Domestic Abuse
Last year, The Ohio Republic reproduced an article by Daniel Miller of the Texas National Movement, which likened the relationship between the American people and their federal government to domestic abuse. The feds take our money in taxes, then create rules that make it either degrading or difficult for taxpayers to gain any benefit out of it. They make nice to us every election cycle; and when the election is over, the oppression resumes.
PRINT Edition of The Liberty Voice Hits the Streets!
It’s official! The Liberty Voice is back in print! And honestly, I know it sounds trite to say, but it’s better than ever!
The Libertarian Party of Ohio has taken out a full page in support and have done a great job in laying out their “Small Government – Low Taxes – More Freedom” philosophy. The Not-So funny page is mostly funny this time, and twice as big! And best of all, with the help of the LPO and liberty-friendly businesses like Old Skool Skate Shop, half our pages are in full color!
The State Sovereignty Movement: Wildfire Across America
By Harold Thomas
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reserved to the states, respectively, or to the people.”
– Tenth Amendment, Constitution of the United States
Since the beginning of the year, 39 states have introduced state sovereignty resolutions in at least one house of their legislatures. Of those (as of July 28), seven have been enacted (Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee), four (including New Hampshire’s) have either been defeated or are expected to be defeated; and the other 23 are still under consideration. Not all of them are “red states”: Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are all states leaning Democratic or are highly competitive.
Why are so many states introducing such resolutions?
One reason is that the federal government is raiding state treasuries to run its programs. State legislators know this better than anyone. Here’s the dirty little secret: There is no such thing as “federal funds.” “Federal funds” and “stimulus money” are the tax dollars you and I send in by April 15 every year. Some of that money is taken out to pay for national defense and the federal bureaucracy. The rest is returned to the states as grants – with strings attached. State governments find it politically impossible to turn them down, because the end result would be to give away its taxpayers’ dollars to a more compliant state. In this way your dollars are being held hostage by Washington to carry out its will.
It doesn’t end there. Most federal grants come with a requirement for matching funds – that come from your state tax dollars! Now, state governments face a dilemma: do we try to qualify for federal grants, or do we try to carry out our own priorities, such as education and public safety, without raising taxes and further depressing the state’s economy?
In addition, a growing number of state officials are becoming alarmed at federal intrusions on the rights of state governments and the citizens. For example, proposed federal laws restricting ownership of firearms are meeting resistance from the legislatures of Idaho and Montana. Missouri is chafing under expansions of abortion rights, and Michigan doesn’t want Real ID. The USA PATRIOT Act and other federal legislation in the years since 9-11 have greatly narrowed the rights that are reserved to the states and to the people.
