Welfare and Poverty

As a nation we have the duty of providing for the poorer among us, and regardless of political affiliation, I do not think any one of us ever wants anyone to go without food on the table, clothes on our backs and a bed to sleep on.
But the question we need to ask is, "What is the best way of providing for the poor and ending poverty?"
A large portion of people, no matter how well they mean, get the answer wrong and are convinced that we need welfare programs-in any and every area that people need help, the govermnent should provide at tax payer expense! Food, housing, clothes, healthcare, etc.
But ever since the War on Poverty came on the scene in America, poverty has skyrocketed in this country!
You see, poverty can't be solved by Government because although there certainly may be some good short-term effects of welfare programs, the long term effects are vastly more dangerous and complex.
Welfare programs eventually create a dependency on government, a loss of liberty, and ruins the incentive for charitable giving.
The most efficient means of helping the poor is through free market economics. The only places on earth that have escaped severe poverty and all it's sad effects are those countries that have embraced free market capitalism and the protection of individual freedoms.

What we need to do to help the poor and end poverty is to lower or abolish the majority of taxation in our state and throw off those heavy tax burdens that do nothing but harm the lower and middle class. We also need to get government red-tape out of our economy so that smaller businesses and individuals can compete in growing markets and create more jobs and more wealth. We need to let competition and consumer freedom lead the way in improving the lot of the ordinary man. We need to end minimum wage so that those who are less educated or experienced can get jobs at lower wages and gain experience and move up the ladder into higher paying jobs.

The result of this growth of wealth is not only more jobs but more funds going to private charities that would then be more than capable of providing for those people who absolutely cannot provide for themselves.

And we also need to fix our welfare system so that it assists people into slowly transitioning into providing for themselves without the government holding them back.
An example of this could be a slow gradual lower in the amount of welfare money they get until they are finally completely financially independent.

Nullification

The Patriot Act, the NSA illegal spying, Obamacare, the War on Drugs, illegal Federal regulations on our right to bear arms, Supreme Court decisions that give the government authority to search our homes without a warrant! And this list goes on!

It's such a shame that we can't do anything about it...Or can we?

The 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution says, "The Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, is reserved to the States, respectively, or to the People."

Nullification is the process whereby States assert their 10th Amendment right for the State OR the People to govern in those matters where the Federal Government cannot legally or morally govern, and pass laws that nullify unconstitutional Federal laws and essentially say, "We will NOT comply! We will not enforce these laws! Not on our soil! Don't tread on me!"

I believe Nullification is one of the greatest weapons we as a State have and we need Representatives in our Legislature that have the spine to stand up and take radical action to Nullify the horrific laws being passed by our Federal Government, and protect the liberties of Arkansans!

The States created the Federal Government, they obey us, we do not have to enforce any law they pass that we consider violations of our natural rights.

Marriage, what role does the Government play?

Politicans constantly debate the question, "In marriage, what role does the Government play?"
And this causes all sorts of different views of marriage to clash and have endless debates and usually only results in more government regulating more of our religious and civil liberties.
Now, it must be understood, that I am a Christian, I attend a Reformed Church and I believe, based upon the Word of God that marriage is between one man and one woman. But the question is misleading, "what role does the Government play?" The correct question is, "Is there even a role at all?"
The best way to protect my view of marriage AND all the views of those who disagree with me, is by REMOVING Government out of the equation. Marriage is religious in nature and therefore should be defined and regulated by the religious preference of the party being married, according to their churches/organization's practice. Marriage is a private matter that the Government has no place in regulating...Just as we don't need a license to have a friend at work or to have a cousin or parent, we don't need, and in a free society, should NOT need, to have the Government involved in private relationships between consenting adults.
Protect Marriage, Protect Liberty, Get the Government OUT!

Corporations, Corporatism, and Monopolies

The Arkansas State Constitution has this to say about monopolies in Article 2, Section 19, Declaration of Rights:

"Perpetuities and monopolies.
Perpetuities and monopolies are contrary to the genius of a republic, and shall not be allowed; nor shall any hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors ever be granted or conferred in this State"

It is absolutely true that monopolies are contrary to the genius of a republic and to freedom itself. The only problem is that the Section is vague on how best to stop corporatism/monopolies from occurring. Indeed, many would read this to think that government itself must simply pass a law or compile endless amount of redtape and regulation and this will somehow result in protecting free markets and ending monopolies. But this is not true. History has shown that in a free market economy, where no individuals, groups of individuals or businesses are granted any special privilege OR weighed down with regulation, monopolies almost never occur!
And yes, in those economies where businesses ARE granted special privilege AND/OR weighed down with heavy regulation, monopolies are almost guaranteed to occur and never go away.

