From The Advocates For Self Government:

Ask Dr. Ruwart

Dr. Mary Ruwart is a leading expert in libertarian communication. In this column she offers short answers to real questions about libertarianism. To submit questions to Dr. Ruwart, see end of column.
 How Can We Help Vulnerable People?

QUESTION: How would libertarians handle these situations?

* An emotionally disturbed adult friend, family member or associate who seems to really need psychiatric care but won't get it? Who might be headed for self-destruction or hurting someone else?

* A child you know whose family is emotionally abusive/neglectful but is not breaking current child welfare laws?

MY SHORT ANSWER: What you are asking is how to help vulnerable people, who don’t always cooperate with their caregivers. The truth, sadly, is that some will “fall through the cracks” under any system of governance.
 Today, bureaucrats can take children from their parents with relatively little due process. I have received many horror stories from readers of this column about families destroyed by well-meaning social workers who felt that the children were poorly treated. The trauma experienced by the children, who were ripped from their families and rotated through multiple foster homes, sometimes makes such intervention a poor tradeoff.

In a libertarian society, a concerned adult, most often a member of the child’s extended family, would be most likely to notice abuse and appeal to a court for custody. The child’s preference would likely play a greater role in determining the outcome than it does today.

However, no system is perfect. The child may be intimidated by the parents into rejecting the overture of the concerned family member. When a victim does not cooperate, bringing aggressors to justice is always more difficult.

Similarly, an emotionally disturbed adult, who doesn’t realize that he or she needs guidance, cannot always be helped under any system of governance. If we give government and families more power to make involuntary commitments, many innocent people will be stripped of their freedom for political or financial gain. If we depend upon individuals to commit themselves, some will invariably refuse to do so and become a danger to themselves. No matter where the bar is set, some people will either fall through the cracks or be exploited.

People who are a physical threat to others would likely be required by a libertarian court to accept treatment as part of a restitution program. However, if they are simply a threat to themselves, the court might not have the grounds to make a forcible commitment. The families of the afflicted would either care for the loved one themselves, bring in professionals to assist them, or work with a charitable organization to provide treatment.

Of course, the marketplace and private service organizations sometime surprise us with their ingenuity. A free society is more likely to discover the cause of such afflictions and provide ingenious options that are not available today.

* * * * * * * *
Got questions?  Dr. Ruwart has answers! If you'd like answers to YOUR "tough questions" on libertarian issues, email Dr. Ruwart at: ruwart@theAdvocates.org

Due to volume, Dr. Ruwart can't personally acknowledge all emails. But we'll run the best questions and answers in upcoming issues.

Dr. Ruwart's previous Liberator Online answers are archived in searchable form.

Dr. Ruwart's outstanding book Healing Our World is available from the Advocates.

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From Our Friend In Liberty, John Todd:

Tax Fairness for All Wichitans

-Vote- NO on February 28

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A CALL TO ACTION CAMPAIGN ORIENTATION!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

SPANGLES RESTAURANT

612 South Broadway (Meeting Room)

Wichita, Kansas 67202

Find out how you can help!

For additional information, please contact:

John Todd, campaign volunteer

john@johntodd.net (316) 312-7335 cell

or

Susan Estes, campaign volunteer

sestes@afphq.org (316) 681-4415

Paid for by Tax Fairness for All Wichitans, Kim Potochnik, Treasurer Dtwichita.com

Shameless!

For Immediate Release

Shameless, Free Infomercials for Two Guilty Parties

Obama's State of the Union and the Republican Response

“Sponsors of even the most embarrassing, inane and fraudulent infomercials have to pay for their own air time. They can’t force TV stations to run their ads for free by threatening to shut them down.

“Through the Federal Communications Commission and other government coercion, Democratic and Republican politicians run their shameless infomercials on prime time TV free of charge. Tonight’s infomercial hand-outs were the State of the Union address and the ‘opposition’ response.

“But wait, there’s more!

“Unlike Ginsu knives, hair spray for men, and ripped abs in 30 days, the Republican and Democratic infomercials have no redeeming social value.

