Libertarian Party Platform
by Libertarian Party
The 1991 Platform of the Libertarian Party of California
As adopted in convention on the Seventeenth of February, 1991.
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
We, the members of the Libertarian Party, challenge the cult of the
omnipotent state and defend the rights of the individual.
We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion
over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they
choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal rights of
others to live in whatever manner they choose.
Governments throughout history have regularly operated on the opposite
principle, that the State has the right to dispose of the lives of
individuals and the fruits of their labor. Even within the United States,
all political parties other than our own grant the government the right to
regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor
without their consent.
We, on the contrary, deny the right of any government to do these
things, and hold that, where governments exist, their sole function is to
protect the rights of any individual: namely, (1) the right to life -
accordingly, we support the prohibition of the initiation of physical force
against others; (2) the right to liberty of speech and action - accordingly,
we oppose all attempts by governments to abridge the freedoms of speech and
press, as well as government censorship in any form; and (3) the right to
property - accordingly, we oppose all government interference with private
property, such as confiscation, nationalization, and eminent domain, and
support the prohibition of robbery, trespass and fraud.
Since governments, where they exist, must not violate individual
rights, we oppose all interference by government in areas of voluntary and
contractual relations among individuals. Individuals should be left free by
government to deal with one another as free traders on a free market; and
the resultant economic system, the only one compatible with the protection
of human rights, is laissez-faire capitalism.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
Rights delineate the legitimate scope of human conduct. Such a
delineation is necessary to clearly distinguish actions which may properly
be opposed by force from actions which may properly be defended against
interference by force. Only to the extent such a distinction is recognized
and respected can conflict between people be avoided and a just civilization
achieved.
Each right imposes on everyone, one and only one duty; the duty to
refrain from interfering with the free exercise of that right by everyone
else. Rights cannot impose on others an obligation to act. Thus, there can
be no right to jobs, housing, health care or other benefits. The
recognition, respect, and protection by law of individual rights is a
necessary condition of civil order.
Rights are:
RIGHT TO LIFE: One has the right to exercise sole dominion over one's
own life. One has the right to pursue any life style and courses of action
one wishes, recognizing that one may not violate the rights of others.
RIGHT TO LIBERTY: One has the right to remain autonomous from any form
of coercion, interference, or impingement by any individual or group of
individuals or government, that would impede one's pursuit of action,
thought, or security, recognizing that one may not violate the rights of
others.
RIGHT TO PROPERTY: "Property Rights" are inseparable from "Human
Rights". To lose property is to lose that portion of life spent for that
property. Property is an extension of self-ownership and is those goods,
services, materials, products of labor, or real property which are acquired
without the use of coercion, trespass or fraud. One has the right to use,
maintain, improve, control, protect, consume, destroy, or dispose of one's
own property as one sees fit, recognizing that one may not violate the
rights of others. The defense of property is a form of self-defense.
Members of the Libertarian Party do not necessarily advocate or condone
any of the practices which our policies would make legal. Our exclusion of
moral approval or disapproval is deliberate: people's rights must be
recognized; the wisdom of any course of peaceful action is a matter for the
acting individual(s) to decide. Personal responsibility is discouraged by
society's routinely denying people the opportunity to exercise it.
Libertarian policies will create a society where people are free to make and
learn from their own decisions.
IMPLEMENTATION
While recognizing that our society, shaped by government interventions,
is complex and resistant to change, we intend that, unless otherwise stated,
the actions called for in the planks which follow are to be taken
immediately.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL ORDER
No conflict exists between civil order and individual rights. Both
concepts are based on the same fundamental principle; that no individual,
group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group
or government. Where governments exist, they must be unconditionally
limited to prevent the infringement of individual rights.
1. VICTIMLESS CRIMES
The enactment of laws creating victimless crimes is a legislative
attempt to force one group's life style on others. To commit a crime, one
must infringe upon the right of another.
We therefore support the following:
a. The repeal of all laws restricting the voluntary exchange of goods
or services.
b. The repeal of all laws restricting or controlling any form of
gambling.
c. The repeal of all laws which control or prohibit any consensual
sexual activity, or soliciting such activity, including homosexuality and
prostitution, among consenting adults.
d. The repeal of all laws restricting or controlling the production,
transportation, sale, possession, or use of any food, food supplement, or
drug.
e. The repeal of all laws setting up special classifications of aliens,
and the abolition of all economic and social restrictions placed upon them.
f. The repeal of all laws permitting involuntary commitment to mental
institutions.
g. The immediate pardon and release, if incarcerated, of all persons
convicted of any "victimless crime" not involving a violation of another's
rights. The expunging of all arrest and conviction records related to such
victimless "crimes", in addition to the nullification of the laws defining
such "crimes".
2. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
We oppose any government restriction, regulation, or censorship of
speech, literature, or any other medium of expression. It is especially
important in a free society that government be prevented from restricting
what may be said about government itself. Specifically, we oppose any use
of governmental law enforcement agencies to violate the privacy of or
interference with those engaged in peaceful political activities.
The United States Supreme Court has held that each community has the
power to censor distribution of materials considered to be obscene according
to "community standards." We hold that obscenity is a matter of individual
taste and that government should not prohibit anything merely because some
people are offended by it.
We deplore the practice of government invasion of newsrooms, or the
premises of any other non-suspect third parties, such as lawyers, doctors
and psychiatrists, in the name of law enforcement. We further condemn court
orders gagging press coverage of criminal proceedings.
We support the complete deregulation of television, electronic
networking, and all other forms of communication.
Government proposals to finance and control political campaigns are an
encroachment upon freedom of expression. These proposals limit financial
support of campaigns for candidates or issues, and thus restrict the
individual's ability to disseminate his or her views.
We oppose any government action that permits political activities in
violation of private property rights, such as the circulation of petitions
in private shopping malls against the wishes of the owners.
3. DISCRIMINATION
No individual's rights should be denied or abridged by the laws of the
United States or any state or locality on account of sex, race, color,
creed, age, national origin, marital status, sexual preference, physical
handicap or learning disability. However, we oppose any governmental
attempts to regulate private discrimination, including discrimination in
employment, housing, and the use of privately-owned "public" accommodations.
The right to trade includes the right not to trade - for any reason
whatsoever. We affirm that government should not use quota systems based on
any of the above criterion.
4. ALIENS
We hold that all human beings have rights, not merely the citizens of a
particular country. Although private property owners have the right to
restrict others from trespassing on their property, government restrictions
on the liberty of travel, residence, and employment, such as immigration and
emigration laws, mandatory identification papers, and work permits, are
violations of human rights, and we call for their abolition. We oppose
mandatory reporting by employers of their employees' nationalities.
We defend the right of so-called illegal aliens to seek work, trade,
and live within this country, just as we defend these rights when possessed
by current citizens. We support the right of private property owners to
provide sanctuary to persons who face arrest and deportation as aliens.
Most aliens come to this country to work, not to collect welfare;
nevertheless we oppose welfare payments to aliens just as we oppose welfare
payments to all other persons.
We applaud those individuals, groups, and communities who grant
sanctuary to these economic and political refugees.
We condemn dragnet tactics against immigrants, particularly in their
workplaces and homes.
5. OFFICIAL LANGUAGE
We oppose the forced imposition or designation by any level of
government of any particular language or languages as the official language
of the society.
Where governments exist, we expect them to make use of the lingua
franca (any of various languages used as common or commercial tongues among
people of diverse speech) in a pluralistic society. When persons wish
translations of government documents, they should pay the full cost.
6. JUDICIAL
There are no crimes against society, the State, or the people. There
are only crimes against individuals, and these are crimes of violence or
threat of violence, property loss, and fraud.
We believe that the so-called legislative police power, which was
incorporated into the American justice system upon its formation, should be
completely eliminated from American jurisprudence. The state should not
have the power to define public necessity, public policy, the public
interest or to make legislation related thereto.
The judicial process should be an earnest attempt - by due process of
law - to extract reasonable restitution from a person convicted of a crime
and to convey that restitution to the victim, to imprison or exclude
criminals from society when necessary, to hold persons to strict liability
for damage they do, and to fairly settle contract disputes.
The failure of the government judicial system to apply these
principles has led to the inability of its courts to administer justice and
to the near collapse of public confidence in the American judicial system.
All persons should be equal before the law and entitled to due process
of law. Due process should determine innocence or guilt in a manner
designed to protect the individual rights of all persons concerned, both the
accused and the accuser. We hold that individuals may settle their
differences outside the court, if both so agree.
Until such time as persons are proven guilty of crimes, their
individual rights shall be accorded full respect.
