ELECTIONS 2012May 5, 2012
Candidate review: Gary Johnson on the issues
Matthew Reece
Charlotte Libertarian Examiner
This is a candidate review of Gov. Gary Johnson, who is the nominee of the Libertarian Party. In this article, we will focus on his stances on important issues and whether they agree or disagree with a libertarian perspective. You can learn more about him at his campaign website, as well as from his collected statements. The libertarian perspectives come partly from the Libertarian Party platform as well as Wikipedia's articles on libertarianism.
Abortion: Gary Johnson supports a woman's right to choose up until viability of the fetus. He opposes federal funding for stem cell research. He believes the decision should be left up to the woman, not decided by governments. He believes that the Supreme Court did not have the authority to decide Roe v. Wade.
Libertarian perspective: Abortion is a divisive issue among libertarians, with pro-choice libertarians claiming that denying a woman the right to choose is an illegitimate act of aggression against her, while pro-life libertarians claim that an abortion is an illegitimate act of aggression against a fetus. Since Gary Johnson's position agrees with some libertarian positions but not others, this part of the issue is not scoreable. Johnson gets an A for believing that this is not a federal decision, however.
Budget/Economy: Gary Johnson wants to cut the federal budget by 43% to bring it into balance, and has promised to submit a balanced budget to Congress in 2013. He rejects auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy. He thinks we could have avoided a sovereign default without raising the debt ceiling in August 2011. He has said that ending the Federal Reserve is OK, but that doing so is only part of the solution. He believes that our debt is the greatest threat to our national security. He supports the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians support the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, provided that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes. All efforts by government to redistribute wealth, or to control or manage trade, are improper in a free society.
Grade: A.
Capital punishment: Gary Johnson was once a proponent of the death penalty, but now opposes it, calling it a flawed policy. He believes that we should not risk putting innocent people to death.
Libertarian perspective: The Libertarian Party takes no formal stand on capital punishment. However, Murray Rothbard advocated capital punishment for all cases of murder, except in those cases where the victim has left a will instructing his or her heirs and assigns not to levy the death penalty on any possible murder.
Grade: A.
Drugs: Gary Johnson has called the War on Drugs a miserable failure. He believes that drug policy today parallels Prohibition in the 1920's. He advocates a harm-reduction strategy and treating drug abuse as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. He wants to legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians favor the repeal of all laws creating “crimes” without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.
Grade: A.
Education: Gary Johnson wants to reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education and let states expand reforms such as vouchers and charter schools. He favors abolishing the federal Department of Education. He wants to put educational funds in the hands of the people who use it. He supports universal school choice. He believes that No Child Left Behind should be repealed. He says that there is a student loan bubble caused by federal student loan programs, and that the free market is the answer.
Libertarian perspective: Education, like any other service, is best provided by the free market, achieving greater quality and efficiency with more diversity of choice. Schools should be managed locally to achieve greater accountability and parental involvement. Recognizing that the education of children is inextricably linked to moral values, libertarians would return authority to parents to determine the education of their children, without interference from government. In particular, parents should have control of and responsibility for all funds expended for their children's education.
Grade: A.
Energy/Environment: Gary Johnson supports coal power and nuclear power, along with alternative energy, but opposes government subsidies for energy. He supports private sector research and development of renewable energy. He does not want to compromise on clean air, but opposes cap-and-trade and carbon taxes. He believes that current policy prevents common-sense energy development. He believes that climate change is real and man-caused.
Libertarian perspective: While energy is needed to fuel a modern society, government should not be subsidizing any particular form of energy. Libertarians oppose all government control of energy pricing, allocation, and production. Libertarians support a clean and healthy environment and sensible use of our natural resources. Private landowners and conservation groups have a vested interest in maintaining natural resources. Pollution and misuse of resources cause damage to our ecosystem. Governments, unlike private businesses, are unaccountable for such damage done to our environment and have a terrible track record when it comes to environmental protection. Protecting the environment requires a clear definition and enforcement of individual rights in resources like land, water, air, and wildlife. Free markets and property rights stimulate the technological innovations and behavioral changes required to protect our environment and ecosystems. Libertarians realize that our planet's climate is constantly changing, but environmental advocates and social pressure are the most effective means of changing public behavior.
Grade: A.
Entitlements: Gary Johnson says that Social Security is valuable and is fixable without raising taxes. He wants Social Security to reflect today's realities without breaking trust with retirees. He supports raising the retirement age, means testing for Social Security recipients, and changing the escalator built into Social Security from the wage index to the inflation rate. He wants Congress to investigate privatizing part or all of Social Security.
Libertarian perspective: Retirement planning is the responsibility of the individual, not the government. Libertarians would phase out the current government-sponsored Social Security system and transition to a private voluntary system.
Grade: B+.
Foreign policy: Gary Johnson initially supported the war in Afghanistan, but believes it has gone on for too long and needs to end immediately. He opposed the war in Iraq, and has said that part of the reason why Iran is a problem now is because we removed Saddam Hussein from power. He believes that America should not be borrowing money to build roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure in foreign countries, especially when such help is currently needed at home. He believes that decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the deployments of American troops that remain scattered throughout Europe should be re-evaluated. He favors acting in America's self-interest while being wary of unintended consequences. He supports a 43% reduction in military spending as part of his balanced budget plan, along with a reduction in America's nuclear arsenal from 2300 weapons to 500 weapons. He believes in a non-interventionist foreign policy.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians support the maintenance of a sufficient military to defend the United States against aggression. The United States should both avoid entangling alliances and abandon its attempts to act as policeman for the world. Libertarians would end the current U.S. government policy of foreign intervention, including military and economic aid. Libertarians oppose any form of compulsory national service.
