Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

After watching Shane Killian�s YouTube series on How to Argue for Statism, I decided to make my own little list to help statists argue for their positions a little better than repeating the same clich�s over and over again. Then maybe they can come up with better arguments to challenge our world view, though I doubt it.

Why Do You Hate the Poor?
I think that I can speak for all libertarians when I say that we are sick and tired of being told that we hate the poor or that we don�t have compassion. Contrary to whatever you believe about our financial status, most of us are not rich enough to swim in pools full of money like Scrooge Mc Duck in Ducktales. As much as I hate answering a question with a question, I have to ask, �Why do you hate freedom and prosperity so much?� Those are the two things that actually creates more social mobility than any of those welfare programs that you guys love so much. For that matter if you care so much for the poor, why do you donate so little to charity? Normally I wouldn�t care what a person does with his own hard-earned money, but I don�t think you have a right to point a judgmental figure at us, when it is your side that donates the least amount to the people you claim to care so much about.

You are so Selfish
I find it so telling that you call us selfish, when It is our side that boils over in rage whenever we see someone�s rights getting violated. I remember when you and your fellow statists on the left compared George W. Bush to Hitler because of his War on Terror policies, yet you guys gave Barrick Obama a free pass when he continued the same policies. I also find it telling that you guys throw hissy fits whenever a police officer shoots a black suspect (rather it�s justified or not), but then you got your panties in a bunch when members of the BATFE were referred to as Jack Booted Stormtroopers for their actions at Waco and Ruby Ridge. When a group of patriots stood up to federal land grabs, you statists went into a frenzy and called them terrorists. You seem to only care about someone�s rights when it fits your own selfish interests.

Stop Citing Failed States as Evidence for why Libertarianism Doesn�t Work
You guys love to use failed states such as Somalia and Honduras as an example of how libertarianism doesn�t work. Whenever you guys bring up these failed states, I could just picture the smug looks on your faces, as if you have thrown a curve ball that is impossible for us to hit. In reality, you have thrown a ball that isn�t even worth a swing. The kind that would automatically be ruled as a ball by any umpire with good eyesight. Somalia is a failed nation that dissolved into two tribal governments who have been continuously trying to out massacre the other. We are not exactly talking about Rothbardian anarchism here. To be honest I don�t know too many statists who use Honduras as an example of libertarianism in action except for Salon writer, Chris Lygnar. Not that it makes it any less absurd for anybody to refer to a military dictatorship as a libertarian paradise. Either way it shows that you know very little about the movement that you are fighting against.

Acknowledge that Capitalism Works
Let�s face it guys, whatever issue that you have capitalism, you still have to admit that it does work. I remember when a college professor of mine told me that while he believed that we needed reasonable regulations to keep companies in check, capitalism was still an effective system. Keep in mind that my professor had supported John Kerry in the 2004 elections, so he was anything but conservative in his views. Still don�t believe me? Look at the shoes on your feet. Look at your i-phone. Take a sip of that five-dollar cup of coffee you bought at Starbucks. Hell, you, millennials who bitch about living in poverty are likely living in a building with electricity, air conditioning and internet access. The monarchs of the past centuries would be envious of what you guys take for granted. Guess, which system produced all this stuff? So, stop pretending that capitalism isn�t effective.

Give us Better Examples of Government Success
Whenever you guys try to tell us how great government is, you need to give us better examples than the roads or the post office. Especially the post office, which has been practically bleeding money for the past decade. As for roads, you apparently haven�t been keeping up with the reports of crumbling infrastructures that have been occurring for the past decade. It�s interesting how you guys never use the DMV or the public-school system as a shining example of government success. Yet, the best you could come up are examples that are at best mediocre. Though in all fairness, with the exception of national defense (we don�t have anything to compare it with), you will definitely be hard pressed to find a government service that hasn�t been out performed by the private sector.

Except Certain Realities
I know that statists, especially those on the left, like to pretend that they live in a world where the realities of basic economics don�t exist. Social Justice Warriors like to pretend that raising the minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour isn�t going to have any negative repercussions on employment or the cost of our goods. Then we have third wave feminists who refuse to admit that the so-called gender wage gap is actually an earning gap. I know that you guys like to stick your fingers in your ears and yell �no!� but if you want us to take you serious in a debate, you are actually going to have to address these realities.

