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Policy Ideas
| End excessive spending, bloated stimulus programs, unnecessary farm subsidies, and earmarks. More detail | |
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| Recognize that you can't have limited government at home, but big government abroad. More detail | |
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| The American people deserve to know the extent to which the Fed has purchased private assets at home and abroad. More detail | |
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| Fix Social Security by changing the escalator from being based on wage growth to inflation. More detail | |
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| The FCC should not be allowed to create rules regulating content, Internet speeds, and pricing for services. More detail | |
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| Eliminate government support of Fannie and Freddie. More detail | |
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| Restrict Fed policy to maintaining price stability, not bailing out financial firms or propping up the housing sector More detail | |
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| Repeal the failed Medicare prescription drug benefit More detail | |
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| Identify and implement common-sense cost savings to place Medicare on a path toward long-term solvency. More detail | |
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| Abolish the Internal Revenue Service and enact the Fair Tax on expenditures More detail | |
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| Reassess the role of the federal gov & identify responsibilities that can be met more efficiently by the private sector More detail | |
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| Online gambling should be legal for adults. More detail | |
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| Stem cell research should only be completed by private laboratories that operate without federal funding. More detail | |
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| A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus. More detail | |
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Arguments
Idea #US183 - Progress for the LGBT Community
Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act
Argument
We are a nation of many peoples and beliefs. The only way to respect all citizens is to allow each to make personal decisions themselves. Government should not impose its values upon marriage. It should allow marriage equality, including gay marriage. It should also protect the rights of religious organizations to follow their beliefs.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US269 - No More Taxpayer-Funded Bank Bailouts
End taxpayer-funded bailouts for banks, insurers, and other financial companies
Argument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US199 - Opening New Markets
We need to open new markets beyond our borders for American goods and services on terms that work for America
Argument
Eliminate needless barriers to free trade.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US148 - Cost of Environmental Regulatory Process
Ensure that environmental laws properly account for cost in regulatory process
Argument
Essential environmental protection does not require destroying jobs, infringing on property rights, or curtailing freedom. Insisting on a basic cost-benefit analysis for regulations will restore an appropriate balance and common sense to environmental policy.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US373 - Block Grant Medicaid to States
Block grant Medicaid and other payments to states
Argument
In New Mexico, when the state took responsibility for Medicaid, costs were reduced by 25% and services improved. Removing unnecessary federal mandates would have allowed even greater savings.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US240 - Free Markets and Fair Competition in Healthcare
Competition can deliver higher quality at lower cost in the healthcare system, if given the chance to work
Argument
Government-run health care simply won't work. Competition and Price Transparency WILL work. Fewer government mandates and less regulation will allow innovation and competition to make health care more affordable and more accessible to all Americans.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US128 - Audit the Fed
Audit the Fed to check that monetary policy is determined by statutory objectives free of conflict
Argument
The Federal Reserve should be transparent and its actions held to the same level of scrutiny as any other federal department. Many Americans have become interested in the Federal Reserve in recent years. America's representatives in Washington, D.C. need to also become a lot more interested in how this government institution affects the American economy. The role and the activities of the Federal Reserve are long overdue for examination, reassessment, and ultimately, thoughtful reform. Can the Federal Reserve pursue both stable prices and full employment, or does its currency manipulation cause malinvestment, inflation, and prolonged unemployment? Conduct an audit to provide true transparency of the Federal Reserve's lending practices. Establish clear Congressional oversight.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US8 - Legalize It
Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources.
Argument
Over a million and a half Americans were arrested last year on drug charges, and nearly 40% of those arrests were for marijuana possession alone. Does this make sense?
- A recent Gallup poll reports that 46% of Americans now agree that marijuana should be legalized, a dramatic increase in support that reflects Americans' increased knowledge and understanding of the issue. Proposals to regulate marijuana similarly to alcohol have been considered in several states, and Governor Johnson has supported those efforts; he believes the federal government should end its prohibition mandate and allow each state to pursue its own desired policy.
- Governor Johnson believes it is insane to arrest roughly 800,000 people a year for choosing to use a natural substance that is, by any reasonable objective standard, less harmful than alcohol, a drug that is advertised at every major sporting event.
