Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

[brucefan]

Backed by a growing swing vote that decides elections and support for its economic plans, the Libertarian Party is not an ?alternative? political party.

?Alternative? implies something outside the mainstream or an unconventional choice. The Libertarian Party, with its sensible balance of fiscal responsibility and social moderation, is, in fact, the nation?s only mainstream political party.

In a nation where a vast swath of the electorate define themselves as generally fiscally conservative and socially liberal, it is the Democrat, Republican, Constitution and Green parties that find themselves isolated on the extreme left and right. Not only are these the voters who decide elections, poll after poll finds these voters generally agree more with the Libertarian Party than any other.

In their 2006 study of the American electorate, The Libertarian Vote, Cato Institute scholars David Boaz and David Kirby find between ten and twenty percent of the electorate is generally fiscally conservative and socially liberal ? in other words, libertarian. A 2006 Gallup Governance Survey puts the ?libertarian? vote at 21 percent, tied with the ?liberal? vote and behind only the ?conservative? vote at 25 percent.

That growing libertarian vote is getting close to the same percentage as those describing themselves and liberal or conservative and large enough to assemble a winning coalition in election races. Many of the ?unaffiliated? or ?non-ideological? voters agree more with libertarians than with conservatives or liberals.

So why haven?t Libertarians won more elections than they already have? With a renewed focus on winning the LP did win 200-plus races in 2008 and increased its presidential vote total for the second straight election, but there is room for so much more growth.

Much of the blame lies with ballot access laws placing an intolerable burden on citizens who wish to vote for something other than Republicans or Democrats. The Libertarian Party is hard at work in state legislatures across the country changing those laws.

Right now is a great time to be a Libertarian. Voters cite economic issues and job growth as their top concerns in poll after poll, both Libertarian strengths.

Those same polls show majorities support the libertarian solution of reducing the size and government and expanding regulatory and tax relief for employers. They know it does more to create jobs and renew faith in the economy than spending $30 million on the ?salt marsh mouse,? as Democrats propose, or spending $700 billion bailing out unsuccessful businesses and trillions more expanding government, as the past big-spending Republican administration and Congress did.

They?re looking for someone to let them know that, if elected, they?ll focus on their concerns by sticking to proven solutions that create jobs and get capital flowing. Libertarians are the only ones who agree.

The Libertarian Party is not an ?alternative.? It is the only mainstream political party in America. That?s why it is up to you and me to listen to those voters, learn what they want us to do and promote solutions voters agree on.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian PartyDonny.Ferguson@lp.org

 

[ACCC]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

The New Democrats under Clinton were the same mix of liberal social policy and conservative & pro-corporate economics, so many of those people continue to identify as Democratic. That is why the democrats continue to win the high-income states. The non-mainsteam third parties like libertarian are non-issues and will continue to be for some time. The real need is for a party that is liberal and less pro-corporate on their economic policies. The current administration doesn't qualify since they spend much of their money on Wall Street and corporate bailouts.

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Markets offer vote of no confidence in Obama spending spree

Stocks plunge in response to Obama address



WASHINGTON, D.C. -- America?s job creators offered the Obama administration?s economic plans another resounding vote of no confidence, with stocks plunging once again as President Obama refused to change the failed big-spending, big-government policies responsible for the current economic stagnation, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director Donny Ferguson pointed out Wednesday morning.
When markets opened after Obama?s economic address to Congress Tuesday night, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 90.64 points, or 1.23 percent, to 7,260.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index plummeted 9.41 points, or 1.22 percent, to 763.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 16.26 points, or 1.13 percent, to 1,425.57.
?Each drop in the market represents real pain inflicted on working Americans by Obama?s dedication to policies that have been proven failures,? said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director.
?Not only are they resounding votes of no confidence in Obama by the very people who create jobs, they are robbing Americans of their retirement savings and employment prospects.?
The stock market has lost more than 10 percent of its value since Obama took office, usually plunging on days when the administration announces more plans to make government bigger and more expensive.
?Americans are suffering through unemployment, underemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure, and President Obama is adding to their pain by sticking with big spending that has never revived an economy. Americans don?t want welfare handouts financed by crippling tax hikes on their children, they want the kind of good-paying careers that only the free market can provide,? said Ferguson.
?Obama should stop exploiting our economic woes as a reason to expand government and make Americans dependent upon voting for him to put food on the table. Both Republicans and Democrats have put us in this situation by pushing bad home loans, racking up debt and regulating small employers out of business. The only prescription for economic recovery is tax relief for employers and taxpayers and to get the government out of the way of recovery,? said Ferguson.
?No nation has ever spent itself into prosperity. The Libertarian Party is the only party supporting the kind of fiscally responsible change America needs to empower employers and get our economy moving again,? said Ferguson.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.



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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Libertarians urge Obama to veto pork-ridden spending bill

Libertarians stand with taxpayers against earmark abuse



WASHINGTON ? America?s third largest party urged President Barack Obama Tuesday to live up to his promise to ?end politics as usual in Washington? and veto a $410 billion spending bill. The legislation includes 8,570 earmarks totaling $7.7 billion, a practice Obama pledged to end as part of his pitch to voters during the 2008 election.
?Republicans already broke their weeks-old promise to stand for fiscal responsibility by fighting to have their fair share of earmarks included in the bill,? said Libertarian National Committee Communications Director Donny Ferguson. ?Will Obama keep his promise to end earmarks by vetoing this bill, or will this be the latest in a long strong of broken Obama promises? Is Barack Obama a man of his word, or just another politician??
The White House has indicated Obama will sign the bill, despite his earlier promises to oppose earmarking.
?Republicans are banding together to grab taxpayer cash and Obama is ignoring his own pledge to stop the practice. With Republicans and Democrats working together to continue wasteful spending it?s abundantly clear the Libertarian Party is the only party agreeing with the American people that earmarks must be abolished,? said Ferguson.


For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

 

[diggin'4gold]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

The New Democrats under Clinton were the same mix of liberal social policy and conservative & pro-corporate economics, so many of those people continue to identify as Democratic. That is why the democrats continue to win the high-income states. The non-mainsteam third parties like libertarian are non-issues and will continue to be for some time. The real need is for a party that is liberal and less pro-corporate on their economic policies. The current administration doesn't qualify since they spend much of their money on Wall Street and corporate bailouts.

Rephrase,

The current administration doesn't qualify since they spend much of "our" money on Wall Street and corporate bailouts.

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Root Calls for Nationwide Protest
<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --><!-- message -->Root on ?Savage Nation? Calls for Nationwide Protests to ?SHUT DOWN AMERICA? by Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 02:46 PM

Root Says ?Obama Has Declared WAR on Small Business Owners and Productive Taxpayers
Root Calls for Small Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, High-Income Earners to Unionize with the PSTA (Private Sector Taxpayers of America)

Las Vegas, NV?March 4, 2009--Libertarian 2008 Vice Presidential nominee Wayne Allyn Root will present a Commentary on ?President Obama?s War on Small Business? on Michael Savage's national radio show "Savage Nation" on Wednesday 3/4/09. Root will appear in the 3rd hour of Savage's show. Root is now a regular weekly commentator on Michael Savage's popular show. "Savage Nation" is the third most popular radio talk show in America, reaching over 8.25 million listeners each day.

Root, the busy 2012 Libertarian Presidential hopeful, and author of the upcoming book, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts? will suggest that self made Americans- entrepreneurs, small business owners, self-employed independent contractors- should organize, mobilize and unionize. Root has named this union the PSTA- the Private Sector Taxpayers of America. Root says, ?If Obama loves unions so much, we?ll give him a union- the union of the people in this country who pay most of the taxes, create most of the jobs, provide most of the productivity, make most of the investments, and take all the economic risks.?

?Obama is prejudiced. He is discriminating against one group- the productive class. Instead of raising taxes equally, he has targeted one group to punish, one group to make all the sacrifices, one group to pay for his massive tax increases. But that group is already shouldering most of the burden. It is time to show Obama that we are the group that is too big to fail. It is time for us to unionize. It is time for us to put out ?Closed for Business? signs and march on Washington DC. It is time to shut down America and prove our value to society. It is time to show government what it?s like to try to live without our workforce, without our productivity, without our taxes. It?s time for the Private Sector Taxpayers of America to shut this country down.?

?What?s Obama going to do? Show us how important government is and shut it down? We can only hope and pray he shuts government down. We?re the ones paying all the bills, while government does nothing for us- the private sector taxpayers. Government takes and takes from us, and gives us nothing in return. President Obama, we dare you to shut government down! But of course Obama couldn?t. It would only prove how unimportant government is in our lives- the productive Americans wouldn?t even notice it was missing!?

Root's plans for unionizing small business owners and private sector taxpayers will be a centerpiece of his new book, out June 15th, entitled, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts.?

Please visit Wayne's website to hear many of his recent appearances on ?Savage Nation? with Michael Savage, as well as his many FOX News and FOX Business appearances: www.RootForAmerica.com





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[RealDeal]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Root Calls for Nationwide Protest
<hr style="color: rgb(209, 209, 225);" size="1"><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --><!-- message -->Root on ?Savage Nation? Calls for Nationwide Protests to ?SHUT DOWN AMERICA? by Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs

Wednesday, March 4, 2009, 02:46 PM


<embed src="http://www.campaignforliberty.com/flash/banner.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="120">

Would love to see that, BUT
small business people have to work until May 11th( I think it is) by the
they have made enough to pay their taxes for the year(except in California,
Chicago and New York where the date is some like June 20th)
The better action would be for ALL of them to stop paying ALL FEDERAL
TAXES.

 

[diggin'4gold]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

The better action would be for ALL of them to stop paying ALL FEDERAL
TAXES.

This would be a terrific way to show dissent, but it would doubtlessly lead to the appearance of a Federal property assessor at your doorstep, after his appearance and your noncompliance the next to show up at your door would be wearing brown shirts and jackboots.

 

[RealDeal]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

This would be a terrific way to show dissent, but it would doubtlessly lead to the appearance of a Federal property assessor at your doorstep, after his appearance and your noncompliance the next to show up at your door would be wearing brown shirts and jackboots.

True except is EVERY small business owner did it then it would be overwhelming.
Just think, no FICA, income, SS taxes being paid all at once.
They wouldn't have the man power to even attempt to fight it.

Maybe they do target some but I sure would love to see it happen.
Ever C-store, liquor store, restaurant, auto shop, on and on.
THAT would make the government stop!

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Libertarians ask, ?What is Obama ashamed of??

