The problem with the free state project is that so much of the architecture
of the corporate state is centered on the federal government. But there's a
lot of stuff that could be done within the control of a state government.
1) an unconditional retreat from the drug war. The federal drug war depends
heavily on intergovernmental task forces and cooperation from state and
local police. Don't give it to them. Likewise, no cooperation with the
feds on unconstitutional "counter-terror" enforcement.
2) eliminate all civil forfeiture, period.
3) abolish city-wide school boards and place each school under the direct
control of the parents whose kids attend, as a consumers' co-op. Likewise,
make state university boards of trustees responsible to students in
proportion as the universities' revenues come from tuition. As for the
remaining trustees, the faculty gets to appoint as many as the state does.
Non-refundable property tax credit for home schoolers equal to per-student
education spending.
3) likewise decentralize police forces to the smallest possible (ideally
neighborhood) unit, encourage citizen patrols as something more than a
passive partner of professional law enforcement (as in existing neighborhood
watch programs), and end all state and local restrictions on concealed
carry.
2) jury rights to decide questions of law as well as fact.
4) place all city and state ("public") hospitals under the cooperative
control of their clients.
5) the same goes for all government-owned utilities.
6) fund all highways on a cost-based user fee basis, based on who imposes
the most actual cost on the system (primarily a weight-based fee on trucks
via a turnpike system, probably).
7) no imminent domain, period. No special tax breaks or other corporate
welfare to encourage corporations to locate their plants in the state-all
taxes on business at a flat rate, no deductions or exemptions. No taxpayer
funded industrial parks, stadiums, etc.
8) all savings in spending (like eliminination, pursuant to ending the drug
war, of half the prison inmates) translated into tax cuts from the bottom
up, by increasing personal income tax exemptions or the homestead property
tax exemption. Exemption of necessities from sales tax.
9) end to all zoning restrictions against mixed use development in suburbs,
or against affordable housing (like walk-ups) in downtown business areas.
No more utility subsidies to new housing developments at expense of
centrally located neighborhoods.
10) no vice laws.
11) end to professional licensing, anit-jitney laws, etc.
With all these reforms, you might not have to worry about the wrong kind of
immigrants. I don't think Hillary, Rosie or Barbra could come within a
hundred miles of the state without developing a case of the vapors.
From: Christopher Rasch <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Free State Project
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 15:52:10 -0400
Hi,
Those of you with an interest in political reform and innovation may
wish to check out the Free State Project.
(http://www.freestateproject.org). The idea is to concentrate 20,000
libertarian activists in a small-population state, so that they will
have sufficient voting power to win political office. From the web site:
"...The Free State Project is a plan in which 20,000 or more
liberty-oriented people will move to a single state of the U.S., where
they may work within the political system to reduce the size and scope
of government. The success of the Free State Project would likely entail
reductions in burdensome taxation and regulation, reforms in state and
local law, an end to federal mandates, and a restoration of
constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the
rest of the nation and the world"
When you become a member, you agree to move to the Free State once
20,000 people have made the same pledge, within 5 years of reaching the
20 K mark. When 5000 people sign up, a vote on the state will be held.
Currently 10 states are in the running: New Hampshire, Wyoming,
Vermont, Maine, Delaware, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, and
Montana.
What 20,000 libertarian activists could accomplish:
http://www.freestateproject.org/strategies.htm
State comparisons:
http://www.freestateproject.org/state.htm
The appeal for the libertarian-minded is obvious, but non-libertarians
may also be interested. Since the chosen state will be as free as the
FSP can make it, if the state becomes a hell-hole, then those opposed to
libertarian ideas can use it as an object lesson. Socialists could also
use the same strategy --move 20 K socialist activists to Vermont, say,
and implement the Guaranteed Universal Income, strict environmental
regulations, gun bans, high import taxes, a highly progressive tax
system, and increased welfare and public school programs. Whatever
