Make America Great Again Starter Kit
How to Brand America Great Again
by
It has at present been a year since Donald J. Trump was sworn in equally the forty-5th president of the Us of America. Among other things, he said in his inauguration speech,
From this solar day forward, it's going to be merely America first, America first.
Every decision on merchandise, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign diplomacy volition be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies, and destroying our jobs.
We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. Nosotros will bring dorsum our wealth. And nosotros will bring dorsum our dreams.
We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all beyond our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to piece of work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labor.
We will follow ii elementary rules; buy American and hire American.
And and then, at the cease of his inauguration speech, Trump famously said, "Together, we will make America strong again. We volition make America wealthy over again. We will brand America proud over again. We volition brand America safe again. And yes, together we volition make America groovy again."
The question is an appropriate one: Has America been made great again since Trump has been in role? And of class, that also brings upward a number of related questions: What has Trump washed to make America bang-up again? What has Trump's party — the Republican Party — washed to make America great again? Will Trump's policies make America not bad again? Was America e'er neat to begin with? When was America great? What caused America to non exist great anymore? What does it hateful for America to exist great or not great? Tin can America be made dandy over again? How can America be made great again? It is this final question in particular that I desire to focus on.
Trump's America
At donaldjtrump.com we are told,
President Trump is working difficult to implement his "America First" platform, continuing his promise to the American people to lower taxes, repeal and supplant Obamacare, end stifling regulations, protect our borders, keep jobs in our country, take care of our veterans, strengthen our military and law enforcement, and renegotiate bad trade deals, creating a regime of, by and for the people.
He is making America Start, again, restoring our nation'south faith, ushering in a vivid, new future now and for generations to come.
Working difficult or hardly working?
Although Trump promised to "drain the swamp," many Washington lobbyists say business is meliorate than always. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, "Spending on lobbying in Washington totaled almost $1.vii billion in the first one-half of the year, the highest since 2012." "I don't remember that anything's actually changed," said longtime Republican lobbyist Brian Wild. "If anything, the lobbying business is booming right at present."
The national debt has at present surpassed $20 trillion and is fast budgeted $21 trillion. Trump'southward offset budget that he presented to Congress will ensure that the national debt keeps rise. He proposed that the federal government spend the obscene amount of $4.094 trillion, fifty-fifty though receipts were only projected to exist $3.654 trillion. His budget proposed that the federal authorities spend more than money every twelvemonth for the next ten years than it spent when Barack Obama was in office. The budget "cuts" are not really cuts at all. They are spending increases that are smaller than those called for in the "baseline budget" that has been projected by the Congressional Upkeep Role since 1974. Trump'south budget keeps intact the welfare state: food stamps, Medicare, SCHIP, Medicaid, Social Security, TANF, EITC, SSI, and every other welfare plan are all the same funded. It also expands the welfare state with a parental-leave program and year-round Pell Grants.
Trump as well supports a huge increment in military spending. He has turned out to be only as much of a militarist and warmonger equally his predecessors. The United States bombed seven countries last yr — Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen — just equally it did in Obama's last year in part. According to Newsweek,
For Trump, 2017 has already been an explosive twelvemonth: The U.South. has said it dropped over 2,400 bombs on Afghanistan, up from 1,337 last year. In the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. has already dropped 32,801 bombs, compared with thirty,743 in 2016. And the U.S. has besides conducted more than 100 strikes against Al Qaeda in Yemen in 2017, compared with 38 in 2016.
Civilian casualties from America's war on ISIS have reached an all-fourth dimension loftier in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. empire shows no signs of shrinking. In late 2017, the New York Times reported that the United States "now has just over 240,000 active-duty and reserve troops in at least 172 countries and territories," plus an boosted 37,813 troops on assignments that have non been made public. "We operate and fight in every corner of the world," boasted Gen. Raymond Thomas, the master of U.S. Special Operations Command. The United States withal has more 39,000 troops in Japan and 36,000 in Germany, even though World State of war 2 concluded in 1945. The U.Due south. armed services has thousands of troops stationed in the Middle East, including 6,524 troops in Bahrain and iii,055 in Qatar, where the United States has naval bases. The number of foreign armed forces bases has been estimated to be more than than 1,000. President Trump has non advocated that even one should be close down. Final year U.S. Special Operations Command reported that U.S. special forces conducted missions in 138 countries — roughly 70 percent of the nations on the planet. And in improver to hot wars, Trump wants to kickoff merchandise wars. He truly believes that college tariffs and less trade will make America swell again in some way.
