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African American concerns

The best way to build African American communities is by supporting African American businesses with African-American dollars. Let's face it, government doesn't work. When government has tried to be the sole provider for disadvantaged and oppressed people, we pay out half our money in taxes, and what do we get? More crime, more drug-related violence, more welfare dependency, more young single mothers, more racism, bad schools and lower property values. In short, it's more oppression, just by another name.

Self-reliance through the free market is the alternative that works. If we got rid of the income tax, you'd have almost twice as much money to spend. If we got rid of unnecessary licensing laws, you could start a new business from your home at a low cost. When African-Americans create and sell goods and services to their neighbors, more capital will be kept within the community. Capital means wealth, and wealth means a better community.

The government has never been controlled by African Americans, so naturally it has never truly looked out for the interests of African American communities. The more the government tries to do for those in need, the worse things get. The poor pay a larger share of the tax burden, but the money goes to legal bribes for the rich executives of White-run corporations. Meanwhile, I hear more gunfire at night in my neighborhood. When we look out for ourselves and our own neighborhoods, we can always find better solutions than just more government oppression.

We've let the government try to fix our problems for us for 60 years or more. They failed. Government doesn't work. It's time for all people of goodwill to come together, free to make our own choices, and find solutions to our problems that don't depend on government. That's why I'm in the Libertarian Party. If we get rid of the destructive forces of government, the more our communities will thrive. We can do it.

Alcoholic beverage control

The ABC Board forcefully interferes in the free market, needlessly limits the possible economic choices of North Carolina citizens, and violates the rights of citizens to take part in the peaceful, voluntary, social and business activities of their choice.

The state has no business meddling in the marketplace or imposing the subjective values of some individuals on all inhabitants of the state. Individuals in private businesses should not be prevented from voluntarily buying or selling alcohol (or any goods and services).

We advocate the abolition of the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Boards, an end to the costly licensing of private business establishments, and the repeal of any laws necessary to this end.

Click it or ticket

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign waged by state and local governments is a tremendous waste of taxpayers resources as well as a gross violation of citizens' Constitutional rights. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina calls for its immediate abolition.

Of course, wearing a seat belt while travelling in a car is a good idea. Mountains of statistics prove that wearing seat belts save lives. But can any matter of public safety justify random roadblocks, warrantless searches or the demeaning experience of traffic court? Libertarians believe there are several methods of promoting public safety that work much better than the state's punitive policy.

“Click It or Ticket” is in direction violation of the rights upheld in Amendments IV and VI of the Constitution. Amendment IV promises that American citizens have the right to be “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Amendment VI secures our rights for a fair trial by jury.

When the Founders of this nation fought and won our liberty, they envisioned a land where people were free from constant intrusion by officers of the state. They wisely placed strict limits on the police and the judiciary, to prevent them from becoming the instruments of tyranny wielded by an oppressive government.

The “Click It or Ticket” campaign involves random checkpoints, with armed agents of the law snooping into your vehicle, searching you without a warrant or even probable cause for suspecting you of a crime. If the police can find a reason to give you a ticket, then you must appear in traffic court. Anyone who has been to traffic court knows that fair trials are not dispensed there.

Libertarians believe that the police and the courts should be used for one purpose only, to protect the victims of real crime. This policy of persecuting our citizens for minor infractions has absolutely no place in a free society.

Besides these Constitutional flaws, the “Click It or Ticket” program also contributes to several practical problems. All those late nights that police are running roadblocks means thousands upon thousands of dollars of tax money spent on labor and equipment costs. Taxpayers are funding expanded traffic courts and new prisons, not to mention an expensive ad campaign. And yet, the real crime rate remains unaffected. Taxpayers expect more from our government than this.

The promotion of automotive safety is a valuable goal. There are several well-funded concerns, such as insurance companies, health care professionals, and civic organizations, which have a strong interest in educating the public about the benefits of wearing seat belts. These private associations are the ones who should be conducting, and paying for, this effort. Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for public service campaigns.

Libertarians want a law enforcement policy that concentrates on stopping crimes of violence and theft. Otherwise, the law should leave its citizens alone. The "Click It or Ticket" campaign is a violation of our rights and a waste of our tax money. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina says “Click It or Ticket” should be ended as soon as possible.

