In the Green Room: AEI’s Arthur Brooks
Posted August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm in Enterprise and Free Markets, First Principles 
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Newly-anointed American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks spoke at Heritage’s weekly Blogger Briefing today (listen here). He addressed the fact that conservatives must establish new language and new messages to remind Americans of the moral necessity of a culture of free enterprise. “Overwhelming majorities of Americans prefer the free market system,” he said, in an animated 50-minute discussion. “Entrepreneurship and local communities are the single best ways to lift people out of poverty…We have the goods to do what [liberals] say they want to do. We have the data and our cause is just,” he said.
The 45-year-old former Syracuse professor moved to D.C. in January and is an eloquent critic of what he calls the liberal desire to make America into a “social democracy.” In an April 30th Wall Street Journal op-ed, he wrote:
Advocates of free enterprise must learn from the growing grass-roots protests, and make the moral case for freedom and entrepreneurship. They have to declare that it is a moral issue to confiscate more income from the minority simply because the government can. It’s also a moral issue to lower the rewards for entrepreneurial success, and to spend what we don’t have without regard for our children’s future.”
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5 Responses to “In the Green Room: AEI’s Arthur Brooks”
Lloyd Scallan – New Orleans on August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm said:
When is everyone going to get it stright? It is not “47 million uninsured”. When the illegals and the citizens who don’t buy health insurance, for wantever reason, the figure is down to about
20 million. Thats about 25% of our population. Even the people on our side of this issue do not
voice the true facts.
Popblogger, Florida on August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm said:
Lloyd Scallan is absolutely right. Everything Arthur Brooks said made good sense until he used that made up figure of 47 million uninsured and called it unacceptable. Our side can’t argue the facts if we use the “facts” made up by the other side.
Lloyd Scallan – New Orleans on August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm said:
Sorry for the typo in my earlier reply. It should read 2%, not 25% that the will remain uninsured. Regardless, the bottom line is the DEMS want to
destroy our present health system because of a small partion of our population. It’s not about health care, It’s about the accumulation of power by the socialist in the White House and in Congress. Power over every aspect of our lives.
Lynn B. DeSpain on August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm said:
I am an American who believes in a free Republic form of Government, first, last and always! I also believe that as Americans, we can no longer depend on either the Democrats nor the Republicans to uphold America’s Constitution and Amendments.
Since 9/11/01, Our Federal Government has though the formation of new branches of Government, including, “Homeland Security”, put us all into a position that the Federal Government has absolute and complete control over us all, by including the Department of Disease Control. That is all viruses, and bacteria.
Think of the “New Swine Flu!” This Nation in one year, 1,000 people have died. Normal flu, 30,000 die each year. By the Federal Government declaring a Pandemic,we all can be forced inoculation, without legal reprisal, with the aid of our own Military Forces!
I believe that the only courses left open to us are two. First all remaining States must become Republics, sworn only to the Constitution and amendments of the United States. Second, all Primary Elections need be open elections, where all the voting public, regardless of party affiliation, can vote for any Candidate, and any measure.
Remember your History! Rome was the first Republic and lasted for over eight hundred years, until they created a Caesar!
Hozro
Helen on August 4th, 2009 at 4:00pm said:
The reason it makes sense to use the 47 million figure is because not counting them doesn’t spontaneously make those “extra” people stop showing up in emergency rooms for care that we all end up paying for. You may as well say that there are only 8,000 cars a day going over a certain bridge because the other 1,000 driving over it don’t have driver’s licenses. The bridge is still getting 9,000 cars bumping over it, whether you acknowledge their presence and their wear-and-tear or pretend that it’s not happening.