LP knocks Obama for breaking more promises in a secret signing ceremony



WASHINGTON ? America?s third largest party asked Wednesday why President Obama enacted the $490 billion FY09 omnibus spending and its over 8,500 earmarks behind closed doors, and despite campaign promises to end earmark abuse.
?President Obama?s decision to hide from the media while signing this bill isn?t just a violation of his promise of transparency, it?s an attempt to avoid questions about breaking another promise to end earmark abuse,? said Libertarian National Committee Communications Director Donny Ferguson.
?He promised to end earmarks. He promised transparency. He promised fiscal responsibility. He didn?t mean a word of it. More and more Americans realize his crippling taxes and crushing debt are prescriptions for prolonged economic suffering. Now he has to hide behind closed doors to sign his pork-stuffed plan to explode wasteful spending,? said Ferguson.
Libertarians support an economic renewal plan centered on tax and regulatory relief for employers, preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts that blunted previous recessions and greatly simplifying the tax code for employers and taxpayers. Polls such as Rasmussen show voters prefer the Libertarian approach over the Republican and Democrat plans to increase government spending.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669, 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Your Monday Message from the Libertarian Party: [FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
Just a few days ago I had a nice exchange with Mack?s Creek, Michigan?s Libertarian Mayor Joel Stoner. Like other elected Libertarians, Mayor Stoner is hard at work improving city parks, establishing a broadband community center and fixing the local roads, all with either private donations or reductions elsewhere in the budget, allowing him to avoid tax increases.

Another Libertarian elected official (recent LP convert Indianapolis City-County Councilor) Ed Coleman, is working to expose millions of dollars in waste by a government council that builds sport arenas for wealthy teams. Like any elected Libertarian, Councilor Coleman believes government should serve his nearly one million constituents ? not connected special interests.

Over 200 Libertarians currently serve in elected office. With around 90 percent of all the public offices in the United States being appointed, there are also hundreds more Libertarians serving in appointed offices. One such appointed Libertarian, California Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, dedicated his 25-year judicial career to tackling youth crime, drunk driving and reforming drug laws. His steadfast libertarian principles earned him the respect of Republicans and Democrats, and a reputation for no-nonsense approach to enforcing the law.

In fact, since the LP was founded 38 years ago, thousands of Libertarians have served in elected and appointed office, including 12 Libertarian state legislators.

But whether they are appointed or elected, Libertarian public officials are eliminating waste, curbing spending and making sure what few legitimate activities the government should be engaged in are performed efficiently and successfully.

And when voters elect a Libertarian, who then governs competently and rationally, it destroys the hysterical Democrat/Republican arguments against electing Libertarians. Governments run by elected Libertarians work more efficiently, more fairly and with a greater respect for individual rights.

It?s no wonder then that elected Libertarians are almost always re-elected. Unlike their Republican or Democrat counterparts, they focus on serving people and not going after them.

Compare that to a Barack Obama who feels the purpose of government is to attack achievers and ensure equality of income, or a Republican Party who feels the purpose of government is to enforce private morals.

So while Democrat and Republican politicians are busy engaging in the politics of greed and exclusion, Libertarian public servants are busy serving you ? fixing roads, repairing infrastructure, enforcing just laws and keeping communities safe, either with private funds and without increasing spending wherever possible.

A small, constitutional government that actually works in an efficient and ethical manner? It?s possible, and elected Libertarians across the country are making it happen.
[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National Committee[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

[/FONT]

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Is Government Labeling Libertarians and Conservatives as Terrorists?
Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 08:31 AM

2012 Libertarian Presidential Hopeful ROOT Charges ?Government Gone Wild!?

Will police pull over drivers in America for ?Driving while Libertarian or Conservative??

Las Vegas, NV--March 24, 2009-As the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee, as well as 2012 Libertarian Presidential hopeful Wayne Allyn Root, has been on the record in more than a thousand media interviews as concerned that our government has grown too big, too powerful, too corrupt, too controlling over the people. Now comes the strongest proof yet that Root's concerns are valid: a report prepared by a Department of Homeland Security-related organization that has warned law enforcement that anyone supporting third party candidates such as Wayne Root's Libertarian Party, the Bob Barr/Wayne Root Presidential ticket, or Ron Paul's Republican candidacy could be a terrorist, militia member or involved in criminal activities. The report also included anti-abortion activists on that warning list. This warning was issued to Missouri law enforcement officials by the Missouri Information Analysis Center (MIAC), one of 58 so-called ?fusion centers? created by the Department of Homeland Security.

Root responded to this ridiculous, absurd and dangerous claim, ?Government officials are already backtracking and running for cover on this idiotic, ignorant and dangerous warning to law enforcement. Ironically, it is more proof that we have given far too much power to government. You mean we've actually gotten to the point where if any political party challenges the powerful 2-party system (of Democrats and Republicans), government bureaucrats to protect their power, jobs, patronage, and bloated pensions, are now willing to label that group as criminals or terrorists? This is truly proof of Big Brother and the Nanny State gone wild. What's next? Government run re-education camps??

Root, the author of the soon-to-be-released new book, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian? points out that in many national political polls as much as 20% of Americans identify themselves as libertarian, while over 40% of voters agree that they are fiscally conservative and socially tolerant, otherwise known as libertarian. ?Does government now consider those millions of voters all criminals or terrorists?? asks Root. ?Is any form of dissent or disagreement with government policy now labeled as 'terrorist activity.' Is this America or the Soviet gulag? Are police now going to pull over drivers in America for the crime of 'driving while Libertarian or Conservative?' I think that all good Americans will agree that our government and law enforcement has gone too far with this warning.?

Root points out his own record, ?Last I checked, I was a true-blue, All-American patriot. I'm the son of a butcher, a self-made small business owner, home-school dad and Citizen Politician in the image of our founding fathers. I'm even married to a descendent of Benjamin Franklin and Richard Warren (who arrived in America on the Mayflower). I've never been in trouble a day in my life- I haven't gotten even a parking or speeding ticket in the past decade or two. I support law enforcement and our men and women in the armed services. And somehow I don't think I'd be allowed in the militia movement- since I'm a proud Jewish American."

Root continued, "Last I checked, to fight for smaller government, lower taxes, less government spending, more rights for the individual, and more freedom is as All-American as apple pie and motherhood. More importantly, those principles are what America was founded on?those principles are the reasons we fought the America Revolution?those principles are the reason our founding fathers created our Constitution. Somehow today our politicians, government bureaucrats and even some law enforcement leaders have obviously lost their way and forgotten what America is all about. I will continue to fight to remind them.?

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Record number of voters back LP tax approach

Rasmussen poll finds highest-ever number believe tax cuts spur growth



WASHINGTON ? A record number of voters agree with the Libertarian Party that tax cuts would help spur economic growth, America?s third-largest party notes Monday.

A Rasmussen Reports poll released March 26 finds 63 percent of all voters now say tax cuts will help America?s economy. That?s an increase from the 56 percent measured in February and the highest number since Rasmussen began tracking the question in the mid-1990s.
Among unaffiliated voters, the number is even higher ? 68 percent.
?Libertarians have been cutting taxes since the day we elected our first official nearly 40 years ago,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chair. ?Republicans and Democrats have been working together to drive up spending and taxes, and a supermajority of voters agree with over 200 currently elected Libertarians that this is wrong.?
?No wonder interest in the Libertarian Party on the rise. Voters prefer the very popular Libertarian policy of fiscal responsibility and limited government to get the economy moving,? said Redpath.
President Obama is doing little to assuage fears his tax hikes will hurt the economy. The Rasmussen poll also finds 51 percent of voters believe increasing taxes hurts the economy, the highest number since early January.
The Rasmussen poll also finds 52 percent of voters think they already pay their ?fair share? of taxes, and more voters prefer a candidate who opposes all tax increases (43 percent) than one who only wants to raise taxes on the rich (42 percent.) Last month, voters preferred the ?tax-the-rich? candidate by a 44 percent to 40 percent margin.
A majority of voters, 54 percent, also agree with Libertarians that a tax policy that helps the economy grow is more important than the Democrat/Republican policy of making sure ?everyone pays their fair share.? Only 39 percent of voters believe punitive taxation is more important than pro-growth taxation.
While Obama promised to raise taxes only on families whose combined income was more than $250,000 a year, as well as a tax cut for ?95 percent of working families,? Americans are skeptical. Sixty-six percent of voters think Obama will raise taxes on families making less than $250,000 a year.

For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669, 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom
​

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Libertarians back secret ballot voting rights in union elections

Libertarians, 74% of union workers, oppose job-killing ?card check? bill



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party warns concerned citizens that plans to scrap the right of workers to a secret ballot in union elections are far from dead. Libertarians also warn that such "card check" legislation also destroys hundreds of thousands of jobs as the nation attempts to revive its economy.
?The right to vote by secret ballot is one of our most cherished institutions for a reason. It protects people from those who would use violence or intimidation to achieve their goals,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chair.
?The card check bill currently in Congress that strips workers of their basic voting rights in union organizing matters is far from dead, and it threatens not just workers? rights and safety, but it threatens people?s jobs as well,? said Redpath.
Card check allows a union to organize by confronting employees with a so-called ?signature card? supporting the creation of a union in their work place. The union would maintain control and possession of the cards, along with the names and personal information of the employees, until they get enough signatures to force unionization. In many cases, the person demanding the signature would be the employee?s supervisor.
"A good union shouldn't fear a secret ballot. Stripping workers of that right only empowers bad unions to organize through coercion," said Redpath.
Allowing a union to form by simply coercing workers to publicly sign cards could force businesses to slash as many as 600,000 jobs nationwide, according to research from The Alliance To Save Main Street.
74 percent of rank-and-file union workers oppose the card check legislation in Congress, a January 2009 McLaughlin & Associates poll finds.
Once a majority of workers submit to the signature card demands, the union could then begin collecting dues from the workers? paychecks without ever having a secret ballot election on the matter.
?These signature cards strip workers of their right to a secret ballot, allowing an unscrupulous union boss to organize a workplace by simply bullying or threatening a minority of the workforce into signing signature cards,? said Redpath. ?There?s a reason we don?t allow signature cards in elections for political office, and those concerns over violence and intimidation are just as valid in the workplace.?
It would also allow union bosses to pocket an additional $7 billion in forced dues, according to the National Right to Work Committee. Much of that $7 billion could find its way into the campaign accounts of card check supporters, through extensive union political donations, giving senators much incentive to pass the forced unionism-friendly bill.
The bill is considered stalled in the Senate after past supporters Arlen Specter (R-PA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced they could not support the bill as written. But the impending arrival of Senator-elect Al Franken (D-MN) may give anti-ballot forces the votes they need to pass card check, and any changes to the bill allow Specter, Lincoln or Feinstein to switch their allegiance back.
?Opponents of secret ballot voting rights want you to think card check is dead. They?re wrong. Voters, especially voters in Pennsylvania, Arkansas and California, need to call their senator at 202-224-3121 and tell them to oppose the very-much-alive card check bill,? said Redpath.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Libertarian ?Prosperity Plan? repeals income tax, ends corporate welfare