Corporate welfare

By taking money from the taxpayers and giving it to businesses in the form of “corporate incentives”, our state and local governments are playing a game of reverse Robin Hood. They are robbing from the poor and giving to the rich. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina denounces all corporate welfare programs as fiscally irresponsible and calls for their immediate abolition.

Millions of dollars are taken every year from our taxpayers and stashed into various funds and programs at all levels of government. The purpose of these funds is supposedly to attract businesses to our area and help them expand, under the theory that this will create jobs and promote general prosperity.

This theory has two fundamental defects. First of all, the government has no place in deciding which jobs should be created and maintained. A free market is infinitely better equipped to respond to the economic needs of businesses and consumers. When the government starts funding already successful companies, it becomes harder to compete in the marketplace if you have a new company with an innovative idea or service.

More directly, we can not have general prosperity until we rid ourselves of our excessive tax burdens. The first cause of economic prosperity is when consumers have money to spend. But we have less and less spending money, as governments take more and more from our paychecks. And then they use that money taken from us as legal bribes to entice their corporate favorites to come to North Carolina.

In order to thrive, people don't need Global TransPark. We don't need the state Microelectronics Center. We don't need to subsidize the film industry, and we don't need a “public-private partnership”. The government has no place picking the winners and losers in the marketplace. That is the job of the consumers and sellers themselves.

Libertarians believe that people, making their own decisions in a free market, are a better judge of what businesses need to be funded. When people are allowed to keep the money they earn, they will decide what they want to spend it on. The companies that are rewarded with this spending money are the ones which respond best to the consumers' needs. There is no overhead for expensive bureaucracies to oversee and coordinate these transactions. The free market is far more efficient at creating opportunities for businesses that want to serve the actual needs of the people.

It makes more sense for the consumers of air cargo services to fund their own Global TransPark. Those who have a vested interest in furthering the development of microelectronics can more efficiently pay for a state Microelectronics Center. This can be said in any instance where a government agency gives money and incentives to any business, unless of course when the government is paying for services that it itself consumes.

Libertarians want government to sever their ties with corporate special interests. Libertarians also demand that we cut all unnecessary government spending. We must free our citizens from the current oppressive level of taxation. We believe that this public policy of arbitrary economic meddling is not a healthy way of creating economic prosperity.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina is committed to ending all forms of corporate welfare immediately.

Criminal justice

The current system of criminal prosecution is mainly concerned with punishment of the criminal. This leads to a system noted for its high cost, which has nonetheless failed to deter crime. The proper focus of a system of criminal justice is to require criminals to provide restitution to the victims of their crime.

A rational system of restitution should be set up to cause criminals to compensate victims for the cost of : (1) the crime itself, (2) apprehension of the criminal, and (3) legal costs related to the victim's attainment of justice for himself. We also call on the state to recognize the right of the victim to pardon the criminal or reach a private settlement with him.

Day care centers

Parents are more concerned about their children receiving proper day care services than any government bureaucrat. In the absence of unnecessary government regulations which drive up the cost of day care services, the supply of day care services will rise to meet the demand for this service.

All government regulation of church related, non-profit or profit-oriented day care services should be abolished, allowing individuals to trade freely among themselves and provide child care in the free exchange of services.

Deregulation of utility industries

The Libertarian Party opposes government control of utilities. North Carolina should let price, quality and level of customer satisfaction determine which utility companies will be successful. No longer should we let a government commission choose how much profit these companies should make.

Open markets, where companies must fight on a level playing field to win a customer's business, lead to better prices and services for consumers. The successful companies that win this fight are more profitable and are an asset to the communities where they are headquartered, because they are the ones best serving the needs of their customers. We must start the process of giving customers a choice and teaching utility industries how to be successful in a competitive marketplace.

One of the great strengths of the North Carolina economy has been the recent domination of our banks in the world economy. Nationsbank, First Union, and Wachovia have added jobs and investment capital to the state, because of their success against weaker banks in other states. One of the chief reasons for these banks' success was North Carolina's low level of regulation in the banking industry. With limited government interference, these banks were forced to compete with one another. The best-run, most successful banks were allowed to grow and gain strength. When national banking deregulation came in the 1980's, our state's banks were poised for success by virtue of the previous tough free-market competition.