WASHINGTON, DC – Mark Hinkle, Chair of Libertarian Party, continues with:

“Honest taxpayers realize you can’t spend more money than you earn. They know that the #1 problem in America today is Government Overspending.

“The SOTU and Republican Response infomercials are a grand dog-and-pony show aimed at distracting attention from the fact that Democratic and Republican politicians are equally guilty of driving government spending into the stratosphere.

•    “Both Democratic and Republican politicians initiated and supported bailouts.
•    “Both Democratic and Republican politicians initiated and supported mandates to buy medical insurance imposed on individuals and small businesses.
•    “Both Democratic and Republican politicians have voted for a laundry list of new and expanded government programs – keeping taxes high and driving our national debt to staggering sums that defy comprehension.

“President Barrack Obama blamed the administration of former President George W. Bush for driving up debt and high unemployment.

“In response, Republican Governor Mitch Daniels threw blame back on the president and on the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“Both are correct. Both Democratic and Republican politicians in Washington D.C. are responsible for causing today’s economic woes.

“Both Democratic and Republican politicians claim their policies ‘create jobs.’ But they do the opposite: they expand Big Government and thereby destroy private sector jobs. Democratic and Republican policies are crippling small businesses that create jobs.

“Democratic and Republicans politicians deliver the same policies:  High government spending, high taxes, burdensome regulations, endless foreign military intervention and violations of our personal liberty.

“Both Democratic and Republican politicians cater to Special Interest greed while dismissing the wants and needs of ordinary Americans.

“Today more voters than ever realize that Democratic and Republican politicians are players in the same game of Big Government. They differ only in the color of their red and blue jerseys.

“More voters than ever realize that Democratic and Republican politicians are equally responsible for destroying jobs, violating individual rights, and lowering the standard of living for Americans.

“The Libertarian Party offers voters a desperately-needed alternative. Since its founding 40 years ago, the Libertarian Party remains unwavering in its pursuit of liberty, free trade and small government.

“Whether Libertarians are running for U.S. House, the Senate or the White House, they reject the self-serving interests of Big Government Profiteers. Libertarians represent the silent majority of Americans who want a choice for much less government:
•    Huge and immediate reductions in taxes and government spending
•    Repeal of laws that violate individual freedom
•    An end to gunboat diplomacy and foreign political entanglements
•    Dismantling of government bureaucracies and red tape.

“Every vote cast for a Libertarian is a vote for much less government, personal freedom, and peace."

###

Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle and Executive Director Carla Howell are available for interviews or comment on the State of the Union and the Republican response. Please contact the Libertarian Party headquarters at 202-333-0008 between 9:00am and 5:00pm to arrange an interview.

The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971. It is America’s largest third party.

For more information about the Libertarian Party, visit http://announce.lp.org/t/89014/70997/90/5/.

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LP Monday Message

Dear Friend of Liberty,
When government spending cuts come up in conversation, Big Government Democrats and Republicans break out the scare tactics. They threaten to cut the services that voters care about most. Police and fire protection, schools, and road repairs are some of their tried-and-true favorites.
Big Government Democrats and Republicans try to scare voters into believing that these are the only areas of government that can be cut. “Give us your tax dollars, or granny dies.”

• Rather than raise the retirement age for government employees from 54 to 67 – the same age you retire with Social Security -- they threaten to raise the retirement age for Social Security recipients from 67 to 70.
• Rather than cancel wasteful and unnecessary government contracts for their Special Interest pals, they threaten to close national parks and ruin the family vacations of thousands of Americans.
• Rather than cut the budget of the destructive Federal Drug Administration (FDA), they raise the price of life-saving drugs for patients who have grown dependent on government.

The threats and manipulations used by Big Government Democrats and Republicans are cruel and self-serving.
The Libertarian approach to cutting government spending is humane and reasonable.
Libertarians propose cutting the least needed areas of government spending  first such as:

• Waste, pork, and bureaucracy
• Failed and unnecessary Big Government Programs
• Lush government employment packages and benefits.

