Libertarian Director’s Statement on the S&P Downgrade

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Director Benedict’s Letter Urges Rejection of Government as a Solution

August 8, 2011

Dear Friend of Liberty,

I’m sure you have heard the news about the Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating.

I’m not a finance expert, so I don’t know exactly how important the downgrade itself is. I think it’s one more sign of what Libertarians have known for a long time: the Democrats and Republicans have created a giant welfare-warfare state that is beginning to collapse under its own weight. And I see no sign that they are going to change their behavior.

However, I think it’s important to remember that these politicians aren’t operating in a vacuum — they’re elected (and re-elected) by the people. And I believe that, by and large, they’re giving the voters what they want: lots and lots of government benefits, regulations, and programs.

Even the Tea Party groups claim to demand spending cuts, but polls show a large majority of Tea Party supporters oppose cuts to Social Security, or Medicare, or the military.

As a Libertarian, I’d like to believe that most Americans are libertarian at heart, and only vote for big-government politicians because they think there’s no alternative. However, I have to admit that most Americans just aren’t there yet. They still think government is the answer (even if they won’t always admit it).

For example, I’m dismayed by how frequently local bond measures pass, putting local governments further into debt. Those measures seem to pass whether local politics are dominated by Democrats or Republicans.

I believe that part of our goal as a party is to change the hearts and minds of Americans with reason, eloquence, and evidence. We need to deliver the message that statism is not only wrong, it’s also unsustainable. The S&P downgrade gives us one more piece of evidence.

As long as Americans keep voting liberals and conservatives back into office, this decline will continue.

Sincerely,

Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee

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6 COMMENTS

  2. Libertarians are nothing more than conservatives who are also drug addicts.

    • Do you understand what a Libertarian is?

      Libertarians are generally strongly against foreign military intervention. Pretty much the opposite of the current Republican party.

      Libertarians think Religion/God have no place in government. The opposite of the current Republican party.

      Libertarians are against most social legislation – gay marriage, the war on drugs, abortion. The opposite of the current Republican party.

      I’d like to turn your statement around.
      Republicans are nothing more than Libertarians who have experienced too much political power and have compromised their “small government” ideals with layers of religion, corruption, and career politicians who are mostly worried about their next campaign.

  3. To find out what the Libertarian Party stands for, please visit the following site:

    http://www.lp.org/

    You can even take a quiz to see if you might be one. However, if you resort to name-calling and mud-slinging, you are either a Democrat or a Rebublican and not a Libertarian.

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