Plan scraps IRS, balances the budget, curbs tax hikes, prohibits bailouts



WASHINGTON -- The Libertarian Party seeks to abolish the income tax, enact a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and eradicate corporate welfare under an ambitious three-point legislative plan unveiled by America?s third largest party Tuesday.
?Tens of millions of Americans are angry, fed up and demand real reform,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chair. ?The Libertarian Party is the only party that agrees with those tens of millions of Americans that government should stay out of both their pocketbook and their personal decisions.?
The ?Libertarian Prosperity Plan? seeks to repeal the income tax and abolish the IRS, enact a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget without tax increases and repeal all corporate welfare programs and bailouts.
?The ?Libertarian Prosperity Plan? is rooted in the Libertarian Party platform and bedrock libertarian principles. Unlike the other parties, we don?t promise tax cuts to just grab enough votes to win and then do nothing. Elected Libertarians enact tax and spending cuts because it is what we believe in,? said Redpath.
The Libertarian Prosperity Plan can be read and downloaded at http://www.lp.org and http://www.lp.org/files/Prosperity_Plan_Layout_1.pdf. The Plan would:
1) Repeal the income tax: Adopt legislation repealing the income tax and abolishing the Internal Revenue Service. Until the income tax is repealed, adopt legislation preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and enacting across-the-board income tax cuts.
2) Adopt the Balanced Budget Amendment: Adopt a constitutional amendment requiring the federal budget be balanced, and balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, not by raising taxes.
3) Abolish corporate welfare and bailouts: Adopt federal legislation prohibiting any federal spending program that provides payments or unique benefits and advantages to specific companies or industries, terminating programs that provide direct grants to businesses, eliminating programs that provide research and other services for industries and ending programs that provide subsidized loans or insurance to businesses.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Libertarians urge Obama: Stop blaming America and start opening markets

White House attacks gun rights, sparks trade war as Obama leaves for Latin American trip



WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama leaves today for a trip to meet with Latin American leaders, and America?s third largest party urges him to use the occasion to open up markets to American products, instead of continuing to use foreign trips to attack American beliefs and freedoms.
?President Obama has already traveled to Europe to blame American capitalism for the global economic problems, and his administration is already blaming American gun rights for Mexican crimes largely caused by a corrupt police force,? said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. ?Instead of blaming capitalism and constitutional rights for the world?s problems, the president should try defending freedom and creating jobs by opening foreign markets to American goods.?
As the president leaves for a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Mexico City Thursday, the Mexico/United States border faces a wave of murder and violent crimes fueled by corruption within Mexican police forces.
Rather than urge Calderon to clean up police corruption and crack down on murder, the Obama administration has instead blamed the United States for the recent border-area crime wave. When asked if the United States is partly to blame for the violence along the border, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said, "There certainly is a relationship. You can't deny it."
The government?s own information does deny it.
The Obama administration has claimed ?90 percent? of the guns used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, however, says that is not true. According the BATFE, that ?90 percent? statistic refers only to the few guns used in Mexican crimes with clear markings indicating they came from the U.S. The BATFE estimates the real figure is only 17 percent. Obama is an opponent of gun rights, earning a ?F? rating from Gunowners of America during his Senate term .
Obama must also deal with a trade war with Mexico that has sparked retaliatory tariffs on American agricultural products.
Acting on a request by the Teamsters, the Obama administration canceled a program that allowed 100 pre-approved Mexican trucks to travel further than 25 miles from the Mexican border. In retaliation, Mexico levied new tariffs on 89 agricultural products from the United States, affecting $2.4 billion in U.S. exports.
?We urge President Obama to stop criticizing America long enough to get in a word with Calderon about ending these tariffs and letting American farmers sell their goods,? said Ferguson.
Obama will also travel to Trinidad and Tobago to meet with Latin American leaders at the Summit of the Americas, including Venezuela?s socialist president Hugo Chavez. When questioned by CNN about how he would deal with Chavez, who has restricted free speech, nationalized industries expelled human rights activists from his country in a bid to consolidate his socialist control, Obama refused to criticize Chavez or mention the threats the Venezuelan leader?s crackdown on human rights and economic freedoms.
The South American Project Director for the Center for Strategic International Studies reported to the U.S. Senate that Chavez is "selectively arresting opposition leaders, torturing some members of the opposition (according to human rights organizations) and encouraging, if not directing, its squads of Bolivarian Circles to beat up members of Congress and intimidate voters?all with impunity."
Ferguson urged Obama to criticize Chavez?s attacks on freedom and support Venezuelans who would like to live in a free country.
?Libertarians support our constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms and our free market economy. We hope the president can find the courage to not only defend American freedoms and open markets to create jobs for American businesses, but to actually criticize someone other than the United States for once,? said Ferguson.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --><!-- message --><EMBED src=http://www.youtube.com/v/0FFOehU8grU&hl=en&fs=1 width=560 height=340 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always"></EMBED>

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Did you hear? Obama?s cutting the budget!

Unfortunately, it?s only $100 million, which barely comes out to three percent of the $3.6 trillion in spending he is imposing on current and future taxpayers. Much of it is simply things like buying office supplies in bulk, or one-time cuts that do nothing to cure long-term spending problems.

And according to senior White House official, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, "said Obama will point to cuts already being proposed."

Obama?s budget calls for around $11,755.00 in spending for every man, woman and child in America. But his ?cuts? -- which aren't even new reductions -- come out to only around 32.7 cents per person.

Yes, Obama believes that by cutting 32.7 cents off the price of an $11,755.00 financed purchase, he?s offering you a great deal.

Well, Libertarians know better. Obama is doing this out of desperation, and there?s a reason he?s scrambling to take credit for tiny spending reductions other people came up with.

Outraged Americans gathered in parks and town squares across the country last week to vent their outrage at his and the Republican Party?s out-of-control spending. Twenty House Democrats voted against his budget because even they couldn?t stomach his economy-crushing deficits.

Less than 100 days into office and much of Obama?s out-of-touch agenda is already on the ropes. His big-spending, big-governing Republican counterparts aren?t faring much better. Despite plummeting approval ratings for Obama, the GOP is still hugely unpopular.

Americans are looking for a party with a plan to reduce spending, eliminate deficits and restore prosperity.

It?s certainly not the Republican Party. Their ?alternative budget? released a few weeks ago continued the Bush policy of expanding the size of government and running up deficits. The only difference between theirs and Obama?s budgets was that theirs was only a close second in the race to expand government the fastest.

That?s why the Libertarian Party is proposing real, specific spending reductions --- reductions that will go much, much further to reduce taxes on our children than Obama?s raindrop-in-the-ocean repackaging of already-proposed cuts.

So what are they? How are Libertarians going to reduce the size and cost of the federal government and stave off trillions of dollars in higher taxes on our children?

Here are just a few of the reductions we back. You can find more in the Cato Institute?s ?Handbook for Policymakers, Seventh Edition.?

? Avert the oncoming fiscal crisis in Social Security by indexing initial benefits to changes in prices, instead of wages. Saves $47 billion annually by 2018. Without reforms like this, the program will go bankrupt or force trillions of dollars in destructive new taxes or borrowing.
? Turn Medicare into a block grant and freeze federal spending, forcing states to pursue cost-cutting reforms. Saves $227 billion annually by 2018.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s Economic Development Administration, a $352 million corporate welfare program.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s International Trade Administration, another $369 million in corporate welfare.
? Eliminate the Energy Department?s nuclear energy research programs, $695 million in welfare that should be undertaken by nuclear energy investors.
? Turn Head Start over to private charities, saving $687 million annually. Since its inception Head Start has shown no substantive increase in inner-city literacy rates.
? Eliminate the Bureau of Indian Affairs, saving nearly $2.5 billion a year.
? Eliminate funding for the United Nations and other international programs, saving nearly $1.6 billion annually.
? Eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, saving $350 million annually.
? Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, $278 million a year in welfare for wealthy arts patrons.
? Eliminate the Small Business Administration, $530 million in welfare for businesses.
? Eliminate the $935 million a year in Postal Service subsidies and force them to further privatize operations.

Those are just a few cuts, a ?twelve step program? if you will, which alone save taxpayers $282.3 billion. That comes out to $921.78 in savings for every man, woman and child in America, and there would be a lot more savings than that to come with even more reductions.

Compare that to Obama?s piddling 32.7 cents.

The Republicans had 14 years to do it, and instead exploded spending every year. Obama is happy to spend even faster. Libertarians are the only candidates with the willpower, and the concern for their children and grandchildren, to do it.

That leaves the Libertarian Party as the only party with a rational, sensible program to stop the destructive explosion in federal spending. Government growth, spending, taxation and borrowing are out of control, and it threatens not only our prosperity and freedom, but that of our children.

Obama?s 32.7 cent dog-and-pony show, if it even happens, does nothing to avert the oncoming bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare, or head off the trillions of dollars in new taxes he and the Republicans are heaping on future generation.

The only way to get real fiscal reform, starting with $282.3 billion in common-sense reductions, is to elect Libertarians.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National CommitteeDonny.Ferguson@lp.org

:thumbsup

 

[tank]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

? Avert the oncoming fiscal crisis in Social Security by indexing initial benefits to changes in prices, instead of wages. Saves $47 billion annually by 2018. Without reforms like this, the program will go bankrupt or force trillions of dollars in destructive new taxes or borrowing.
? Turn Medicare into a block grant and freeze federal spending, forcing states to pursue cost-cutting reforms. Saves $227 billion annually by 2018.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s Economic Development Administration, a $352 million corporate welfare program.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s International Trade Administration, another $369 million in corporate welfare.
? Eliminate the Energy Department?s nuclear energy research programs, $695 million in welfare that should be undertaken by nuclear energy investors.
? Turn Head Start over to private charities, saving $687 million annually. Since its inception Head Start has shown no substantive increase in inner-city literacy rates.
? Eliminate the Bureau of Indian Affairs, saving nearly $2.5 billion a year.
? Eliminate funding for the United Nations and other international programs, saving nearly $1.6 billion annually.
? Eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, saving $350 million annually.
? Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, $278 million a year in welfare for wealthy arts patrons.
? Eliminate the Small Business Administration, $530 million in welfare for businesses.
? Eliminate the $935 million a year in Postal Service subsidies and force them to further privatize operations.

What a waste.I'm sure their are many more just like this.When will they learn we cannot keep spending and wasting money like this?

