I am a Democratic Socialist, a Gift Economist, a Resource Based Economist, etc. You might not have figured that out yet. So, just a head's up.
A contact of mine recently posted a meme stating that the definition of a Socialist is someone who wants everything you have, except your job. I call BS. I don't want your stuff. I don't want your money. I want the Federal Government to do what it's Constitutionally Mandated to do and take care of the Welfare and Security if its people.
For some reason "Welfare" has become a dirty word. The meaning of that word is a person's current health and ability to function in society. Someone who is healthy and able to work has good well being, they are faring well, their welfare is good.
Therefore a System that Cares for the Welfare of the country ensures that every person is healthy and able to function in society. Why is that a bad thing?! You would rather people suffer in severe poverty, with poor health, and wind up in the ER at the hospitals often?!
Both parties use the Erroneous concept of "taxpayer money" to manipulate people into not supporting or being angry about how the Federal government spends money. The fact is that YOUR money, from YOUR pockets and bank accounts, does Not Fund A Single Thing in the Federal government! Not One Program! The Federal government creates money out of Nowhere. USD is called Fiat currency for a REASON!
Federal taxes do two things:
Ensure demand for USD because it is the Only Legal Tender.
Cause USD to return to the Issuer to be destroyed in order to control inflation, thus enabling USD to flow through the economy like a current from Issuer to Issuer, which is what makes it Currency.
Just think about it. How could they tax you if they haven't created the money and spent it into the economy yet? You think the government would shut down due to lack of funds and wait until "tax season", or borrow money from someone, when they are the ISSUER of the currency?!
Here is what happens when the government wants to spend money it supposedly doesn't have yet:
The Congress creates a Budget, which is a list of things to spend money on, and how much they have decided to allocate to each thing.
The Federal government orders the Federal Reserve to create USD out of thin air, virtually, in a computer since the vast majority of USD is digital.
The Federal Reserve purchases Federal Bonds in order to transfer that USD into government coffers. Bonds are considered Debt, but the Federal government doesn't have to pay back the Federal Reserve and are in complete control. Therefore it's not Really debt, it is merely an accounting process.
Then the various agencies and organizations in the government spend the money the budget allocated to them however they want. And they must spend All of it, or even go over budget, by the time the next decision cycle begins or they could get a smaller budget for the next period. Thus wasteful spending is a FEATURE built into the system. No one has an incentive to be frugal, unless they are illegally skimming funds into Their own pockets.
Learn #MMT!
The only difference between a Conservative approach to government spending and a Liberal approach is What Programs get funded. It's still a wasteful bulky system that spends ever and ever more money. As a Socialist I want LIBERAL spending on programs that Help people, you included whether you like it or not!