The Libertarian Pledge to America --- Discuss

[Joey Link]

I read this today. I don't agree with all of it, but I certainly agree with some of it. I'd like to hear your thoughts, preferably in detail.

The Libertarian Pledge to America

by Laurence M. Vance

Recently by Laurence M. Vance: More Republican Pledge Hypocrisy


Just in time to bamboozle conservative voters before the election, House Republicans unveiled their "Pledge to America" at a hardware store in Virginia in late September. Although the Pledge contains libertarian rhetoric about promoting "greater liberty" and "smaller, more accountable government," the fact that Republicans promise to roll back spending only to the level it was during Bush’s last year in office and "advance the cause of freedom and democracy around the world" means that the Pledge is stupid and evil.

We libertarians are often told that instead of tearing down the policies of liberals and conservatives we should offer some real solutions. Well, if I were a libertarian running for office, I would issue my own pledge. But instead of vague, empty, and false promises we find in the Republican "Pledge to America," I have come up with fifty specific, unambiguous promises that seem so radical to the average voter that I know I could never be elected. But these are not just my preferences and convictions; these are things that all libertarians should be consistently and unequivocally promising – if they are trying to be honest instead of trying to be elected.

Here is the Libertarian Pledge to America:

* I promise to end the war on drugs.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Energy.
* I promise to abolish all anti-trust laws.
* I promise to abolish the Federal Housing Administration.
* I promise to abolish the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae).
* I promise to abolish the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddy Mac).
* I promise to abolish the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).
* I promise to repeal the Fair Housing Act.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
* I promise to abolish the Federal Trade Commission.


* I promise to abolish the EPA.
* I promise to abolish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Education.
* I promise to end federal funding and control of education.
* I promise to cease funding Head Start.
* I promise to cease funding the National School Lunch Program.
* I promise to repeal the federal minimum wage.
* I promise to repeal the National Labor Relations Act.
* I promise to repeal the PATRIOT ACT.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Homeland Security.

* I promise to abolish the TSA and return airport security to airports and airlines.
* I promise to repeal all federal gun regulations.
* I promise to abolish NASA.
* I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts.
* I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Humanities.
* I promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
* I promise to cease all drone attacks and covert activities.
* I promise to bring all U.S. troops home from foreign soil.
* I promise to close all foreign military bases.
* I promise to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries.

* I promise to limit the Department of Defense to actual defense.
* I promise to end all federal bailouts.
* I promise to stop funding the UN, World Bank, and IMF.
* I promise to end all foreign aid.
* I promise to end all farm subsidies.
* I promise to repeal all trade restrictions, import quotas, anti-dumping laws, and trade agreements.
* I promise to abolish the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
* I promise to repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act.
* I promise to repeal all Affirmative Action, minority set-asides, and public accommodations laws.
* I promise to repeal the Family and Medical Leave Act.

* I promise to cease funding Planned Parenthood.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Health and Human Services.
* I promise to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
* I promise to end Medicare and Medicaid.
* I promise to end all federal funding and control of medicine and medical research.
* I promise to abolish the FDA.
* I promise to abolish NPR.
* I promise to abolish the Department of Labor.
* I promise to cease funding any scientific research on climate change.
* I promise to end the FED.

These are just things that are unconstitutional according to article I, section 8, of the Constitution and its Tenth Amendment that I just thought of off the top of my head. If I took the time, I could come up with an additional fifty. Then I could ask some libertarian friends of mine to help me come up with even more. Walter Block could certainly come up with fifty more, including abolishing the Department of Transportation. Tom DiLorenzo could also come up with another fifty more, including repealing the Community Reinvestment Act.

Republicans are so statist and so opposed to liberty that they would choke on the first item. To libertarians, ending the war on drugs is a no-brainer. Aside from the moral argument for personal liberty, which is compelling enough, the costs of drug prohibition far outweigh any possible benefits. It clogs the judicial system, swells prison populations, fosters violence, corrupts law enforcement, erodes civil liberties, destroys financial privacy, encourages illegal searches and seizures, ruins lives, wastes hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, hinders legitimate pain treatment, turns law-abiding people into criminals, inconveniences shopping, and has no impact on the use or availability of most drugs in the United States.

The libertarian pledge to America – outside of Ron Paul and a few libertarians are there any candidates who will take it?

[Farbin Kaiber]

Wow. I've never seen it said that way.

[Joey Link]

Yeah, that's kind of what I thought when I read it. And I thought I was a libertarian.