We therefore advocate the following judicial reforms:
a. Full protection of the rights of the accused, including complete
access to all available records, information, or evidence (held by the
courts or voluntarily submitted) to be used in the prosecution of the case.
b. Full restitution of loss incurred by persons arrested, indicted,
tried, imprisoned, or otherwise injured in the course of criminal
proceedings against them which do not result in their conviction by the
accuser, be it a law enforcement agency or private individual.
c. The termination of all "preventive detention" procedures. No
individual shall be detained or otherwise denied freedom of movement without
formal charges being filed immediately following arrest.
d. That no person shall be tried for a crime without complaint of the
individual whose rights were violated. In the case of death or
incapacitation of the victim, complaint of the victim will be assumed unless
indicated otherwise by the victim prior to the act causing his or her demise
or incapacitation.
e. Where governments exist, the right to trial by jury regardless of
the classification of the judicial procedure, including a finding of
contempt of court, shall not be abridged.
f. All jury trial findings shall be by unanimous decision, except that
the parties to an action or proceeding may consent to a verdict by a
majority of the panel.
g. The abolition of the current practice of forced jury duty; we favor
all-volunteer juries. In addition, we advocate that all juries in actions
to which the government is a party, shall be instructed that they have the
right to judge not only the facts of the case, but also the justice of the
law. Juries may hold all laws invalid that are, according to their
conscience, unjust, and find no violation of such laws.
h. That no persons, other than government employees whose actions as an
agent of the government have a direct bearing on the case at hand, be
compelled to appear or testify before a grand jury; nor be denied
independent legal counsel within the chambers of a grand jury proceeding.
The issuance of "Immunity from prosecution" by the court must not be used as
an excuse to deny a person his constitutional rights.
i. Recognition of the right of private parties to conduct, at their own
expense, prosecutions against those they allege have victimized them.
Public prosecutors should not have the authority to grant immunity from
private prosecution to alleged victimizers; thus we advocate an end to the
practice of plea-bargaining without the consent of the victim.
j. The repeal of all laws extending criminal or civil liability to
producers or vendors whose products may be used by others in the commission
of a crime.
k. The repeal of all laws establishing any category of crime applicable
to a particular age group, including statutory rape laws and laws setting
drinking ages and curfews, and an end to the practice of incarcerating
children accused of no crime. We further advocate the abolition of the
juvenile court system and of the California Youth Authority.
l. The right of any person convicted of a crime to seek restitution, in
a separate legal action, for any violation of his or her rights.
m. An end to the defenses of insanity or diminished capacity and to the
practice of pre-trial insanity hearings to determine capacity to stand
trial.
n. The right of defendants and their counsel to inform jurors of the
jury's power to nullify any law.
7. POLICE
No person has any special right to make arrest greater than that of any
other person. The government monopoly on police protection puts the power
of violence in the hands of society's dominant groups, a practice which
inevitably harms minority groups. We note with alarm the increasing numbers
of minority individuals shot by police, as well as growing police harassment
and brutality directed toward blacks, Hispanics, young people, and other
minority persons. We therefore call for decentralization of police
protection to the neighborhood level whenever full privatization is not
possible.
8. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY
We favor an end to the doctrine of "Sovereign Immunity" which implies
that the State, and its agents, can do no wrong and holds that the State,
contrary to the tradition of redress of grievances, may not be sued without
its permission nor be held accountable for its actions under civil law.
In judicial proceedings, all government agents must accept liability,
both civil and criminal, for their actions, negating the cloak of "Official
duty" as an excuse.
We oppose payment of government (tax) dollars to satisfy judgment
against agents of the State.
9. HEALTH AND MEDICINE
The health and physical well-being of individuals are not proper
concerns of government. These should be matters of personal choice and
responsibility. The State should not be involved in the regulation of the
profession of medicine or in the delivery of health care.
Therefore we advocate the following reforms:
a. The repeal of those laws and regulations which restrict and inhibit
the practice of lay midwifery and planned out-of-hospital births and which
permit harassment of lay midwives and home birth practitioners.
b. The repeal of laws and regulations which discourage the development
of privately funded medical facilities such as women's health clinics and
free-standing birth centers.
c. The repeal of laws and regulations which prohibit and otherwise
curtail the selection and practice of unorthodox medical procedures among
which are: acupuncture, laetrile and other controversial cancer therapies,
homeopathy, and chiropractic.
d. An end to all mandatory licensing and certification requirements for
the practice of medicine.
e. An end to government subsidies to and regulation of all schools of
medicine, nursing, and the allied health care professions. An individual
should have the right to choose among available health practices.
Similarly, he or she has the right to refuse or reject treatment or other
care.
Therefore, we oppose any form of forced or mandated medication such as
fluoridation of water, compulsory vaccination, and involuntary
sterilization.
We further oppose any attempts to impose compulsory hospitalization.
We support the right of an individual to determine his or her own
medical treatment whenever he or she wishes. In particular, we call for the
immediate end of all restrictions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
as well as state and local agencies.