Competition in markets are what keep out monopolies, as businesses compete for employees and costumers, they are driven to produce the cheapest products with the highest quality and the best wages for their workers. In an overly regulated market, competition is destroyed because the government in its regulation crushes smaller businesses with expensive fines, fees, etc and allows larger corporations to be free to take over that entire market and endlessly grow into powerful corporations that we see all over the country today.
The best way for the Arkansas Government to keep out monopolies and to end the ones we have today would be to simply get out of the economy, end the over regulation, end the special privileges and favors and let the Free Market fix itself, which it is more than capable of doing.

The Right to Bear Arms.

All men have the natural right to self-defense; to bear arms for the safety of their families and neighbors from any and all those who endanger them, including their own government.

History is crystal clear that those societies that are armed are those societies that are safe and free.

Using the government to take away guns not only leaves the ordinary man in danger from criminals who still have guns because criminals by definition do not obey laws, but also in danger of their own government.

We need Representatives that continue to protect our natural rights to bear arms and to stand up against any infringement on our right to carry.

The War on Drugs

The Primary (and I believe only) purpose of Government, is to protect the freedom of the individual. Any activites we engage in that do no violate the life, liberty or property of another person are legal and the government has no authority to regulate it.

All laws that make any nonviolent activity a crime are contrary to the principles of liberty and should be done away with, specifically the War on Drugs.

The War on Drugs, not only has done nothing to end drug use among citizens, in many ways it has exacerbated it! As the state makes less dangerous drugs like marijuana illegal, people then seek out other ways to achieve the drug high they need and resort to buying legal products at the store and further making newer, more dangerous drugs than the marijuana itself.

We saw this same thing play out in the early 1900s when alcohol was prohibited nation wide; there was gang violence, more dangerous forms of alcohol on the black market and a loss of freedom as police and government forces enforced punishments on many nonviolent "crimes".

The danger with marijuana is not the marijuana itself, it is the prohibition of it that makes it so dangerous.

My solution?
End the War on Drugs, affirm the right of the individual to buy, sell, trade or consume whatever products they choose so long as they are not infringing on another person's life, liberty, or property in the process. Not only would ending the War on Drugs return freedom to the citizens of Arkansas, it would produce jobs and innovation. Hemp has tons of uses other than being used as a drug; it can make rope, fuel, medicine, etc, and who knows what else once entrepreneurs can get their hands on it without fear of having their lives ruined by government throwing them in jail for a crime that never should have been a crime.

Taxation

Taxes are a very dangerous tool of government. It was once rightly said that "the power to tax is the power to destroy." I believe the income tax is a digusting, over-complicated, destructive form of taxation that gives the government way too much power to infringe on our liberties and take away money that does not belong to them. We deserve to keep the fruits of our labors, this is what gives incentive for people to work, innovate and as a result produce wealth and jobs for others. Taxation does nothing but stifle production; the higher the taxes the less incentive there is to work at all. I want to abolish the state income tax. I do not wish to lower the income tax rates or fiddle with the tax code, when I say I want to abolish the income tax I mean I want to end it and replace it with nothing. "Nothing", as Aristotle once said, is "that which rocks dream about." Taxation ought to be as voluntary as we can make it, with a more common sense budget that reduces the government back to its proper level of solely protecting the rights of individuals, state and local sales taxes would be perfectly able to provide the state with proper funds for the various services government provides us with.

Preamble

Believing that Government is instituted among men and derives its power from the consent of the governed and from the gracious hand of the Sovereign God of all creation to the end that the depravity of man might be restrained and that the world might be governed according to certain laws and policies, I, in agreemance with our Nation's founding documents hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

History has shown that where life, liberty and property are protected, and the free market is free to reign, so too safety, prosperity and freedom always reign in such a way that the worst depravities of men are best restrained and the best qualities of men are unrestrained and always to the betterment of society as a whole.

Therefore, my basic philosophy of how best to Govern a society is to decentralize Government power, to protect economic and social liberties of the individual, and protect the natural right of man to live according to the conviction of his conscience, to worship freely and be free from the destructive nature of Government.

As my blog continues and time goes on I will post my various positions on specific issues. I believe Liberty is the greatest means of achieving the kind of safe, prosperous and free society anyone would desire to live in and our great state of Arkansas has the potential to lead the way in this simple and most beautiful idea. I think you will find that my Platform is at best the ideal Platform for good government and at worst to be consistent with the basic philosophy of freedom and Libertarian Government.