liberal:

A market system in which government regulates the economy is best. Government must protect citizens from the greed of big business. Unlike the private sector, the government is motivated by public interest. Government regulation in all areas of the economy is needed to level the playing field.

Conservative:

The free market system, competitive capitalism, and private enterprise create the greatest opportunity and the highest standard of living for all. Free markets produce more economic growth, more jobs and higher standards of living than those systems burdened by excessive government regulation.
 

steward71

Well-Known Member
Please explain to me how HITLER IDEOLOGY was and how he come to power. Educate me I one of the slow ones. But we will see. The other side please if you will.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Conservative.
Conservative teamsters! That's funny right there! But then you do need the union to protect you from the capitalist "free market" but the government shouldn't? Have you thought this all the way through? As if there is "free market" and "competitive capitalism".
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Conservative teamsters! That's funny right there! But then you do need the union to protect you from the capitalist "free market" but the government shouldn't? Have you thought this all the way through? As if there is "free market" and "competitive capitalism".

I am a Teamster by default.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
I am a Teamster by default.

Seriously now, do you want governments to take back the min wages they implemented, as well as restrictions on children working ?
Safety standards, polution control, and so on, too ?

I bet the free market can decide on it's own what's good for the people, children, enviroment, etc. :(
 
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