Ten Point Larry Elder Plan

The following is Libertarian Larry Elder's plan for American government reform with my comments.

1. Abolish the IRS. Basically, he wants a National Sales Tax (NST). If you have a NST then the 16th amendment has to be repealed or else you will have the NST plus the federal income tax. Not a good thing. For now a better idea is to have the flat tax similar to what Steve Forbes recommends in his book Flat Tax Revolution. Another thing to consider is that most states have a state sales tax. So, adding a NST will make merchandise more expensive to buy.
   
2. Reduce government by 80 percent. I like this idea. He wants to do this by eliminating most government agencies. I think every agency should be examined and this question should be asked of it: Does the U.S. need you?
   
3. End welfare, entitlements and special privileges. Another good idea. There was some welfare reform in the 90's but not enough. Is it fair for the government to decide who gets favors and who doesn't? Most of the decisions end up being political and not based on skills or performance.
   
4. Abolish the Minimum Wage. I agree. Let the free market decide what the minimum wage should be.
   
5. Legalize drugs. This one I am not so sure about. He wants to tax the drugs and use the money for drug treatment. If you are going to legalize drugs then you should have the same restrictions on the drugs as you have on alcohol consumption. I for sure do not want the government handing out drugs like they do in some European countries.
   
6. Take government out of education. This is a good idea. To do this you would need to abolish the Department of Education. He is in favor of vouchers (I am too) but if he wants vouchers this would conflict with his first suggestion. You cannot have vouchers if you have a NST because there would be no more IRS.
   
7. Drop the Davis-Bacon Act. I agree. It is interesting to note that four different presidents (including the present one) suspended the act for different reasons--two of which were for national disasters. If the act is such a good act why suspend it at all?
   
8. Eliminate corporate taxes. I agree. Having a NST would certainly eliminate the corporate tax. Let's face it you are just about taxed everywhere you turn. The corporations pay tax on stocks, the stockholder pays tax on the stock and even (I do anyway) have to pay intangible tax on the stock.
   
9. Charity from people not government. The individual person does a far better job at charity than the government does.
   
10. End protectionism. I am not for tariffs. All that does is to get you into a trade war with another country, and the consumer gets shafted. If country A does not like how country B conducts its trade then A should not trade with country B. The same goes for the individual consumer. You don't like a country's behavior toward your country--don't buy their product. Businesses like protectionism because that diminishes competition--the ideal environment for a business is no competition at all. Big labor likes protectionism because they think it protects the worker. Maybe. Neither is thinking about how protectionism does not protect the consumer.