Bob, I’m not discussing this with you because I want to be a pain in the ass. I consider it very important because it is easy to fall into the trap that "I’m fair" and assume that "fair" is a universal concept. It’s easy to assume that governments will be "fair" despite much evidence to the contrary. It’s easy to let liberties and rights slip when times are good and even easier when times are bad.
Fair is a very subjective. For example I suspect you and I are pretty close on what is fair, but there are people who believe that fair is everyone being equal. Having the same stuff. That if someone has more than you they should have it taken away and given to them to be "fair".
You say this, but you were quite clear that you would take via proxy from others if you thought it was necessary with you deciding what was a fair trade (a nice foreclosed house taken from those evil bankers). Do you not see that taking from others via government is the same as you holding someone at gun point to take something you want?
I do not disagree that we are past the point of smooth transition. But exactly what are you protecting when you are willing to throw those ideals away when there is a crisis? Exactly how do you believe in the second paragraph above but then say "NO LAW, and NO LIBERTIES will be our birth right until the issue is stabilized".
I suspect we are a lot alike. I used to have some of the very same thoughts before I spent quite a lot of time thinking about what I really believed in and examined my actions closely to see if they meshed with those beliefs. For example, I have always been an avid non-smoker, so I used to cheer when states and cities legislated against smoking in bars and restaurants, after all it was for the "greater good". However, I now realize that what I was advocating was the government taking a right/liberty away from the owners of private establishments (restaurants and bar owners) for my benefit. But what happens when it’s my right being taken away? Some examples include: right to drink raw milk, right to own a gun, right to use salt on my food, right to eat fatty things, right to smoke pot, right to privacy, right to travel freely, right to speak freely, the list goes on and on and all being done for the "greater good".
We see so many of our rights disappearing. Many will say why does this happen without realizing they have advocated it through whatever government intervention they favor. During hard times it will get much much worse, and as we have seen, once those rights are gone they rarely return even if things get better. So when are you going to say enough is enough?
Times are still realitively good. It’s why I believe it’s critical to have this conversation now, to decide what the role of government should be in our lives before we have a really big crisis.