As financing of medical and health care is the responsibility of the
individual, tax monies should not be used to fund it. We therefore oppose:
tax-supported medical care, abortion services, and research facilities;
grants and subsidies to members of the medical profession; and all
government-funded medical programs such as Medi-Cal and neo-natal care for
infants.
We oppose measures that would extend health insurance to uncovered
persons by having taxpayers pay for the uninsured; by requiring businesses
to provide insurance; or by requiring insurance companies to insure persons
or illnesses they choose not to insure.
f. Inasmuch as medical evidence has not established that AIDS is
casually transmitted, we oppose all attempts to abridge the individual
rights of persons with AIDS.
g. Since laws making sterile needles unavailable have contributed to
the spread of AIDS and other diseases, we call for the repeal of those laws.
10. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
We defend the right of all persons to privacy in and control over every
aspect of their biological nature, such as contraception, abortion, or other
termination of pregnancy, and free choice in all sexual relations. No laws
regulating these areas can be justified. We specifically oppose laws which
mandate giving information to or receiving information from a woman seeking
abortion, or other termination of pregnancy, or mandating the consent of any
other party.
11. DRAFT
We oppose the draft, registration for the draft, and any form of
compulsory service as slavery, the most fundamental violation of individual
rights and also unnecessary for the maintenance of a strong national
defense.
12. MARRIAGE
We regard marriage as a private contractual agreement. The State of
California should neither dictate, prohibit, control, nor encourage any such
agreement.
To implement this principle, we advocate:
a. The repeal of all marriage and marriage dissolution laws and their
replacement by contracts where desired by the parties.
b. Property not specified as "community property" not being presumed as
such.
c. The repeal of all laws regarding use of maiden names.
d. The repeal of all alimony laws.
e. The recognition in law of marriage contracts as an addition to, or
replacement for, marriage and marriage dissolution laws.
f. The right of all consenting adult persons to form marriage contracts
without regard to gender, sexual preference, degree of consanguinity, or
number of parties to said contracts.
13. RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
We recognize that children are entitled to many more of the rights of
human beings than they now enjoy.
We therefore support:
a. The right of children to the full protection of the law against
physical abuse.
b. The right of children to leave home whenever they choose to take on
the responsibility for their own support and actions.
c. The right of children to own and dispose of property.
14. THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
Recognizing that the right to life, liberty, and property implies a
right to defense of self and property, and that an armed citizenry is the
final defense against government tyranny, we support:
a. The repeal of laws regulating the ownership and bearing of arms,
including automatic or so-called assault weapons.
b. The elimination of registration and all other government records
pertaining to ownership of arms.
c. The repeal of laws requiring permission from any government agency
for the purpose relating to arms and ammunition.
Further, we oppose extension of liability to the manufacturers or
vendors of arms for crimes committed by the users of such arms.
15. FREEDOM OF RELIGION
We defend the rights of individuals to engage or not engage in any
religious activities which do not violate the rights of others. In order to
defend religious freedoms, we advocate a strict separation of church and
state. We oppose government actions which either aid or attack any
religion. We oppose taxation of church property for the same reason we
oppose all taxation. We oppose any government requirement that one believe
in a "god" or a "divine being" and call for the removal of such phrases as
"so help me God" from all government oaths.
16. PROTECTION OF PRIVACY
The individual's privacy, property, and right to speak or not to speak
should not be infringed by the government. No congressional committee,
government agency, or grand jury shall have the power to compel any person
to appear or testify. Government-mandated record-keeping by private parties
is a form of involuntary servitude and should be abolished. Correspondence,
bank, and other financial transactions and records, doctors' and lawyers'
communications, employment and other voluntarily kept records should not be
open to review by government without the consent of all parties involved in
these records.
So long as the national census and all federal, state, and other
government agency compilations of data on an individual continue to exist,
they should be compiled only with the consent of the persons from or about
whom the data are sought.
We oppose laws requiring parents to register the births of their
children.
17. INVOLUNTARY COMMITMENT
We oppose the involuntary commitment of any person to a mental
institution. The power of the State of California to institutionalize an
individual who has not been convicted of a crime is a violation of the
individual's rights.
We further advocate:
a. The repeal of all laws permitting involuntary psychiatric treatment,
or forbidding voluntary termination of treatment.
b. The discontinuation of all government or government-sponsored
programs for observational study, experimentation, or treatment.
c. An end to all involuntary treatment of prisoners and others by such
means as electro-shock, psycho-surgery, drug therapy, and aversion therapy.
d. The privatization of all state-financed mental institutions.
18. ALCOHOL
We oppose the regulation of alcoholic beverages by the State of
California.
