Talk:Fiscal conservatism

Do non-Americans call these policies "fiscal conservatism", or is that an American phrase? If it's an international ideology, can we get some help in making this page less Ameri-centric? Ryan McDaniel 21:50, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I believe it is a purely American phrase. Also, we have too many articles to describe the same thing: economic liberalism, economic libertarianism, free market, laissez-faire. This one should be made a redirect, either to one of the aforementioned articles or to American conservatism. -- Nikodemos 05:45, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Actually, even Americans don't refer to these policies (in the article as of 21 March 2006) as fiscal conservatism. The article is very nicely written, and seemingly NPOV. Unfortunately, every instance of the phrase "fiscal conservatism" needs to be replaced with some other phrase (perhaps "economic conservatism") and the article should be moved accordingly.

Fiscal conservatism is, basically, opposition to government (or other) debt. It has nothing to do with cutting taxes or privatizing government services. In fact, fiscal conservatism can involve raising taxes; that is, as a fiscal conservative you can advocate big government, just as long as you pay for it rather than borrow money for it.

Analogically, think of the crotchety old farmer in Maine who always paid cash for everything, versus the late-20th-century farmer in Iowa who went deep into debt. The former would be a fiscal conservative. The latter might be hard-working and forward-thinking, and he might even be good for the economy; he's just not a fiscal conservative. -- Muffuletta 07:57, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Muffuletta is right. Fiscal conservatism is not wanting government debt. Economic conservatism is actually advocated by the Democratic Party more so than the Republican Party. Economic Liberalism is not the same as fiscal conservatism, which is contrary to what Nikodemos was stating. Economic Liberalism is where people want little to no government interference on the economy. Compared to fiscal conservatism where they don't want government debt. No government debt is normally achieved through a lot of government interference on the economy, such as taxes. So economic liberalism is close to be the opposite of fiscal conservatism. However, this article leads people to believe that they are the same so someone should change it. I won't because I am too lazy.

Article restored

I restored this article from a redirect since since there is some material from Fiscal Conservatism(Free Market Conservatism) that could be moved here. I removed the long list of supposed fiscal conservatives since it was unencyclopedic and not clearly defined.

If somebody thinks this should still be a redirect, that's fine too, but it looks like plenty could be written about the subject. Wmahan. 19:33, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

I just think the article is redundant, as noted above. I favour merging all information into other articles, particularly American conservatism, since "fiscal conservatism" is an exclusively American term. -- Nikodemos 01:57, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

I reinstated the article. I doubt no references can be found to describe the term properly. Intangible 00:01, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

The problem is not that there are no references, but that the term is a synonym for economic liberalism. That is why I favour a redirect and the merging of information into American conservatism. -- Nikodemos 00:29, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

It is not synonymous, because the political end of fiscal conservatism does not have to be solely based on economic liberalism or liberalism in itself. Intangible 01:22, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Umm, political end...? I'm confused. -- Nikodemos 01:23, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

If a senator supports a balanced budget, it does not necessarily mean the senator believes this on the grounds of economic liberalism. Maybe religion is the basis of the senator's support for a balanced budget, although I agree that Reagan's platform (which did not really set off at all in practice), was based on such a economic liberalism. Intangible 01:30, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

Left Wing article?

Is there actually any page describing left wing economic ideology? Since "economic liberalism" is actually a policy endorsed by conservatives, I expected to get an article describing liberal economic ideology when I searched "economic conservatism", but was instead redirected to this page, which is actually more conservative doctrine. If there is such a page (describing liberal economics), please contact me, and if not, one certainly needs to be written. ~ Ludo716

Taxation without Representation

What's this got to do with fiscal conservatism at all? In fact, the whole article is basically "Economic History of the United States". --Aioth 07:27, 1 September 2007 (UTC)

I saw that and thought the same thing, but came here to check. I'll remove it, it is irrelevant. --Xyzzyva (talk) 23:23, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Contemporary Issues

I removed this section. It does nothing to define or give history on the article's topic. It is merely a partisan take on the last two presidents on this issue. Here's the copy I deleted: The Clinton Administration created a fairly sizable budget surplus by the end of the 1990s. In 2000, George W. Bush ran for President on a platform of limiting the scope of government and cutting taxes, while still maintaining the surplus. However, during his time in office, President Bush has drastically increased federal spending while continuing to cut taxes. A growing number of Republicans have grown exasperated with the tremendous deficit growth that has taken place in recent years. Some have argued that Bush's apathy towards creating a balanced budget and his willingness to increase spending on Medicare and other social programs betray conservative principles. Democrats have criticized Bush for excessive spending also, though they tend to focus more on the Iraq War and other costly military expenditures, and on tax cuts that reduce federal revenues and increase the deficit. --PFR 19:03, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Reagonomics

The information about tax revenues increasing is based on partisan sources and sources within the Reagan administration. It is in conflict with the information in Reagonomics which presents a more balanced and correct picture based on actual evidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikiviedit (talk • contribs) 19:01, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

A previous version has been restored to reflect the same - Wikiviedit 27 May 2008