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Libertarians: Obama health care rationing plan makes America sick

Government control of health care leads to higher death rates, research finds



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party Tuesday blasted comments by White House chief economic advisor Lawrence Summers that Americans are getting too much health care and the government should begin rationing access to medical procedures.
?Decisions on medical care should be made by patient and his or her doctor, not by a government employee with a calculator figuring out whether treating your illness is in Washington?s fiscal interest,? said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director.
?Whether it?s tonsillectomies or hysterectomies?procedures are done three times as frequently [in some parts of the country than others] and there?s no benefit in terms of the right kind of cost-effectiveness, by making the right kind of investments and protection, some experts?estimate that we could take as much as $700 billion a year out of our health care system,? said Summers on ?Meet the Press? Sunday, quoted in The Washington Times.
?Summers? statement that Americans have too much health care, and it?s up to Barack Obama to cut off their access is chilling,? said Ferguson. ?Even more disturbing is the White House?s view that private decisions on your medical care should be viewed as a government-run ?investment.??
?The same people who gave us Agent Orange, the IRS and the Hurricane Katrina response have no business making my doctor?s decisions for him.?
Despite assurances from the White House that rationing health care leads to better treatment, information from rationed health care systems tells a different story.
Among women diagnosed with breast cancer, only one fifth die in the United States, compared to one third in France and Germany, and almost half in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, Cato Institute scholar John Goodman finds, citing statistics from their national health care services. Goodman?s research finds among men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer, fewer than one fifth die in the United States, compared to one fourth in Canada, almost half in France, and more than half in the United Kingdom.
The culprit is often the kind of waiting lists the White House proposed Sunday. In 2000, the British medical journal Clinical Oncology, studying lung cancer patients waiting for government permission to get medical treatment found that about 20 percent ?of potentially curable patients became incurable on the waiting list.?
Another 2003 British study found that after major surgery, 2.5 percent of American patients died in hospital, compared to 10 percent of similar Britons. Seriously ill patients in U.S. hospitals die at only one-seventh the rate of those in the British system, where government controls, prices and rations health care, according to Atlas Economic Research Foundation senior fellow Deroy Murdock.
?The proper way to reform health care is to get government out of the way, drive down prices by opening up a health insurance market closed off to competition by politicians doing the bidding of insurance lobbyists and remove FDA roadblocks that keep medication off the market and drive up the costs to develop lifesaving drugs,? said Ferguson.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

# # #​

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Obama repeals "onerous" regulations. Just not for you.

posted by Donny Ferguson on Apr 27, 2009


Your Monday Message from the Libertarian Party:
Dear friend,
Great news! Obama is repealing ?onerous? federal regulations!
Unfortunately he?s not repealing any of the hundreds of thousands of federal regulations making it harder to start, expand or keep a business.
Instead ? in a payoff to his union boss campaign financiers ? Obama repealed pro-transparency regulations requiring union bosses to report more information about their finances and compensation.
According to Obama, the regulations had to be repealed because it was too ?onerous? for union bosses to report any conflicts of interest or illegal payoffs.
We like it when any regulation or law that doesn?t protect innocent people from force or fraud is repealed, but Obama?s reasoning is just as true of any of the hundreds of thousands of federal regulations that are slowing our economic recovery.
Those prosperity-killing regulations aren?t being repealed. In fact, many are growing.
Obama?s announcement is bad news if you?re one of the millions of unemployed Americans or struggling small businessmen, but great news if you skimmed money from workers? paychecks and funneled it into Obama?s campaign.
It?s just the first in a series of proposed giveaways to union bosses, including stripping union members of their right to a secret ballot in union elections ? something 74% of union households oppose.
Don?t you think Barack Obama should be focused on repealing the regulations that are destroying jobs and our liberty, instead of heaping more regulations on employers while making it easier for his union boss campaign contributors to hide corruption and force people to pay dues?
Well, then, you?re not alone. More and more Americans are joining the Libertarian Party. In fact, the number of people joining the LP for the first time has gotten bigger every month this year.
They?re fed up with high taxes, big spending, massive deficits and other attacks on their prosperity. They know limited government and economic freedom are what we need to get the economy moving again and grow more jobs.
So while Barack Obama is busy writing new job-killing, anti-liberty regulations, borrowing billions of dollars to finance Big Government, pretending he ?isn?t aware of Tea Parties? and making job-killing union boss corruption even easier ? your Libertarian Party and the over 200 Libertarians serving in elected office are busy cutting taxes, curbing wasteful spending and making America a better place to create jobs and live your life as you please.
So the next time you?re busy filling out an ?onerous? mountain of paperwork, keep in mind that the Libertarian Party is looking out for you ? because unless you?re funneling millions of dollars in forced union dues into his campaign account, Barack Obama sure isn?t.
With optimism,
Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian Party
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Did you hear? Obama?s cutting the budget!

Unfortunately, it?s only $100 million, which barely comes out to three percent of the $3.6 trillion in spending he is imposing on current and future taxpayers. Much of it is simply things like buying office supplies in bulk, or one-time cuts that do nothing to cure long-term spending problems.

And according to senior White House official, speaking to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, "said Obama will point to cuts already being proposed."

Obama?s budget calls for around $11,755.00 in spending for every man, woman and child in America. But his ?cuts? -- which aren't even new reductions -- come out to only around 32.7 cents per person.

Yes, Obama believes that by cutting 32.7 cents off the price of an $11,755.00 financed purchase, he?s offering you a great deal.

Well, Libertarians know better. Obama is doing this out of desperation, and there?s a reason he?s scrambling to take credit for tiny spending reductions other people came up with.

Outraged Americans gathered in parks and town squares across the country last week to vent their outrage at his and the Republican Party?s out-of-control spending. Twenty House Democrats voted against his budget because even they couldn?t stomach his economy-crushing deficits.

Less than 100 days into office and much of Obama?s out-of-touch agenda is already on the ropes. His big-spending, big-governing Republican counterparts aren?t faring much better. Despite plummeting approval ratings for Obama, the GOP is still hugely unpopular.

Americans are looking for a party with a plan to reduce spending, eliminate deficits and restore prosperity.

It?s certainly not the Republican Party. Their ?alternative budget? released a few weeks ago continued the Bush policy of expanding the size of government and running up deficits. The only difference between theirs and Obama?s budgets was that theirs was only a close second in the race to expand government the fastest.

That?s why the Libertarian Party is proposing real, specific spending reductions --- reductions that will go much, much further to reduce taxes on our children than Obama?s raindrop-in-the-ocean repackaging of already-proposed cuts.

So what are they? How are Libertarians going to reduce the size and cost of the federal government and stave off trillions of dollars in higher taxes on our children?

Here are just a few of the reductions we back. You can find more in the Cato Institute?s ?Handbook for Policymakers, Seventh Edition.?

? Avert the oncoming fiscal crisis in Social Security by indexing initial benefits to changes in prices, instead of wages. Saves $47 billion annually by 2018. Without reforms like this, the program will go bankrupt or force trillions of dollars in destructive new taxes or borrowing.
? Turn Medicare into a block grant and freeze federal spending, forcing states to pursue cost-cutting reforms. Saves $227 billion annually by 2018.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s Economic Development Administration, a $352 million corporate welfare program.
? Eliminate the Commerce Department?s International Trade Administration, another $369 million in corporate welfare.
? Eliminate the Energy Department?s nuclear energy research programs, $695 million in welfare that should be undertaken by nuclear energy investors.
? Turn Head Start over to private charities, saving $687 million annually. Since its inception Head Start has shown no substantive increase in inner-city literacy rates.
? Eliminate the Bureau of Indian Affairs, saving nearly $2.5 billion a year.
? Eliminate funding for the United Nations and other international programs, saving nearly $1.6 billion annually.
? Eliminate the Legal Services Corporation, saving $350 million annually.
? Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, $278 million a year in welfare for wealthy arts patrons.
? Eliminate the Small Business Administration, $530 million in welfare for businesses.
? Eliminate the $935 million a year in Postal Service subsidies and force them to further privatize operations.

Those are just a few cuts, a ?twelve step program? if you will, which alone save taxpayers $282.3 billion. That comes out to $921.78 in savings for every man, woman and child in America, and there would be a lot more savings than that to come with even more reductions.

Compare that to Obama?s piddling 32.7 cents.

The Republicans had 14 years to do it, and instead exploded spending every year. Obama is happy to spend even faster. Libertarians are the only candidates with the willpower, and the concern for their children and grandchildren, to do it.

That leaves the Libertarian Party as the only party with a rational, sensible program to stop the destructive explosion in federal spending. Government growth, spending, taxation and borrowing are out of control, and it threatens not only our prosperity and freedom, but that of our children.

Obama?s 32.7 cent dog-and-pony show, if it even happens, does nothing to avert the oncoming bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare, or head off the trillions of dollars in new taxes he and the Republicans are heaping on future generation.

The only way to get real fiscal reform, starting with $282.3 billion in common-sense reductions, is to elect Libertarians.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National CommitteeDonny.Ferguson@lp.org

:thumbsup

Obama?s cutting the budget!
<HR style="COLOR: #d1d1e1" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message --><!-- message --><EMBED src=http://www.youtube.com/v/cWt8hTayupE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1 width=425 height=344 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowfullscreen="true"></EMBED>

 

[Joe Contrarian]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Here's another way of looking at it:

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Times: Obama polling one point shy of being least popular president in 40 years

posted by Donny Ferguson on Apr 28, 2009


Today's Washington Times featured an editorial exposing one aspect of Barack Obama's poll numbers the mainstream media gloss over -- his startling unpopularity:

President Obama's media cheerleaders are hailing how loved he is. But at the 100-day mark of his presidency, Mr. Obama is the second-least-popular president in 40 years.
According to Gallup's April survey, Americans have a lower approval of Mr. Obama at this point than all but one president since Gallup began tracking this in 1969...
...The explanation for Mr. Obama's low approval is that he ran as a moderate but has governed from the far left. The fawning and self-deceiving press won't go there. On Sunday's "Meet the Press," host David Gregory asked a panel about critics who "would say one of the things that he's done in 100 days already is expand the role of government, the size of government." Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin claimed, "That's what he ran for the presidency in the first place for."
Perplexed about complaints over Mr. Obama's expansion of government, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham asked: "does no one listen during campaigns?"
It was these pundits who weren't paying attention during last year's campaign. In all three presidential debates, Mr. Obama promised to cut government spending and reduce the size of the deficit. He blamed the economic crisis on excessive deficits. At no time did candidate Barack Obama say that more deficit-spending was the solution.

​

The Times is absolutely right. Americans are angry and fed up over Washington politicians who think they can tax and spend and borrow their way to prosperity. Many voted for Obama thinking he had the policies to get our free market economy moving again -- only to see him try and claim getting 53% of the vote was a mandate for socialism.
If the hundreds of thousands of hardworking Americans taking time off from their job and home obligations to protest Obama's socialist policies wasn't a wake-up call, perhaps his plummeting poll numbers will be.
Americans are looking for a party and elected officials who know that government impedes prosperity, and that restoring America's promise means getting government out of the way. No wonder more and more people are joining the Libertarian Party for the first time.

:cheers

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

The Issue That Destroyed the GOP: Online Gaming & Poker
Thursday, May 7, 2009, 07:48 AM
Why They Still Haven?t Learned Their Lesson.

Why I Finally Agree on Something with Barney Frank.

By Wayne Allyn Root, 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee


I am asked constantly by talk show hosts across the USA why I left the GOP and became the leader of a national Libertarian movement for smaller government and economic and personal freedom. Nothing could symbolize my bold decision more than the issue of online poker and gaming. It was only 5 years ago that Republicans controlled every level of government from Congress, to the U.S. Senate, to the Presidency, to a majority of Governorships, and even a majority of state legislatures. Now they control NOTHING. Now Democrats control every one of those same levels of government. The Republican brand went from wildly popular to poison. Amazingly, Republicans haven't a clue how it happened. Worse, they're digging the hole deeper. I believe the meltdown of the GOP all started and crystallized with the Republican-led ban on online poker and gaming. Once again, this issue is roaring back to life to haunt the GOP. It may be the final death-blow.

