Voters!

You must step back and look at the big picture.

You must look at the actions and not the words of our current one party political system.

The big picture is that both the Republicans and Democrats mean to grow government and control your lives in ways that were unimaginable even 20 years ago.  They are now factions of the same one party political system – the party of government growth and control.

Read the rest of this entry »

The government practice of eminent domain, the forceful seizure of land by the government under the auspices of “highest and best use”, has been  the bane of many Libertarians and property rights activists over the last few decades.  Recently in Utah, however, we are seeing a newly emerging front in the debate.

Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R) has suggested recently that the state of Utah could seize Federally-owned land under the justification of eminent domain.  To most legal scholars, this seems to be a possible violation of McCulloch v. Maryland. What do you think?  Should a state’s right to apply eminent domain trump the federal government’s right?  Or vice versa?  Or should the whole practice of eminent domain go the way of the dinosaurs?

Alan Reynolds at The Cato Institute launched this scathing attack on the funding mechanism for Obama’s new health care legislation in the New York Times.  The article is well-worth the read and can be read here.

The president intends to squeeze an extra $1.2 trillion over 10 years from a tiny sliver of taxpayers who already pay more than half of all individual taxes. It won’t work.

President Barack Obama’s new health-care legislation aims to raise $210 billion over 10 years to pay for the extensive new entitlements. How? By slapping a 3.8% “Medicare tax” on interest and rental income, dividends and capital gains of couples earning more than $250,000, or singles with more than $200,000.

The president also hopes to raise $364 billion over 10 years from the same taxpayers by raising the top two tax rates to 36%-39.6% from 33%-35%, plus another $105 billion by raising the tax on dividends and capital gains to 20% from 15%, and another $500 billion by capping and phasing out exemptions and deductions.

Add it up and the government is counting on squeezing an extra $1.2 trillion over 10 years from a tiny sliver of taxpayers who already pay more than half of all individual taxes.

It won’t work. It never works.

The Republican Primary is coming up and there are some interesting candidates in the field who desire to unseat long-serving 5th District Congressman Dan Burton. Certainly, many would say he has served far too long, has a tarnished image and maybe isn’t the kind of leader they would like to see.

Those people may have some points; but, at the end of the day Burton’s voting record is far better than most other members of Congress and he often gets credited with having a pretty decent staff. Perhaps there is room for improvement; but, for those who are looking for another option, there MAY be a good choice in that race but Brose McVey does not appear to be it.

Read the rest of this entry »

State Chairman Sam Goldstein, Executive Director Chris Spangle, and Hamilton County Chairman Mike Kole appeared recently on Abdul in the Morning to discuss the importance of third parties and the growth of the Libertarian Party in the last year. Spangle used to serve as producer to Abdul’s show before taking on his role Executive Director.

Listen Here:

Indiana Libertarian Party

Changes to the Libertarian Party of Indiana Bylaws are brought to the floor of the annual convention each year. If there are any bylaw change proposals, please submit those to Executive Director Chris Spangle via email at lpinhq@lpin.org by April 16th. The proposed change must be in the proposed language.

Every year we recognize the hard work and passion of those involved in growing the party. Awards are presented at the Libertarian Party of Indiana convention each year. With the exception of one award all winners are granted their award by a vote of the LPIN membership at the convention.

We need your nominations! Below, you’ll find an explanation of the awards, and previous winners. To nominate someone for an award, please email Chris Spangle at lpinhq@lpin.org with their name, and an explanation of why they should win the award. Please submit all nominations before April 16th.

Read the rest of this entry »

CNN.com has posted this great article on their website that discusses in no uncertain terms the true cost of an employee to a business.  When all of the hidden costs of an employee are taken into account, the “loaded rate” (or wage) of an employee is in true dollars anywhere from 35-40% higher than that employee’s base salary.  These hidden costs will only rise in the future as businesses strain beneath the weight of growing government programs.  It is nice to see a major media outlet interview small business owners for a change to get the real straight talk on how these new programs will directly impact their bottom line.