Mark Dowst

Love the source of creation. Love its creations. Practice gratitude as the path to love and happiness. I personally believe Christ is the source of creation, and that this is a universal expression of the law written on every human heart, for we are made in His image.

Government should be limited to two core functions: protecting rights, including national security, and advancing human dignity through the expansion of opportunity, the relief of poverty, and lifecycle stability, with macroeconomic stability maintained only as necessary to preserve the functioning of a free society. Rights protection is limited to the defense of persons, property, and sovereignty through the rule of law, courts, policing, and national defense, and does not extend to ongoing economic direction or industrial management. Macroeconomic stability is restricted to crisis containment and the preservation of monetary and financial system functionality, not continuous economic steering or discretionary demand management beyond what is necessary to prevent systemic collapse. Human dignity is limited to establishing a minimum floor of capability and security, not equalizing outcomes or broadly redistributing wealth. •Opportunity is defined as access to the basic capabilities required to participate in a free society and economy, including foundational education and essential public goods, and does not include sector specific subsidies, protectionism, or efforts to direct economic outcomes. •Poverty relief is defined as targeted support to ensure a basic standard of living, structured with clear thresholds and phase outs so that work, savings, and family formation are always rewarded, and does not extend to broad middle class transfers or permanent income replacement. •Lifecycle stability is defined as limited social insurance against predictable and unavoidable vulnerabilities such as old age, disability, and health shocks, designed to prevent destitution and severe hardship, but not to guarantee full income smoothing, eliminate personal responsibility, or displace private provision where viable. All functions are to be narrowly defined and disciplined by clear limits, ensuring that government establishes floors rather than comprehensive provision, preserves incentives for work and production, avoids dependency and political capture, and remains subordinate to the broader goals of liberty, peace, and widespread human flourishing. A central estimate suggests that about 40% of federal spending and 20% of state spending do not fit this framework, reflecting significant divergence from its limits and implying the need for a structural reordering of priorities, especially at the federal level.

So much of the mistreatment of man stems from people believing they are part of a group and that others are outside of it; they could not be more wrong.

@NbdysBsns1923 You’re right, screw people who profit by providing goods and services to people in voluntary exchange. Obviously an evil endeavor.

@mdowstfl They fully deserve the animus.

I fully support taxing the wealthy at higher rates than the middle and lower classes, but I reject the animus toward them from many progressives. Our shared prosperity depends significantly on those who are most productive in society. Excessive taxation harms you even if you aren’t the one who pays it.

I said alleviate “some” problems. We are not condemned, but given existence, everything. We all being made in God image eventually come to Christ, given enough time as necessary even after death. I take moral responsibility for what I support. Taxation is necessary for government, and government is a necessary evil, without it there is no protection of God given rights.

Brother … no govt can alleviate the problems of fallen man… we are created in HIS image… We are all EQUALLY condemned… some are elected to be redeemed… you are free to chose to pick any political ideology you desire… you just appear to be unwilling to own it… To me, theft is not a moral way to govern… that’s just me… Have a safe and uneventful week my friend.

Replacing income tax with sales tax is a scam. Take Missouri for example. Their proposal would cost middle class Missourians an extra $535 a year. But the richest 1% of Missourians would get a $40,000 tax break. See the problem?

@liberal_jamie @johnjfair @4TaxFairness Just an assumption.

@mdowstfl @johnjfair @4TaxFairness Do I, Mark? How?

@liberal_jamie @johnjfair @4TaxFairness Kinda funny, but you probably do support penalizing billionaires and the wealthiest in ways that would hurt the poorest.

@johnjfair @mdowstfl @4TaxFairness

Well, I believe man is made in God’s image, a that is of infinite value, and any infinite compared to another are equal, concluding that all of man is equal under God. I’m not the biggest statist, I believe it is a necessary evil to protect our God given rights, and that it can alleviate some societal problems.

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" you do NOT believe in liberty and equality… you are just another statist

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness I do not support equal taxation. Given the spectrum of income and wealth, I believe people with more should carry more of the tax burden than those with less.

@liberal_jamie @mdowstfl @4TaxFairness You do NOT support equality… you support wealth transfers… NOT the same

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness You are right I do not support equal taxation, given people have differing abilities to contribute.

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness You support taxing people at disparate rates… that means you do NOT support equality… Pretty simple

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness I get it you support equal consumption taxation even if it shifts the tax burden from the wealthiest to the poor and middle class.

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness I support equality… plain and simple… you don’t… we simply disagree

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness Also, I want you to know I don’t actually support carte blanche spending increases, really much of what we spend today could be reduced while improving outcomes through reform.

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness YES THEY ARE. we will NEVER return to what we we started out as and were meant to be until we once again treat EVERYONE equally… we need to get govt out of the charity business… it’s not its place… individuals are called to be charitable…not to advocate theft in its place

Well, outside of spending cuts to reduce spending on those most in need. That tax policy to raise the same amount of revenue would raise taxes very highly on the poor and middle class, and reduce it greatly for the wealthiest. I understand your points, but are those the effects you want to have on America?

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness We should not tax a person’s labor at all… however, if we do EVERYONE should be taxed at the exact same rate/percentage … THAT is treating all people EQUALLY

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness So, we should tax the poor and middle class more, the wealthy less. We should spend less on those in need. And we should support authortarianism to achieve this?

@liberal_jamie @mdowstfl @4TaxFairness Just keep reading … just remember … Plato’s “republic” is a work of satire… start there and your entire worldview will transform ….

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness Consumption doesn’t equal income for all people.

@mdowstfl @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness No disconnect at all… we either believe in equality or we dont… there really are no gray areas…

@johnjfair @liberal_jamie @4TaxFairness I think the disconnect is considering it as same rate of income or consumption.

@liberal_jamie @mdowstfl @4TaxFairness Equality means everyone pays the same rate…and you know it…

@barringer33786 I think you may be misjudging its openness. How many of the 20’M daily barrels are actually moving.

@mdowstfl Was just saying it isn't closed as many think.

The Strait of Hormuz closure is causing a 5–10M barrel per day global oil shortage. After temporary supply alternatives are exhausted, this will lead to a stable oil price of $100–$220, with a central estimate around $130–$160. This can lead to an increase of 0.30–2.5% in unemployment in America, with a central estimate of ~1.2%. Using a heuristic that a 1% increase in unemployment causes 30,000–40,000 additional American deaths annually, this implies a sustained closure of the Strait of Hormuz would cause 10,000–100,000 American deaths over a year, with a central estimate of ~40,000–50,000. Expanded globally, this could cause an additional 30,000–1,000,000 deaths annually, with a central estimate of ~250,000–400,000 deaths per year. Prosperity saves lives, poverty costs lives.

@barringer33786 So what percent of shipments are considered Iran’s enemies? That still effects everyone through global supply shortages and prices.

@mdowstfl The strait is not closed - access is closed to Irans enemies.