Congressman Barney Frank, a politician that I have attacked with gusto on numerous occasions for his ultra-liberal fiscal views, unveiled a plan on Wednesday to legalize online gaming. For once, I find myself on the same side as Barney Frank and actually cheering his words. I never thought the day would come where I uttered these 7 words- ?I love what Barney Frank just said.? I am a Barry Goldwater/Ronald Reagan disciple who believes the GOP has abandoned its fiscal conservative roots- and therefore abandoned me. When Congressman Barney Frank and I agree on something, you know that either hell has frozen over, or the GOP is in big trouble.

Plain and simple, gambling is an issue of FREEDOM and personal responsibility. What I do in my bedroom, on my computer, with my money is none of government's business. In any free society, I have a right to enjoy gambling as my choice of either entertainment, or investment, without government getting involved. It's that simple.

Gambling in my opinion is as American as apple pie. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin both enjoyed gambling. The original colonies successfully raised money with lotteries. Virtually any business decision involves financial risk. That is why the biggest winners on Wall Street are virtually all world-class gamblers with nerves of steel. That is why our wealthiest citizens are often business owners- what could be a bigger risk (or produce a bigger reward) than betting millions on a start-up? Entrepreneurship (risk-taking) is at the very heart of capitalism. Billions are risked every day on Wall Street. Billions are risked every day on the commodities market. Billions are risked on Main Street by small business owners. Without risk, there is no reward. Without risk-takers (capitalist gamblers), America could not be the world's greatest economic power. Those who attack and denigrate gambling, have no understanding of the very roots of capitalism.

Gambling has been in our blood and DNA from the first days of America. The world's biggest gamblers left their homelands, leaving behind their safe lives, to travel on dangerous boats, filled with disease, to a New World called America- often with no money, and no friends or relatives waiting on the other side. Later the pioneers risked their lives to travel thousands of miles in covered wagons, facing starvation, Indian attacks and disease to tame the Wild West. What would you call that? Playing it safe? The very idea of America is symbolized by gambling, throwing caution to the wind, betting your life on a new start in a new land.

The Republican-led ban of online gaming badly damaged the Republican brand. It was all downhill from there. I believe this issue killed the GOP message of smaller, more limited government. Republicans may believe in just a little bit more economic freedom than President Obama and his socialist tax and spend crowd, but when it comes to personal freedom, Republicans want bigger government in your bedroom; on your computer; interfering in your personal decisions; limiting your freedoms; violating your civil rights; deciding what behavior is acceptable and ?moral.? The ban of online gaming and poker morphed the GOP into Big Brother. Worse, it exposed Republicans as hypocrites and uptight prudes looking to take away our personal freedoms and limit the choices of consenting adults.

The smokescreen used to defend this ban was ?morality.? But morality based on whose standards? Here's the great thing about freedom. I like to gamble. You don't. Great. So don't gamble. No one is forcing you. Feel free to teach your children not to gamble. But why would you ever want to stop me from enjoying what I want to do? What right have you got to limit my choice of entertainment? Are you upset that I'm having a good time and you're not? Are you upset that I can enjoy gambling without becoming addicted or ruining my life, while you can't? You know what they call groups that police morality and ban choices of personal freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan? The Taliban.

Whether I choose gambling as my form of entertainment, or investment?either way, it doesn't effect you and it's NONE OF YOUR DARN BUSINESS. Any political party that disagrees with that simple philosophy deserves to lose power at all levels of office, destroy their popularity, and tarnish their brand forever. Sound familiar?

What's the GOP's new slogan? ?We are the Nanny State. We're going to save you- whether you like it or not.? If that's your political slogan, good luck. You aren't the party of smaller government. You are the party of bigger government. You are the very symbol of political hypocrisy (and stupidity). I wish you a wonderful future in the world's smallest and most uptight political minority.

The truth is that the ban of online poker and gaming is not an insignificant issue. It is a huge issue. If our government thinks it has a right to tell citizens what games they can play on their own computer, then there is no limit to what control they want to hold over our lives. The ban of online gaming cost the GOP the support of many Libertarian-leaning voters. It cost them the support of many fiscally conservative, socially tolerant small business owners (whose contributions fuel the GOP). Most importantly, it cost them the support of millions of men who love to play poker and gamble on sports.

How popular is sports gambling? It has made the Super Bowl and March Madness two of the most popular television events in the country and for all intents and purposes, national holidays. How popular is poker? Just one organization, The PPA (Poker Players Alliance) has over one million members. Experts estimate that 10 million to 12 million American citizens play online poker. Over 50 million Americans play poker as a recreational sport. The World Series of Poker held in Las Vegas each summer has become the world's richest sporting event (with over $100,000,000 in prizes). Poker TV shows dominate the television screen.

What are the demographics of these online gamblers? For the most part, they tend to be males- macho, fiscally conservative, free spirited, entrepreneurial, small business owners, stock investors, self-employed. Like me, they are passionate capitalists that believe in limited government, low taxes and free markets. They distrust and dislike government. They certainly do not trust or support Barack Obama or his plans to redistribute the wealth. Do you get the idea who we're describing? Republicans! The brilliant GOP, with this ignorant ban on online gambling, has screwed over the worst possible group of voters- their own constituents.

Instead of learning from this fiasco, it appears the tone-deaf GOP is a glutton for punishment. They appear to be gearing up to fight Congressman Barney Frank in order to uphold this ban on the freedom of their own supporters. And you wonder why millions of former lifelong, loyal Republicans just like me have changed sides? We're never going to fall into the arms of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, with their socialist tax and spend ideas that limit our economic freedom, denigrate capitalism and greatly increase the size, scope and power of government. But we're done with the GOP. We've found a home in the only political party that supports both economic and personal freedom: the Libertarian Party.

Libertarians understand- unlike the GOP- that asking government to play Nanny; to take control over your personal behavior; to play Big Brother in your bedroom or on your computer; to limit your personal freedom; is no better than Democrats forcing big government into your personal financial decisions or trying to steal (they call it ?redistribute?) your hard-earned money. It?s all about the same issue- freedom. It?s the reason our ancestors came to America (or died trying). It?s the reason we fought the American Revolution. Freedom is at the root (excuse the pun) of what America is all about.

Gambling is about freedom. Whether you like it or not, approve of it or not, that personal choice is none of government's darn business. More importantly, what difference is there between making a $100 online bet on a hand of poker; a $1000 online bet on the Dallas Cowboys or Los Angeles Lakers; or a $100,000 wager on Microsoft or ExxonMobil with your Charles Schwab or E*Trade online account? There is no difference- except that the last few years have proven Wall Street is far more dangerous and costly. Should we ban stock investing? Should we ban online stock accounts at Charles Schwab, E*Trade or TD Ameritrade? Well we shouldn?t ban online poker either.

A far bigger problem in America today is obesity. Only 6% (at most) of Americans have a gambling addiction. But as much as 60% of the U.S. population has an obesity problem. Should we ban delis? Should we ban McDonalds? Should we ban Krispy Kremes?

Alcohol kills more Americans than any other addiction. Yet we allow bars, restaurants and clubs to sell alcohol, don't we? We tried Prohibition in the 1920's- it was the greatest political failure ever. Our citizens kept drinking; lost respect for the law; millions of dollars of tax revenue was lost; and organized crime was born to fill the void. Nothing about online gambling is any different. Banning it will solve nothing; the people who enjoy it as entertainment will keep doing it; they will lose respect for the law; billions in tax revenues will be lost; problem gamblers will move underground; and organized crime will rake in the profits. Perhaps we should call this ban ?The Gambino Family Support Bill.? Afterall, the mafia is the greatest beneficiary of this ban. It is estimated that Americans have gambled over $100 Billion per year online since the ban on online gambling. Pretty effective, huh? Once again, more proof of the utter futility and stupidity of trying to limit freedom under the guise of morality. They should just rename the morality police, ?the Keystone Cops.?

This ban has nothing to do with morality. If it did, the same politicians who railed against online gaming would not have carved out exemptions for online lotteries, online horseracing, tribal casinos, or fantasy football. The next time you hear a politician say he or she supports a ban on online gaming or poker, you should ask them which organized crime family is bribing them with campaign contributions.

PriceWaterhouseCooper recently studied the issue of online gaming and concluded that legalization will produce over $50 Billion in tax revenues for the federal government. That's $50 Billion (with a ?B?) at a time when our budget deficits and national debt grows by the trillions. Why would we throw away $50 Billion in revenues just waiting to be collected, at the same time we limit the freedoms of millions of Americans? Seems like a no-brainer to me. But then I also understand why the GOP brand has been ruined, leaving the party in shambles. The answer is clear: this tone-deaf obsession with limiting the personal freedom of consenting adults. It's funny how a little issue of taking away people's freedom can destroy a political party. Or even more remarkably, drive a free-market, limited-government Libertarian into the arms of?Barney Frank.

Wayne Allyn Root was the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate. His new book will be released by John Wiley & Sons this July entitled, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts.? The book is available for pre-sale at Amazon.com. For more of Wayne's views, commentaries, or to watch his many media interviews, please visit his

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Obama sending nation into deficit spiral as 'stimulus' fails

posted by Donny Ferguson on May 12, 2009

The Washington Post has the story:


President Obama's ambitious plans to cut middle-class taxes*, overhaul health care and expand access to college would require massive borrowing over the next decade, leaving the nation mired far deeper in debt than the White House previously estimated, congressional budget analysts said yesterday. (* - Donny notes: While some would receive a modest income tax cut, Obama's dramatic tax hikes everywhere else would leave them paying much more in other taxes, as well as prices for goods and services)

In the first independent analysis of Obama's budget proposal, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded that Obama's policies would cause government spending to swell above historic levels even after costly programs to ease the recession and stabilize the nation's financial system have ended.

Tax collections, meanwhile, would lag well behind spending, producing huge annual budget deficits that would force the nation to borrow nearly $9.3 trillion over the next decade -- $2.3 trillion more than the president predicted when he unveiled his budget request just one month ago...

...The result, according to the CBO, would be an ever-expanding national debt that would exceed 82 percent of the overall economy by 2019 -- double last year's level -- and threaten the nation's financial stability.

"This clearly creates a scenario where the country's going to go bankrupt. It's almost that simple," said Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.), the senior Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, who briefly considered joining the Obama administration as commerce secretary. "One would hope these numbers would wake somebody up," Gregg said...

...Deteriorating economic conditions are a major cause of the darkening fiscal picture, according to the CBO. But other factors also are weighing heavily on the budget this year and next. For example, the $700 billion financial-system bailout is now expected to cost taxpayers at least $350 billion, by CBO estimates, because the investments the Treasury Department has made in banks and other financial institutions are worth considerably less than when the bailout was approved. In addition, Obama proposes to use a portion of the money to buy down troubled mortgages, a program that will provide no return to the taxpayer.

http://www.lp.org/blogs/donny-fergus...stimulus-fails

 

[johnny bench]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Your credibility touting Root is equal to Contrarian touting Palin .... both are assclowns at best !!!!

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Last week I shared with you the disturbing fact the White House wants total control of the nation?s health care system so they can ration your access to medical procedures.

Well, it?s already happening in Oregon.

