Where Are You In The Battle For Liberty?
By Seth Grossman, Political Columnist
“If you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?”
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??? This is what Americans often tell know-it-alls who say they can run the place better than the boss.?? People tell me something similar, whenever I say we should change our attitudes about government in New Jersey.
“If your ideas are so good, how come none of your people ever win an election?”
??? Over the years, we at libertyandprosperity.org put our most basic ideas into these seven principles:
1.? No eminent domain for private gain.
2.? Enforce federal immigration laws.
3.? Make tax and zoning laws fair and simple, and apply them equally to everyone.
4.? Cut taxes by cutting government spending.
5.? Post government salaries and contracts on the internet
6.? Don’t sell, lease, or hock our public highways
7.? Repudiate all unconstitutional state debt not approve by vote of the people.
??? Ron Paul supported most of these ideas when he ran for President in New Jersey’s Republican primary last February.?? So did Murray Sabrin who ran for U.S. Senate, and Donna Ward, who ran against Frank LoBiondo for U.S. Congress.?? Ron Paul ended up with 5% of the Republican vote, Sabrin got
14%, and Ward received 11%.?
???? Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello tried to enforce federal immigration laws by getting his local police certified under Section 287(g).?? When Democrats and Republicans blocked his efforts, he ran for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary.?? He got 6% of the Democratic vote.
???? Why??? Do most people like what has happened to New Jersey in just the past 43 years?
??? Our state government used gimmicks and loopholes to illegally pile up $108 billion of state debts and obligations without voter approval.?? We have the highest sales tax, income tax, business tax, and property tax in the nation.?? Yet we can’t go on the internet to see how our tax money is spent.
??? There are so many rules, regulations, and fees in this state that it does not pay to build or expand a business in this state – unless you have enough juice to get a sweetheart deal on zoning, tax abatement, eminent domain, etc., or if you can use cheap illegal immigrant labor.?
??? The problem is that too many people in New Jersey still do not know enough about this.?? And our politicians, newspapers, television, and the special interests benefitting from our culture of government waste and corruption will not do or say anything to let people learn the truth.???
??? That is our mission at libertyandprosperity.org.?? But we need your help.?? We can’t do it alone.
??? 1.? It is time for well-off business and professional people to do their share.?? Privately, they complain of how bad things are.?? But very few help us, and most give money to politicians who make things worse.?? They also give to charities that enable bad government, by easing some of the misery without addressing any of the root causes.?? They must understand that if we don’t change things quick, all their trust funds and 401k’s won’t protect their children from the fear and violence that now plague even the rich in countries like Mexico and Colombia.?? Those countries failed to secure “liberty and justice for all.”
??? 2.? Candidates who believe in liberty must use their campaigns to educate voters – not just win votes.?? And they must start campaigning a lot earlier.?? Ron Paul spent a lot of time saying he would follow the Constitution.?? But he never explained why.?? Ron Paul should have used New Jersey’s motto to explain how liberty creates prosperity, and how the Constitution was designed to secure liberty.?? (Ron Paul also would have done better to understand that Americans are always safer when people in the rest of the world are free.)
??? 3.?? You must recognize that politics is not a spectator sport.?? No law will ever stop one crook from finding a “legal” way to pay $10,000 to a politician in exchange for favors.?? But 100 citizens can offset that crook in any election by giving $100 each to a slate of candidates who will treat everyone fairly and equally.?? Most people often donate $100 to charity.?? But hardly anyone gives a nickel to any election campaign or a group like ours.
??? As President Eisenhower said, “liberty is a gift you cannot enjoy yourself, unless you first give it to everyone else.”?? You can’t expect government officials to do the jobs they are supposed to do, unless you as a citizen do the job you are supposed to do.
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For more information, visit www.libertyandprosperity.org or contact Somers Point attorney Seth Grossman at grossman@snip.net or 609-927-7333.??? Seth Grossman hosts a two way talk radio program every Saturday from 8am – 9am on WVLT Vineland, 92.1 FM.