Libertarians propose rolling back the most-needed services last – after getting government out of the way so that voluntary solutions can take their place.
That leaves more than enough money to protect our lives, liberty and property.
Vote against Big Government Democrat and Republican Merchants of Fear. Vote Libertarian.

###

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice to downsize Big Government - humanely, greatly reduce taxes, and slash government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can simply make a contribution .

GET INVOLVED:

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Yes We Will Be Running A Presidential Candidate!

Dear Fellow Libertarians,

Mark your calendar!

The 2012 National Libertarian Party convention will be held on May 2-6 in Las Vegas, Nevada, featuring:

• Nomination of our 2012 Libertarian Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates as well as our party officers.
• Workshops on a variety of topics including how to grow state and local LP affiliates, ballot initiatives, and how to run Libertarian campaigns
• Confirmed speakers and workshop leaders:

          o    Keynote Speaker Michael Cloud, author of Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion

o    Advocates for Self-Government President, Sharon Harris
o    National Libertarian Party Executive Director, Carla Howell

• The Libertarian Solutions Contest! This is your chance to create and submit a video featuring a Libertarian proposal to shrink Big Government - which will be shown on the convention floor. Convention attendees will get to vote among the finalists for the best one. Click here for more info.

Package details and many more exciting speakers will be announced soon.

It’s going to be a great convention. Stay tuned!

Yours in liberty,

Mark Hinkle
Chair, Libertarian National Committee

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

GET INVOLVED:

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Legalize It!

Dear Fellow Libertarian,
At the last meeting of the Libertarian National Committee in December, we endorsed the California ballot initiative to "Regulate Marijuana as Wine" by a vote of 14-0 (with 2 abstentions). While most Libertarians would rather have no regulation on marijuana, we believe that this is an incremental step in the right direction. Please read the below message from the sponsors of this initiative.

Yours in liberty,

Mark Hinkle,
Chair
Libertarian National Committee

REGULATE WINE LIKE MARIJUANA

The new year is in motion, and Libertarians are set for huge advances toward liberty at every turn. The opportunities are there. We just have to reach out and grab them!

I'm writing to tell you about one of those opportunities, a victory for freedom that's going to rock the very foundations of federal overreach and help us put Washington back in its place ... if YOU will help us seize that victory.

That coming victory -- a major Libertarian win in the War on Drugs, with 10th Amendment implications in nearly every area of government policy -- is California's Regulate Marijuana Like Wine Initiative

It's exactly what it sounds like: A new law that gives use, possession and sale of marijuana exactly the same legal status as drinking a glass, cellaring a bottle, or selling a case of Napa Valley White Zinfandel.

I know you've heard the hype before: A silver bullet that will make all your Libertarian dreams come true. That's not what I'm trying to sell you here. This initiative won't end the war on drugs all by itself. It won't restore the Constitution on one fell swoop. It's a beginning, not an end.

But what a beginning! With one electoral stroke -- and for less than the cost of even a single congressional campaign -- we can immediately and dramatically increase the freedom of 38 million Californians, set the stage for a nationwide expansion of that new freedom, and put an overbearing federal government on the DEFENSIVE!

California led the way on medical marijuana back in 1996 with Proposition 215. Since then, 15 more states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana legislation, bringing much-needed legal relief to the millions of patients (including me!) who rely on cannabis to relieve chronic pain, restore appetite and suppress the nausea associated with cancer chemo and AIDS medications, and even to outright keep them alive.

We've learned a lot in the last 15 years. Prop 215 was an incredibly successful template for winning more freedom, but as one of its early proponents and long-time beneficiaries I've learned over time that it has its weak spots.

Prop 215 left too much discretion to local and state officials in California. Since its passage, we've had to fight time and time again to force police and prosecutors to honor the intent of the law instead of re-interpreting it in ways that let them punish medical marijuana patients, arrest producers and shut down dispensaries. We've been quite successful in those fights, but they've been costly and time-consuming.

