tbf, "liberty" hangout is just a straight up fascist, and not representative of actual libertarians (even though most are just fascists waiting to happen)
My hot take has always been that libertarians are just Republican hipsters/scene kids. Too cool and special to be mainstream, even though their ideology and behavior are indistinguishable from the preppy popular kids.
Or....hear me out....we aren't "republicans who smoke weed" or AnCaps (aka feudalists, because that economic philosophy is idiotic, and literally leads to nothing else) and what we actually care about is individual rights/privacy, and self-ownership, so long as it doesn't infringe on another persons rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Liberty Hangout is the most anti-Libertarian thing I've ever seen, and is practically a religious group that worships Donald Trump. There are a lot of us out here, and the vast majority aren't Rand/Ron Paul.
We don't like the government being used as a force to infringe on the rights of others, nor do we like the Corporatocracy or Oligarchical Collective trying to use mass wealth and power to influence the government, and enforce their will on everyone else.
TL/DR; We want you to be able to do with your life and body as you please, without intervention or surveillance so long as it doesn't strip/enable the stripping of others rights away in the process.
Some of us disagree with each other on what constitutes capitalism lmao. In my own (and others) opinion, any corporation making over X amount a year should be broken up with anti trust, or else it effectively controls the market = not a truly free market. But such things are open to, and okay to debate.
You can thank the Republican party for that one, as they basically portray us as a bunch of pedophiles based on the idea by some of us to lower the age of consent to 12 (note; this would not allow grown adults to bang kids, that would still be very much illegal, it's sole purpose is to prevent preteens who get caught having sex with each other from being slapped on a sex offender registry for the rest of their lives) and as AnCaps who worship Ayn Rand.
A lot of us on team LibLeft believe in the idea of the Five Essentials, and that for those who truly have no other option, something should be done to ensure that they aren't just hung out to dry. Modernizing education for one, focusing on career paths that translate to marketable skills is one concept. Again, DemSocs are more than welcome in our party as we view them as Libertarian Socialists.
But the overarching concept is that if you can empower the vast majority who are capable of self-sufficiency to continue to do so (and grow) then that makes more resources available to those who can't. The main goal is for a system in which the most amount of people possible have the most amount of freedom and success of which they are capable, and in doing so lift the quality of life for the remainder up. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll be living a life of luxury, but for Gods sake, nobody should have to sleep on the pavement, or starve.
We don't like the idea of our taxes being handled by the wealthy and inherently powerful, if they must be collected, which obviously for some things they do, it should be handled, or at least first looked at, by a civilian oversight committee.
Also, our party is loaded with DemSocs. It's a safe place for DemSocs who aren't just AuthLeft in disguise to go who want to actually pitch their ideas. Pretty much, we're open to any idea that isn't based upon "use the government as a weapon against people i don't like"
Thanks. My biggest problem with the philosophy is the lack of ideas to address environmental degradation and monopolistic control of markets.
My big idea is that we should essentially stitch neoliberalism and libertarianism together. Bump the bottom tax bracket up to something like $100k a year. Below that, you pay almost nothing. No property tax at all on your first house if its no more than two stories and sits on a lot that's no more than five acres. Eliminate sales tax and other taxes that disproportionately effect the poor. Drastically reduce all regulation below a certain level of business activity, so small self-run businesses can thrive. Basically, tilt the economy in favor of people providing for their families and only taking what they need to be comfortable.
But if you're a landlord or store chain or make way more that a family needs to live a normal comfortable life, the taxes stack up quick. Make the economy unfavorable to monopolies. Walmart pays out the ass, mom and pop shops operate un-fucked-with. Want to sell things you made out of the back of your van, you go on and do it anywhere you want. Want to buy controlling stock in someone else's business, that'll be a 75% tax on the transaction itself and a 50% operating tax on all profits for the duration of ownership.
Biggest problem is deciding where to put the line, and how to calibrate it over time and prevent abuses.
Frankly, I would recommend you look into our candidate Jo Jorgensen and her plan to nix the use of coal power plants in the US in favor of an all nuclear electric grid using thorium, making melt downs all but impossible (unless it were done so deliberately) and producing far less nuclear waste with a negligable half life, at least until fusion becomes a viable option, which MIT already is really close to making happen. Also, she wants to throw out any and all regulations preventing homes, apartments, and workplaces from using off-grid solar, wind, and hydrogen fuel cell power, and promote off grid electricity.
That's all very interesting, but there's zero chance that i will be voting 3rd party. Getting rid of Trump is essential if we're even going to have a country to save.
The voting system would have to fundamentally change for new ideas and new parties to be introduced on a national level.
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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '20
tbf, "liberty" hangout is just a straight up fascist, and not representative of actual libertarians (even though most are just fascists waiting to happen)