On the domestic front, as John Whitehead of the Rutherford Establish has well said nigh America in the age of Trump, "The American police country is nonetheless alive and well and flourishing." The federal drug war continues unabated. Americans are all the same subjected to "invasive surveillance, marauding SWAT teams, an overwhelming regime armory of assault vehicles and firepower, and a barrage of laws that criminalize everything from vegetable gardens to lemonade stands." The NSA and the FBI still mind to our phone calls and read our electronic mail. The government all the same carries out warrantless searches of our homes. The TSA still gropes and unnecessarily inconveniences airline travelers. Local police are still militarized. SWAT teams are still deployed in record numbers. The Trump administration has paved the way for increased civil nugget forfeiture. Trump has fifty-fifty said that he wants those who fire the American flag to lose their citizenship or spend a year in jail.
Libertarianism
Donald Trump has not fabricated America cracking once more and will not make America bang-up over again. He was never going to make America smashing again (and of course, neither was Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders). Indeed, it'due south non going to be some person that makes America great again but instead a philosophy: libertarianism.
Libertarianism is the philosophy that says that people should be costless from private, societal, or authorities interference to live their lives any way they desire, pursue their own happiness, accumulate as much wealth equally they can, assess their own risks, make their ain choices, engage in commerce with anyone who is willing to reciprocate, participate in any economic activity for their turn a profit, and spend the fruits of their labor equally they meet fit, equally long as their deportment are peaceful, their associations are voluntary, their interactions are consensual, and they don't violate the personal or belongings rights of others.
The creed of libertarianism is nonaggression: liberty from assailment and violence against person and property as long every bit one respects the person and belongings of others. The principle undergirding the libertarian philosophy is what is known as the nonaggression principle. Considering regime is the greatest violator of the nonaggression principle, personal liberty, and property rights, libertarians oppose government intervention, regulation, and control of the economy and society; government regulation of business and commerce; and government restraint of peaceful, private, voluntary, and consensual peaceful activeness.
To the libertarian, the only possible legitimate functions of regime are defense, and judicial and policing activities. All government actions, at any level of regime, beyond those functions are illegitimate. Every bit long equally people don't borrow upon the liberty of others by committing, or threatening to commit, acts of fraud, theft, aggression, or violence against their person or belongings, the government should just leave them alone.
It is libertarianism that can make America great again.
Making America keen again
It is not higher tariffs, improve trade agreements, a lower trade deficit, increased defence spending, more than military machine equipment to cops, a edge wall, more immigration restrictions, tighter Cuba restrictions, buy-America campaigns, increased ceremonious asset forfeitures, more countries bombed, more troops sent abroad, increased drone strikes, tougher enforcement of federal marijuana laws, strengthening military and law enforcement, or policing more of the earth that will make America groovy once again. Trump's policies will not make America great once more.
But libertarianism volition. The following are some libertarian ideas to limit the size and scope of government, protect property rights, and increase personal and commercial freedom. It is these ideas that will make America great again.
Repeal all victimless-criminal offence laws. Every crime should have a tangible and identifiable victim with real impairment and measurable damages. Rape, robbery, assault, child corruption, battery, burglary, theft, arson, looting, kidnapping, shoplifting, embezzlement, murder, manslaughter — those are real crimes. Possessing illegal drugs, prostitution, ticket scalping, and illegal gambling are victimless crimes.
Using drugs may exist addictive, unhealthy, and immoral, but it is not for the government to decide what risks Americans are allowed to take and what kinds of behaviors they are allowed to engage in. Regarding prostitution, why should a service that is legal to give away be illegal if ane charges for it? Regarding ticket scalping, what could possibly be wrong with an exchange of tickets for cash betwixt a willing buyer and a willing seller, as long as their action does not violate the holding rights of the owner of the footing where they make their commutation? Regarding gambling, all Americans should be able to practise with their money as they see fit, even if that means wasting information technology on vices such every bit gambling.
And regarding victimless crimes in general, why should peaceful, private, voluntary, and consensual activity be criminalized? The U.s.a. leads the earth in incarceration rates. Only violent criminals should be incarcerated, and no one should ever be locked upwards for committing a victimless crime.
Repeal all anti-discrimination laws. Discrimination is another crime in search of a victim. Anti-discrimination laws violate individual- property rights, freedom of association, freedom of contract, and liberty of idea. Discriminating confronting someone is not aggressing against him. Discrimination means freedom. A free society must include the freedom to discriminate against any individual or grouping for any reason and on whatsoever ground.
Institute educational freedom. It is not the proper role of government to provide or pay for the education of anyone. Education is, in the case of children, a parental responsibility; in the case of adults, it is an individual responsibility. In either case, it is not the responsibleness of government. And of form, on the federal level, the Constitution nowhere authorizes the federal regime to have anything to practise with education. No American should be forced to pay for the education of any other American.
Institute medical freedom. It is non the proper office of government to provide or pay for the medical intendance or insurance of anyone. Medical care is, in the case of children, a parental responsibility; in the case of adults, information technology is an individual responsibility. In either case, it is not the responsibility of regime. And of course, on the federal level, the Constitution nowhere authorizes the federal government to have anything to do with medical care or insurance. No American should be forced to pay for the medical care of whatsoever other American.