A similar national deregulation of the utility industries is on the horizon. It is necessary to prepare our electric, gas, water, garbage collection, cable television, and telephone companies for this change now. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina proposes a plan to deregulate our utility industries in a three phase process.

Phase I: We should immediately allow incumbent companies to prepare for this competition by letting them do business on a reciprocal basis in each other's territory. For example, Duke Power could fight for business in Raleigh and Cary in exchange for CP&L getting a piece of the Charlotte and Durham markets. Similar competitive trades, across the state would be made involving other utility companies, and government subsidies and special protection of these private corporations would cease.

Phase II: After a period of two years, any utility company that has confidence in its ability to compete should be allowed to do business anywhere in North Carolina. This free and open market gives the customer the right to choose the best and least expensive gas, power, cable, garbage collection, water, and telephone companies.

Phase III: During banking deregulation, the value of banks rose as institutions were purchased for their market base. The same will happen with utility companies. The occasion of this sellers market will be used in Phase III to privatize all government owned utility companies and co-operatives. This includes municipalities divesting themselves of water, sewer, landfill, garbage collection, and recycling services. The government should not be in the business of providing these or any other services.

The Libertarian Party's plan will reduce bureaucracy by getting the government out of the utilities business, and by abolishing stringent, constricting price controls. Government price controls and enforced monopolies destroy the incentive to run one's business in an efficient manner, thus automatically resulting in artificially high rates and lower quality service. By deregulating North Carolina's utilities, the citizens, the businesses, and the overall economy of North Carolina will thrive.

Discrimination

No laws should favor the rights of any individual or group at the expense of other groups or individuals.

We call for the repeal of all laws, such as affirmative action laws, that sacrifice the rights of any individual or group in favor of increased privileges for other individuals or groups.

Dram shop laws

North Carolina dram shop laws and regulations cause providers of alcoholic beverages to have legal responsibility for the action of others.

Since Individuals are responsible for their own actions, Dram shop laws and regulations, along with any other attempt to shift responsibility, should be abolished. Individuals should be held fully responsible for any damage they cause.

Eminent domain

Coercive state monopolies discriminate against individuals and privately-owned industries in several economic endeavors, such as highway construction, water supply, and radioactive waste disposal.

We beleive that individuals should be allowed to judge the value of their property for themselves, and they should be secure in their homes and property. We call for the abolition of eminent domain and condemnation.

Farming

Farmers earn their rewards from assuming risks on their business investment, and they should be free to decide how much of each crop to plant, and what prices to charge for their goods. Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the risk of farming. We oppose all government controls on, and subsidies to farming businesses.

Food tax

Taxes and regulation of food add significantly to its cost, and food taxes are our most regressive taxes. Poor and fixed-income people spend a significant portion of their income on food and the level of taxation on food in this state is outrageous.

The LPNC believes that involuntary taxation is theft, and calls for the removal of all taxes on all stages of food production and distribution, including sales taxes.

Forced annexation

Municipal governments arbitrarily expand their city limits, compelling those people who choose to live outside of town to become citizens of the expanding municipality. Many of these citizens do not want or need the services offered by the town government, which are paid for through compulsory taxation.

We oppose forced annexation.

Freedom and responsibility

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina neither endorses nor opposes conduct which our policies would make legal. We believe the ultimate responsibility of making choices rests with each individual.

Freedom of the press

News organizations should have the right to protect their sources of information, and select whatever news they think will interest and inform their customers. We are adamantly opposed to government censorship in any form.

Gun control

The Libertarian Party opposes all laws that restrict the ability of honest, peaceful citizens to purchase and keep any firearm they wish. We believe the right to keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allows for citizens to have access to the very same individual weapons used by a soldier in the Army.

Libertarians believe citizens should be allowed to carry firearms (or other weapons), whether concealed or not, for self-protection. We oppose all gun registration or instant-background-check schemes that allow the government to create lists of what citizens own what weapons. Possession of such a list by government leads inevitably to confiscation of the citizens' weapons.

Libertarians believe that Gun Control laws are not about crime control, they are about people control. Politicians prefer unarmed subjects. Arms in the hands of the citizenry serve as a constant check on abusive government and remind politicians that power comes from the people. The fact that we can keep arms gives us confidence to assert other rights guaranteed by the Constitution. Disarmed people do not feel safe to openly criticize their "leaders".

