Libertarianism and the Poor

Date: 

Mon, 09/20/2010

Author: 

Mark Grannis

We know free markets produce more prosperity, and we know government spending is often ineffective or worse.  But many are nonetheless reluctant to embrace libertarian ideas because of their commitment to social justice.  Without the welfare state, how would Libertarians take care of the poor?

The short answer is:  Voluntarily.  Libertarians know as well as anyone that many people in our society sometimes find themselves in difficult circumstances through no fault of their own.  We are as likely to believe that looking out for least fortunate among us is not only compassionate but essential to a healthy community.  And many of us, including this writer, come from religious traditions that leave no room for doubt about the obligation to help the poor. For most of us, then, the question is not whether to help the poor, but how.  And our historical experience strongly suggests that government programs just don't improve the welfare of the poor as well as voluntary assistance does.

The first problem with government aid is that it is easily misdirected.  Government anti-poverty programs may be intended as boons for the poor, but they tend to become boondoggles for the powerful.  This shouldn’t surprise us, because when we make charity part of a government budget we inevitably place it in competition with other budgetary priorities.  In a politically driven process, if it’s the nameless needy versus failed Wall Street banks, the needy don’t stand a chance.  The working poor would have a much better chance of getting ahead if they were simply permitted to keep more of what they produce.

Establishment is to blame for country's problems -- consider voting Libertarian

Many years ago, one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, provided us with this warning:

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds ... (we will) have no time to think, no means of calling our mis-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers. ... And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for (another) ... till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery. ... And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression."

 The greatest threat to our national security and our sovereignty is our national debt. It is not terrorism, Iran or North Korea, but the financial crisis that is bearing down upon us.
Who is to blame for this? The same people we continue to elect to the same seats in every election from the same political parties.
Establishment candidates have prevailed in the primaries in Maryland. There are Libertarian choices on Election Day: Susan Gaztañaga for governor, Dr. Richard Davis for Congress and Mike Calpino for Wicomico County Council District 2.

Don't we need a strong government to protect us from business?

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

Yesterday we looked at how liberty creates prosperity, and how government interference with our economic liberty distorts investment decisions and makes us worse off. But some people think we need a strong government to protect us from powerful economic interests. That theory sounds reasonable—if you don’t know what it’s like to run a business and you don’t pay any attention to how government works in practice.
But in practice, even large businesses don’t have anything like the power screenwriters give them in the movies. As the late Harry Browne used to say, “No matter how big a business is, you don’t have to deal with it; there’s always an alternative—including not buying at all.” Show me a business that treats its customers the way the Post Office and the Motor Vehicle Administration do, and I’ll show you a stock you should short.

And in practice, career politicians and industry regulators almost always use government to advance the interests of the largest and most politically connected businesses rather than their smaller competitors or their customers. Indeed, when I ask people to give me an example of a business from which they need to be protected, most reach for government-sponsored monopolies, like the old AT&T. Occasionally someone mentions a firm that figured prominently in the credit meltdown of late 2008, but those firms would no longer exist if it weren’t for their political clout. As a purely economic matter, the free market was all set to discipline those firms with bankruptcy until the government stepped in.

LP Monday Message: Candidates, Campaigns, Polls, Fundraising

Dear Friend of Liberty,

We have a great slate of over 800 Libertarian candidates for the upcoming November elections. Many of them are looking for more coverage on our website, in our emails, and in LP News. They want publicity, donations and help. That's a good thing.

Unfortunately, there's just too much information about our candidates for us to convey directly. And even though there are probably a hundred candidates around the country who would be happy to email all Libertarians nationwide each week, we know that you might not appreciate getting that much unsolicited email.

We have to rely on our state and local affiliates to provide announcements about the campaigns. I also encourage you to seek out candidates you might be interested in, and get more information. You can visit all 800 candidates listed here. Some of them have websites with email announcements you can sign up for.

Even though it's impossible to give you a picture of what's going on with all our candidates, I would like to pass along some notes about a few of this year's campaigns. (The selection of campaigns is arbitrary, but hopefully interesting, even if you live in a different state.)

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.

Libertarians issue warning to Tea Partiers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2010

WASHINGTON - Looking toward the 9/12 Tea Party events in Washington, DC, Libertarian Party executive director Wes Benedict issued the following warning to Tea Partiers: "Republicans are trying to fool you again."

"There are two kinds of Tea Partiers," said Benedict. "One kind is so blinded by its hatred of Obama and Democrats that it cannot see fault with Republicans. It's the other kind the Libertarian Party is reaching out to."

Libertarian Party staff and volunteers will participate in the Washington, DC Tea Party events on September 12. They will distribute flyers pointing out how the Top 10 Disasters of the 2009-2010 Obama administration mirror the Top 10 Disasters of the 2001-2008 Bush administration.