Specifically, we oppose setting a drinking age or using zoning or land
use laws to restrict the placement of bars or liquor stores. We also oppose
road blocks that stop and detain sober motorists on public roads. Private
road owners should be free to exclude alcohol abusers or others from their
roads for safety or any other reasons.
19. ELECTION REFORM
The selection of a candidate by a political party is a matter in which
the State has no legitimate interest.
We therefore oppose the system of tax-financed primary elections and
call for the nomination of all candidates without governmental supervision
or intervention, as a private matter involving only the members of the party
concerned.
We also oppose laws which forbid partisan political designations in
local elections and, at the state level, for the office of Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
We further oppose all proposals to regulate the broadcasting of
election results, and all laws governing the broadcast coverage of
campaigns, including the fairness doctrine, the equal time rule, and the
reasonable access provision.
We oppose any limitation on the amount of money an individual or
corporation can spend supporting any candidate or ballot issue on the
federal, state, or local level. We also oppose the public financing of
election campaigns and the mandatory reporting of campaign donations and
expenditures.
The ballot choice in California elections does not always represent a
true choice of philosophy among candidates. The electorate often has no
positive feelings toward any candidate, but, on the contrary, often has
distinctly negative feelings toward all candidates.
Therefore the Libertarian Party of California endorses:
a. Placing on all election ballots, beneath each election office, the
option "none of the above is acceptable."
b. The provision that any elective office remain vacant if the category
"none of the above is acceptable" receives a plurality of votes, until a
subsequent election to fill the office is held.
20. LEGISLATURE
We oppose a full-time legislature in California and support efforts to
make the job of legislator at most a part-time one with drastically reduced
salaries, staff, and expenses.
21. SECESSION
We recognize the right to political secession. This includes the right
of secession by political entities, private groups, or individuals.
Exercise of this right, like the exercise of all rights, does not remove
legal and moral obligations not to violate the rights of others.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND THE ECONOMY
Each person has the right to offer goods and services to others.
Government interference can only harm such free activity. Thus we oppose
all intervention by government in the economy. Any law enforcement in
economic matters must be limited to protecting property rights, adjudicating
disputes, enforcing voluntary contracts, and providing a framework in which
voluntary trade is protected. All efforts by the State of California to
redistribute wealth or to control or manage trade are inconsistent with a
free society.
1. TAXATION
Taxation is confiscation by government of property of its citizens and,
because of its non-voluntary nature, cannot be justified, regardless of the
purpose for which the proceeds are to be used. Therefore, we oppose
taxation of any kind.
To that end, we support any and all initiatives to cut or abolish any
tax. We call for:
a. The repeal of all income taxes.
b. The repeal of all sales and use taxes, including special taxes on
so-called sinful activities.
c. The repeal of all corporate and business taxes and fees, including
special burdens on business inventories and out-of-state business firms.
d. The repeal of all gift and inheritance taxes.
e. The repeal of all property taxes.
f. The abolition of all tax collecting agencies, including the
Franchise Tax Board and the Board of Equalization.
We oppose all suggestions to split the owners' property tax rolls in
order to increase the burden on business property, and to increase revenues.
We also oppose all efforts to repeal or undermine existing laws
requiring greater than simple majority vote to raise to raise taxes.
We further oppose any compulsory withholding of any taxes or fees from
the paychecks of California workers.
We advocate that so-called "public services" be funded in the same
manner as private organizations - through voluntary contributions and
charges for services which have been voluntarily contracted for by the user.
2. LAND USE AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
We recognize the right of property owners to control, use, transfer or
dispose of their property in any manner that does not violate the rights of
others. We believe that rights to land and any related water, oil or
mineral rights are entitled to the same respect and protection. We reject
any governmental assertion of "police powers" to regulate private property
under the guise of "furthering the public health, safety, morals, or general
welfare."
Therefore, we advocate - on a statewide basis wherever possible - the
following:
a. The abolition of zoning laws and building codes, which may be
replaced by restrictive covenants, among other voluntary means.
b. The abolition of all rent control laws, regulations, boards,
mandatory low-income housing quotas in new developments, and all condominium
conversion restrictions.
c. The repeal of eminent domain and all forms of condemnation of
property.
d. The privatization of government-held lands, including parks and
beaches, and the abolition of the California Coastal Commission and any
other regional land use agencies.
e. The adoption of private remedies, including civil legal action, for
redress of property rights violations.
f. The abolition of any restrictions on a landlord's right to maintain
"adults only" rental units.
3. EDUCATION
We reject the idea that the financing and control of education is a
proper function of government, and call for the privatization of public
education in California.