Sarah McIntosh reports in this month?s ?Health Care News? ?the Oregon Health Services Commission has drawn up a formal procedure for rationing health care services available to recipients of taxpayer-subsidized coverage.?

McIntosh reports, ?the commission listed 680 common medical procedures and treatments and ranked them in order of priority. Beginning in 2009, the commission will reimburse physicians only for procedures and treatments ranking in the top 503 of 680. This means a Medicaid recipient in need of a procedure the commission decided to rank 504th would be ineligible for the procedure.?

If you think that?s just a problem for poor Oregonians, you?re wrong. That is precisely what the Obama administration promised to do to all Americans in an April 19 Meet The Press appearance by White House advisor Lawrence Summers.

Claiming health care is becoming more expensive; not because government regulations drives up costs, but because too many people get health care, Summers flatly stated the White House wants to begin ?coordinating? your doctor?s decisions so they cut the cost of health care by 30% by simply denying people possibly life-saving procedures.

Along with their plan to invade the health care market with taxpayer-subsidized insurance and prohibit any private health insurance plan not rubber-stamped by the government, the intent is the eradication of private health insurance and total control of health care.

Illinois Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky even openly admitted that in a speech to cheering left-wing activists that was captured on tape.

Once Obama gets control of health care, you will have no choice in your health coverage. You will be forced to accept rationed care.

The March 27 Wall Street Journal calls it ?the Bay State bait and switch,? referring to Massachusetts, where Republican Governor Mitt Romney launched the government health care invasion.

?First, create vast new entitlements that can never be repealed, then later take the less popular step of rationing care when it?s their last hope to save the federal [government?s fiscal situation.]?The real lesson of Massachusetts is that reform proponents won?t tell Americans the truth about what ?universal coverage? really means: Runaway costs followed by price controls and bureaucratic rationing,? the Journal writes.

To quote Ted Knight in one of his greatest roles, ?You?ll get nothing, and like it.?

It?s the same kind of rationed care you?ll find in nations like France and the United Kingdom, where waiting lists for lifesaving procedures are sometimes years-long, and the death rates from breast and prostate cancer are twice to three times higher than in the United States.

If you think you can count on Republicans to stop it, you?re wrong. In states like Utah, it?s the Republican governor expanding government-run health care. Here in Washington, The Politico newspaper reports that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is meeting with nearly a dozen Republicans to secure their support of Obama?s socialized medicine takeover.

And as the Wall Street Journal just showed us, they?re looking at a Republican governor ? Mitt Romney ? for their inspiration.

If Obama and the Republicans are successful, they will have not only nationalized one-seventh of the economy, but they will have made millions of Americans dependent on government for their very lives ? and dependent on a system built on rationing and substandard care that requires drastically higher taxes to maintain.

Skyrocketing taxes, bigger government and more dependency are precisely why millions of Americans oppose the Obama health care scheme ? and the Libertarian Party is the only party that represents them.

Only Libertarians can oppose the Obama health care scheme, because Republicans are just as guilty as Democrats. Their Medicare prescription drug entitlement, the biggest expansion of the welfare program since Lyndon Johnson created it, simply laid the pavement for Obama?s road to socialized medicine.

And only Libertarians believe in the real solution to rising health care costs ? opening up the health insurance market, knocking down regulations that delay and drive up the costs of developing new medicines and treatments, and repealing protectionist regulations installed by connected lobbyists to force more competition into the system.

Government-run and rationed health care, responsible for skyrocketing taxes and higher death rates in other countries, is already here. You can thank both Democrats and Republicans for that.

But it doesn?t have to be that way. We can provide affordable health care to all. With your support, the Libertarian Party can continue to fight for a vibrant marketplace of affordable, quality care.

With optimism,

Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National Committee
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Libertarians: ?Cap and tax? destroys jobs, punishes working families

House Energy and Commerce Committee warned to defeat Waxman-Markey



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party warned the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday to not approve H.R. 2454, a ?cap and tax? bill levying billions of dollars in new job-killing taxes on American businesses.
?Cap and tax legislation is the offspring of bad science and bad economics,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman. ?Imposing massive new taxes on carbon production destroys jobs and drastically increases consumer prices with no proven effect on global temperatures.?
?Cap and tax compounds the suffering of so many in this economy, with no scientific evidence whatsoever it helps the environment.?
The legislation, sponsored by Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Energy and the Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-MA), taxes carbon dioxide by imposing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and creates a complex system for employers to buy and sell credits allowing them to create carbon under the cap. As the cap lowers each year, employer can exchange allowances in a complicated auction market. Speculators, such as hedge funds, can purchase credits to sell.
?The research is in and the economic toll of cap and tax is inescapable. With cap and tax, job losses will rise by an additional 1,105,000 Americans each year. In the worst years, 2,479,000 will lose their jobs annually under cap and tax,? said Redpath, citing research from the Heritage Foundation.
?Electric bills could rise by an inflation-adjusted 90 percent. The price of gasoline could rise by an inflation-adjusted 74 percent. It adds $1,500 to the average family?s annual energy bill, which hits the poor and the elderly the hardest. The increased costs of energy also force any business using energy to raise their prices, making food, medicine and other essentials more unaffordable,? said Redpath.
?There is never a good time to impose billions of dollars in new taxes on job creators that send consumer prices skyrocketing and job prospects plummeting,? said Redpath. ?But in this economy, voting for cap and tax is an easy way to send a member of Congress to an early retirement.?
?Even worse, it has virtually no effect on the environment. Climatologists calculate the full bill reduces temperatures only five one-hundredths of a degree in 2050 and no more than two-tenths of a degree at the end of this century ? and even that?s based on the assumption man-made carbon dioxide can change the climate of an entire planet,? said Redpath.
?Members of Congress should be on notice. Anyone who supports this bill will face angry voters in 2010, because we?re going to let them know you?re working to eliminate their jobs, make their groceries more expensive and raise their energy bills,? said Redpath.
?The Libertarian Party is a fearless defender of small businessmen, workers and families. That is why we not only oppose this disastrous cap and tax legislation, but we will work to defeat anyone who supports it,? said Redpath.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Your (Belated) Monday Message: Alan Grayson's latest "Mickey Mouse" idea

posted by Donny Ferguson on May 26, 2009


Dear friend,
I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day holiday, but should vacation be enforced by the government?
You may remember Congressman Alan Grayson as the camera-loving Florida Democrat who became a YouTube sensation after he was hammered in a nationally-televised interview for proposing a bill giving Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sole power to decide for himself when private sector employees earned ?unreasonable? paychecks and to confiscate the money -- and claiming such authority could be found in the Constitution.
Think of him as Joe Biden without humility, weighty intellect or quiet restraint.
Well, now he?s back with yet another economically illiterate bill that once again has the federal government micromanaging the business practices of private employers.
His newest power grab, H.R. 2564, The Paid Vacation Act, forces every private business in America with more than 100 employees to give everyone a free week of paid vacation. That government mandate increases to two weeks in subsequent years.
You may reach his office at 202-225-2176 to let him know what you think of forcing expensive new mandates on struggling employers during a recession.
You don?t need to conduct a study to see what havoc such laws wreak on the economy because they are already in force countries like France, where then-ruling Socialist Party lawmakers long ago instituted ?free vacation? proposals like Grayson?s.
In case you?re not aware, France suffers from higher unemployment, slower job growth and a slower economic recovery than the United States. The shortages of jobs have even led to deadly riots in Paris.
Even more disturbing than Grayson?s belief that the same people who brought us the IRS, Indian reservations and the Hurricane Katrina response are fit to centrally plan the economy is what inspired him to propose the legislation.
Grayson tells The Politico he got the idea for the bill while visiting Disney World, and deciding the government should let everyone join him.
?There?s a reason why Disney World is the happiest place on Earth: The people who go there are on vacation,? said Grayson.
Really. He decided to try and force struggling employers to lose more money in a recession because he thinks the government should make sure we all spend more time in a children?s amusement park. Again, he can be reached at 202-225-2176.
While I?m sure we?d all like a free week at the ?Happiest Place on Earth,? most people realize not only is his scheme ?goofy,? but it would push already high unemployment even higher and thwart economic recovery.
It?s also a little troubling when a member of Congress looks to a fictional cartoon mouse for economic policy. No word yet as to whether he?ll file banking reform legislation based on an old episode of ?DuckTales.?
Actually, the inspiration for this slump towards socialism may be a bit more cynical than Grayson?s stated desire to ride in oversized teacups at someone else?s expense.
Grayson represents the Orlando area, where the local tourist-reliant economy is taking a quite a hit in the current recession. Coming up with some way to get more people to visit vacation spots would be a nice way to buff those re-election credentials.
So just how do you get more people traveling and pumping money into tourist havens when the economy just doesn?t allow it? The best and proven way would be to lower taxes and curb government spending, and then grant regulatory relief.
But that?s hard. It also prevents you from buying really cool stuff with other people?s money and you can?t take personally credit for it. That?s why you just threaten employers with the force of government if they don?t pay for everyone to have a free vacation.
The tourism industry is already on board. Grayson spokesman Todd Jurkowski tells The Politico the U.S. Tour Operators Association and the Adventure Travel Trade Association are both on board. Other tourism and, unsurprisingly, labor groups are expected to sign on in the coming days.
As you can imagine, while dictating ?free vacation? policies to an entire nation would drive down productivity and economic growth and spike unemployment as more struggling employers are pushed into bankruptcy, all that ?free? vacation money would work out quite well for a few tourist havens.
At least for a little while.
As Margaret Thatcher brilliantly pointed out, the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people?s money. While Grayson?s socialist ideas may do a passable job of redistributing other people?s wealth to his district for the short term, the large-scale economic rot will eventually spread to Orlando as more and more employers are forced out of business by the rising costs of regulation.
Few industries bear the brunt of economic slump worse than the tourist industry. Foreclosure, unemployment and ?underwater mortgage? rates are often higher in hurting communities like Orlando and Las Vegas.
But while any possible short-term spike may help in the current economy, Grayson?s socialist policies will leave the Orlando area reeling as the national economy looks more and more like the French model he seeks to impose by force ? high unemployment, little innovation, large job losses, frequent strikes and deadly riots and even slower recovery to downturns. It also thwarts efforts underway in many tourist-reliant communities to diversify the employment base and create jobs that aren?t as easily buffeted by economic spikes and slumps, hurting residents in places like Orlando.
The Society for Human Resource Management has already responded with a warning that ?a one-size-fits-all, government-imposed mandate is not the answer,? The Politico reports.
National Small Business Association also warns of indirect consequences, pointing out companies will realize a few employees over the 100-employee mark will burden the company with massive personnel costs ? and simply stop hiring.
Now I?m not sure whether Grayson looked at a country where workers spend more time turning over burning cars than turning out products and said to himself ?we can do that,? or whether he gets his ideas from a talking mouse who wears a shirt with no pants, but both lead to economic suffering for all Americans, including his own district. If you?d like to know which, you may reach his office at 202-225-2176.
Real prosperity comes from an economy where employers, entrepreneurs and innovators are free to create widespread wealth and jobs without government interference. Economically underperforming European socialist states ? or fantasylands inspired by children?s fiction ? are no place to come up with more already-failed policies that compound human suffering by forcing more and more currently struggling employers out of business.
With optimism,
Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian Party
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Commonsensical Deregulation in Credit Markets




Commonsensical Deregulation in Credit Markets

by: Paul Ghayad
Economics and Philosophy Major at George Washington University
Libertarian National Committee Intern

Common sense has eluded Congress once again, as well as all sense of personal responsibility

In its attempt to save the credit card market, Congress has interfered with the free market and private contracts. The independence of borrowers and lenders to do their own business under their own terms is an essential characteristic of the free market system. Stemming from this is that the new credit card legislation to be enforced next winter, which pertains to a financially diverse American public, fails to accurately address this diversity. By trying to solve a problem that only some but not all people have lacks a rational foundation. Moreover, such a complete disregard for the individual differences within a people suppresses both the desire to strive for ever-higher goals and the need to follow the rules. Any sense of ambition evaporates once everyone is punished for the fouls of a few, leaving no other option but to languish.