Stop Gloating
I just love how you guys gloat about how we libertarians have to use publicly founded roads or post offices as if this somehow shows us acting inconsistently with our views. The reason why we have to use anything that is taxpayer founded is usually because we don�t have any other options. Until you allow the private sector to create roads or compete with the post office, these are the only choices we have. The same goes for any other service or utility that the government has a monopoly over. Also in certain cases like healthcare, where your government has made such a mess of the system, certain people may have no other choice but to turn to Obamacare. Trust me when I say that this is nothing to gloat about. It is like bragging about saving someone from drowning in the sea, when you were the one who pushed him out of the boat in the first place.

Do Your Homework
What irritates me the most are people who try to debate us, without actually taking the time to understand our position. On the left, we have had idiots who have called us religious fanatics, which is perplexing because libertarianism doesn�t really have anything to say about religion, except that we don�t have a right to initiate force in favor or against it. I remember another case when Jon Stewart had the impression that libertarians didn�t believe in evolution, which is not only false, but the subject has no bearing on libertarianism whatsoever. When you guys repeat nonsense like this, it shows us that you couldn�t be bothered to research libertarianism. It�s intellectually lazy moments like this that makes it hard for us to respect you. When we are talking subjects such as history, science or basic economics you may want to do a little more research rather than just listening to talking points on MSNBC or reading snippets out of a government school textbook. Just a thought.

Ad Hominin Attacks will only get you so far
Contrary to popular belief, ad hominin attacks aren�t just about mudslinging. It�s mudslinging in lieu of concrete arguments that qualifies as ad hominin. So, bare that in mind next time you sling insults at us. Some of us have no problem slinging them right back. Though unlike you, our arguments have substance, which means that our insults will be nothing more than icing on the preverbal cake, while your arguments will amount to nothing more than just icing. Just bare that in mind.

Bring Something New to the Table
I remember back in the days of the old MYSPACE forum, right before congress rammed Obamacare through, some idiot that I was arguing with had the gull to demand that I come up with a solution to America�s healthcare problem. Now, at the time I didn�t know what the solution was. All I knew was what I didn�t want to see more government control of a system that had already been convoluted by government bureaucrats. When I couldn�t come up with a solution, he said that my side had no solutions. Aside from the fact that I wasn�t the sole representative of �my side�, I think it�s absurd that just because I reject a bad idea that your side offers, it doesn�t mean that I am obligated to give a solution in return. Now, that I look back I could have told him I would completely privatize the industry and with the exception of malpractice suits, I would ban all government interference. Not that it matters because the idiot would have turned his nose up at that idea, even though it was actually government interference that drove up the costs of healthcare in the first place.

I noticed the same pattern, when it comes to education. It was government interference that made our education system the laughing stock of the world. Yet, whenever we talk about privatization or semi-privatization you guys not only reject it, but instead propose the same failed solutions. Basically, you propose throwing more money at the system which is the exact same thing that we have been doing for decades, yet we get the exact same results every time. This is definitely what Einstein defined as insanity.

Stop Blaming Libertarians for the Financial Meltdown of 2008
I wasn�t even going to include this one, but I am getting sick and tired of statists blaming us for the Financial Meltdown of 2008. Even Sargon of Akkad, who is one of my favorite Youtubers, said that it was because the libertarians have so much power over the legislator. It was hard for me to understand how someone as intelligent or quick-witted as Sargon could actually say something that absurdly stupid. We libertarians are at best only ten percent of the population. We are the most marginalized group on the political spectrum, so it is impossible for us to have influenced the policies that lead to the meltdown. If we did, the collapse never would have happened. It was people like libertarian leaning conservative Ron Paul who actually warned congress about the dangers of the Housing Bubble and it was statists such as Barney Frank who dismissed the warnings. I know you guys like to believe that somehow during the Bush administration thousands upon thousands of regulations somehow magically disappeared and managed to reappear when Obama took office. It�s hard for me to comprehend how any adult can believe something that absurd. In reality, it was the government that caused the meltdown through a series of incentives that encouraged banks to give out loans like they were candy, which lead to Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac absorbing the debts incurred by the banks. When that house of cards finally came crashing down, it was people like Barney Frank who ironically prevented congressional oversight for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who said that it was deregulation that led to the meltdown. So, it wasn�t us libertarians, but you statists who caused it.

I know that most of you will keep using the same strawman arguments because it�s easier than having to come up with real arguments. I will warn you that there are some of us who will not go easy on you, if you use these same tired arguments.