The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution after overthrowing their own tyrannical government. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to insure that the fledgling government of these United States would not devolve into the totalitarianism they had just defeated. The Framers gave the people the ability to force the new government to abide by the Constitution. This was done through the Second Amendment, which states: "A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

As the Amendment clearly states, the people have the right to keep and bear arms. The Constitution does not grant this right. The wording of the Amendment implies that the people already have this right independent of the Constitution. The Second Amendment merely prohibits the government from infringing on this right. In spite of what the Democrats and Republicans say, the Second Amendment is not about duck hunting, target shooting, gun collecting, or any other "sporting purpose". The Second Amendment was added to the Constitution to provide for an armed citizenry because arms in the hands of the people are "necessary to the security of a FREE state." Without the Second Amendment, the Constitution is just a piece of paper, and nothing would prevent our current government from taking away all of our freedoms. The Second Amendment gives the people the power to enforce the provisions of liberty found in the Constitution.

Those who would destroy our firearm freedoms claim the "militia" language in the Second Amendment means that individuals do not have the right to bear arms, except when serving as part of a state organized militia. This modern theory is not supported by history. At the time the Constitution was written, all free men between the ages of 17 and 50 were considered members of the militia. If the militia was called up, citizens were expected to provide their own arms. Furthermore, Article I, Section 30, of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina contains exactly the same language as the Second Amendment. That same article in the state constitution further states that the right to keep and bear arms does not include the right to carry concealed weapons. If the language of the Second Amendment did not guarantee an individual the right to keep and bear arms, it would make no sense for the state constitution to contain that additional language.

The Constitution of the United States does not give the federal government any power to restrict the sale and use of firearms. Thus, even without the Second Amendment, all Federal firearms laws are unconstitutional because the Ninth and Tenth Amendments reserve to the people and the states all powers not specifically given to the federal government. Therefore, all federal firearms laws are unconstitutional because the federal goverment has only the specific legal powers enumerated in the Constitution.

During the debates over the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson wrote that "no free man shall be debarred the use of arms." After the civil war, some southern states tried to create laws that made it illegal for blacks to keep and bear arms. The Fourteenth Amendment caused the various state governments to be bound by the Bill of Rights, and caused all citizens to enjoy equal protection under the law. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in order to protect the individual rights of southern blacks, including the right to keep arms.

Libertarians also have practical reasons to oppose gun control. A recent study by the Cato Institute shows that if all 50 states allowed the right of an individual to carry a concealed weapon, we would have 1,500 fewer murders, 4,000 fewer rapes, and 60,000 fewer aggravated assaults per year nationwide. These violent crimes not only cost thousands of lives, they leave us with an estimated monetary cost of over $6.2 billion. Since the North Carolina General Assembly restored the right to carry concealed weapons we have seen a reduction in crime. The Cato study found that in states which allowed citizens to keep and carry firearms, criminals shifted to property crimes with minimal chance of confrontation with a potentially armed victim.

"Gun Control" only strips our citizens of the power to defend themselves. Not only are federal gun laws unconstitutional, they simply do not work. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina takes the Second Amendment at its word. We are the only political party calling for an immediate end to gun control laws and the full restoration of all Constitutional freedoms.

Pleas of insanity

Restitution by aggressors to their victims may be impeded by the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in criminal justice cases.

The defense of insanity, when raised successfully, should not relieve the accused person of civil liability. No one should be committed against his will to any confinement for "mental illness" unless he has initiated force against others, in which case he should be treated under criminal laws.

Jury nullification

Government derives its "just powers" from the consent of the governed. Both the United States and North Carolina Constitutions guarantee that individuals may not be brought to trial except by grand jury indictment. Both the Constitutions guarantee the right to trial by jury.

Grand juries can refuse to enforce "bad laws" by failing to indict, or by voting "not guilty" even if the vote is contrary to the judge's instructions, or the law. All registered voters should recognize their right to serve on a jury. It is the responsibility of a judge to administer according to a jury's directions, not to instruct a jury. Individual members of a jury may choose to nullify a bad law by voting "not guilty" after hearing the arguments of both parties.