The impending legislation will, among other things, primarily seek to curb random interest rate hikes, eliminate floating rates, and magnify contractual fine print. The idea is to ameliorate the public?s understanding of exactly what they get themselves into when they sign a contract so that credit card companies cannot take advantage of their ignorance. Congress need not act as a teacher. A ?dumbed-down? legislation lacks justification because the all the information people need about their credit cards is provided in the contract. Credit card companies expect borrowers to pay attention to each detail, as they should.

Most of the ?random? increases in interest rates are actually reasonable. Companies calculate the riskiness of borrowers in order to determine their default risk, or likeliness that they may not be able to pay their credit card bill. This calculation takes into account several factors, each of which accurately represent what type of borrower a person is or is likely to be. These factors include credit rating (which is based off of credit history), current credit status with other banks, and income. When a borrower defaults, it makes sense to increase her rate proportional to these factors. Thus, the recent complaints about ?random? hikes lack merit, considering that borrowers know what triggers the hike and why it has increased so much. Furthermore, rate increases act as a necessary deterrent for future defaults.

The credit card industry has been deregulated since the 1970s. There is no reason to end this deregulation. The importance of paying off loans is made explicit by credit companies, firstly, in a contract, and, secondly, only if necessary, through interest rate increases. The failure of credit-illiterate people to read their contracts does not substantiate governmental intervention.

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

For Immediate Release
Monday, June 1, 2009
Statement on General Motors bankruptcy filing

Taxpayers, competing companies at risk



WASHINGTON -- Libertarian National Committee Chairman William Redpath issued the following statement today:
"Today?s bankruptcy filing by General Motors represents yet another failure of the economic policies and George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and another in a series of bodyblows to economic freedom over the past nine months. Years in the making, neither $20 billion in taxpayers? money nor an upcoming transfer of another $30 billion from taxpayers to GM could save the company from bankruptcy restructuring.

President Obama has accomplished at least one thing with GM?s bankruptcy: a transfer of tremendous wealth from the GM?s lenders and U.S. taxpayers to the United Auto Workers union that supported his election, and placing one of the world?s largest companies under U.S. Government control.

Under the filing, the U.S. Government will own 60% of GM?s equity, while the Canadian government will own another 12.5%. That presents both a tremendous risk to taxpayers and a dangerous conflict of interest when government crafts policy on fuel efficiency standards and labor law. In fact, Rasmussen Reports finds that 57% of Americans believe the government will now pass laws and regulations giving GM an unfair advantage over other car companies.

Another 67% of voters agree with the Libertarian Party that Barack Obama was wrong to use their money to bail out a failing company. Bankruptcy filings by large international corporations are not uncommon and allow the company to get its financial affairs in order and emerge stronger and more competitive.

Perhaps most troubling of all is the lack of an announced plan for the U.S. Government to hold its equity in General Motors for a limited period of time and then sell its stock to the highest bidder. It appears that U.S. taxpayers are stuck owning most of GM indefinitely into the future. There may also be an effect of suppression of competition in the auto industry with the U.S. Government owning a majority stake in GM.

The Libertarian Party has recommended bankruptcy restructuring from the start and regrets that President Obama chose to use this opportunity to extend government control over even more of the U.S. economy."

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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Libertarians say ?cancel stimulus spending?

New polling shows 45% agree with Libertarians that stimulus spending should be canceled



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party Wednesday called on Congress to terminate the remainder of stimulus spending citing new polling data showing a plurality of Americans now believe what Libertarians have said since January ? Obama?s stimulus package is too big, too expensive and doesn?t help the economy.
?Despite a Jan. 10 White House report that the Obama spending explosion would keep unemployment under eight percent, it instead grew to 9.4 percent,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman, citing both a January White House report selling the "stimulus" package, and new Labor Department statistics released last week placing unemployment at a 26-year-high, with 14.5 million workers now jobless.
?It?s no surprise that 45 percent of Americans now agree with the Libertarian Party. They know Big Government cannot create wealth and they want the stimulus spending canceled,? said Redpath.
The independent, non-partisan polling firm of Rasmussen Reports released data Wednesday morning showing 45 percent of Americans say the rest of the new government spending authorized in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan should now be canceled.
Thirty-six percent (36%) disagreed and 20 percent were not sure. Fifty-five percent (55%) want the tax cuts preserved, a position they share with the Libertarian Party. Thirty-nine percent (39%) say the increased spending will be good for the economy, but 44% say it will be bad.
?The best way to create the jobs Americans need is to cut taxes for families and employers, cut or eliminate taxes on savings and investments and begin to repeal the twisted jungle of federal regulations that employers had to spend $1.17 trillion to comply with in 2008,? said Redpath.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.

The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
LNC Chairman statement in response to President Obama's AMA address

Proposed government takeover of health care means higher costs, less effective care and rationing



WASHINGTON -- Libertarian National Committee Chairman William Redpath issued the following statement Tuesday in response to President Obama's address to the American Medical Association:
"There is no question our health care system is broken and in need of serious reform. Americans deserve health care that is affordable, effective and universally available. However, President Obama?s $1 trillion government takeover of hospitals and doctor?s offices is not the answer.

The Obama plan makes health care more expensive, less effective and less accessible through rationing and bureaucratic inefficiency. The fact is government-run health care systems are more expensive and less effective than systems run by doctors and health care professionals.

When President Obama told the story of Laura Klitzka, a Wisconsin mother suffering from breast cancer, he conveniently neglected to tell the audience that in nations with a government-run health care system much like the one he proposes, breast cancer is deadlier than in the United States.

According to health care policy expert Dr. John Goodman, among women diagnosed with breast cancer, like Laura, only one in five die in the United States. That death rate escalates to one in three in France and Germany and nearly half in the Britain and New Zealand. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in 2004 the deaths from cancer in the United States were 157.8 per 100,000 people. In Canada the rate was 169.0 and in the United Kingdom it was 175.6. Allowing more women to die from breast cancer is hardly the kind of reform we need in the United States.

The main causes of those increased deaths are the long waiting lists for treatment, the decreased amount of time a doctor can spend with the patient and the shortages of advanced medical equipment that are a hallmark of rationing ? the method by which government-run systems attempt to cut skyrocketing costs.

The White House brushed on that topic in an April 19 appearance on ?Meet The Press? in which economic advisor Lawrence Summers promised a government-run health care would cut costs by simply denying treatments and procedures to patients until the government decided it was acceptable.

President Obama once again touched on the promise of rationed health care in yesterday?s speech, blaming the rising costs of medical care not on government interference, but on the claim that Americans get too many medical tests and procedures.

For too many breast cancer patients in nations like Britain and France, the Obama model of government control and rationing has already a deadly failure. Doctors, not politicians and government accountants, should decide what tests a patient needs.

We need health care reform and we need it now. But the Obama plan ? a federal government takeover ? isn?t reform. It?s simply a plan to take the worst aspects of our current problems, namely the high costs and increasingly limited access, and magnify them. The Obama plan for a federal takeover of the health care system cuts costs, not through innovation or improved care, but by rationing access, putting the sick and suffering on waiting lists and denying Americans the medical care they need.

Libertarians have a better idea. Cut the costs of prescription drugs, insurance and technology by removing barriers put up by health care lobbyists in the form of protectionist laws and unneeded FDA regulations intended to price out the competition and block competing drugs and technologies from the market.

It is no coincidence that America?s health care system, once the best in the world, has become more unaffordable and ineffective as government has seeped further and further into it. The only way to make health care affordable, effective and universally available as the many other services we enjoy in the United States is to defeat the Obama plan for a government takeover and restore a competitive and efficient health care system."

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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Research: Government-run health care MORE expensive than private care

posted by Donny Ferguson on Jun 23, 2009


Health care researcher Dr. Jeffrey H. Anderson, writing in today's Investor's Business Daily, reveals the troubling findings of research into government-run health care programs. Despite Barack Obama's promises that his proposed government takeover of doctor's offices will somehow reduce costs, the facts show exactly the opposite is true.
You may click here to read the column. Dr. Anderson writes, in part:

The results are clear: Since 1970 ? even without the prescription drug benefit ? Medicare's costs have risen 34% more, per patient, than the combined costs of all health care in America apart from Medicare and Medicaid, the vast majority of which is purchased through the private sector.
Since 1970, the per-patient costs of all health care apart from Medicare and Medicaid have risen from $364 to $7,119, while Medicare's per-patient costs have risen from $368 to $9,634. Medicare's costs have risen $2,511 more per patient.
These conclusions are true despite very generous treatment of Medicare. My study counts Medicare's prescription drug expenditures as part of privately purchased care, rather than as part of Medicare. It counts health care purchased privately by Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries (including Medicare copayments and Medigap insurance) among the costs of private care, without counting its recipients among those receiving private care ? thereby magnifying private care's per-person costs. And it doesn't adjust for cost-shifting from Medicare to private entities.

​

Libertarians have a better idea to reduce costs and ensure quality, affordable, univerally-available care:
* Allow taxpayers to deduct the costs of their health insurance from their income taxes.
* Repeal health insurance mandates that force Americans to pay for treatments they won't ever use.
* Scrap unneeded and unnecessary regulations that keep life-saving drugs and treatments off the market. Such regulations are often supported by health care lobbyists and are intended to freeze out competing products and companies.
* Allow Americans to shop for health insurance across state lines, forcing insurers to compete.

http://www.lp.org/blogs/donny-fergu...-health-care-more-expensive-than-private-care

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Libertarians remind Obama of his ?firm pledge? not to tax health care benefits

President considering backing what he called the ?biggest middle-class tax increase in history?



