Why I Am A Libertarian

by Dennis Green

Study a little history of American government, and it’s pretty obvious that from the very beginning, it doesn’t work. Hamilton and Burr, in their famous duel to the death, simply acted out that fact in the most dramatic possible fashion. George Washington was merely the least corrupt and incompetent President of those who followed him. See Quincy.

As a libertarian, I believe we get the government we deserve, that it is always representative, even if the corporations have more clout than the average citizen. After all, the media itself is a corporation — from network and cable TV to newspaper and magazine conglomerates to “viewers like you” — all the larger business organizations in America, for-profit and non-profit alike, are incorporated.

But America, Inc. has more problems than Toyota. And President Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget for 2011 makes that very clear. All but 20% of that budget is devoted to entitlements, from military spending to Social Security and Medicare, unemployment insurance and infrastructure. Only 20% is in “discretionary spending” subject to a freeze.

If government in Washington, D.C. is dysfunctional, the government in Sacramento, California, is even more so. I’ll be surprised if the State doesn’t go into bankruptcy, now that its fiscal deficits have ruined its credit rating. In my own hometown of Alameda, looming deficits, failed policies and a school system so badly managed that it will be seeking a 60% increase in parcel tax financing layered on top of property taxes, all face the voters.

I’ve worked in politics most of my life, and have volunteered for several successful campaigns, including Jerry Brown’s campaign for Mayor of Oakland, and also a number of unsuccessful ones, such as the campaign to defeat the conversion of our local electric municipality to a telecom company, which lost $90 million before it folded.

In that time, I’ve gotten to know a lot of politicians, and only Jerry Brown, among those, held up well in my estimation. The others have proven all too human, some even craven in their need to be popular, and to win. I was planning to volunteer for three campaigners this year, but have decided to simply critique them, and work to oppose the very worst.

So I don’t follow leaders, and I certainly don’t expect government to solve my problems. They barely keep the streets and traffic lights in running order. And as a Libertarian, I am not a member of the Republican Party, which claims to oppose big government, but lied us into two wars, wiretapped our phones and emails and oversaw an economic collapse that may still turn out to be a Second Great Depression.

And Democrats? Hah! Many Democrats would impose fundamentalist religious beliefs upon the citizenry, such as the so-called “Right to Life” anti-abortion laws, outlawing gay marriage and extending tax exemptions to politically active churches. Not to mention filling the coffers of Goldman-Sachs.

So I will join others in fighting for a constitutional amendment that requires that in every election there be a provision allowing us to vote, “None of the Above.” I would rather see a position — even mayoral, governorship, senatorial, or yes, even Presidential — remain vacant than be filled by yet another hack or fool.

After all, what good does it do to “throw the rascals out!” if there’s just another raft of rascals waiting to get in?

©2010 Dennis Green