To that end, we advocate the following:
a. An end to compulsory busing.
b. An end to compulsory school attendance.
c. An end to interference with home schooling.
d. Unlimited tax credit, equal to the amount of the assistance, for any
individual or business sponsoring a person in an educational institution.
e. An end to licensing and regulation of private and parochial schools.
f. Allowing students to attend any school regardless of district
boundaries.
g. An end to government or tax-funded pre-school programs.
h. A replacement of tax funding of government schools, at all levels,
by the use of tuition and other voluntary means.
i. An end to government subsidy of private education.
j. An end to tax-financed research (such as research in military
hardware and techniques, farming techniques and applications of high
technology) in California educational institutions.
k. Retention of tax-exempt status for all private schools, including
religiously-affiliated schools.
l. Abolition of California's monopoly lottery system for finance of
education.
4. ARTS AND SOCIETY
Artistic expression and its development should not be a concern of the
State. Such a concern is an attempt to mandate aesthetic judgment and
taste.
There should be no involvement of the State in the arts, in either a
supportive or negative role. As we oppose censorship, so we oppose
government subsidies, grants and commissions to both individual artists and
organizations such as tax-supported museums.
Taxation of any individual to support another - whether an artist or
not - is a form of theft. Taxation of an artist to support another artist
is a form of censorship.
Therefore we oppose all government programs concerning the arts, such
as the California Arts Council, and urge their prompt dissolution.
5. WELFARE
Government welfare programs violate the individual rights of two
groups: those who have their property coercively taken from them and given
to others, and those who receive this stolen property and whose economic
lives are, thus, extensively controlled by the State. The need of one
person is not a claim on another, and we therefore urge an end to government
welfare programs.
We believe that ending government interference in the economy will
greatly decrease the need for welfare.
The current oppressive burden of taxation and government provision of
welfare impair and stifle the ability of people to make donations to meet
the needs of those who cannot support themselves.
We also recognize that there exists a large group of oppressed people
whose very survival is currently dependent on welfare programs. This group
was largely created by State action. Many groups in our society are
subsidized with tax money, but only the poor are blamed for it, even through
their potential jobs are destroyed by minimum wage and licensing laws and
their homes are destroyed by urban renewal.
We advocate the development of private voluntary programs to aid the
dependent and oppressed to become truly independent, self-supporting,
productive individuals.
As goals, we suggest the following:
a. An end to participation by the State of California in the Food
Stamp, school lunch and Medi-Cal programs.
b. The end of California programs to aid families with dependent
children, and general welfare relief programs.
c. The privatization of state, county, and district hospitals and other
government-funded health services.
d. The privatization of government-funded job training, retraining, and
employment development programs.
e. The privatization of state-supported child care.
f. The non-adoption by the State of California of welfare programs
terminated by the federal government.
6. MONEY AND BANKING
We call for the repeal of all legal tender laws and reaffirm the right
to private ownership of, and contracts for, gold. We favor abolition of
government fiat money and compulsory government unit of account. We favor
the use of a free-market commodity standard, such as gold coins denominated
by units of weight.
We favor deregulation of financial institutions and other businesses by
ending the following:
a. Requiring the chartering of banks.
b. State usury laws.
c. The limiting of branch banking.
d. The governmental definition of different classes of financial
institutions.
e. The proscription of types of business which financial institutions
are allowed to conduct, including the underwriting and sale of insurance.
f. The prohibition of branches of out-of-state banks.
g. All laws or regulations controlling, regulating, or prohibiting the
raising of funds or the sale of securities by an individual, partnership or
corporation for any legal business purpose.
7. TRANSPORTATION AND MASS TRANSIT
We recognize that transit service has become a major problem in many
areas. This problem is properly solvable only through voluntary action in
the free market. Governmental interference in transit services has been
characterized by monopolistic restrictions and gross inefficiency.
We therefore advocate the following:
a. The repeal of all laws restricting transit competition, such as the
granting of taxicab and bus monopolies and the prohibition of private jitney
services.
b. The privatization of all public roads, freeways, waterways, and
publicly-owned transit systems.
c. An end to government financing of mass transit projects.
d. An end to government regulation of private transit organizations
and to government favors, including subsidies and access to powers of
eminent domain.
e. The transfer to private ownership of airports and air traffic
control.
f. The privatization of Amtrak and Conrail, and the return of America's
railroad system to private ownership without government regulation or
subsidies.
g. The abolition of state and local agencies such as the California
Public Utilities Commission, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the
California Department of Transportation, the Bay Area Rapid Transit
District, the Southern California Rapid Transit District, and various other
local and regional transit authorities. In addition to the dissolution of
federal agencies, we propose deregulation of the trucking industry at the
state, as well as federal, level.
h. We oppose laws mandating that manufacturers or passenger-vehicle
owners install seat belts, air bags, or other restraints. We also oppose
laws requiring the use of such devices while driving.
i. We oppose laws mandating motorcycle helmet use.
