The two political parties with power have no reason to change. They have no competition. They have everything pretty much under control - their control, not yours. They gerrymander voters to ensure safe seats. They make it hard for competing political parties to mount a real challenge with restrictive ballot access laws that force challengers to jump high hoops. Their power to tax and spend allows those euphemistically called "member items" to buy votes. Creating commissions, authorities and boards make it possible to employ cronies and dispense political patronage to friends and supporters. Contracting work, issuing and revoking licenses, controlling the work of government agents and departments affects how people react to the controlling powers. All of this costs money. Basically, politicians have the ability to fill the treasury with your money and use it to buy votes.
Of course, people sell their votes for access to the treasury and power to enact self-serving laws. This also costs money. Buying influence has becoming both expensive and ineffective for many. Because benefit must be higher than the cost, political winners get to reach deeper into the losers' pockets. The power to decide slips away from some people and gets transferred to those who pay more for politicians.
The science of creating political coalitions long enough to win an election has been refined and institutionalized so that Democrats and Republicans are in equilibrium. Not long ago, when it called the NYS Legislature the most dysfunctional in the country, the Brennan Center (http://www.brennancenter.org/) sounded a loud alarm that many of us have known for some time. The press has brought attention to this report. Additionally, many ordinary citizens seem to have a sense that things are not as they should be but lack the ability to do anything. Even libertarians (small ‘l’) still hope they can influence and reform major parties to change from within. Calls for reform will be increasingly heard.
Of course, whenever it is noticed that the emperor has no clothes, the emperor promises to reform. Reforms rarely make a difference. Reforms invariably reform prior reforms. Campaign Finance Reform is a perfect example. Since those laws to curb influence buying were enacted by Congress more has been spent to buy political influence and power than ever before. Still, the Brennan Center calls for new rules – “New Year, New Rules”. Never mind reality - like Campaign Finance Rules. Isn't it strange? Many people are disgusted with late budgets, so new rules are demanded as if rules for on-time budgets did not already exist. What else but a call for new laws for a new year should we expect from a law school?
When people see it broken, the prevailing notion is 'Don't get rid of it. Fix it'. "It takes a village" to make it work. Evidently, "We, the people" are the problem. We just need to make new laws because this is a new year. All we get are more laws that limit more choices. But the problems don’t get fixed. When Detroit produces dysfunctional cars "We, the people" don’t have to fix Detroit. We just choose to buy from Japan or Germany. The market provides a choice of cars. "We, the people" choose the ones we want to pay for. We don’t have to fix the company or petition the Board of Directors or elect the CEO. We don’t need to know how to make better cars. We don’t even have to know how cars work. All we have to do is choose. What if Detroit could pass laws to reduce our choice of cars? What if foreign cars were not allowed, or tariffs made them unaffordable choices? We’ll be told it’s in the public interest, but then the public would be named Detroit. What is more liberating than the power to choose?
The existing political structure can’t be reformed. It has to be eliminated, removed, or replaced. We know that rules are not solutions. Rules are the problem. The solution lies in having choices. Laws steal choices. They make people do things they would not want to do if they were free.
New laws will not work any better than the old. Caring can not be legislated, nor can effort be decreed. As government interferes more and more in the ordinary lives of people more people will begin to resent demands for obedience. Blue voters don’t want to have red values imposed on them and red voters don’t want to be made to accept blue values. This conflict is the basis for dysfunction.
You know it’s broke.
It’s broke according to The Law.
Politicians make the rules that favor some people at the expense of other people. People will become increasingly frustrated as rules become more abundant and restrictive, as budgets get bigger and taxes get higher, as deficits and debts grow and as dysfunction is noticed and reported. As deteriorating conditions and lowered quality of life becomes apparent, and as more people become disillusioned, there will be calls for more legislation, more reform and fewer choices in an effort to slow the decline.
Why should constituencies - why should anyone - impose their values on others? If you can rationalize imposing your values on others then you ought not to object when others successfully impose their values on you. Respecting the values of others is libertarian. The Libertarian Party wants to reduce laws which prohibit some people's values or mandate other people's values. The other political parties do not. The others will not, because they keep winning by imposing laws. Why should they change when they are winning? Why support them when you are losing? Why waste your vote on them?
Politics-as-usual changes nothing. It's what you've had. We are the only alternative. Every other political party wants to write laws to favor some constituency or other. We want to reduce laws that mandate, limit or prohibit choices.
Choice is all we offer.
But what is more valuable than the ability to choose?
What do you have when you have no choice?
You will find no solace in Republicans or Democrats. Those two have their monopoly in place. By voting for either of them Republicans and Democrats will continue to win, but most people will continue to lose. We are your only alternative to more controlling laws. Only competition will fix it. Reform will not. Without choice there is no competition. Help make us an official party on November 2006. It is a worthy goal. It needs your help.
Libertarian Party
of New York
www.ny.lp.org/choice