In a conversation about the politics of freedom David Boaz and Dennis McCuistion answer the question: “What is a libertarian?” as well as discussing the societal fight over power and freedom since time immemorial.

Joining Dennis McCuistion is David Boaz. David Boaz is the Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute and author of Libertarianism: A Primer.

Dennis and David talk about the principles of libertarianism that are in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They discuss absolute free trade and the conflict between big government, the Federal Reserve and free markets.

As they continue to discuss all that surrounds the question, “What is a libertarian,” they address the query of individuals having the right and responsibility to make decisions over their own lives, yet today government makes many of these decisions. The classical liberal position of the 18th century is discussed and how parties function today.

They continue to discuss libertarianism by discussing Think Tanks and the differences between them.  The Cato Institute, for instance, is fiscally conservative but socially liberal. David Boaz addresses the ‘polling’ Cato has done regarding how people view politics and parties. He states that many poll libertarian on the fiscally conservative, socially liberal side, with less government interference.

As a Think Tank, Cato is skeptical of government interference in your personal life, from what Americans read to whom Americans marry.  They believe that the government has no right to dictate values. Cato is different from the Heritage Think Tank, which is more conservative. Brookings, for instance, is more sympathetic to government and is further to the left on economic policies.

Dennis and David both agree that ideas are important and many voters don’t seem to care and certainly government does not. Policies are made by special interest groups promoting their own agendas. Yet independence is bred into the bones of the United States. It is what makes us a great country and freer than others. We have free enterprise, private property, religious freedom, and separation of Church and State.

Join us as we answer the question, “What is a libertarian?” and discuss issues surrounding libertarianism and the politics of freedom.

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1803 – 10.11.09

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During this episode on government spending, touching on budget deficits, the United States debt and taxes, Dennis McCuistion is joined by:

• Daniel Mitchell, PhD, Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute and former Senior Fellow for the Heritage Foundation
• Stephen Moore, member of the Editorial Board for the Wall Street Journal and senior economics writer
• Richard Rahn, PhD, Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute, Chairman of the Institute for Global Economic Growth. He is also a weekly economic columnist for The Washington Times.

During this engaging, high energy discussion on the role that government has played in the financial crisis of today, we are enlightened by the experts in causes, solutions, and cautions regarding budget deficits, United States debt and taxes.

Richard Rahn addresses supply side economics. Supply side economics is:

“a school of macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce (supply) goods and services, such as adjusting income tax and capital gains tax rates, and by allowing greater flexibility by reducing regulation.”

Taxes

Addressing the flat tax, Richard Rahn says that it is presently used in 26-28 countries. However, Iceland is getting rid of their flat tax, which was too high at 37%. Flat tax is supposed to be a low rate system as it is in Central and Eastern Europe. He says flat tax is not a silver bullet. More growth and more entrepreneurship is still needed.

Stephen Moore and Daniel Mitchell also address the tax situation and address the fair tax. The fair tax is a national consumption tax that is essentially a sales tax. This would eliminate the need for corporate and personal income tax. They assert that this would be a dream come true and of great benefit, saying that the world is passing us by.  They warn, the United States may have to raise taxes to pay for the new health care system.

Spending some time to discuss big government and 2010, they touch on tax cuts, government spending and predict that the death tax, capital gains and personal taxes will go up in 2010.  The offer warnings on the vat tax as well.

Wrapping up the conversation, they discuss the Laffer Curve, tax rates, taxable income and tax revenue and how tax is collected. Citing  history, they discuss the President Regan Administration and the current concern about a massive tax increase on the middle class.

This episode offers compelling inside into today’s economic times. We welcome your comments on the episode below.

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1802 – 10.04.09

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