Benedict continued, "Libertarians have much in common with Tea Party goals of reducing government spending and taxes. While many Tea Party supporters will admit that George W. Bush's administration grew government, Libertarians want to remind Tea Partiers about previous Republican administrations that loved big government.

"Republican Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America promised to eliminate the Departments of Education and Energy. Yet once Republicans took control of Congress, they failed even to reduce the spending on those departments.

"Republican President George Bush, Sr. remains famous for coining the phrase 'Read my lips, no new taxes,' and then raising taxes.

"Republican President Ronald Reagan grew federal government spending to the highest level it had reached since World War II. He also 'saved Social Security' by raising payroll taxes.

"Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole was a huge supporter of taxpayer subsidies for corn and ethanol.

"In 1971, Republican President Richard Nixon instituted wage and price controls. That made a group of free-market supporters so angry that they decided to form the Libertarian Party.

"Republicans seem to think we're idiots. For decades they have paid lip-service to shrinking government, while consistently doing the opposite in office.

"Our fear is that Tea Partiers might say 'This time it will be different.' No it won't. If you vote for Republicans this time, it will just reinforce the message that they can lie to you and grow government with impunity.

"Current Republicans are just as bad as past Republicans.

"This year, Libertarian Party co-founder David Nolan is running for U.S. Senate against Republican John McCain, who famously suspended his 2008 presidential campaign so he could rush back to Washington to bail out the banks.

"Republican leader John Boehner might end up as the next House Speaker, and he voted for George W. Bush's huge 2003 Medicare expansion.

"John Cornyn, Republican senator from Texas, and current chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, voted for the TARP bailouts.

"Ron Paul is probably the only Republican congressman willing to point out the huge cost of America's foreign wars and empire building. Other Republicans pretend that spending trillions on the military just doesn't count as big government.

"With Social Security, Medicare, and military spending making up the vast majority of federal spending, you can't cut significantly without cutting those. But Republicans refuse to touch them.

"Libertarians welcome the Tea Party movement's focus on the problem of government growth. However, we are concerned that Tea Partiers might fall for the Republicans' trickery.

"Republican leaders have brought up distractions like New York City mosques and gay marriage to distract voters from Republicans' big-government track record. We hope that Tea Partiers will see through the smoke and mirrors.

"While our nation is declining dangerously right now, a turnaround could be straightforward and simple with Libertarian steps like these: 1. Bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan; 2. Stop rewarding failed companies with bailouts; 3. Cut taxes and spending and let the free market work.

"The Libertarian Party is fielding 168 candidates for U.S. House, and 20 candidates for U.S. Senate this year. Win or lose, a vote for a Libertarian sends a clear message for smaller government and more freedom. What message does a vote for John McCain send?"

For more information, or to arrange an interview, call LP Executive Director Wes Benedict at 202-333-0008 ext. 222.

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets and civil liberties. You can find more information on the Libertarian Party at our website

Contact: Wes Benedict, Executive Director
E-mail: wes.benedict@lp.org
Phone: 202-333-0008 ext. 222

Arvin Vohra on Immigration

The Lion of Liberty - Patrick Henry

" Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."
 
 Patrick Henry

OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT OUR CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR, LT. GOVERNOR AND US CONGRESS, DISTRICTS 2, 3 AND 6

Attention and greetings lovers of liberty. An opportunity to promote our candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor and our congressional candidates in Districts 2, 3 and 6 is coming up this Saturday and Sunday, September 11 and 12 - the Reisterstown Parade and Festival. It all happens along Reisterstown Road, a.k.a. Main Street, a.k.a. MD 140. If you think you can put in some time either Saturday, September 11 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. or Sunday, September 12 between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., please contact me, Susan Gaztañaga at 443-801-3716, DiazVivar@aol.com, Bill Buzzell, 410-477-9173, wabuzzell@juno.com or Lorenzo Gaztañaga, 443-414-6539, DiazVivar@aol.com.

Bill Buzzell, Lorenzo and Susan Gaztañaga will start setting up the booth at the Hannah More Park between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. and we need you there to help us set up. Hannah More Park is at 12035 Reisterstown Road. You can get there by making a right off Reisterstown Road (MD 140) at either Hannah More Lane or Academy Lane. Our booth is #71 in Area 2, the northern part of the park. If you are just coming for the booth - between 11:30 or noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday or any time on Sunday, you will need to park at Reisterstown Elementary School, 223 Walgrove Road and walk to the park using the well worn foot paths. You get to Reisterstown Elementary School by turning right on Walgrove Road, PAST Hannah More Park and School.

