Ramesh Ponnuru wrote up a piece on the latest Republican "Tax Plan".
Now...whenever you hear the words "tax plan" from inside the beltway, the first thing that should come to mind is "shuffle the deck chairs". That's almost always what it means.
Normally, pieces on "tax plans" are very forgettable (read it, move on) but the following words jumped out at me in Ponnuru's:
Especially since the last election, various conservatives and libertarians have argued that Republicans need to be more responsive to middle-class concerns.The inclusion of "libertarian" in such a sentence doesn't sit well with me at all.
At the very base of libertarianism sits the "non-aggression principle" (i.e., no one may initiate the use of force against anyone else). This applies to all individuals. It doesn't just apply to some construct known as the "middle class".
No one may initiate violence against another individual.
Ponnuru's insertion of the word "libertarians" does nothing but water down what it means to be a libertarian. It declaws libertarians and makes them no better than conservatives or Republicans.
There is only one "tax plan" for true libertarians, and it can be summed up in just two sentences:
Cut, slash, and abolish taxes for everyone. Get as close to zero as possible, with zero being the ultimate goal.
Ron Paul & Lew Rockwell are right. Since the meaning of the word "libertarian" continues to be watered-down, it may be time to prefer the term "non-interventionist" (no intervention in the economy, in personal lives, in other countries).
I like it!
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