Ah, the issues

A lot of people keep asking me where I stand on given issues.  Now, it is quite impossible to discuss all the issues in one sitting, so I will cover some of the issues people seem to ask about frequently.

Abortion: I do not view abortion as being a political issue.  It is an issue for the courts.  The ultimate question is whether or not abortion is murder.  To fit the definition of murder, one must deliberately kill another human being.  Thus, to define abortion as murder there must be proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, in the court of law, upheld by a jury, that declares an unborn fetus under three months old to be a human life.  Once the major organs are “viable”, the fetus, however, becomes a life, and any taking of that life, I believe, shall be construed as murder.

Taxes: I am a proponent of the Fair Tax system.  Income taxes work well, but can be avoided, and people can scam the system.  With the Fair Tax, there is little that can be scammed, and there’d be less spending.  There’d be no more IRS, no more tax fraud and evasion lawsuites, and tourists, transients, and even people working on the black market would be forced to pay taxes.  It’d be more fair, more balanced, and people would ultimately pay less money per tax payer, while still providing the same, if not more, money to the US Congress.

Smoking Bans: I support smoking bans in public places.  I oppose them in private residences.  However, I am aware of the touchy issue concerning second hand smoke and children.   It is an issue I am very concerned about, as children do not have a choice, and their right to breathe clean air seems to trump any right to smoke.  In private residences where there are no children, smoking seems fine.  In privately run businesses, smoking is okay, so long as a sign is posted on the OUTSIDE of the building near the door, large enough so that all the public can see.

Minimum Wage: Minimum wages are not meant to be implimented on a federal level.  It does not cost the same to live in New York City as it does in Montana.  Likewise, it does not make sense to have a minimum wage that is equal in all places.  The minimum wage should be decided on a local level.

Education: It does not make sense to me to cut spending on education.  We have educators in many places who care only for making money, instead of helping the children.  And because of their teacher unions, they make more money.  Unions can be good, but often get too greedy.  In the case of teachers unions, the larger unions only cause harm to the children.  We also need to get legislators out of the curriculum.  Lawmakers should not set classroom policies.  We need teachers who educate our children, giving them real-life tools, instead of teaching materials that serve no purpose to the general person.

Prisons and Crime: We spend too much time, effort, and money on imprisoning people for petty reasons.  Jean Jacques Rousseau tought us that it is better to have the violators of other’s rights pay dues to liberty by working off their debt to society.  By putting criminals to work and having them serve the people they wronged, they can regain their own liberty and freedom, earn respect and forgiveness, and still serve society.  Meanwhile, it will reduce our costs in operating the prisons.  We also need to spend more of our time on major crimes that are clear violations of the rights of other individuals as opposed to “victimless” crimes.

Gun Control: Gun control is a sticky issue, one that revolves around the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.  It is clearly the “Libertarian” position to always oppose gun control.  However, in government buildings, it seems prudent to ban guns.  Likewise, assault rifles serve no true purpose to anyone not in the military or on the police force.  Hand guns can be used for self defense, and most non-automatic rifles can be used for hunting.  These guns serve a purpose.   Regulation of assault rifles, especially within town districts, is not an issue I feel is vital enough to oppose.

Immigration: Most of us come from immigrant families.  And each new set of immigrants saw opposition upon first arrival.  So long as the immigrants file their paper-work, get approval, and come here legally, I see no reason to oppose them.  I welcome them with open arms, and will assist them in finding jobs and adjusting to our culture, while trying to maintain their own.

Free Trade: I oppose “Free Trade” agreements.  Instead, I feel we need FAIR TRADE.  Whatever one nation charges us, we charge them in return.  Each nation gets charged a tariff (which is indeed Constitution), which is a charge equal to the charge we pay.  Thus, if one nation charges us a 19% tariff, we charge them the same, and another charges us 15%, we charge the same.  This seems likely to help us in foreign trade, as companies will lose incentive to move to other nations to avoid paying tariffs.  The location of the company will no longer matter, as the tariffs will be equal.  If a nation does decide to drop all tariffs against us, we should do the same in return for them.

These nine issues will do for now.  If, however, you have further issues you’d like to discuss, please ask in the comment section, and I’ll be sure to answer as best I can!