Prop 215 also made it too easy for those same police and prosecutors to collude with federal law enforcement at a "profit," by turning state non-crimes over to DEA and other alphabet-soup agencies, then raking in a share of asset forfeiture proceeds. California cops keep the feds on speed-dial, knowing that with one phone call they can turn a fruitless traffic stop into a pay raise or a new patrol car, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

We've tweaked the Prop 215 template to eliminate those weaknesses make the Regulate Marijuana Like Wine Initiative even more successful, not just in California but in the post-California national adoption phase.

Regulate Marijuana Like Wine specifies the EXACT scope of police and prosecutorial powers and the MAXIMUM fines and punishments which can be levied for infractions. It repeals all previous laws that might be used as hooks to hang a prosecution on. No more latitude for creative interpretations. No more loopholes to "up-charge" infractions so as to increase the penalties. Under this new law, smoking a joint will be treated EXACTLY like drinking a glass of merlot, traveling with an ounce of marijuana in your car will be treated EXACTLY like driving home with a bottle of chablis, and selling marijuana will be treated EXACTLY like running a liquor store.

"MARIJUANA IS THE LARGEST CASH CROP IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. NUMBER TWO IS GRAPES. BUT TODAY YOU DO NOT SEE THE MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS RAISING ILLEGAL VINEYARDS IN OUR NATIONAL FORESTS IN COMPETITION WITH ROBERT MONDAVI. WE CAN FORCE THESE THUGS OUT OF THIS BUSINESS. WE CAN REGULATE MARIJUANA LIKE WINE."

--Retired Superior Court Judge and Libertarian National Judicial Committee Member James Gray

We've also done a very nice bit of political ju-jitsu with the issue of federal intervention. Get this:

Instead of leaving California cops, prosecutors and political officials free to sic the feds on those whom state law bars them from persecuting, or to throw up their hands and say "sorry, this is out of Washington, nothing we can do," Regulate Marijuana Like Wine FORBIDS California cops and prosecutors to enforce conflicting federal law and OBLIGATES the state of California to defend the new law against federal challenges.

That last part is key to turning this initiative into a national wildfire that spreads even faster than medical marijuana has, with implications far beyond marijuana law alone.

We've watched non-profit legal foundations, with little funding or support, take on the feds and win on constitutional issues. Watch what happens when the full legal and political resources of the world's sixth largest economy are mobilized to give the 10th Amendment teeth again!

This is ultimately no more about marijuana than the Boston Tea Party was about Tea. It's about FREEDOM.

We're going to knock down some walls, folks. Not just marijuana laws, not even just the War on Drugs. Think "health insurance mandates." Think "gun laws." If there's not an enumerated federal power in the Constitution for it, it's going down. The case law generated by Regulate Marijuana Like Wine will eradicate it and sow salt in the earth where it once stood.

THAT is the power of Regulate Marijuana Like Wine: A new birth of freedom in America, radiating out from California until it encompasses the whole of America, from sea to shining sea.

But first, we have to get the initiative passed.

Polling tells us that 62% of Californians are ready and willing to vote for it, but they can't do that until we get it on the ballot by collecting 500,000 valid signatures from registered California voters (which means more like 800,000 "raw" signatures).

I'm coming to you, my fellow Libertarians, for the "seed money" to get this thing rolling. Ultimately it's going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million, and that money WILL come ... IF we can raise $100,000 to get a full-on, professional petition drive launched and in motion.

As Thomas Paine once wrote, "it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated."

How highly do YOU rate freedom?

I bet there are at least a hundred members of the Party of Principle who think it's worth $1000 or more to lift a yoke of tyranny from the necks of 38 million people.

I've been to our party's national conventions, and I'm absolutely sure there are at least a thousand of us who'd find $100, somehow, to put the Tenth Amendment back into operation.

Over my years in the party, I've seen my fellow Libertarians kick in $10, $25, $50 ... whatever they can afford, and until it hurts ... when they see an opportunity to win the day for liberty in any way, big or small.

Now I'm asking you to do it again. This is a big one, folks. Whatever you can afford, it WILL make a difference.