8. SUBSIDIES
In order to achieve a free economy in which government victimizes no
one for the benefit of anyone else, we oppose all government subsidies.
Relief from taxation is not a subsidy.
9. LICENSING LAWS
We advocate the repeal of all licensing laws, whether for the purpose
of raising revenue or for the purpose of controlling any profession, trade,
or activity. No individual should be legally penalized for not possessing
certification. No consumer should be legally restrained from hiring non-
certified individuals.
"Certification of Competency" can best, and should only, be provided by
the free market. Examples of free market certification would be adherence
to voluntary professional standards, or bonding by those organizations or
individuals who would accept financial responsibility for the actions of the
bonded party. In their own best interest, indemnitors would determine the
competency of a particular professional before certification, bonding or
insuring against malpractice.
10. CONSUMER PROTECTION
We advocate the use of private civil litigation, as opposed to
regulation by government agencies, to combat product mislabeling,
misrepresentation, and default of contract. The right to produce and
purchase products and services must not be restricted by law.
Regulations intended to protect consumers have often had the opposite
effect, since government rarely knows as much about consumers' needs as they
do. So-called consumer protection laws are often used by established
businesses to stifle innovative rivals. In addition, such laws have caused
considerable harm by lulling consumers into assuming that government would
protect them from bad products and services. In the free market, consumers
would be protected because:
A good name is an asset to a business and it can best be maintained by
fair and honest dealing.
The use of certificates, guarantees, and warranties issued by
manufacturers and suppliers of goods and services is a protection to the
consumer.
Both professional and non-professional people can voluntarily form
associations for the specific purpose of maintaining high standards both in
work and behavior.
Privately-owned consumer protection organizations producing journals
and magazines would proliferate in a free market.
We therefore endorse and advocate the following:
a. The elimination of all government consumer affairs bureaus or
departments.
b. The repeal of all laws regulating the production, transportation,
sale, possession, advertising, quality, safety, or use of any product or
service.
11. UNIONS AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
As we support the right of all individuals to enter into contracts, so
we oppose all government interference in employer-employee relationships.
Therefore, we oppose government-mandated "right of access" to private
property for purposes of union organizing, government-sponsored elections on
establishing unions, and government-defined collective bargaining units.
We support the right of persons to voluntarily establish, associate
with, or not associate with labor unions. An employer has the right to
recognize, or refuse to recognize a union as the collective bargaining agent
of some or all employees. Therefore, we oppose "right to work" laws because
they prohibit employers from making voluntary contracts with unions.
Likewise, unions have the right to organize secondary boycotts, if in so
doing they do not violate individual rights or existing contractual
agreements. We do not countenance individuals or associations, whether
management or labor, making efforts to coerce collective bargaining
agreements.
We oppose government interference in contract negotiations, such as
compulsory arbitration or imposing an obligation to negotiate. We call for
the repeal of all government laws and regulations interfering with employer-
employee relationships such as the wage and hour laws, the Wagner Act, the
Taft-Hartley Act, the California Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the
California Farm Labor Act.
We repudiate the notion that the government should decree wages in
accordance with its arbitrary political notions of comparable worth, and
oppose all laws based on this concept.
12. CONSERVATION
We support the right of private citizens and organizations to
rightfully acquire natural resources for the purpose of conservation.
However, the desire to conserve natural resources is not a valid excuse for
the violation of individual rights, and we therefore oppose such violations.
We oppose government-mandated conservation. Conservation should be
the choice of the owners of private property.
We therefore advocate:
a. That methods be devised for the transference to private ownership of
all currently unowned and government-held property, including waterways and
airspace.
b. That conservationists buy areas or resources they wish to conserve.
c. That all conservation laws controlling or regulating the use,
development, sale, or production of resources - e.g., land, minerals and
woodlands - be repealed.
d. That private deed restrictions be the method of choice to conserve
natural resources for future generations.
13. WATER
The history of government water projects in the State of California has
been one of increased taxes to finance dams, canals, and pipelines.
Government-run water rationing has channeled water to political favorites
and burdened the public with arbitrary cutbacks. Government-aided insurance
programs have subsidized those living or doing business in flood-prone
areas, and created regional antagonism between beneficiaries and victims of
water policy.
