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Gary Johnson: Well that it is just that. If you think anything’s going to change by electing a Republican, I don’t think that’s going to be the case. I think we’re going to have continued unsustainable debt and spending, I think we’re going to continue to be in a state of perpetual war. I think that we’re going to continue to have a heightened police state.
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Yes.Republicans talk about budget cuts, but they won’t touch defense spending, and you would.
I don’t say cut defense, I say cut military spending because I think we can provide ourselves with a strong national defense, but we can’t continue the offense, we can’t continue the nation-building.Besides military spending, the other thing neither party wants to talk about and you talk a lot about is marijuana legalization, which is something that over 50 percent of the country says they want at this point.
The reason 50 percent of Americans now support legalization is because we are talking about it. We’re talking about it in numbers that we’ve never talked about it before, and the issue does better and better the more people talk about it.So why do you think Obama’s silent on this issue?
There’s a real hypocrisy with Obama. He smoked marijuana; given the wrong set of circumstances he would not be president of the United States, he would be a convicted felon.Let’s talk about the word “libertarian,” which a lot of people associate with the Koch brothers and pro-corporate policies and guys like Paul Ryan—but you’re talking about non-interventionism and drug legalization, which someone like Ryan would never touch.
Given that the most votes a libertarian has ever gotten [in a national election] is one percent, I think the definition of what it means to be a libertarian is really up for grabs. People are really genuinely attracted to the Libertarian Party, which is about non-military intervention, balancing the federal budget, personal freedom, and legalizing drugs.
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I think it’s the majority of Americans. I think the majority of Americans describe themselves as being socially accepting and fiscally responsible. I’m in that category. That’s libertarianism in a broad stroke.So why don’t people vote that way?
I don’t think they realize it. So today here’s my attire. [shows off his peace T-shirt] Libertarians are for peace. How many people really know that?I think most of my progressive friends would be on board for peace, but they don’t like the Fair Tax, that national consumption tax plan you endorse, because they say it’s super regressive.
The criticism of a consumption tax being regressive is factual. It’s by its nature regressive. The way the Fair Tax deals with that is that it issues all of us a $200-a-month check so you get $2,400 dollars a year. That allows everybody in the country to pay the Fair Tax up to the point of the poverty level. That’s how the Fair Tax deals with the regressive nature of a consumption tax. Now, is that the best way to deal with that regressive aspect of a consumption tax? Maybe not, but it would be great to have that debate. Part of the Fair Tax is that it would abolishing the IRS. There’d be no more withholding things from your paycheck; Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment will come out of the proceeds of the Fair Tax. And the Fair Tax will be unavoidable. Nobody is going to avoid paying a federal consumption tax. That’ll give pink slips to half of Washington lobbyists, because half of Washington lobbyists are there to create tax loopholes.
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Oh yeah. Well they’re getting screwed. I’m going to retire; I’m going to have health care. But you, young person, are going to work the rest of your life and you’re never going to be able to retire. And by the way, you will never repay the debt that I’m racking up. And kids recognize that.What’s one policy that you have that would help young people even more than say the Democrats or Republicans?
Non-military intervention. You know ultimately who ends up paying that price [for these wars]? Well, it’s young people that end up dying in these wars or end up coming back with their limbs blown off.Want more libertarianism? Check these out:The Kids Are All LibertarianLegislating LoveDrug Dealers Are Nice People