Let Freedom Grow,

James P. Gray - Chief Proponent
Steve Kubby - Campaign Manager
Bill McPike - Chief Counsel
Stephen Collett - Treasurer

CLICK HERE TO DONATE
(and to get your Thank You gifts!)

ENDORSEMENTS
The Libertarian Party
Gov. Gary Johnson
Congressman Dana Rohrabacher
Kenny Loggins
Judge James P. Gray (ret.)
LAPD Deputy Chief S. Downing (ret.)
Assemblymember Chris Norby
Lt. Diane Goldstein (ret.)
Ed Rosenthal
NORML Founder Keith Stroup
Thomas Chong
Rick Steves
Vivian McPeak Seattle Hempfest
Lynnette Shaw Marin Alliance
Alice Huffman President California NAACP
Rob Kampia, MPP
Norm Stamper, former Seattle Police Chief
Craig Beresh, California Cannabis Coalition
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment & Healing)
LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice for much less Big Government, much lower taxes, and much lower government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

GET INVOLVED:

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Romney: Big Government Conservative!

Dear Friend of Liberty,

I ran for governor against Mitt Romney in 2002 in Massachusetts. I read his every press release, read every major newspaper article about him, and followed his every move throughout his governor campaign -- and in each of the four years he served as governor.

Mitt Romney IS Big Government -- to the core.

Which is why I nearly fell off my chair one day when I was asked by a libertarian, “Aren’t you glad to have Mitt Romney as your governor? He’s pretty libertarian, isn’t he?”

It is critical that voters know the truth about Big Government Mitt Romney. Please forward the below column to every voter you know who would consider voting for him.

Thank you for helping to set the record straight.

In liberty,

Carla Howell

Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

###

Mitt Romney: Champion of Big Government

By Carla Howell

Is Mitt Romney the “economic conservative” he claims to be? Especially when it comes to tax and spend policies?

Now that he’s running for president, let’s compare his words with his deeds.

Taxes

Romney claims to be anti-tax. He even “took” a “no new taxes” pledge when he ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002. “Took” is in quotes because he refused to sign that pledge. His signature wasn’t necessary, he claimed. He assured us that he’s a man of his word.

But Mitt Romney has been a champion of new taxes.

Mitt Romney proposed three new taxes while campaigning for governor: a new tax on vehicles, a new tax on campaign donations, and a new tax on building construction. They didn’t get much fanfare in the media and were quickly forgotten.

Right before the 2002 election, he ran millions of dollars in ads portraying himself as a “no new taxes” governor. The media refused to set the record straight.

But that was only the beginning.

Each of the four years Romney served as governor, he raised taxes – while pretending he didn’t. He claims he only raised mandatory government “fees.” But government mandatory fees are nothing but taxes, and taxes are nothing but mandatory government fees. Romney’s new tax-fees raised hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the state government every year.

In addition to:

• scores of new tax-fees,

Mitt Romney also increased several other taxes by:

• “closing loopholes” to enable collection of a new Internet sales tax
• passing legislation that enables local governments to raise Business Property Taxes
• enacting a new tax penalty that raises Income Taxes on both individuals and small businesses.

This, he claims, is not raising taxes.

I suppose you could say Romney merely enacted bills that force taxpayers to hand over billions of dollars – which end up in the coffers of the government.

Quacks like a tax increase?

In 2008, Romney boasted that he was the first presidential candidate to sign a “taxpayer protection pledge,” in which he promised to oppose “any and all efforts” to increase income taxes on people or businesses.

So he’ll call his tax increases “government fees” or “closing loopholes” or “penalties” or something else. But if Romney is president, the IRS will collect this money from you, your family, your friends, and millions of Americans just like you.

Government Spending

Mitt Romney claims to have cut the Massachusetts budget by “$2 billion.” Sometimes he claims he cut it “$3 billion.” The media gives him free advertising by parroting this myth repeatedly. They repeat it so often that even many fiscal conservatives and libertarians assume it must be true.

But these “cuts” were merely budget games. Spending cuts in one area were simply moved into another area of the budget.