We advocate basing water rights on principles of appropriation and
transferability.
We also advocate the transfer of all water works to private ownership.
We oppose the tax-financing and eminent domain land acquisitions for the
Peripheral Canal. We favor repeal of all government drought and flood
emergency powers and all government ability to impose water rationing. We
propose elimination of all government flood insurance programs. We favor an
end to all government weather-modification programs, and we favor holding
private weather-modifying firms liable for damages they may cause.
14. POLLUTION
The pollution of air and water violates the rights of individuals to
their lives and property. Physical harm to health or property by pollution
is as real as harm due to assault or theft and must be dealt with through
objective legal procedures. We support development of an objective system
defining individual property rights to air and water. Current government
measures concerned with pollution often bypass court proceedings without
concern for restitution to the victims of pollution or the rights of the
accused. Governments, being major contributors to pollution, must be held
legally responsible for their waste products.
We oppose all anti-litter tax laws and all mandatory bottle-deposit
laws.
We call for the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency and
the return, to the jurisdiction of the courts, of all questions of
violations of rights to life and property.
We support holding property-owners fully liable for damages done by
their toxic waste. We oppose the creation of governmental funds, backed by
the taxing power, to finance toxic waste clean-up.
15. ENERGY
Energy shortages are caused by government interference with the
interaction of supply and demand, such as setting artificially low prices
for fuels. Such policies have discouraged production and encouraged waste.
These policies must be ended.
We support:
a. The right of persons to build, own, or use refineries, pipelines,
power-generation units, or any other productive asset, so long as they do
not violate the rights of others.
b. The right of sellers and buyers to trade voluntarily among
themselves without government restrictions.
c. The repeal of the federal Price-Anderson Act, which limits the
accident liability of nuclear plant owners.
d. Subjecting the utility industry to free competition without grants
of monopoly or price regulation.
e. The decontrol of natural gas pricing.
f. Privatizing the ownership of natural resources on the continental
shelf.
We oppose:
a. The refusal of government agencies to permit the development of
energy sources located on government-held land.
b. Government-imposed rationing of energy products, such as any
odd/even gas rationing plan.
c. Speed limits imposed for the purpose of conserving fuel.
d. Implementation by California of federal programs for coercive
control of energy production or use.
e. State requirements that methanol be used in electrical generation
plants.
f. Restriction by the State of California of drilling for production
and/or transportation of petroleum products.
g. Any taxes on energy producers, especially so-called "windfall
profits" taxes.
h. Mandatory conversion from any energy source to any other source of
energy.
i. Mandatory weatherization, insulation, and energy-oriented building
and architectural codes.
We oppose the proposed energy investment fund to be used to subsidize
co-generation, small hydroelectric facilities, synthetic fuel production,
wind power, solar power, and geothermal power. We oppose subsidies from the
Solar Cal Agency and the Public Utilities Commission that would artificially
encourage conversion to solar power. All forms of energy should be free to
compete on the market without subsidy or artificial props or impediments.
16. GOVERNMENT MONOPOLIES
Government-operated or supported monopolies abridge individual rights
to free trade and should be abolished. We call for the repeal of all laws
which establish or support monopolies. Specifically, we call for
privatization of water supply, garbage collection, transit systems, and
telecommunications. Further, we support the right of any person or group to
conduct a lottery.
We call for repeal of any law which prohibits competition with
government monopolies. Therefore, we condemn the government-enforced
monopolistic practices of the medical, legal, and other trade and
professional associations.
17. INSURANCE
We oppose government-mandated insurance, including auto liability
insurance. Failure to obtain insurance, however, does not relieve drivers
from responsibility to pay restitution to the victims of their actions.
We oppose no-fault auto insurance, which represents an attempt to
relieve people of the responsibility for their own actions.
We call for complete deregulation of the insurance industry.
Government has no right to set or approve insurance rates, force insurance
companies to write any particular lines of insurance, or regulate who may
sell insurance or found an insurance company.
We also oppose state unemployment insurance, workers' compensation
insurance and state disability insurance, which are quasi-taxes and grossly
inequitable. If these benefits are part of an employment agreement, they
must be voluntary between employer and employee, and be purchased through
the free-market.
OMISSIONS
Our silence about any other particular law, regulation, ordinance,
directive, edict, control, agency, activity, condition, or machination of
government should not be construed to imply our approval of such. Nor does
our advocacy of the right to perform certain activities imply an endorsement
of the activities themselves.
If you would like more information, please call or write:
The Libertarian Party of California
286 Greenhouse Mkpl. #362
San Leandro, CA 94579
800-637-1776
|