Cease occupational licensing. Depending on the state, many occupations — such as barbers, lawyers, accountants, travel agents, locksmiths, auctioneers — require a certificate of permission and approving from a government-sponsored lath. But why should anyone have to get permission from the government to open a business, engage in commerce, work in certain occupations, have a particular vocation, or provide a service to willing customers? In that location is absolutely no reason why all occupations could not be privately certified.
End all regime subsidies. Information technology is not the task of the government to subsidize agriculture, housing, scientific or medical enquiry, cultural activities of individuals or organizations, or wellness insurance. All grants for research or the arts should come up from private sources. And agriculture, housing, and health insurance should be treated just like any other sector of the economy.
Institute travel freedom. Any American should have the correct to travel to whatever land by any ways for whatsoever reason for any period of time and spend any amount of his coin while he is there. Any American business should accept the liberty to decide which countries it wants or doesn't want to practice business organization in or with.
Institute real free trade. Merchandise does not consequence in winners and losers; it is always mutually benign or it would non take place. Merchandise does not need to be managed past the government with trade agreements. The trade arrears is a government accounting fiction. Free trade needs no merchandise organizations, trade agreements, or merchandise treaties. Costless trade means that trade is conducted without being hindered by tariffs, quotas, barriers, regulations, restrictions, or dumping rules. All forms and levels of protectionism crave government central planning. Free trade is fair trade whenever it doesn't involve authorities subsidies, crony commercialism, or a government import-export bank.
Stop the welfare country. The federal authorities operates near 80 means-tested welfare programs that limit benefits or payments on the footing of the casher's income or assets. The best-known of these programs are Medicaid; the State Children'due south Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP [formerly known equally food stamps]); Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); Caput Start; Healthy Kickoff; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); schoolhouse breakfast and lunch programs; and the Low Income Dwelling house Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). All of these means-tested programs, too as the crown jewel of the welfare state — Social Security — take the same three bug: 1. They are not authorized by the Constitution. ii. They are not a legitimate purpose of government. 3. They are wealth-redistribution schemes. All charity should be private and voluntary.
Eliminate refundable tax credits. There is goose egg incorrect with regular tax credits. They are only dollar-for-dollar reductions in the corporeality of income revenue enhancement owed. Tax credits may reduce the tax owed to zero, merely if at that place is no taxable income to begin with, and then no credit can be taken. Tax credits, similar their cousins tax deductions, are always expert things. Simply refundable taxation credits give the "taxpayer" a refund of money that he never paid in to begin with. The coin is simply taken from real taxpayers and transferred to him. Refundable revenue enhancement credits are the ultimate course of welfare because they are payments made in cash (like TANF or SSI) rather than payments made to a third political party, equally with Medicaid, or deposited on an Electronic Benefit Card (EBC), as with food stamps.
End all foreign aid. The government has no right to take money from Americans against their will and give it to foreigners, NGOs, or strange governments. Any American who wants to help the poor, starving, or underprivileged in any country is welcome to do so on his own or through whatsoever number of private organizations as long as he does so with his own money. All foreign assist should be private and voluntary.
End fighting foreign wars. Foreign wars are never necessary and e'er senselessly sacrifice American claret and treasure. They also make Americans less safe because they expand hatred of the United States and create terrorists and insurgents who resent being bombed, invaded, and occupied.
Terminate policing the world. U.Due south. foreign policy has departed significantly from the foreign policy of the Founders. It was Thomas Jefferson who described U.South. strange policy as "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none." Information technology was John Quincy Adams who maintained that America "goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy." U.Southward. foreign policy is reckless, argumentative, and meddling. Both of these onetime presidents would be balked at how far U.S. strange policy has departed from the ideals of neutrality and nonintervention that they championed.
Dismantle the U.Southward. empire. The United States maintains an expensive and extensive empire of hundreds of thousands of troops and a thousand military installations around the world. Spending on the U.Due south. military is a huge office of the federal budget. Yet much of it would be totally unnecessary if the U.S. armed services were reserved strictly for defending America, securing American borders, patrolling American coasts, guarding American shores, and watching over American skies instead of doing those things in other countries. All foreign U.S. bases should be closed and all U.S. troops stationed overseas should be brought abode.
Abolish the income tax. The federal regime is not entitled to a certain pct of the income of whatsoever private or business concern. If Congress strictly limited spending just to what was authorized by the Constitution, the federal government wouldn't demand any portion of Americans' incomes to fund its armed services adventures, income-transfer programs, wealth-redistribution schemes, or contrasted boondoggles.
These changes would not only brand America great once more, they would brand America meliorate than she e'er was.
This article was originally published in the February 2018 issue of Hereafter of Freedom.
Source: https://www.fff.org/explore-freedom/article/make-america-great/
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