In fact, not only did Mitt Romney refuse to cut the overall Massachusetts budget, he expanded it. Dramatically.

The Massachusetts state budget was $22.7 billion a year when he took office in January of 2003.

When he left office four years later, it was over $25.7 billion – plus another $2.2 billion in spending that the legislature took “off budget.” (Romney never reminds us of this fact.)

The net effect of budgets proposed and signed into law by Mitt Romney? An additional $5.2 billion in state spending – and a similar increase in new taxes. Every year.

He claims to have done a good job as governor of liberal Massachusetts in light of the fact that it’s a “tough state” for poor “conservatives” like him. He infers his hands were tied by the predominantly Democratic legislature.

But when it comes to tax and spend policies, he’s not only in lockstep with the Democrats. He leads the way.

Each of the four years Romney served as governor, he started budget negotiations by proposing an increase of about $1 billion in new government spending. Before the legislature even named a budget figure.

Romney initiated massive new spending – without any prodding.

The legislature responded with a handful of line item budget increases. Romney agreed to some of them and vetoed others. The media helped him out again by making fanfare of his vetoes and portraying him as tough on spending – after he had already given away the store!

The Romney-Kennedy Alliance

But his grande finale was the worst of all: RomneyCare, Mitt Romney’s version of socialized medicine.

By his own admission, he didn’t plan his socialized medicine scheme until after the 2002 election.

During Romney’s governor campaign, he convinced voters that his Democrat rival would be worse – because she would saddle us with socialist tax-and-spend policies, he said.

But soon after he was elected, Romney started the drumbeat for socialized medicine. Three years later, he signed RomneyCare into law.

Voters of Massachusetts did not vote for RomneyCare. Mitt Romney foisted the granddaddy of Big Government expansions upon them without warning. He championed it from the beginning. Again, without any prodding from his Democrat rivals.

When Romney ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, his campaign popularized the derogatory term “Kennedy country” to describe the devastating effects of Ted Kennedy’s “liberal social programs” on poor neighborhoods in Massachusetts.

Yet Mitt Romney stood proudly with Ted Kennedy while he signed RomneyCare into law.

Ted Kennedy has pushed for socialized medicine for decades. Romney fulfilled his dream. Kennedy lobbied the legislature hard to get Romney’s bill passed. It was a Romney-Kennedy alliance.

Welcome to Massachusetts: Romney-Kennedy country.

Romney’s socialized medicine law mandates everyone who doesn’t have insurance to buy it – or suffer income tax penalties. Both individuals and small businesses face steep fines if they refuse to give up their freedom to make their own health care choices. There’s yet another “off budget” Mitt Romney tax increase.

Romney’s mandate will cost individual taxpayers many thousands of dollars every year in health insurance premiums for unwanted policies – or force them to pay sizable tax penalties.

The total cost of RomneyCare in mandates and new spending? At least several billion dollars every year – to start. It will rise from there, as socialized medicine programs are wont to do.

Romney’s law went into full effect in 2009. It’s harmful effects were not felt  until after the 2008 presidential election was over. Romney’s time-release tax increase.

Romney’s Words Versus Romney’s Deeds

Smart moms tell their kids, “Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

That advice saved me a lot of heartache. And it will do the same for anyone who is leaning towards voting for Mitt Romney.

Candidate Romney campaigns for president with the words we’re aching to hear. Words we want to believe. Candidate Romney tells us that he is a:

• “fiscal conservative”
• “friend of small business”
• “tax cutter”
• “waste fighter”
• “opponent of runaway spending”
• “tough leader who vetoes new taxes and needless government spending”

Let’s follow Mom’s advice: ignore candidate Romney’s words. Look at elected Governor Romney’s deeds.

What does he do when he’s elected?

Mitt Romney hits up taxpayers with a variety of new taxes – while pretending he doesn’t.

Mitt Romney jacks up government spending as much as any Big Government Democrat would.

Mitt Romney champions massive Big Government Programs – that made Ted Kennedy proud.

###

P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party with a mission to give voters a choice for much less Big Government, much lower taxes, and much lower government spending. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

GET INVOLVED:

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2012: The Banner Libertarian Year?

