We live in a decisive moment in the history of our species. We have to make profound choices about how we will sustain ourselves into the next century. In most cases, the choices require that we take a close, intense, and introspective look at ourselves and our world. What kind of lives are we living? What sort of world are we fashioning? What legacies will we leave for those who come after? These questions are more than philosophical; indeed, tough and realistic answers to these questions could mean the difference between a healthy world, utter catastrophe, or a slow strangulation of the planets biosphere.
I. Individual Rights and Civil Order
Freedom and Responsibility
We believe that individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. We must accept the right of others to choose for themselves if we are to have the same right. Our support of an individual's right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices.
We condemn the attempts by parents or any others -- via kidnappings or conservatorships -- to force children to conform to any religious views.
We support the issuance by the government of an identity card, to be required for any purpose, such as employment, voting, or border crossing.
We further support the nearly universal requirement for use of the Social Security Number as a personal identification code.
A. that neither Congress nor the President be permitted to override this requirement;
B. that all off-budget items are included in the budget;
D. that the budget is balanced exclusively by cutting expenditures, and not by raising taxes; and
E. that no exception be made for periods of national emergency.
The Federal Reserve should be forbidden to acquire any additional government securities, thereby helping to eliminate the inflationary aspect of the deficit. Governments facing fiscal crises should always default in preference to raising taxes. At a minimum, the level of government should be frozen.
We oppose the nuclear energy industry, including subsidies, research and development funds, guaranteed loans, waste disposal subsidies, and federal uranium enrichment facilities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should be abolished.
We oppose the use of fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels to meet our energy consumption needs, not only makes us dependent on other nations, but needlessly pollutes and destroys our natural environment. We support the use of abundant energy sources such as solar-electricity, hydro-electricity and the wind as natural alternatives to fossil fuels.
Toxic waste disposal problems have been created by government policies that separate liability from property. Rather than making taxpayers pay for toxic waste clean-ups, individual property owners, or in the case of corporations, the responsible managers and employees, should be held strictly liable for material damage done by their property. Claiming that one has abandoned a piece of property does not absolve one of the responsibility for actions one has set in motion. We condemn the EPA's Superfund whose taxing powers are used to penalize all chemical firms, regardless of their conduct. Such clean-ups are a subsidy of irresponsible companies at the expense of responsible ones.
We oppose all so-called "consumer protection" legislation which infringes upon voluntary trade, and call for the abolition of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We advocate the repeal of all laws banning or restricting the advertising of prices, products, or services. We specifically oppose laws requiring an individual to buy or use so-called "self-protection" equipment such as safety belts, air bags, or crash helmets.