Liberty of contract

The North Carolina Constitution supports liberty of contract "unless contrary to public policy or statue."

We find no justice in any restrictions on consenting individuals' freedom to enter into contracts, and call for the deletion of the restrictive clause quoted above. This would allow individuals to assume complete responsibility for their actions and the option to enter into any contracts they desire.

Omissions

Our silence about any other particular government law, regulation, ordinance, directive, edict, control, regulatory agency, activity, or machination should not be construed to imply approval.

Pharmaceutical regulation

The North Carolina legislature has chosen to interfere with the right of the individual to deal as he or she wishes with his or her medical needs.

We hold that any laws concerning the kind of drugs that may be consumed, or the means in which they may be dispensed, should be repealed.

Pollution from hog waste

Like everyone else, The Libertarian Party of North Carolina recognizes the severity of the hog waste problem that is currently threatening our rivers and our health. Government regulation has so far proved completely incapable of solving the problem. The Libertarian Party instead proposes that a free market approach would make the hog waste problem disappear overnight.

On June 21st, 1995, over 22 million gallons of raw, untreated sewage was spilled into the New River from Oceanview Hog Farm in Onslow County. On the same day, there was another million gallon spill from a hog farm in Sampson County. As you might expect, this created quite a scandal. State officials scurried around the state trying to document previously unreported spills. By the time they got done, the state and environmental groups had documented spills totalling 35 million gallons of raw sewage. This is over three times the size of the Exxon-Valdez spill.

The environmental lobby, the legislature, and the pork industry all recommend more or less the same solutions. They want to increase state regulation of environmental affairs. They want increased state budgets to do more water testing and state inspection of hog farms and their surrounding areas. They also want money set aside in the state budget to be prepared for the cleanup of future spills.

The problem with this scenario, despite its environmentally friendly sounding rhetoric is that the North Carolina taxpayer is burdened with the bill. Those who benefit from the hog industry are relieved from the financial burden of properly dealing with hog waste.

The hog waste problem is not completely an environmental problem. The dangers posed to the environment, while very real and very urgent, are only the symptoms. The problem with the hog waste spills is that those who benefit from the hog industry are not strictly liable for the risks associated with safely disposing of the hog waste.

Since February 1995, The Raleigh News and Observer has documented the incestuous relationship between the hog industry and the state legislature, and exposed the dangers that hog waste spills pose to the environment. We can expect to see a continuation of this campaign until the legislature takes some action on the matter. The only option currently being discussed is increasing the state's environmental budget and burdening the North Carolina taxpayer with the additional costs of monitoring hog farms. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina says there is a better solution, the free market solution. One reasonable alternative would be to require hog farmers to process the hog waste in sewage treatment plants just like cities have to do with human waste. Another reasonable alternative would be to require the hog farmer to carry an insurance policy that would cover damages that a hog waste spill from his farm might cause. This would give the hog farmer the proper financial incentive to avoid spills and give the insurance provider the responsibility of monitoring the farm.

Any plan to stop hog waste spills should include an elimination of the current government protection of the hog farmers and hog owners. Instead of facing the full liability for their pollution of our rivers, they only have to pay a relatively small fine. In June, a hog farm owned by U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth spilled over 25,000 gallons of rancid sweet potato mash. Faircloth's business should have to pay the full costs for the cleanup of the land and the river, and make full restitution to property owners down river who were harm by his farm's neglect. But instead, protected by the state of North Carolina, Faircloth's business must only pay the state a fine of $25,000. None of that money is earmarked for environmental cleanup, and not a penny of restitution is made to the victims.

The Libertarian Party agrees strongly that hog waste spills are a great detriment to the quality of life of all North Carolinians. But we can plainly see that the government approach of inefficient, bumbling regulation and excessive taxation has not worked and will never work. The only approach that promises to clean up the hog waste problem is the free market solution. Remove the regulations that protect our hog farms from their full liability, and we promise that you'll see the end of the hog waste problem in a hurry.

Property rights

The owners of property have full right to control, use, dispose of, or enjoy their property in any manner without interference, unless the exercise of their control infringes upon the valid rights of others. Property rights are the rights of humans to own property and, as such, are entitled to the same respect and protection as all other human rights.

