The questions led me to answers. The answers led me here. Posted by Kevin Barber — September 3, 2009 @ 8:02PM

Until late 2007, I was not "political" at all.
Now I'm practically a "right wing extremist", some would say.

Maybe you're not political and wonder what the commotion is about.
Let me share with you some of the questions I had in 2007. I sought out the answers, and the answers brought me to where I am today.

Question #1: What is a "credit bubble"?
Who causes it, and is that illegal?

Question #2: I've OFTEN wondered, why do prices rise year after year?
With computers, railways, microwaves, the Internet, robots (manufacturing) and countless other advances, should we not be more and more efficient in the production of goods, lowering prices?
It seems to me that there are no shortages of cars, houses, couches, radios, carpet, milk, beef, dog food, etc, yet every year they are more expensive than the last. What causes this?

Question #3: If Republicans want taxes at 32% and Democrats want taxes at 36%, does anyone really believe that choosing between 32% and 36% is even a real choice? Why does nobody propose 50% or 20% (or 0%)? What would those choices bring us?

Question #4: When people buy a house for $200k and pay 5.5% interest... they pay over $400k for the house (over 30 years). Does paying $400k for a house priced at $200k even make sense? Why is that "the American dream"?

Question #5: Why not fix the deficit? It seems like the biggest problem we've got, right? Everyone talks about it, so why are we not fixing it? What happens if the deficit doubles (or even doubles again)?

Question #6: Who owns our debt?
We had 7 trillion in debt in 2007 when I got curious (11.8 trillion now!), and I have always wondered who we owe, and how they get paid back.

Question #7: Where do we get our rights (freedom, free speech, property rights, etc)?
Do our rights come from government, the constitution, or where? Do people in other countries have different rights than us, and if so, where do their rights come from?

Question #8: Is America good, in terms of our contribution to the world? It seems alot of countries hate us. Why is that? What do other countries think we're good for, and what do they hate us for?

Question #9: Why does government spending increase every single year, regardless of who controls the White House? Doesn't that make Republicans promoting small government liars?

Question #10: Do the republicans and democrats in office agree on anything? It seems almost like they fight on everything almost like WWF wrestling... play acting. I mean really, we're all Americans, right? Is it all just a game?

I've found what I believe to be the truthful answers to these questions, and those answers brought me to where I sit today... politically pissed off.
Email me or comment back on which questions you'd like me to answer first, and I'll do my best to lay down the answers as I understand them.