Spring Break
Elect Gary Nolan, Libertarian for President
Sean Vivier
Issue date: 1/22/04 Section: Commentary
In Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore shows a woman on a Welfare to Work program wherein she must commute several hours to a minimum wage job. She would have been better off left alone. Then she might still have a minimum wage job, but at least she could find one closer, where she could spend more quality time with her child. She might even manage to rise above that situation. My own father worked his way out of poverty, his only help from the government his Navy paycheck.
Furthermore, social programs simply don't work. For all the decades they have existed, they have not ended poverty. If something doesn't work, that doesn't mean we should do more of it. It means we should look for another solution.
Meanwhile, people are still free to give charity or help a friend in need, if they choose freely to do so. People are social creatures; they like to do good for others. Americans, too, are a particularly charitable society. Left alone, they can be trusted to do so as they are able.
Likewise, Libertarians believe in free trade. And by free trade, I mean true free trade. What most conservatives understand for "free trade" is actually heavily biased toward large corporations. If the rich do not want their money taken and given to the poor and middle class, then they cannot take the middle class's hard-earned money themselves. Under Libertarian free trade, there would be no trade barriers and no corporate welfare. Let people do business with each other as they see fit, and it harm none. Surely people know their own careers better than any official.
In the realm of the environment, I actually disagree with many libertarians. I believe government has every right to punish polluters, as pollution is a clear case of harm to others. At the same time, as with health care, I realize government doesn't have to tow the line alone. It was a private individual, without any orders from the government, who invented the gasoline-electric hybrid. In many cases, people can be trusted to care for the earth on their own recognizance. There is no law mandating recycling, yet millions do it because they believe it's right. We could also sell natural preserves to non-profit environmental groups, which would help pay the national debt, help shrink the government and leave pockets of pristine nature in the stewardship of those who definitely care.
Furthermore, social programs simply don't work. For all the decades they have existed, they have not ended poverty. If something doesn't work, that doesn't mean we should do more of it. It means we should look for another solution.
Meanwhile, people are still free to give charity or help a friend in need, if they choose freely to do so. People are social creatures; they like to do good for others. Americans, too, are a particularly charitable society. Left alone, they can be trusted to do so as they are able.
Likewise, Libertarians believe in free trade. And by free trade, I mean true free trade. What most conservatives understand for "free trade" is actually heavily biased toward large corporations. If the rich do not want their money taken and given to the poor and middle class, then they cannot take the middle class's hard-earned money themselves. Under Libertarian free trade, there would be no trade barriers and no corporate welfare. Let people do business with each other as they see fit, and it harm none. Surely people know their own careers better than any official.
In the realm of the environment, I actually disagree with many libertarians. I believe government has every right to punish polluters, as pollution is a clear case of harm to others. At the same time, as with health care, I realize government doesn't have to tow the line alone. It was a private individual, without any orders from the government, who invented the gasoline-electric hybrid. In many cases, people can be trusted to care for the earth on their own recognizance. There is no law mandating recycling, yet millions do it because they believe it's right. We could also sell natural preserves to non-profit environmental groups, which would help pay the national debt, help shrink the government and leave pockets of pristine nature in the stewardship of those who definitely care.