Libertarians Offer "Clear Cut" Solution to State Budget Crisis
Democrats and Republicans return to the General Assembly on Wednesday facing a budget shortfall that could reach $1 billion. While they ponder how they can still fund their aggressively spreading programs, the Libertarians offered them a simple solution: cut state government in half.
"There's at least $6 billion in the state budget that would be better off staying in the taxpayers' pockets," said Sean Haugh, Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina. "And we've got the figures to prove it."
The Libertarian plan runs 25 pages, listing 465 state programs to be trimmed, reformed, or in most cases cut altogether. The list of taxes the plan abolishes is almost as extensive. The result is a North Carolina state government almost exactly half its current size.
Highlights of the Libertarian 1999 State Budget Plan are:
- aggressively rooting out corporate welfare and abolishing the Department of Commerce;
- redirecting the Department of Transportation to maintain current roads by eliminating the Highway Trust Fund and the enforcement arm of the Department of Motor Vehicles;
- giving parents more school choice with a $2500 per pupil tax credit for private alternatives, and devoting a much greater percentage of public school resources directly to public school teachers;
- ending the War on Drugs in North Carolina, saving over one-quarter of the resources currently devoted to corrections and the court system;
- privatizing alcohol sales in North Carolina, doing away with the ABC system and the Alcohol Law Enforcement agency;
- halting Smart Start and several other expensive new initiatives;
- transferring Medicaid and other social services to private charity;
- ending most federal grant programs, and funding the remaining ones with state money;
- generating revenue by selling state properties such as the state railroads, Global TransPark, and the Governor's Western Mansion;
- abolishing the Departments of Administrative Hearings, Cultural Resources, Insurance, and the State Controller, as well as the office of Lt. Governor, turning their functions over to the private sector.
"Getting rid of the Lt. Governor would probably take a state Constitutional amendment," said Haugh, "but the General Assembly can do the rest this session. We hope they will do the right thing and let our citizens keep their hard earned dollars, instead of squandering billions more on their pet projects."
If all the Libertarian budget cuts were enacted, the state would be able to completely abolish the personal income tax, along with a host of other taxes and fees. The sales of surplus property would cover the money needed for buying out the almost 19,000 state employees employed by the affected agencies.
The Libertarian Party ran over 40 candidates for office in North Carolina in 1998, and is already qualified for the ballot in 2000. Libertarians promote solutions based on voluntary cooperation over government action. They advocate individual choice and personal responsibility on all issues, and limit government to protecting people's lives and liberty.
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