The Libertarian Party

[xzxzzx]

Warning: Our Non-US-resident members may be less interested in this. Maybe not.

So, having recently turned 18, I felt compelled to seek a political party suiting my views...

Ok, enough crap. I stumbled onto a link to the libertarian party homepage (http://www.lp.org) through some decidedly geeky page. I'll think of it later.

Anyway, the point is that I almost completely agree with the Libertarian stance on how to run the United States.

Here's the basic idea summed up:

Government is inefficient, and gets corrupted due to it's broad hand, so the less, the better.

I think the US government does a piss-poor job at just about everything it does. Schooling, welfare, law enforcement, etc.

I'll sum each point up, but go to http://www.lp.org/issues/ for a full rundown:

• Corruption:
  Polititians shouldn't have laws specifically protecting themselves, repeal them.
• Crime & Violence:
  Force criminals to pay restitution in addition to any other sentence; Legalize drugs; Enforce jail sentences; Protect the Right to Self-Defense (guns)
• Drug Prohibition:
  Legalize drugs to reduce crime; This will cause drug problems to go down; Alcohol prohibition didn't work, neither does drug prohibition
• Economy & Employment:
  No more subsidies to foreign nations, foreign companies, and foreign citizens; Remove double taxation of corporate profits; Less regulation; End all domestic subsidy programs, trade barriers and tariffs
• Education:
  Privatize schools to prevent the "lock-in" to a bad school; Give tax credits (or such) to allow the choosing of schools; Give financial incentives to businesses/individuals to help fund schools
• Environment:
  Our government is the biggest polluter which will cease with privatization of certain things
• Family Budgets:
  Less taxes means more money for the family
• Foreign Policy:
  No more interference in the rest of the world; Withdraw troops; Reduce/eliminate foreign aid, it prevents countries from developing
• Freedom Of Speech:
  Porn is free speech; Boards (like this one!) are just as deserving of free speech as printing presses or speaking halls; electronic newspapers are valid; Censorship is bad
• Gun Laws:
  Guns are not the problem; Guns are used successfully in self-defense; Gun control only hurts the honest
• Health Care:
  This one's a little big. Follow the link.
• Internet:
  The Internet is protected under the first amendment.
• Immigration:
  Open immigration, but do not allow immigrants or descendants access to government social services.
• National Defense:
  Stop protecting well-off countries like Germany and Japan, and bring troops home. Cut military spending, redirect it to actual defense needs (missile defense, for example).
• Poverty & Welfare:
  Too big to explain quickly, follow link.
• Privacy:
  Encryption A-OK, courts may not force encryption keys, etc.
• Social Security:
  Social security is basically a failed system, see link.
• Taxes:
  The government is inefficient, cut taxes and the total cost goes down by privatizing parts of the government.
• Trade:
  Free trade. See link for more.

The point of this thread is to discuss the views of the libertarian party. Do you think these principals would work? If not, why not?