 

A Libertarian Year Ahead?

Freedom-lovers have a lot more work to do.

John Stossel | December 29, 2011

As 2011 draws to a close, I wonder: Is freedom winning? Did America become freer this year? Less free? How about the rest of the world?
I'm a pessimist. I fear Thomas Jefferson was right when he said, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." That's what's happened. Bush and Obama doubled spending and increased regulation. Government's intrusiveness is always more, never less. The state grows, and freedom declines.
But there were bright spots. We don't yet know what will become of what people call the Arab Spring. But this year, for the first time in my life, there was hope that masses of people in the Middle East will embrace liberalism—in the original sense of people being left alone to pursue their own lives.
Another possible bright spot: President Obama declared the war in Iraq over. I don't believe it because 17,000 embassy personnel remain, but at least he's saying it, and troops have left. Some will also leave Afghanistan. But I'm confused. Obama was elected partly because he promised to end the wars. But then he almost tripled the number of American soldiers in Afghanistan, from 35,000 to 100,000.
I'm pessimistic about America going bankrupt, like Greece, thanks to ballooning spending on entitlements like Medicare. But terms of debate can change quickly. This spring, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan presented a timid plan that would have slowed the growth of government slightly. Even Republicans went bonkers. Newt Gingrich called it "right-wing social engineering."
But now, just seven months later, the country's in a different place. Newt's apologized. Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans praise Ryan's plan. The Republican Study Committee wants to go further. Now Ryan agrees that his plan was "mild." Today he says he'd go farther.
Maybe attitudes changed because Americans watched the video of riots in Greece and realized what can happen when the money runs out. Maybe Standard and Poor's downgrading of the government's credit rating mattered. Maybe attitudes changed simply because the deficit numbers are so ugly that even the establishment has to acknowledge it.
But also, attitudes changed because we libertarians won the battle of ideas. Now every Republican presidential candidate -- not just Ron Paul -- talks about free enterprise.
Alec Baldwin told Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, "You can't not have strong capital markets in this country or the country's going to go down the tubes."
Wow. Even left-wing celebrities defend "strong capital markets"? The world is moving toward limited government and free enterprise. We libertarians have won!
What am I talking about? We haven't won. Even Republicans want to grow government. When the Super Committee failed to reach its super conclusion and thereby put us on automatic pilot to a trillion dollars in spending cuts, Republicans screamed about draconian damage to the military. But the automatic cuts are really just cuts in the rate of increase. Spending will still go up, just at a slightly slower rate. Why is this even controversial?
I fear that much of the country is in agreement with the Wall Street protestors who love free stuff from government -- free health care, free college education, free lunch. Elderly Americans want no cuts to Medicare. Even after the Solyndra scandal, 62 percent of Americans say America should continue to invest in clean-energy jobs. Don't they think about what that money would be producing if left in the hands of free, entrepreneurial individuals? No.
Lots of Americans oppose free trade and free markets. It takes some knowledge to realize that the seeming chaos masks underlying order. The benefits of freedom are not intuitive, and when you go against people's intuition, they get upset.
The benefits of freedom are largely "unseen," as the 19th century French liberal Frederic Bastiat put it. He meant that rising living standards and labor-saving inventions don't appear to flow from freedom. But they do.
It's one of the ironies of life that people need not understand freedom for it to work, and because of this, there is the perennial danger that they will give it up without realizing the disastrous consequences that follow.
We freedom-lovers have a lot more work to do.

From Our Friend In Liberty: John Todd

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY FOUNDATION 

Wichita Area Chapter Meeting 

Guests welcome!

Monday, January 9, 2012

7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. 