[joshh]

I too agree with much of that. The biggest issue i have with the Libertarian idea is too much would be privatized. Even so far as abolishing all public schools and privatizing those as well.

[Joey Link]

I too agree with much of that. The biggest issue i have with the Libertarian idea is too much would be privatized. Even so far as abolishing all public schools and privatizing those as well.

Charter schools are doing pretty damn well compared to their public counterparts, last I checked. Which things, specifically, would you not want privatized and why?

[dirtysix]

Libertarianism is as hopelessly unrealistic as Communism, Marxism whatever you want to call it.

[mar1t1me]

Libertarianism is as hopelessly unrealistic as Communism, Marxism whatever you want to call it.

Which is why they never get elected....

Not saying I'm not totally for the ditching of quite a number of those items, but seriously- get rid of the ADA? You might feel differently if you'd spent time in a wheelchair.

[z31maniac]

I agree with a lot of it, but some of it is just too far out there.

Take the FHA for instance, should I really chastise the agency that allowed me to get a favorable loan to purchase my house?

[Kershaw]

well im glad he'll never get elected.

the war on drugs, sure. that has to go. but so many of those things are vital to millions of america. that really seems like a list written by an anarchist... no dept. of transportation? drivers suck as it is... i cant imagine no standards at all... it would be anarchy on the road..

[Joey Link]

I have the same reaction to quite a few of those things on the list.

Libertarianism is as hopelessly unrealistic as Communism, Marxism whatever you want to call it.

Communism is very real in many parts of the world.

[mrsleeve]

I like about 95% of all that but some things like the FDA should be under the feds umbrella.

[mar1t1me]

Somalia doesn't have ANY of the things on that list right now, and look at 'em go! :up:

[mrsleeve]

Somalia doesn't have ANY of the things on that list right now, and look at 'em go! :up:

Neither did we and look where we got?????? And look where we are going WITH ALL THAT .


Moot point at best, Shitty comparison in reality.

[CorvallisBMW]

Somalia doesn't have ANY of the things on that list right now, and look at 'em go! :up:

In all seriousness though, in response to Mr. Vances's letter, some of those things are a really poor idea IMO.

-Why abolish NASA? Isn't exploring our universe and furthering the pursuit of knowledge beneficial to not only the US but all of human kind?
-Same thing with Head Start. It keeps tens of thousands of kids from ending up delinquent school dropouts and subsequently filling our jails. It's much cheaper to educate someone than incarcerate them. School lunches aren't great either, and they need to be healthier, but are you going to simply not give lunch to those who currently can't afford it and are on free or reduced price lunch? Starving children is definitely not one of the constitutional duties of the Federal Government
-US foreign aid needs to be scaled back, but not eliminated. Things like mosquito nets and clean drinking water programs save millions of lives. That is money well spent. What we don't need to be doing is giving other countries (Israel, Pakistan, etc) hundreds of billions a year in free money to do whatever they want.
-The ADA? Really? You're going to repeal rights for disabled people? That's a low blow by anyone's standards.
-Medicare and Medicaid need to be reformed, but you can't eliminate them. That's a death sentence for millions of seniors, they would literally die from lack of care and medication. As I said before, murder is not one of the constitutional duties of the Federal Government. Unless you're going to replace it with something else, doing that is, for all intents and purposes, genocide.
-You can't abolish NPR, it's a private enterprise. You can eliminate the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which makes up about 5% of NPR's budget.

My question is, if you eliminate things like the EPA and Dept of Labor, who will enforce the laws as they are currently written? It's EPA inspectors who go out and make sure people aren't dumping waste in your back yard, It's Mine & Safety inspectors who check up on the safety and validity of underground work, it's Dept of Labor employees who make sure companies aren't operating sweatshops with child labor.

Eliminating all of those depts may save lots of money, but it would also result in a complete inability to enforce the laws of the country. At which point there would be literally thousands of lawsuits against the Federal Gov't for not enforcing it's own laws. All of which would be valid. Then what??? A complete legal clusterfuck that would take decades to work out?

Sorry, but those ideas are just as pie-in-the-sky crazy as "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs." As far as I can tell, he's basically arguing for complete anarchy but with a very large, government controlled military. That sounds like a great idea. :loco:

Edit: He also doesn't include any solutions to current problems. You can't find solutions for every problem simply by taking away every thing. That's like saying, 'My m20 has a misfire and doesn't run well. I guess I'll just pull the motor and throw it in the corner. No more misfire! Problem solved.

[Bimmerman325i]

I like small government.

I don't like unchecked anarchy.

Apparently I'm not libertarian enough.....