[318] in libertarians
Ballot Questions for MA
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Vernon Imrich)
Wed Oct 19 13:49:49 1994
Date: Wed, 19 Oct 94 13:27:46 -0400
From: vimrich@flying-cloud.mit.edu (Vernon Imrich)
To: libertarians-announce@MIT.EDU
Cc: libertarians@MIT.EDU, objectivism@MIT.EDU
Date: September 26, 1994
Contact: Peter C. Everett, Candidate 617-398-5241 <pce@world.std.com>
EVERETT CREATES LIBERTARIAN GUIDE TO BALLOT QUESTIONS
Libertarian candidate for Secretary of State, Peter Everett of Hanover,
has created a voter guide to the nine statewide ballot questions from a
Libertarian perspective. Voters who seek a less expensive and less intrusive
government, and more participation by ordinary citizens in the political
process will find Everett's guide useful.
"The best way to choose state-wide candidates is to find out exactly
where they stand on the issues," said Everett, "Ballot questions are valuable
not only as a way for the voters to enact laws, but as a yardstick against
which the candidates can be measured. I want every voter to know where I stand
on these nine important issues."
* Regulating Spending on Ballot Question Campaigns #1 NO
Its proponents make it seem like it would increase the influence of ordinary
voters by decreasing the influence of so-called "big money". What it would
really do is limit the ability of private citizens to argue against increases
in taxes and regulations, while placing no limits on public-sector influence.
Question 1 violates the spirit if not the letter of the First Amendment,
vote NO.
* Seat Belt Law #2 NO
Buckle up by choice, not by force. The voters have already made their wishes
clear, why doesn't the legislature get it? Vote NO - again.
* Changing the Law Regarding Student Fees #3 YES
Certain lobbying groups have arranged to have their funding hidden in the
tuition bills of public university students. This practice should never have
been allowed in the first place, end it by voting YES.
* Term Limits #4 YES
Our American system of government was never intended to include career
politicians, and now that we have them we can see the result. Open seats
create more choices for voters, not fewer, while the best elected officials
can move to higher office. Term limits will re-vitalize the Founder's vision
of a citizen-legislature. Vote YES.
* Opening Of Retail Stores on Sunday Morning And Certain Holidays #5 YES
Our blue laws are outdated, anti-competitive and bad for the economy.
Repeal them with a YES vote.
* Graduated Income Tax #6 NO
* Personal Income Tax Changes #7 NO
Our state constitution forbids a tax scheme that would pit one income
group against another using graduated rates. Questions 6 and 7 would
remove this important check on the state's taxing power. In essence,
it is a bait-and-switch scam that attempts to give a majority
of voters a temporary tax cut while enacting a system of unlimited tax
brackets and rates. The legislature could then 'pick-off' one bracket at a
time, each time increasing the taxes of a minority, but eventually raising
everyone's taxes. Voters who see through this cynical trick will vote NO
on 6 and 7.
* State Highway Fund Changes #8 YES
Gasoline taxes belong to the people who pay them - drivers. The ten cent
per gallon tax increase was passed with the understanding that the revenue
would be used to maintain the roads. This law forces the legislature to
keep their promise to give the taxpayers what they paid for. Vote YES.
* Prohibiting Rent Control #9 YES
Everyone who has studied rent control honestly knows that it is a sham,
however well-intentioned. While purporting to increase the supply of low
income housing, rent control destroys houses and hurts the very people it
was intended to help. It forces property owners, rather than the community
at large, to bear the full cost of subsidized housing. Under rent control,
thriving neighborhoods are replaced by decaying buildings. Home ownership
is part of the American dream, but rent control destroys that dream for
thousands of Massachusetts property owners. The Fifth Amendment of the
Constitution was supposed to protect us from having our property
confiscated for public purposes. A YES vote is a vote for the Bill of Rights.
Summary:
Question 1 No
Question 2 No
Question 3 Yes
Question 4 Yes
Question 5 Yes
Question 6 No
Question 7 No
Question 8 Yes
Question 9 Yes
