It is a privilege to have been asked by the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle to write an article on the coming elections in Wisconsin. Apparently, as both a Jew and a Libertarian, I am unique in Wisconsin.
While I have many criticisms of both Republican incumbent Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke, I would rather take a more positive point of view and discuss the Libertarian candidate, Robert Burke, and where he stands on some of the issues I think are of most importance.
Robert Burke, like other Libertarians, believes that raising the minimum wage ultimately does more harm than good. It is an egregious example of state interference in a free market system.
The greatest harm is done to workers who are just entering the job market and who have few skills. When given a choice, employers will hire, and keep, employees who have skills and do not have to be trained.
Burke puts it this way: “When you raise minimum wage 40 percent, 20 percent of the cost increase occurs through worker layoff, another 10 percent increase is passed directly onto the consumer. The unemployed 20 percent now gets less service for a higher price and the local restaurant isn’t even hiring [and], in fact they just announced a 20 percent layoff themselves.”
Burke’s position is that the government does not have the authority to define, license or restrict personal relationships. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships.
Free markets are essential to free society. This is perhaps the most complicated, and most important, issue for Libertarians. Volumes have been written about it.
So, to put it as succinctly as possible, Libertarians believe that personal liberty and economic liberty are two sides of the same coin, and the Constitution constrains the government from confiscating property, either through eminent domain or taxes.
A free and competitive market allocates resources in the most efficient manner. The only proper role of government in the economic realm is to protect property rights, adjudicate disputes and provide a legal framework in which voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
Libertarians oppose all violations of the right to private property, liberty of contract and freedom of trade. The right to trade includes the right not to trade — for any reasons whatsoever.
Where property, including land, has been taken from its rightful owners by the government or private action in violation of individual rights, we favor restitution to the rightful owners.
The Libertarian Party calls for an end to marijuana prohibition. Federal and state laws which ban the production, sale, possession or use of marijuana by adults should be repealed.
A crucial Libertarian principle is that one has the right to do anything that does not hurt another person. When the government uses its police power to prevent individuals from engaging in peaceful activities, it takes away their freedom.
Furthermore, mandatory minimum sentences have resulted in people being sent to prison for growing or selling marijuana, while rapists and armed robbers are released to make room in overcrowded prisons.
Perhaps the most contentious issue in the coming governor’s race concerns the health care crisis. Health insurance costs are skyrocketing and government health programs are heading for bankruptcy.
Politicians continue to pile on the regulations. The only healthcare reforms that will make a real difference are those that draw on the strength of the free market. With this in mind, the following solutions are urged.
First establish medical saving accounts. Under this program, you could deposit tax-free money into a MSA. Whenever you need the money to pay medical bills, you will be able to withdraw it. For individuals without an MSA, Burke promises he will work to make all healthcare expenditures 100 percent tax deductible.
Second, deregulate the healthcare industry. All government policies that increase health costs and decrease the availability of medical services should be repealed.
For example, every state has laws that mandate coverage of specific disabilities and diseases. These laws reduce consumer choice and increase the cost of health insurance. By making insurance more expensive, mandated benefits increase the number of uninsured American workers.
Third, remove barriers to safe, affordable medicines. We should replace harmful government agencies like the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) with more agile, free-market alternatives. The FDA has driven up healthcare costs and deprived millions of Americans of much-needed treatments.
The platform of the Libertarian Party states that the “only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression. This right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group.
“We affirm the individual right recognized by the Second Amendment to keep and bear arms, and oppose the prosecution of individuals for exercising their rights of self-defense.”
I hope it is clear from what I have written that Libertarians are neither right-wing (conservative) nor left-wing (liberal), but are consistent defenders of liberty. For this reason, I will be voting for Robert Burke this November.
Deborah Katz Hunt is administrator of the Wisconsin Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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