Grade: A.
Gay marriage: Gary Johnson believes that the government must be neutral on personal beliefs. He believes that government should not impose its values upon marriage. It should allow marriage equality, including gay marriage. It should also protect the rights of religious organizations to follow their beliefs.
Libertarian perspective: Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the government's treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration or military service laws. 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.
Grade: A.
Gun control: Gary Johnson opposes all gun control, and does not believe in limiting the types or sizes of guns that private citizens can own. He believes that the Second Amendment clearly gives citizens an individual right to bear arms.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians 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. Libertarians oppose all laws at any level of government requiring registration of, or restricting, the ownership, manufacture, or transfer or sale of firearms or ammunition.
Grade: A.
Healthcare: Gary Johnson believes that both Obamacare and Bush's Medicare Part D are unconstitutional. He plans to cut Medicare and Medicaid by 43% as part of his balanced budget plan. He believes that a market-based approach should be the foundation of any solution, and that a healthcare insurance system that is privately owned and managed is the best approach to solving our healthcare problems. He supports tort reform and control of frivolous lawsuits as a means of reducing costs. He does not believe that healthcare is a human right.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system. Libertarians recognize the freedom of individuals to determine the level of health insurance they want, the level of health care they want, the care providers they want, the medicines and treatments they will use and all other aspects of their medical care, including end-of-life decisions. People should be free to purchase health insurance across state lines.
Grade: A.
Homeland security: Gary Johnson believes that the PATRIOT Act should be repealed, which would restore proper judicial oversight to federal investigations and again require federal investigators to prove probable cause prior to executing a search. He favors due process at Guantanamo, with no torture of terrorist suspects. He wants to encourage airports and airlines to seek the most effective methods for screening travelers, including private sector screeners. He says that screeners outside of government can be held fully accountable for their successes and failures. He opposes CISPA. He would end the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians support the rights recognized by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure should include records held by third parties, such as email, medical, and library records.
Grade: A.
Immigration: Gary Johnson believes in a two part approach to immigration policy: simplify legal immigration and tackle illegal immigration. He believes it should be easier for a potential immigrant to get a work visa. Potential immigrants should pass a background check, and then be issued a Social Security card, which would allow them to pay income, payroll, and all other taxes workers pay. He thinks there should be a two-year grace period for illegal immigrants to attain work visas so they can continue contributing to America and begin taking part in American society openly. He wants immigrants with temporary work visas to have access to the normal procedures for gaining permanent status and citizenship, and to be able to bring their families to the U.S. after demonstrating the ability to support them financially. He plans to streamline the legal immigration process to reduce illegal immigration and allow the U.S. to know who enters the country and for what reasons. He would enforce a 'one strike, you're out' rule for immigrants who circumvent the streamlined work visa process. He wants to impose and enforce sanctions on employers for noncompliance with immigration laws.
Libertarian perspective: For those workers already in the United States illegally, we can avoid "amnesty" and still offer a pathway out of the underground economy. Newly legalized workers can be assessed fines and back taxes and serve probation befitting the misdemeanor they've committed. They can be required to take their place at the back of the line should they eventually apply for permanent residency.
Grade: A-.
Jobs: Gary Johnson does not believe that government can create jobs, but instead that it can foster certainty in private business, which in turn creates jobs. He opposed the NLRB's recent actions against Boeing in South Carolina. He believes that long-term unemployment benefits postpone dealing with the problem of unemployment. He opposed raising the minimum wage while he was governor of New Mexico. He believes businesses should be allowed to reward good workers and fire bad workers without intervention from labor unions. He views public-sector unions that contribute to political campaigns as being dangerous.
Libertarian perspective: Libertarians support repeal of all laws which impede the ability of any person to find employment. Libertarians oppose government-fostered forced retirement. Libertarians support the right of free persons to associate or not associate in labor unions, and an employer should have the right to recognize or refuse to recognize a union. Libertarians oppose government interference in bargaining, such as compulsory arbitration or imposing an obligation to bargain.
Grade: A.
Taxes: Gary Johnson wants to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and throw out the current federal tax system. He would then enact the Fair Tax to tax expenditures, rather than income, with a 'prebate' to make spending on basic necessities tax free. He claims that the Fair Tax would eliminate business taxes, withholding and other levies that penalize productivity, while creating millions of jobs. He wants to get rid of the income tax and the capital gains tax.
Libertarian perspective: All persons are entitled to keep the fruits of their labor. Libertarians call for the repeal of the income tax, the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service and all federal programs and services not required under the U.S. Constitution. Libertarians oppose any legal requirements forcing employers to serve as tax collectors.
Grade: A.
Welfare/Poverty: Gary Johnson supports reducing welfare by 43% as part of his balanced budget plan. He favors imposing a gross income cap on welfare recipients. He wants to see time limits on welfare benefits.
Libertarian perspective: The proper and most effective source of help for the poor is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals. Libertarians believe members of society will become more charitable and civil society will be strengthened as government reduces its activity in this realm.
Grade: A.
Overall: Gary Johnson is a nearly ideal candidate for a libertarian voter.
Overall Grade: A.
http://www.examiner.com/article/candidate-review-gary-johnson-on-the-issues
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