Honest question - what is a "fiscal conservative"?

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

I always assumed that "fiscal conservative" meant you didn't want to run budget deficits, for the obvious reasons: the high cost of borrowing and a subsidy to wealthy investors.

With more and more Democrats calling themselves "fiscally conservative" and pushing corporatist policies, supporting exporting jobs to low wage countries, attacking unions, and calling for privitization of our national assets and social programs, I'm started to get a little confused as to exactly what the term "fiscally conservative" means. Can anyone help me out here?

[Clete]

1. I always thought it was

keeping your expenditures within your means and making sure you don't overspend, like buying $2,000 toilet seats for government buildings.
But I guess I am wrong. Apparently, it really means squeezing the average American for every tax you can get and spending it on rich people and corporations.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

6. that's what I thought too

guess I was wrong. maybe that should be "fiscal cheap labor conservative"

[AntiLempa]

2. The new definition. . .

Fiscal conservative is now code for corporatist.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

3. I hope that's not really true

I tend to agree, but I am hoping that all these "fiscally conservative" Democrats are just against wasteful government spending and budget deficits. If that were the case, than I would proudly call myself a fiscal conservative.

It seems DU is now a haven for liberatarians, and aside from the Kucinich campaign, progressives have little if any place here. I *really* don't want to join the Green party.

[CMT]

4. nothing wrong with being fiscally responsible

if not and we have the huge deficits we have now only leads to huge budget cuts which affect alot of people. There have to be priorities but to run huge deficits in the long run hurts more people in the long run becuz states have to increase taxes (property taxes included) and cut services becuz they aren't getting as much help from the federal govt. Also, the deficits eventually lead to a slow down in the economy from increases in interest rates and this leads to more unemployment.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

5. well that's mostly what I said

If fiscal conservative means a balanced budget and stopping wasteful government spending, than I'm a fiscal conservative. But I keep reading people calling themselves "fiscal conservatives" that seem more interested in corporatism and exporting jobs.

There is nothing wrong with being fiscally responsible, of course, but what about the rest of this neo-liberal platform?

[Diesle]

7. .

It implies that the Democratic Party is for tax and spend.... spend beyond the revenue stream in fact. A politically poisonous position in today’s economy.


Diesle

[Skittles]

10. tax and spend

is much better than borrow and spend

[Hanuman]

8. tax less / spend less

I usually don't devolve into esoteric answers, but the idea of labels is starting to bother me. If you are innately more of a spender than a saver, and you're comfortable with that situation, the label of "fiscal conservative" can indeed be used as a code word for corporatist asshole rethuglican.

I don't like it, though, and I have yet to find adequate labels that suit me and represent me without automatic prejudice and bias.

I am a fiscal conservative. This means that I believe in taxing less and spending less- plain and simple.

My answer to you, however, does not include any additional information on corporate welfare or weighting legislative advantages toward the wealthy or toward business. I believe in fairness. The same advantages that government may bestow that apply to the rich should apply to the poor- and those advantages should be few and far between. Government should establish a level playing field, monitor the field for abuse and fraud (and prosecute on an as-needed basis), and otherwise back away.

This is the libertarian philosophy of fiscal conservatism- I don't believe today's republicans are fiscally conservative at all.

[imhotep]

9. I assumed

it means Ayn Rand economics such as greed is a virtue, sharing is evil.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. Another for of a CROOK!

Someone who's mind is dominated by money like Bush is!

[SharonAnn]

12. To me it means "Balanced Budget" with only minor variations

for special circumstances, like war or natural disaster.

That means we tax enough to pay for the services we agree to provide and provide only as many services as we have tax revenue to pay for.

Just my idea, though.

[GOPBasher]

13. The guy who gave us a $500 billion deficit this year

is a "fiscal conservative," obviously, and that President who had a penis and gave us huge budget surpluses was a big-government, bleeding heart, tax-and-spend, radical leftist, socialist, communist, fiscal "liberal." Don't you know that yet?