We oppose all laws and powers of government land-use planning, and all interference with trade in the free market. When property has been taken from its rightful owners by government or private action in violation of individual rights, we favor restitution to the rightful owners. Restitution must be through return of the original property, or financial restitution provided by the sale of other assets -- not by taxation.

Regulation of profession

The state of North Carolina creates barriers for entry into professions, by passing licensing laws. These laws drive up prices, restrict the supply of goods and services and create unjust and monopolistic conditions.

All licensing laws must be repealed, freeing the members of the public to become clients of whomever they please for whatever price and level of service is mutually acceptable. This action would open the field to voluntary licensing and decrease the short supply of affordable professionals in the areas of health, law, engineering, counseling, real estate, dentistry, embalming, and other services.

Right of initiative, referendum, and recall

All citizens should have a direct say in the formation of just laws. Accordingly, we support the right of initiative, referendum, and recall.

School tax credit

The most important issue facing North Carolina today is education. Here we are literally talking about our future.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina is tired of the rhetoric surrounding issues such as letting your children pray in school, or what they should know about sex, or whether they should be forced to wear uniforms or be subject to strip searches. These matters should not be up to the government to decide. We want to give those decisions back to the parents. We believe that parents have the right to make decisions on how their children should be raised. They should not be forced to abide by the government's notion of what children should and should not learn.

To give this power back to the parents, The Libertarian Party of North Carolina proposes a $2,500 tax credit to anyone who will provide for a child's education. This applies to any school, whether it be public, private or home schooling.

No one is more naturally concerned for children's welfare than those children's parents or guardians. Therefore, we say that no one is more qualified than they are to make the crucial decisions about how their children ought to be raised. We recognize that sometimes there is not a concerned parent available. But we believe that people are basically compassionate, and will care for parentless children, especially when we make it in their financial best interests to do so as well.

This is why we propose that this $2,500 tax credit should be given to anyone who will provide for a child's educational expenses. This option is available to corporations as well as individuals and non- profit organizations, thus giving everyone a direct financial incentive to provide the best education for our children.

The Libertarian Party plan will reduce class sizes, and increase per student funding, without raising taxes. It will decrease the need to build more expensive new public schools. Private enterprise will build them instead, and do a much better job that the government possibly could.

Our plan will also cause schools to improve by forcing them to compete for students. This will increase teacher salaries and employment opportunities, as the schools vie for the best teachers and create the most effective educational programs. Corporations will take an interest in supporting the schools through scholarship programs, and by giving school incentive to teach the skills that students will need to become the workers and thinkers of the future.

In general, the Libertarian Party of North Carolina advocates the separation of school and state. Our plan for a $2,500 tax credit for anyone who will provide for a child's eduction will give us the incentive to take positive steps in that direction.

Seat belt and helmet laws

Personal safety is an individual decision. Seat belt and helmet laws are an unwarranted intrusion of government onto private decision making.

We oppose seat belt and helmet laws.

Sexually explicit material

Local and state governments have passed legislation banning sexually explicit materials, although they cannot clearly define their terms. This type of law necessarily results in arbitrary decision-making by local police.

Individuals should decide if they want to publish or view any sort of sexually explicit material. Government has no place in such decisions. We oppose all attempts to censor or regulate sexually explicit materials portraying the acts of consenting adults, and call for the repeal of any such laws that are currently in effect.

Sexist Laws

Laws in many states deprive both women and men of their equal rights on the grounds of gender.

As human beings, men and women have the same natural rights. Equality of rights under laws should not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Social security

The Libertarian Party points to the Social Security program as a prime example of how government doesn't work. Even when the motives behind a government program are pure, we have ample proof that government always fails to be the right social tool for developing solutions to our needs. As such, the Libertarian Party calls for the immediate liquidation of the Social Security fund, and an immediate end to all government interference between people and the retirement plan of their choice.

Most people acknowledge that the Social Security program will eventually be paying out more than it takes in. With the current trend, the Social Security tax will have to continue to rise for the system to stay solvent. This is not a good system for security in retirement.

In addition, the amount that a person has paid into the Social Security system is depleted within a few short years. Doesn't this mean, then, that the money a person receives after those few years are up, is being taken from someone else in the form of taxes? Is this a moral way to live?