PARADE
We form up for the parade at 8 a.m. September 11 (Saturday) at Franklin Elementary School, 33 Cockeys Mill Road and march down Reisterstown Road ending at Reisterstown Shopping Center (just south of the festival area). The gubernatorial candidate and the congressional candidates will be marching in the parade. If you get to the area early enough, you can park at Reisterstown Shopping Center and take a shuttle (provided by the fair organizers) up to the start of the parade. Or those of us who are at the booth early can try to give you a ride up. The important thing to keep in mind is that the parade route will be closed at 8:30, and there will be no way for you to get up to Franklin Elementary - SO YOU MUST BE THERE BEFORE 8 A.M. If you arrive between 8:30 and 11:30, just park in the Reisterstown Shopping Center (you won't be able to get to Reisterstown Elementary School)and look for our booth. If there is one hero of liberty willing to get to Hannah Moore Park before 7:30 and stay with the booth, we would greatly appreciate it. Otherwise, Bill will stay.

NOTE: Bill and some other Libertarians are going to the 9-12 demonstration on Sunday, so we could really use your help then as well.

It's the Autonomy, Stupid

Date: Tue, 09/07/2010
Author: Mark Grannis
If there is any silver lining in the fiscal storm clouds that threaten our economic future, it is this: Virtually every candidate for federal office this November will be talking about the importance of reducing federal budget deficits. But ironically, the proposals most likely to lead us back to fiscal responsibility will be the ones that are primarily motivated by something else: the desire to get government off our backs. In short, it's the autonomy, stupid.

Broadly speaking, we can expect "deficit reduction" proposals to fall into three main camps. In one camp we will have the Tax-and-Wait crowd. Their most visible proposals will be to increase taxes, at least on the "rich." They may also propose some spending restraint, like freezing discretionary spending and "paying for" any new spending with offsetting program cuts or tax hikes. But to the Tax-and-Waiters, "restraint" means slower spending growth.

As a result, the Tax-and-Waiters won't really be balancing the budget themselves; they'll be waiting for us to do it, by working harder and producing more income to tax. We are the real deficit reducers in this scenario; we change the deficit equation by working hard enough to boost federal tax receipts.

Opposing the Tax-and-Wait crowd will be the Dieters. The Dieters will treat excessive federal spending the way many of us treat excessive eating: as something we need to moderate but which it's not practical to reduce very much. The Dieters will trim here and there, and they'll be conspicuous in their refusal to pass new spending programs. Unfortunately for the Dieters, we need to cut spending by more than 40 percent to get it down to the level of tax receipts, and the Dieters can't bring themselves to propose that.

Say this for the Dieters, though: They know we need to reduce government spending rather than just sending more Ho-Ho's to Washington. This will lead the Dieters to oppose any measure that raises new tax revenue from any source. But without deep reductions in federal spending, the Dieters are playing almost as much of a waiting game as the Tax-and-Wait crowd. Again, with the Dieters in power, the only real hope for a balanced budget will be for us to balance it, by working harder and producing a larger total output from which government can take its cut.

The third group, by far the smallest, will be the group we can call the Zeros. The Zeros know that we're not supposed to have a budget deficit at all; that when the Treasury gets to zero, Congress is supposed to stop spending. The Zeros also know that zero happens to be the correct amount that should be appropriated for many federal programs. Consequently, the Zeros propose deep cuts in federal spending, driven by the complete elimination of programs that are deemed unnecessary, unhelpful, unconstitutional, or just too expensive. The Zeros would never dream of submitting a ten-year budget showing ten straight deficits, as the other two groups do. If elected in force, Zeros would balance the budget in the very next fiscal year.

Why do the Zeros show so much more fiscal discipline than the other two groups? Largely for reasons that have nothing to do with budget math. Unlike the other two groups, Zeros do not accept the basic premise that government spending is good for us. Zeros don't think of federal spending as a necessity (like the Tax-and-Waiters) or as a sweet-tasting treat (like the Dieters). We Zeros think very little federal spending makes voters better off, and quite a bit of it makes us worse off—not (merely) because we can't afford it but because it interferes with our personal and economic liberty. Zeros find it intolerable that Congress dictates how we work, play, save, invest, hire and fire, and even eat. We're tougher on spending because we think spending would be bad for us even if there were no budget deficit.

Zeros are for reducing taxes as well, because a smaller government requires less revenue. But Zeros aren't allergic to the elimination of special-interest tax credits that have been stuffed into the revenue side of the budget. Unlike Dieters, we object to government coercion in the form of tax credits just as much as we object to government coercion in the form of costly regulatory programs. Given the opportunity to replace the income tax with some other tax that Congress couldn't use to manipulate the economy, many Zeros would jump at the chance.

Every candidate, without exception, will be loudly in favor of fiscal discipline this November. But voters who genuinely want fiscal discipline may get it only if they focus first on liberating our economy from decades of federal micromanagement. It's the autonomy, stupid.

Libertarian Candidate Arvin Vohra - Speech on Drug Policy and Marijuana ...

... In Their Own Words - Special Guest Dr. Richard Davis Part 2

Arvin Vohra Speech on Education - The 5 and a Half Words that Make Ameri...

Arvin Vohra's Speech at the Maryland Libertarian Primary