Your View: America's decline related to growth of government

Mike Calpino - Libertarian Candidate for Wicomico County Council District 2



A recent poll said more than two-thirds of Americans believe our great country is in decline. If we look honestly, we can see why.

We are the largest debtor nation in the world; corruption is endemic among our political class; our largest corporations and institutions are rife with fraud; and immorality is in on the ascent.

Anyone who has read history knows what precedes the fall of great civilizations. We still live in a republic, where we all have a say. We need not go silently into that good night.

The speed of our decline is inversely proportional to our freedom. A society of free individuals produces morality, prosperity and growth. That was the society our founders envisioned. They developed a government based on libertarian principles; it was responsible for the meteoric rise of the United States.

One hundred years ago, "we the people" began to trade the ideals of the Declaration of Independence for the belief that government's job is to solve problems and meet needs. This allowed politicians to grow government, take the products of our hard work and limit our freedom, all the while telling us it was for our own good.

The rapidity of our decline is directly related to the growth of government. To reverse it, we need to take responsibility for our lives and elect people who believe in the founders' vision of limited government -- and have the courage to act on it.

We have the power; we just need to use it.

Where Do Jobs Come From?

Mark Grannis - Libertarian Candidate in the 8th District

Report from Robert Glaser

Turnout was light, so I only managed to collect 82 petition signatures.

Around the 8:00 pm closing time, Governor O'Malley came by. He was
chatting and having pictures taken, mostly with poll workers. I went up
to him:

Robert Glaser: (shaking hands) Hello, Governor!

Governor O'Malley: Hi!

Robert Glaser: Do you believe in competition?

Governor O'Malley: Yes, do you?

Robert Glaser: Absolutely. Would you be willing to sign a petition for
the continuation of the Libertarian Party in Maryland?

Governor O'Malley: No Way! (Laughing) But I appreciate you're trying!

The very first thing I did when I got home was wash my hands.

On More Stimulus Spending

By Ron Paul

Faced with continuing economic decline and an impending election, the administration, predictably, is entertaining the idea of another stimulus package. To explain why the last one didn't work, adherents to the Keynesian economic philosophy are claiming that they actually did work -- it just looks like they didn't because we don’t realize how much worse off we would be right now without trillions of dollars of public spending. The last administration bought into Keynesianism just as much as this one does, unfortunately. Until we have leaders who understand that debt is not the way to prosperity, there will be no stopping runaway government spending.

While it is nice to hear about business tax breaks, the positive results of these tax cuts will be dwarfed by its negative effects. First of all, $200 billion or so in temporary tax cuts and credits to businesses are nothing compared to the $3.8 trillion in tax hikes that will hit the economy like a ton of bricks on January 1, 2011 if the Bush tax cuts are not extended by Congress.

LP Monday Message: Congress burns Constitution

September 13, 2010
Dear Friend of Liberty,
Hi, I hope you had a nice weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful here in D.C.!
We had a light mist on Sunday morning, but that kept us nice and cool as we handed out Libertarian literature at some of the 9/12 rallies in town. I was pleased that many of the people at the rallies were eager to look at our materials.
A couple of weeks ago, I visited the National Archives where they have on display the earliest copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. These documents are well protected. You have to pass through security similar to airport screening just to get inside the building. Once inside, photographs are prohibited to prevent degradation of the documents from the light. Thick protective cases and human security guards are also there to protect the documents.

How Liberty Creates Prosperity

by Mark Grannis- Libertarian Candidate for Congress in Maryland's 8th District

Most people in the United States take for granted that free-market economies “work” better than centrally planned economies. That is, almost everyone in any domestic political debate will agree, without thinking about it much, that placing the government in charge of how many shoes get made, and what the price of corn should be, and where we all work, would be disastrous for everyone.  We've seen other countries try it, and we know it doesn't work.

It’s good that we don’t have to argue about this. But an unfortunate side-effect of not arguing is that many voters don’t really understand why free-market economies are more prosperous, or why government interference usually makes us poorer even when it falls well short of total centralization. And that makes these voters suckers for politicians who promise to “improve” unpopular economic outcomes like high gas prices or electricity brownouts. So let’s look in very basic terms at how liberty creates prosperity.

Economic reporting often focuses on arcane aggregate statistic of dubious reliability and uncertain meaning, so I think it’s important to emphasize that economics is about how to solve the very real and very human problem of how to feed, clothe, and shelter ourselves. Humans have material needs, as well as a natural drive to satisfy those needs. We also have a natural inclination to satisfy our needs with as little effort as possible. The overriding goal of all economic activity is really only this: to satisfy human needs as abundantly as possible with the minimum amount of work.