- As Governor Johnson often points out to concerned parents, "it will never be legal for a person to smoke marijuana, become impaired, and get behind the wheel of a car or otherwise do harm to others, and it will never be legal for kids to smoke marijuana." But we have to understand that marijuana is our nation's #1 cash crop despite the prohibition; it will always be available to those who really wish to use it.
- When polled, high school kids say marijuana is easier to get than alcohol. Perhaps this is because they buy from black market dealers who do not ask for ID?
- Legalization of marijuana would instantly and dramatically improve conditions on our southern border. Marijuana is Mexico's #1 illegal export; legalizing it would result in dramatically reducing the power and wealth of the drug lords, and instantly helping to restore stability in a nation whose stability and sustainability is truly vital to our economic and national security interests. If we truly wish to reduce border violence, take the profit out of it.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US289 - Repeal the Patriot Act
Repeal the Patriot Act and those parts of the National Defense Authorization Act that violate our civil liberties
Argument
The freedoms on which America was founded are now under attack from the very people charged with protecting and upholding them.
- The PATRIOT Act should be repealed, which would restore proper judicial oversight to federal investigations and again require federal investigators to prove probable cause prior to executing a search.
- Habeas corpus should be respected entirely, requiring the government to either charge incarcerated individuals with a crime or release them.
- The TSA should take a risk-based approach to airport security. Only high-risk individuals should be subjected to invasive pat-downs and full-body scans.
- The TSA should not have a monopoly on airport security. Airports and airlines should be encouraged to seek the most effective methods for screening travelers, including private sector screeners. Screeners outside of government can be held fully accountable for their successes and failures.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US103 - Federal Reserve Owner Compliance
We should have oversight on decision-making of the Federal Reserve's owners; require them to act in the public interest
Argument
The Federal Reserve should be transparent and its actions held to the same level of scrutiny as any other federal department. Many Americans have become interested in the Federal Reserve in recent years. America's representatives in Washington, D.C. need to also become a lot more interested in how this government institution affects the American economy. The role and the activities of the Federal Reserve are long overdue for examination, reassessment, and ultimately, thoughtful reform. Can the Federal Reserve pursue both stable prices and full employment, or does its currency manipulation cause malinvestment, inflation, and prolonged unemployment? Establish clear Congressional oversight.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US316 - Stop the Fed's Quantitative Easing
Stop the Fed’s program of so-called “quantitative easing.”
Argument
Get the Federal Reserve out of the business of printing money and buying debt through quantitative easing.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US8 - Legalize It
Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources.
Argument
Legalizing marijuana will reduce border violence and illegal immigration significantly, decreasing the U.S.-Mexican drug trade by 70 percent. Without a monopoly on the marijuana trade, Mexican drug cartels will have vastly diminished incentives to violate U.S. law and risk capture.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US396 - Local Control of Education
Eliminate the Department of Education
Argument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US8 - Legalize It
Legalize marijuana. Current illegality is a waste of resources.
Argument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US415 - End taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailouts
Washington politicians should not have the power to use our tax dollars to pick winners and losers on Wall Street
Argument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should:
- Reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy.
- Restrict Federal Reserve policy to maintaining price stability, not bailing out financial firms or propping up the housing sector.
- Eliminate government support of Fannie and Freddie.
- Reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
- Legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
- Eliminate needless barriers to free trade and make it easier for would-be legal immigrants to apply for work visas.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US311 - Balanced Budget Amendment
Balanced budget amendment to the Constitution
Argument
The U.S. is borrowing or printing more than 40 cents of every dollar the government spends today. The math is simple: Federal spending must be cut not by millions or billions, but by trillions. And it must be done today. Submit a Balanced Budget to Congress, not five or ten years down the road, but in 2013.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US220 - Visas for Highly Skilled Workers
Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers
Argument
It should be easier for a potential immigrant to get a work visa. Potential immigrants should pass a background check, and then be issued a Social Security card, which would allow them to pay income, payroll, and all other taxes workers pay. Legal immigration strengthens America's economy and the social fabric. It will also strengthen our relationship with our southern neighbor Mexico.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US202 - New Trade Agreements
Pursue new trade agreements with nations committed to free enterprise and open markets
Argument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. Eliminate needless barriers to free trade.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US248 - Eliminate the Corporate Income Tax
This is a global economy. If we want capital flowing into this country creating jobs, we need incentives.
