United Liberty

It is natural, in an age of bailouts and government intervention, to denounce the actions being taken “for our own good” by the President and Congress, and write at length about what we shouldn’t be doing. It is my view that people look entirely too much to the government in general and the President in particular to solve problems and fix things. However, with the prevelance of that mindset, I would like to submit some ideas, for a change of pace, about what positive things a new President of the United States could and should do, given how little power under the Constitution the President has to make bold changes in policy. We can call this “what I would do if I were the new President”.

One of the first things would be to have a “fireside chat” with the American people, explaining to them the relationship between the economic and financial crisis on the one hand with our imperialist, adventurist foreign policy on the other hand, making it clear that it is in reality one big issue. President Reagan was quite effective on numerous occasions in making the case on national television for bold changes he wanted to make, and any President wanting to return to the rule of law and following the Constitution would need to do that.

On the first day of office, I would announce a significant change in foreign policy: it will no longer be the policy of the United States to intervene into the affairs of other nations or to occupy their lands. The right of self-determination of the peoples of all countries, free from outside interference from the United States, would be respected at all times. Henceforth, all troops would be withdrawn from Iraq and Afghanistan, as efficiently and as safely as possible. Bold and new strategies would be pursued in seeking the capture of Osama bin Laden, making use of Letters of Marque and Reprisal. This would be the tool of first resort in responding to terrorist attacks against the U.S. or U.S. citizens.

Likewise, I would call for negotiations with all countries (e.g., NATO members, Japan, Korea, and Tawain) where troops are currently stationed, to terminate treaties and agreements binding the United States to provide military support and manpower, the new policy of the United States being that each country is responsible for providing its own defense, without the aid of the United States. Besides the obvious constitutional reasons, it would be emphasized that the financial state of the U.S. makes it prohibitive to continue providing for the defense of other countries. Henceforth, all troops would be gradually withdrawn from the 130 or so countries where they are currently stationed, and military bases would either be closed or sold to the respective countries if needed.

On the first day of office, I would begin a process of reviewing all executive orders, with all such orders that violate the Constitution being repealed as quickly as possible. It would be announced that torture will no longer be tolerated, the prison at Gitmo would be closed, and all cases reviewed as quickly as possible to be tried properly and expeditiously in U.S. courts under our justice system (all prisoners lacking sufficient evidence to face charges would be released and deported in the case of foreign nationals). I would make it a priority to end the war on drugs and call upon Congress to repeal federal drug laws, restoring the matter to the states. I would begin a process of pardoning all non-violent drug offenders, who should be treated for a medical problem rather than being sent to jail.

Turning to economic policy, the first thing I would do is announce that I would direct the executive branch not to spend any more money of the $700 billion bailout passed by Congress in the fall. Part of my reasoning would be that Congress unconstitutionally gave the discretion of how to spend the money to the Secretary of the Treasury, and that I would not only not be bound to authorize spending any of the money, but I would also be bound by my oath to the Consitution not to usurp that decision from the Congress. Following from this, I would call upon Congress to repeal this and all bailout measures as a first and most important step to restoring fiscal responsibility.

I would also call upon Congress to authorize a full and complete audit of all proceedings of the Federal Reserve, and call upon Congress to follow up with major legislation to regulate the Federal Reserve to the hilt and require that all of its proceedings (including all meetings of the Board of Governors and all its committees) be conducted in public, with all information pertaining to its operations made fully available to the public. Legislation calling for the elimination of taxes on silver and gold, and legalizing competing currencies, would likely follow (though perhaps not in the first 100 days, depending on how the audit of Fed goes).

One of the most important things a President can do to push for changes in policy is to submit a budget reflecting those changes. In my first budget proposal, I would call for very sharp reductions in military spending, starting with overseas military operations. Accordingly, all foreign aid programs would be set to zero. Additionally, all new weapons programs would be carefully reviewed, with all of those that are not essential to our national security being eliminated from the budget. As suggested by Congressman Ron Paul, I would put half of the savings towards deficit reduction and balancing the budget, with the other half going to shore up certain programs that people have become dependent upon that are facing major fiscal problems down the road (such as social security and medicare), as well as those that take care of our veterans. Of course, a transition to wean people off of these programs would be part of the long-term strategy.

One area of major budget cuts on the domestic side would be in the Department of Agriculture. I would call for the complete and final termination of the corn ethanol subsidy program as wasteful and harmful to the environment and land conservation, and as also being unconstitutional. I would also propose the elimination of all subsidies that go to so-called agri-business, which are in reality large corporate operations that put small farming operations at a disadvantage. All remaining agriculture subsides would be phased out over three years, allowing for a transition for those smaller farming operations that have become dependent on these programs. The price support programs would be terminated immediately, with the transitional payments simply made in cash (divorced from price supports and production controls).

I would propose the elimination of all corporate subsidies, as well as all agencies that function as corporate welfare operations. In the area of Education, with the goal of eliminating the Department of Education as soon as possible, I would propose that the No Child Left Behind Act not be reauthorized or replaced, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. Some programs, such as student loans and Pell grants, even though they are unconstitutional, would not be targeted at the onset. I would propose the elimation of the Department of Homeland Security, with the transfer of its few legitimate functions to the Department of Justice, and the complete elimation of all programs and agencies that violate privacy and civil liberties.

I would call for major tax relief, consistent with fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget, with the specific goal of eliminating taxes on capital gains and savings, and an overall reduction in income taxes (the eventual goal being the elimination of the income tax and repeal of the 16th Amendment, which can only happen with a major reduction in the role of government).

In the area of energy and environmental policy, besides the elimination of the ethanol program and all corporate subsidies, I would call for the legalization of hemp and use the bully pulpit of the presidency to encourage the growing of hemp as a source for ethanol. By “encourage”, I only mean in it the moral sense of the word. Usually by “encourage” it is meant that subsidies will be provided, which is exactly what we should not do. In what would be a largely symbolic move, with very modest savings of money and energy, I would direct the executive branch to institute in its own operations sound energy conversation practices and increased use of recycling (to the extent that it is cost-effective), as a way to set a good example.

I would propose liberty-based reforms to Congress in the area of health care, particularly expanding the use of tax-free medical savings accounts, and calling for the reversal of those provisions in the tax code that gave rise to the HMOs and third-party payer systems. I would also propose legislation to allow any retiree to opt out of the Medicare system and have freedom of choice in how to pay for health care. This potentially could ease the Medicare fiscal crisis.

This is hardly exhaustive, but these are some things a new President could do, and these are things I would endeavor to do were I the President. It would be nice to think that our new President, Barack Obama, would be inclined to do even a small portion of the above, but that would be the least of my expectations. Meanwhile, we can continue to get these ideas out to anyone willing to listen and learn, and build the number of active, liberty-minded individuals who are willing to engage and influence members of Congress- for Congress is the key.