Of course, everyone wants to have a retirement plan that provides for them adequately throughout the rest of their lives. But ask yourself this: do you want something that does not belong to you, something that was taken from someone else? We do not, and we believe most of our fellow citizens would not.

When considering the merits of Social Security, or any other government program, there is a simple test that you should take. Ask yourself, is an act morally right for you to do personally? For example, would taking money from someone without asking them first be a moral action for you to take? If it is not morally right for you to do it, then it is not morally right for the government, which represents you, to do it.

Even with the immorality of the Social Security program established, we still must face the reality of millions of older Americans now dependent on Social Security payments. The Libertarian Party's proposal, eliminates the government monopoly on Social Security while at the same time providing for those who rely on that money to survive. By selling off up to $12 trillion worth of federal government property (which is less than the net value of property currently held by the U.S. government), we can purchase a privately provided annuity for those currently depending on Social Security.

Government taxation and insolvency is the worst approach, if you want to provide for a prosperous future. Here we speak not only of our own secure retirement, but also the future that we pass on to our children and grandchildren. The Libertarian Party says that we must return to moral ways of living, particularly in the area of retirement planning. By eliminating government regulations and excessive taxation, all people would be free to invest in the retirement plan of their choosing. We are certain that a private retirement plan would cost less than 15% of your income, and would be less likely to become insolvent before you had the opportunity to retire.

Taxation

Liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, elected politicians have raised taxes to levels higher than those that justified the American revolution. Taxation by itself creates injustice, as people are forced to contribute to causes that they might deem immoral.

We beleive that taxation is theft. Ultimately we would like all taxes to be abolished. Voluntary assessments and fees for valid public services would be encouraged.

Term limits

The LPNC calls for passage of term limitation laws for those in government whether elected, appointed, or hired.

Toxic and nuclear waste disposal

The current controversy over low and high-level radioactive waste disposal in North Carolina illuminates the failure of governments to properly deal with the problem of environmental pollution.

The LPNC beleives that Pollution is a violation of property rights and should be treated as such. Creators of toxic and radioactive waste should be held fully responsible for the disposal of their own by-products and any damage they cause.

Victimless crime

Victimless-crime laws (such as those prohibiting gambling, vagrancy, drug use, and consensual sexual activities) are difficult and expensive to enforce. They create restrictions on individual freedom and foster an environment of deceit and violence in the market for these products, services, and activities.

The LPNC beleives that individual responsibility should not be usurped by the government. We support the immediate abolition of all victimless crime laws and vice squads. Executive pardon should be used to free all those presently incarcerated for these acts.

Voting “none of the above”

Voters have no way to register disapproval of all the candidates running for office. Currently, their only options are to not vote at all, or vote for the "lesser of two evils." Voters should have the option to vote "none of the above" for all elected positions. If "none of the above" gets a plurality of votes, the office should be unfilled and unfunded for the term of office.

Wage tax

The North Carolina Constitution affirms the inalienable right of all individuals to the fruits of their labor. Wages are a fruit of labor and are necessary for survival. The LPNC calls for the repeal of the unconstitutional wage tax.

War on drugs is a war on people

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina recognizes that most of the problems commonly associated with drugs are caused more by drug prohibition than by drug use. For this reason, as well as the defense of basic human liberty, we call for an immediate end to the War on Drugs. Drug prohibition does not work. Consider that drugs are even available in prison! If armed guards, iron bars, and continuous surveillance cannot keep drugs away from people, how can anyone realistically expect to keep them out of private homes?

Drug dealers profit from drug prohibition just as the Mafia profited from alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. Drug prohibition is little more than a subsidy for criminal behavior. Drug prohibition is also a politician's dream. It requires a vast bureaucracy and enforcement capability at all levels of government. Since prohibition actually causes most drug-related problems, there can never be enough government to make the problem go away. More police, prisons, guards, prosecutors, and judges are always needed.

