David Harsanyi
David Harsanyi
David Harsanyi is an American political pundit. He is a nationally syndicated columnist and senior editor at The Federalist. He is a former editor of Human Events and opinion columnist at The Denver Post. His writings on politics and culture have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, National Review, Reason, Christian Science Monitor, Jerusalem Post, The Globe and Mail, The Hill, Sports Illustrated Online, and other publications...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionJournalist
CountryUnited States of America
My parents both defected from communist Hungary and were what most people would today call libertarian. I grew up with a general distaste for taxation and any policy that intruded on our lives.
Anyone who's had a casual conversation with his neighbors or is cognizant of reality TV should already be petrified of democracy.
Broaden the tax base, close loopholes and flatten the tax rates - all of which would bring more revenue stability and certitude to projections as well as make filing a comparable breeze.
For Philistines like me, the mysteries of Washington can be both perplexing and wondrous.
You will notice that the Occupy Wall Street crowds - and the progressives who support them - focus on bringing the wealthy down to earth rather than lifting the 99 percent. They have a nearly religious belief that too much wealth is fundamentally immoral and unhealthy for society.
We have little choice but to place a certain level of trust in scientists - even when it comes to the model-driven speculative discipline of climate change. And, need it be said, most scientists take great care in being honest, principled and precise.
As with most people, my ideology and my attitudes about life were informed by parents and family.
A boatload of government money is indeed a gift. Unless, I suppose, you're one of the saps paying for the cargo.
A religion without rules or God isn't sustainable.
A cultural shift is not always an ideological one - or at least not always the one you imagine. Our norms are always evolving.
Now, I do not, on any level, possess the expertise to argue about the science of anthropological global warming. Nor do you, most likely. This certainly doesn't mean an average citizen has the duty to do the lock step.
Now, admittedly, Twitter can be entertaining on occasion, as it turns out that 140 characters offers a great chance to be misunderstood - and an even greater chance one will expose his inner troglodyte.
Admittedly, I possess virtually no expertise in science. That puts me in exactly the same position as most dogmatic environmentalists who want to craft public policy around global warming fears.
If the wealthy get wealthier, no one has to become one penny poorer.