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party Tuesday reminded President Barack Obama that supporting a proposed $246 billion tax on employer-provided health care benefits ? a proposal he opposed as ?the biggest middle-class tax increase in history? in campaign ads ? would break his promise to oppose any form of tax increase on families making less than $250,000 a year.
?In September of 2008, Candidate Barack Obama asked Americans to read his lips and that he would oppose any tax increase whatsoever on families making less than $250,000 a year, or any proposal to tax employer-provided health care benefits? said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director. ?Now President Obama is prepared to once again break that tax promise by considering a new tax on health benefits, which he admitted last year would be ?the largest middle-class tax increase in history.??
Obama has already embraced tax hikes on the middle class through his $1.9 trillion ?cap and trade? energy tax and new tobacco taxes and is now considering a proposed European-style ?value-added? national sales tax. According to The New York Times, the Congressional Budget Office finds including health benefits in taxable income could mean $246 billion in additional revenue for a single year.
In a Sunday appearance on ABC?s This Week, hosted by former Clinton adviser George Stephanopoulos, White House adviser David Axelrod admitted Obama was considering supporting new taxes on families? employer-provided benefits. Obama attacked the idea as ?the largest middle-class tax increase in history? when it was proposed by Senator John McCain during the 2008 campaign.
?I can make a firm pledge,? then-candidate Obama told a Dover, N.H. crowd, on Sept. 12, 2008. ?Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. Not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes.?
The Obama campaign repeated the pledge at other forums. ?No one making less than $250,000 under Barack Obama's plan will see one single penny of their tax raised,? vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden said in the Oct. 2, 2008 vice-presidential debate, ?whether it's their capital gains tax, their income tax, investment tax, any tax.?
?Libertarians unequivocally oppose any tax on employer-provided health benefits, and we?ll hold accountable any candidate who supports such a tax hike on families,? said Ferguson. ?Once again, the Libertarian Party is the only party standing up for working families. Our health care system needs reform, but massive tax hikes and Obama?s proposed government takeover would simply take the worst aspects of the current system and magnify them.?
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
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[Mr. Sanderson]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Can anyone read any of Brucefan's posts? Im just curious.. 100% cut and paste, each article longer than the one before.. If we could get Bruce on a polygraph machine, I would be willing to bet that he hasnt read 25% of the shit he puts up on these boards..

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Libertarians: No need for ?Iraq war rush? to government-run medicine

Obama demands for immediate action, little transparency are hallmarks of bad legislation



WASHINGTON -- America?s third largest party Tuesday urged Congress to take its time deliberating the proposed government takeover of the nation?s health care system amid pressure from the White House to quickly adopt the troubled proposal quickly and with minimal debate. Libertarians oppose the plan, which deepens the federal budget deficit and leads to the rationing of basic health care.
?As confidence in President Obama?s plans for a federal government takeover of medicine plunges, the White House is pressuring legislators to rush to judgment while the plan can still be salvaged,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman. ?We urge Congress to deliberate this massive government takeover carefully, take their time to allow Americans to read the full bill and then vote down this legislative disaster.?
A poll conducted independently by the Gallup organization, not for any party or group, and released today shows disapproval of the Obama plan tops approval among adults by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin. Among political independents, the gap grows. Fifty-five percent of independents disapprove of Obama?s plan. Only 40 percent approve.
?The more we find out about the Democrat plan, whether it?s the language on page sixteen outlawing private insurance or Section 440 empowering government to visit your home and monitor your parenting, the more obvious it becomes why President Obama wants as little transparency as possible. As we saw during the rush to the Iraq war, nothing good can happen when the president demands Congress give him what he wants immediately and without debate,? said Redpath.
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.

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[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

Press Release

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Backlash: Dem ratings plunge as voters repel Big Government

On important issues, voters want Libertarian solutions



WASHINGTON -- The front page of Wednesday?s Politico was a sea of plummeting blue arrows as the paper reported on the slumping approval ratings of major Democrat officials across the nation. America?s third largest party notes the rapid decline in support for Democrats, with support for Republicans still at record lows, is more proof Americans are looking for Libertarian solutions to the nation?s problems.
?Voters want elected officials who will cut taxes and spending, eliminate the deficit, make health care affordable and accessible, restore America?s traditional non-interventionist foreign policy and respect personal liberties. Only Libertarians believe in all that. On the issues people care about, the Libertarian Party is America?s only mainstream political party,? said William Redpath, Libertarian National Committee Chairman.
Libertarians were the only party to oppose both the Bush and Obama bailouts and the deficit spending of both the Republican and Democrat-controlled Congresses.
?Voters are rapidly turning on Democrats, but they still remember what happened under Republicans,? said Redpath. ?They want elected officials at all levels of government to restrain spending and stay out of their lives. They know smaller government brings more prosperity and more personal freedom.?
Politico reports that many major Democratic officials once considered ?safe,? such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, New Jersey Gov. John Corzine and North Carolina Gov. Bev Purdue now all face uncertain re-election with favorability or approval ratings of less than 37 percent. Many other major Democratic officials, including President Barack Obama, have seen a rapid collapse in public support.
Fueling the voter backlash is the Democrat?s $787 billion ?stimulus? package that many see as wasteful spending, Democrat support for ?bailout? interventions into the economy and news the Democrat health care reform bill will place the government in virtual control of their health care decisions.
But voters aren?t rushing to Republicans. ?There?s been no surge in GOP voter registration and little evidence that the party brand is experiencing a recovery. Last month, a New York Times/CBS poll reported that the GOP?s favorability ratings remained at a record-breaking low ? 28 percent, down from a high of 59 percent in November 1994,? Politico reports.
?Americans believe freedom works best when it comes to both the economy and their personal lives. The plummeting approval ratings of Democrats and the rock-bottom ratings of Republicans are a testament to that,? said Redpath. ?The only way to break the cycle of government sprawl and restore long-term prosperity and personal freedom is to vote Libertarian.?
For more information on this issue, or to arrange an interview with the Libertarian Party, please call Director of Communications Donny Ferguson at 703-200-3669 or 202-333-0008, x. 225, or email Donny.Ferguson@lp.org.
The Libertarian Party is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party by visiting http://www.LP.org. The Libertarian Party proudly stands for smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
Link to the Politico story: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/25539.html

 

[brucefan]

Re: Libertarian Party , not an ?alternative? political party.

How To Solve The Health Care Crisis Tomorrow- The Libertarian Way!
Thursday, August 13, 2009, 09:12 AM
Get The Lawyers OUT!
Get the Government OUT!
Get the Employers OUT!
Get Americans in Shape- with Tax Deductions!

By Wayne Allyn Root, Author
The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts

In my just released book, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian? I suggest a simple program to reform healthcare and dramatically reduce costs. Here it is in simplified form:

First, get the lawyers out of the way. Obama wants to spend an extra $1 trillion (or much more) to ?save? healthcare. Instead let's try saving almost $1 trillion in healthcare cost by getting the lawyers out of the way. Almost one trillion dollars is the estimated annual cost of frivolous lawsuits, unjustified jury awards, and doctors practicing defensive medicine. We must enact tort reform, limit damage awards, prevent frivolous lawsuits, and institute a ?loser pays rule? to introduce accountability and personal responsibility into our American legal system.

In virtually every democracy in the world, except the United States, the loser of a lawsuit must pay the winner's legal fees. The fact that we are the lone holdout indicates why the United States has the highest rates and costs of litigation in the world. Reform the lawyers?and you reform healthcare.

But the reason why tort reform is never mentioned by President Obama is because he's a lawyer; his wife Michelle is a lawyer; his advisors are lawyers; his friends are lawyers; his top contributors are lawyers. Can anyone spell CONFLICT OF INTEREST? No one wants to eliminate lawyers, or lawsuits. In a free society, consumers have a right to sue, and lawyers have a right to represent them. We should zealously protect that right. But we don't have a right to abuse the system. Our goals should be focused on reigning in abusive lawyers, limiting abusive jury awards, and eliminating frivolous lawsuits. That's how you start the process of healthcare reform Mr. Obama.

Second, get the government out of the way. Repeal all government laws, rules and mandates that prevent American consumers from buying any health insurance policy they want, anywhere in the country. It is government rules, regulations, laws and mandates that make healthcare expensive in the first place. Now Obama wants to solve the problem that government created by adding more government? By adding more government rules, regulations and mandates? Obama suggests that government cure the problems and high costs of government-run healthcare (Medicare, Medicaid) by forcing government to take over all healthcare? He wants to spend an additional trillion dollars to save money? The answer is to allow the American consumer to buy any policy, in any state, that best fits their family's needs, without government mandating what should be included in that policy.

Third, get the employer out of the way. Allow Americans to choose and own their own health insurance- without the employer involved. Allow all individuals to deduct healthcare costs (starting with the first dollar) directly off their income taxes. This allows anyone to change jobs or employers, without worrying about losing their health insurance.

Fourth, encourage personal responsibility with Health Savings Accounts. Consumers don't ask government or private insurance to pay for tire changes, oil changes, or minor car repairs. We are responsible for those. So why should government or insurance be asked to pay for every minor medical need, or routine doctor visit? All consumers should be encouraged to save money in a tax deductible Health Savings or Personal Wellness Account designed to pay for minor medical bills and routine doctor visits. A high deductible insurance plan will pay for everything else (the major bills), so consumers are not bankrupted by accident, illness or disease.

Finally, instead of asking Big Brother to punish Americans for bad choices, let's instead encourage and motivate good behavior with tax reductions. Motivating Americans to exercise and get in shape would save billions of dollars in health costs by reducing the need for doctors and prescription drugs, and preventing disease. How do you do that? Make healthy choices tax deductible. The federal government should make gym memberships, and the purchase of home gym equipment tax deductible. Also, vitamins and health supplements should be tax deductible (from the first dollar). It would save this country (and its taxpayers) billions of dollars to encourage that consumers make healthy choices, thereby reducing the need for expensive doctor visits, medical procedures, or prescription drugs. Shouldn't we be encouraging people to not get sick in the first place?

On the state level, we should eliminate sales tax for vitamins and nutritional supplements. Americans should be encouraged to make healthy choices that prevent illness and disease, and lower the national costs of healthcare.

If President Obama and our politicians are serious about reducing the national bill for healthcare, then they should encourage Americans to get healthy by reducing taxes for healthy choices. Instead of punishing, mandating or limiting choices- as liberal politicians and Nanny State bureaucrats often do- Libertarians like me want to increase competition in the private sector to lower costs; increase competition on the state level to expand consumer choice; decrease government involvement; and encourage, motivate, and incentivize consumers to make healthy choices by reducing their taxes. That's the Libertarian way.

Oh and one other thing- put someone in charge of this country who has actually paid for the health insurance of others. Obama and I were college classmates. In the 26 years since we graduated Columbia University, he has never created a business, funded a business, managed a business, created real jobs, or paid anyone's health insurance. On the other hand, I've spent 26 years creating small businesses and jobs, and paying for payrolls and health insurance so that others could live the American Dream. Wouldn't it be a refreshing change to have someone running the American economy who actually knows what it's like to run a business, and to pay for the health insurance of others?


Wayne Allyn Root was the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate. A detailed explanation of his plan for reducing healthcare costs and solving the healthcare crisis is found in his new book, ?The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gambling & Tax Cuts.? The book is available at Amazon.com or at bookstores across the USA. For more of Wayne's views, commentaries, or to watch his many media interviews, please visit his web site at: www.ROOTforAmerica.com