The first anti-drug laws in this country were motivated by blatant racism -- they were aimed against Chinese and Mexican immigrants as well as African-Americans. While not all drug warriors today are similarly motivated, there is no escaping the fact that the War on Drugs has had a disparate impact upon minority groups, none more than African-Americans. One-quarter of young black males are either in prison, on parole, or on probation, largely as a result of the Drug War, and eighty-seven percent of people arrested at drug checkpoints in North Carolina are African-American. Is it coincidence that the penalties for crack, often favored by inner city blacks, are so much more severe than the penalties for equivalent amounts of cocaine, favored by suburban whites?

We believe an end to drug prohibition is defendable on civil rights grounds alone. After all, people have the right to control their own bodies. Nevertheless other practical benefits abound. An end to drug prohibition will dramatically reduce the crime associated with drugs by eliminating the colossal profits for drug dealers. Our legal system will be free to prosecute and imprison real criminals -- those who commit violent crimes, theft, and fraud. North Carolinians will never again be faced with the prospect of early release of violent criminals to make room in our prisons for nonviolent drug offenders. Drug related turf wars and the deaths of innocent bystanders will just be painful memories. Even deaths from overdose and impurities will be reduced because competition and trade laws will result in safer merchandise. Finally, inner city people, as well as the people of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia can reclaim the freedoms that have long been lost to drug traffickers.

The War on Drugs has nothing to do with the pharmacological effects of illicit drugs. It has everything to do with hysteria, everything to do with 15 second sound bites, everything to do with the extension of state power, and everything to do with the advancement of hidden agendas. One of those hidden agendas is the systematic diminution of our civil liberties -- it seems they get in the way of prosecutions. Virtually all of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been abrogated in a pattern of repression that has been called the "drug exception" to the Bill of Rights.

Polls have shown a willingness of some people to surrender some of their civil rights in the fight against drugs. They also are willing to surrender your civil rights! Your civil rights are not theirs to give! The Libertarian Party of North Carolina asks "If we do surrender our liberties for this purpose, when will we get them back?" We remember that it took a violent revolution to achieve them in the first place.

There is a truth here which is seldom spoken: we cannot be both drug-free and free. We must choose. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina chooses freedom.

Write-in votes

General Statute 163-123 (f), simply, is the law that allows the state of North Carolina to not count write-in votes. In other words, you no longer have the right to vote for anyone you choose. You may only vote for candidates approved by the government. The Libertarian Party of North Carolina believes that providing free and fair elections is the most sacred duty of a constitutional democracy such as ours. Thus we demand that this law be repealed immediately.

We recall these important words: "We 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. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Without completely free and fair elections, these words are reduced to nothing. Only through the freedom to vote for whomever we choose can we be secure in the other freedoms promised to us by our Constitution. Your ability to give or withhold your consent to the actions of your government is wholly contained in your authority at the ballot box.

Democratic government draws its authority from elections. When the government takes up a mistaken policy, their last refuge is the statement that you, the voters, authorized their actions when you voted for them. What they don't want to tell you is how they rig the system to ensure their reelection.

Did you ever notice how, when we were growing up, all the Communist countries we so despised had words like "Democratic" in their official names? When they held elections, with only one government approved choice on the ballot, we knew they were a complete sham. Now look at your American ballots today. Fully one third of the races for General Assembly have only one official candidate. In races all across the state, the same proportion of elective offices only list one choice on the ballot. Unless you have the name of a government-sanctioned official write-in candidate, and you want to have a choice, your vote will not be counted. This practice was an affront to liberty when we saw it in Communist and totalitarian countries. It is even more repugnant when we find it today in the so-called "land of the free".

We need to have a ballot that offers us several choices. Everyone should have a chance to let their voice be heard at the ballot box. With such free and fair elections, the citizens of North Carolina can have the opportunity to examine all the perspectives available on how to solve our problems. Without the right to vote for the candidates of our choice, we are all guaranteed that no one holding any elected office will truly represent our views. They will only represent the views of power, control, and (most importantly) re-election.

The Libertarian Party of North Carolina has proposals for sweeping ballot access reform. Let's start by repealing G.S. 163-123 (f). The ballot box is the wellspring of all our liberties. We will always advocate any proposal that protects the citizens' sacred right to free and fair elections.

Zoning laws

Individuals should be left free to use their property for whatever purposes they wish as long as they do not interfere with the equal right of other people to enjoy their property peacefully. We stand steadfastly opposed to zoning laws.

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. -- Thomas Jefferson.