The Libertarian Party's Federal House and Senate Candidates Pledge to Shrink Government
Some of the policies you can get if you vote Libertarian, from localizing education to downsizing the military.
As reported here yesterday, the Libertarian Party (L.P.) tries to keep political discipline on its candidates, and is unafraid to censure even one of its very few sitting state legislators. They did so this week to Nevada Assemblyman John Moore over his vote for a stadium subsidy.
Creating a meaningful distinction between their candidates and those of the Republicans and Democrats is important to the L.P. The Party thus created a series of pledges setting forth the Party's political vision. Many of their candidates for federal House and Senate sign those pledges, in most cases dozens of signees.
Highlights, with excerpted explanations (the actual page has detailed explanations of the hows and the whys for each pledge, not all of which are excerpted below)
• END CRONY CAPITALISM
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to end government bailouts, grants, loans, loan guarantees, and other handouts to private businesses…."
• ELIMINATE FEDERAL INCOME TAX
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to eliminate the federal income tax, cut federal spending to the level it was during Bill Clinton's presidency, balance the budget, and get the IRS off the backs of taxpayers."
• SHUT DOWN NSA, TSA, AND END MASS SURVEILLANCE
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to reduce and consolidate our 18 spy agencies, abolish the NSA and the TSA, grant clemency and full whistleblower protection to Edward Snowden, repeal all laws that violate the Fourth Amendment right to privacy, and cut taxes by the amount saved."
• END FAILED DRUG WAR AND PROHIBITION
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to immediately end the insane War on Drugs; pardon, release from prison, and expunge the records of all non-violent drug 'offenders'; end arrests and SWAT raids on suspected drug 'offenders,' abolish the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and cut taxes by the amount saved."
• DOWNSIZE THE MILITARY
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to cut military spending by 60 percent or more and and cut taxes by the amount saved; close all foreign U.S. military bases; withdraw completely from the Middle East; and bring our troops home."
• LOCALIZE EDUCATION
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to quickly end all federal mandates on state and local schools, discontinue Common Core and all other Department of Education programs, close the DOE, and cut taxes by the amount saved."
• FULLY RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF-DEFENSE
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to repeal all federal laws that abridge an individual's right of self-defense, including the 'Gun-Free' Schools Act, and thereby remove this obstacle to citizens who can prevent or stop mass shootings."
• OPT OUT OF SOCIAL SECURITY
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation that allows wage earners to opt out of Social Security. Lost revenue needed for existing and future retirees will be derived from selling tens of trillions of dollars worth of unneeded federal assets."
• EXPAND HEALTH FREEDOM—MAKE IT AFFORDABLE, SAFE, AND EFFECTIVE
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to get the federal government out of the health care business so that it can be dramatically more effective, safer, easily affordable, and far more responsive to individual needs. Specifically:
• End all federal mandates on individuals and businesses to buy medical insurance, including those contained in Obamacare. End associated tax penalties.
• End all coverage mandates and restrictions on health insurance that prevent companies from selling policies that customers want to buy. Enable purchase of medical insurance plans across state lines. Existing policies may be honored until the free market is restored.
• End government guarantees, subsidies and bailouts of insurance companies, including 'risk corridors.'….
• REPLACE GOVERNMENT MEDDLING IN MONEY WITH MARKETPLACE DISCIPLINE
"If elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to end the Federal Reserve System (the Fed); prohibit more government debt; prohibit printing of dollars not backed by physical commodities; remove restrictions on alternative currencies, e.g., Bitcoin, gold, silver; and allow the free market to set interest rates."
• NEVER EXPAND BIG GOVERNMENT
"If elected, I will vote "no" and work against any measure that expands government authority in any way or that increases total government spending from today's astronomically high levels. If an essential, constitutional government function is needed, I will vote to reduce spending elsewhere to pay for it, rather than raise taxes or add to the nation's debt."
• REQUIRE GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
"Government should be at least as transparent as anyone it regulates, including citizens subject to an IRS audit, businesses harassed by government regulators, and political campaigns subject to FEC regulations. Therefore, if elected, I will sponsor and work diligently to pass legislation to put the government's checkbook online. Each government transaction must cite as much detail as the IRS demands of citizens. Government agencies that refuse to fully and promptly disclose their finances will lose their funding, and taxes will be cut by the amount saved."
See the Party's pledge page for more, and more detailed explanations for why those pledges are a good idea.