Argument
With the Fair Tax, eliminate business taxes, withholding and other levies that penalize productivity, while creating millions of jobs.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US298 - Come home from Afghanistan
We need to get out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible, consistent with troop safety and transition to Afghan control
Argument
This recession has forced families and businesses across America to make hard choices and limit their expenditures. We must now expect our elected officials to make the tough calls that will keep our government on a sustainable path moving forward. We must restrain spending across the board. Eliminate the costly and ineffective military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan; limit defense spending to actions that truly protect the United States.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US373 - Block Grant Medicaid to States
Block grant Medicaid and other payments to states
Argument
Most people in Washington seem to think that we can control spending and balance the budget without reforming Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This is lunacy.
Block grant Medicare and Medicaid funds to the states, allowing them to innovate, find efficiencies and provide better service at lower cost.
Source: garyjohnson.com
Idea #US219 - Attracting the Best and the Brightest
Immigration policy designed to maximize America’s economic potential
Argument
We should eliminate needless barriers to free trade and make it easier for would-be legal immigrants to apply for work visas.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US189 - Repeal Obamacare
Repeal Obamacare
Argument
Government-run health care simply won't work. Competition and Price Transparency WILL work. Fewer government mandates and less regulation will allow innovation and competition to make health care more affordable and more accessible to all Americans.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US189 - Repeal Obamacare
Repeal Obamacare
Argument
Most people in Washington seem to think that we can control spending and balance the budget without reforming Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This is lunacy.
We should repeal President Obama's healthcare plan, as well as the failed Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Counterarguments
Idea #US339 - Constitutional Amendment Prohibiting Gay Marriage
Federal Marriage Amendment saying "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman"
Counterargument
We are a nation of many peoples and beliefs. The only way to respect all citizens is to allow each to make personal decisions themselves. Government should not impose its values upon marriage. It should allow marriage equality, including gay marriage. It should also protect the rights of religious organizations to follow their beliefs.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US122 - Ban High-Capacity Semi-Automatic Guns
Ban civilian ownership of guns with high-capacity magazines that can fire many rounds rapidly
Counterargument
Do not negotiate away our freedoms in the name of safety. From the United Nations to city council chambers across the nation, gun rights are constantly under attack from those who believe, mistakenly, that restricting our right to own firearms legally will somehow make us safer.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US429 - Lifeline Funding for Public Education
Lifeline funding to help stave off the need for damaging cuts in public education
Counterargument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US25 - Carbon Tax
Carbon tax - starting with gasoline - to fund clean energy development
Counterargument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US132 - Create Federal Mortgage Bond Issuer
Create new agency to issue conventional mortgage bonds with explicit Federal guarantee to replace Fannie/Freddie
Counterargument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US255 - Free Public Education Pre-K through College
Provide tuition-free, quality, federally funded, local controlled public education from pre-school through college
Counterargument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US27 - No Austerity
Don't implement European-style austerity measures
Counterargument
This recession has forced families and businesses across America to make hard choices and limit their expenditures. We must now expect our elected officials to make the tough calls that will keep our government on a sustainable path moving forward. We must restrain spending across the board. Stop spending on the fiscal stimulus, transportation, energy, housing, and all other special interests.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US65
Government Bailouts to more flailing US Industries - we've seen success with the Auto Industry.
Counterargument
Much federal intervention is a payout to special interests or counterproductive meddling that stifles competition, innovation, and growth. We should reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting consumers or the economy.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
Idea #US80 - Transportation Opportunities for Working Americans
Create a high speed rail system across the country and rejuvenate existing roads and bridges and subways
Counterargument
This recession has forced families and businesses across America to make hard choices and limit their expenditures. We must now expect our elected officials to make the tough calls that will keep our government on a sustainable path moving forward. We must restrain spending across the board. Stop spending on the fiscal stimulus, transportation, energy, housing, and all other special interests.
Source: garyjohnson2012.com
1 Topic
Discussion
Idea #US8 - Before we can get serious about reducing the harms...
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