Libertarian Policy

• The Rule of Law – Though we have the absolute right to defend our lives and property, it is impractical for us to secure our own rights at all times and all places with our own effort. For this reason, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” In practical terms, we need a military for our common defense from foreign thugs and a criminal justice system to assist us in defending ourselves from domestic thugs. These just powers of government are extensions of our own right of self defense and constitute the Rule of Law.
• Taxes – By their nature, taxes are taken from us by force, with our consent when needed to provide for the Rule of Law, and wrongly when taken for other purposes to which we have not given our consent. By living in the United States, we have given our consent ONLY for those purposes specifically listed in our State and Federal Constitutions. When taxes are necessary for the just purposes of government, they should adhere to certain guiding principles to limit their excess.

• Taxes should be transparent and clearly visible to the taxpayers. We would not tolerate our current level of taxation were the bulk of our tax burden not concealed.
• Taxes should be universal. Some degree of progressivity is permissible, but no one should have the option to support a tax that does not fall on them at all.
• Taxes should be closely tied to their purpose, so that those benefit from them bear those burdens. Thus, user fees are superior to general taxes and consumption taxes are superior to taxes on production or capital.

• Freedom of action – Neither government nor individuals have any power to limit our free exercise of our right to live as we choose, so long as we do not impinge on the equal rights of those around us. Government has no power to protect us from our own choices.

• The Rights of Property – Our property represents that portion of our lives we exchanged to obtain it, or that portion of someone else’s life who willingly gave it to us, and thus to take or seize control of our property is to take a portion of our lives or to enslave us.

• The Right of Self Defense – Our right to defend our lives is inherent in our existence and cannot be denied to us by law. We have the right to arm ourselves for our defense against thugs or against overreaching government, as the concept of ‘government by the consent of the governed’ is meaningless if we do not retain the ability to withdraw that consent.