The website change.org recently allowed anyone to submit ideas to the office of the President-Elect and allow them to be voted upon. The top voted ideas have just been posted and they are somewhat surprising
(link to the top ideas on their site).
Here are the top ideas (in no particular order):
* Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students Dream
- Ok this is a Democratic Party staple, the ol' "Please Mr. President, either print some more money or take some away from those nasty rich people and give it to me for my kid's college". Definitely not a Libertarian idea, and unless you feel it is fair to force other people to pay your college bills, it is not yours either.
1* Appoint Secretary of Peace in Department of Peace and Non-Violence
- These days there is virtually no collective effort in either major party to promote universal peace. The fundamental tenant of Libertarianism is to prevent the use of violence or coercion against any individual or group for personal gain. Such means are only only acceptable in defense of your life and your justly earned property.
* Free Single Payer Health Care
- Another Democratic Party staple, the ol' "Please Mr. President, either print some more money or take some away from those nasty rich people and give it to me for my medical bills (I promise I won't abuse it and go to the E.R. next time I have a cold *wink*)". Definitely not a Libertarian idea, and unless you feel it is fair to be forced to pay other peoples bills while forcing other people to pay your bills, it is not yours either.
* Develop & Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability
- This has to do with requesting govt intervention in resource consumption, i.e. pay more govt employees to hand out more tax payer money to people and preferred businesses to lessen the resource consumption of the US. Seems like a good idea, until you realize that it is our govt that already goes out of it's way to suppress the costs of these resources! If we paid the same prices for oil as the rest of the consumers in the world, then we would take it upon ourselves to curb our consumption and find alternatives. Believe it or not (put down your cup of Kool-aid for a minute) a free market would grow alternative energies.
2* Pass Marriage Equality Rights for LGBT Couples Nationwide
- Dems give this issue lip service, but are afraid to tackle it in policy. We will see now with a firm control in congress and the presidency if they pay it any more than lip service (I doubt it). I find this very ironic since it always appears to be a minority of people against this (albeit a loud minority..). Since this issue has some strong relationship to personal religious beliefs, and the Libertarian platform is not specific to any particular religion(s), it is difficult to speak for all Libertarians on this. Based on the core fundamentals of self-ownership and personal freedom of choice, I would guess that Libertarians would be most likely to support the freedom of others to choose their life partners regardless of sexual orientation.
* Make the grid green in 10 years
- This is a duplicate, again this also has to do with requesting govt intervention in resource consumption, i.e. pay more govt employees to hand out more tax payer money to preferred businesses to lessen the resource consumption of the US. And again I just have to say a free market would grow alternative energies.
3* Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana
- This is a strictly Libertarian Party view, no other party would consider this. I have no interest in smoking pot, but I know people who do and have yet to see it cause a fraction of the problems that alcohol does.. Just legalize it already.
4* Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and restore our civil liberties
- Restore civil liberties, a Libertarian mainstay. The Republicans seem to like having rights taken away these days, and the Democrats are cool with that.
5* Save Small Business From the CPSIA
- This is a request to hold both big and small businesses to the same safety standards. While govt intervention to force companies to manufacture safe products is a stretch for Libertarians, holding companies to the same set of standards is a no brainer. Bigger companies do more to elect Democrats/Republicans so I am not holding my breath waiting for the day either of those parties chooses to treat large companies "fairly".
6* Health Freedom IS Our First Freedom
This is the nearest and dearest to my heart.. and the most likely to be completely ignored by the Present-Elect. The influence upon our health policies by large corporations is insane. Obama wants to implement a computerized medical records system, such an accomplishment would be an all too likely tool for repression. He has also clearly stated that he is against selective vaccinations.. so everyone line up and roll up your sleeves!
That isn't to say that other political parties will not attempt to claim ownership of these concepts as well, especially considering that so many voters have voiced support for them. But it is very apparent that so many people subscribe to the concepts of liberty promoted by the Libertarian party, but would not consider it. It disappoints me that people are so quick to compromise their views in order to join a big group and hope for a fraction of what is taken from them returned in a handout from the government. At heart most people know that freedom is the right way, but constant bullying from the perceived majority (bullying funded and performed by a powerful minority) has been so effective at disarming us as individuals and scaring us into silence. My hope is that efforts like this site do something to get the voice of the people heard. In spite of my complete disgust and Obama's goals for policy, I hope he continues to give people a voice and I dream that he may actually listen to what he hears. It is great to see that 6 of the top 10 ideas submitted are in fact Libertarian views, however those ideas are the ones I suspect to be ignored by the President-Elect. If that is true then he ignores them at his own political peril..
