Being
able to challenge the status quo and ask questions of widely believed opinions
and political positions is one of the great freedoms liberal democracies grant
its citizens. To be able to critics a government, questions its policies and
form protests and demonstrations to make our voices heard is something that
many in the Western world take for
granted. In the majority of countries across the world, this is a freedom that
is all to often waived by tyrants, dictators and authoritarian regimes. The
internet represents this freedom in many ways. Whilst some governments like
Russia or China seek to harness the power of the internet and censor it from
its citizens, in the US, people are allowed to use the web as a mouthpiece to
make their voices heard.
For
thinkers like Rick Kelo, Using Online Presence as Social Service is one
of the many advantages the internet has given us in a bid to fight the
injustices that we are faced with everyday. As an economics and finance
graduate, Rick Kelo uses his web platform as a chance to share ideas about the
great economic traditions of his heroes in the Austrian and Monetarist
traditions, whilst raising debates about government policy, society and
economy. A good example of Rick Kelo's tenacious critical voice is a recent
article on social security.
Long
maintained as a necessary tax deduction taken from the state to ensure our
future comforts, recent reports from fiscal institutions suggest that this may
not be the case after all. As Rick Kelo articulates in his blog, ''As Social
Security turns 80 years old have you ever stopped to wonder whether you are
better or worse off for having government confiscate 12.4% of your wages? A
couple economists at the Federal Reserve asked themselves that question, and
found that only four-one-hundredths of one percent (0.04%)of Americans would be
better off under Social Security than funding their own private retirement.
99.96% were made worse off.''
Rick
Kelo's insightful eye and ability to criticize policies long overdue
revaluation have made him a popular online voice among classic liberal
economics. His online presence is a reminder of the great advantages of democracy
and liberal societies in which we are able to make our voices heard to help
shape popular opinion. For Rick Kelo, The Outspoken Blogger Questioning TheModern Age, now is the time to challenge the status quo.