Note: January Location Change:

Central Branch Wichita Public Library

223 S. Main (3^rd Floor Meeting Room)

Wichita, Kansas 67202

MAKING ECONOMICS

COME ALIVE

With John Stossel

Part 4:  Government Spending, Deficits, and Debt

              Clip 11: Are We Heading Toward a Debt Crisis? 4:35

              Clip 12: Can Government Spending Be Cut? 4:16

              Clip 13: Growth of Government 1:49

              Clip 14: Spending, Taxes and the role of Government 4:07

Part 5:  International Trade and Trade Barriers

              Clip 15:  International Trade: Criticisms and Responses 7:41

              Clip 16: Economics of Trade Deficits 6:19

Part 6:  Why Some Nations Prosper and Others Stagnate

              Clip 17: Why Do Nations Prosper? 4:54

              Clip 18: Economic Freedom and Quality of Life 2:23   

Presentation of the DVD Videos will be followed by group discussion. 

 For additional information on this program please contact:

John Todd, Wichita-area AFP volunteer coordinator at john@johntodd.net, (316) 312-7335

 Or 

Susan Estes, AFP Field Director at sestes@afphq.org, (316) 681-4415

Making Economics Come Alive with John Stossel.  John Stossel uses current events to illustrate both macro- and micro- economics concepts to inspire audience interest and promote lively discussion.  Copyright 2011 “Stossel in the Classroom” A copy of this series was purchased for AFPF classroom use. 

          Americans for Prosperity Foundation is a section 501(c)(3) organization under the Internal

Revenue Code.  Contributions to AFP Foundation are tax deductible.  AFP Foundation’s focus is to educate the general public about public policy issues, not to support or oppose specific legislation.

New Year Message From LP National!

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Happy New Year!

Could 2012 be the year that everything comes together for Libertarians?

Former Governor Gary Johnson’s announcement last week that he’s leaving the GOP and running for president as a Libertarian brings a high-profile candidate to our Libertarian primary. Thousands of news stories and political commentaries were published and aired nationwide since his announcement where LP Chair Mark Hinkle signed him up to be a Life Member of our party.

Possible results? Attention to Governor Johnson’s campaign. Attention to our other Libertarian presidential candidates. Attention to the Libertarian Party and our principles. A spotlight on our 2012 presidential nominating convention in May.

One news story published by Mediate.com said, "With independent or unaffiliated voters making up a larger part of the voter base than they have at any time in the past, there are many more people out there open to defecting from the two-party system."

Indeed! According to a September Gallup poll, “55% of Americans say the two major parties do such an inadequate job of representing the American people that a third party is needed.”

Then there’s our libertarian friend Ron Paul.

His stunning ascent in the Republican primary – while running a libertarian campaign - is giving unprecedented attention and credibility to our libertarian goals.

If Ron Paul were to win the GOP nomination, a true Revolution in America would be underway. One that would put our libertarian agenda front-and-center in the 2012 election. This will bring heightened attention to our libertarian candidates who offer bold reductions in Big Government that most Republicans and Democrats won’t dare – and give voters the choice that so many desperately want: much smaller government and more freedom.

In liberty,

Carla Howell
Executive Director Libertarian Party

P.S. Many thanks to those of you who sent me well-wishes about my new appointment as Executive Director for the Libertarian Party. I am honored to represent the party and tremendously excited about working with libertarians across the country to downsize Big Government and advance liberty.

P.P.S. For more information about all our Libertarian Presidential candidates, click here Presidential candidates.

P.P.P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.

GET INVOLVED:

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Content not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

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From The Wichita Eagle: Letters To The Editor Sunday 1-1-2012

No Coercion

With the start of this new year, we would like to encourage more of our fellow citizens to consider a different vision of how we can best create a nonhostile and civilized society, a vision of peaceful coexistence centered on voluntary exchange. Free enterprise, or capitalism, is the only system known to man in which both parties in every transaction feel happy after any exchange is complete. No coercion is involved.
Government, on the other hand, cannot exist without coercion. It has no money and cannot spend money without first taking that money from a person or business, by force (taxation).
Which system sounds more moral, more worthy of our support?
Our hope is that 2012 will bring all more health, peace and prosperity through voluntary exchange, known otherwise as liberty.
GAYLE and CY NOBLES
Wichita

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2012/01/01/2157300/letters-to-the-editor-tax-subsidies.html#storylink=cpy