Utah's political class convenes to divide up the loot

"Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is sort of an advance auction sale of stolen goods."
--H.L. Mencken, Minority Report: H.L. Mencken's Notebooks

The Utah Legislature's 45-day general session runs from January 15th to February 28th.

Special interests -- which contributed 95.7 percent of all campaign donations made to incoming state legislators -- will be lobbying for a healthy return on their investments in the form of the kind of privileges that can be conferred only by the State of Utah.

The late Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman observed that the true level of taxation is the amount of government spending.

Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. has proposed a record $10.7 billion state budget.

The State of Utah is also reporting a record tax surplus -- defined as its annual tax collections in excess of annual budgets -- in excess of $1 billion.

Don't let promises from state legislators to cut taxes by a few hundred million dollars distract you from the billions of dollars in legalized plunder annually removed from Utah's market economy by the State of Utah.

The forced redistribution of that amount of wealth from Utah's civil society to the State of Utah's political class is obscene.

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Blinded by the BCS

Several local commentators and editorial writers have complained about the unfairness of the Bowl Championship Series for college football teams.

From Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson:

It's as though the BCS blows the legs off non-BCS leagues by way of its uneven stipulations and rewards, and, then, when non-BCS teams lose to BCS teams, they are blamed for bleeding rather than being able to dance at the same tempo.

--Gordon Monson, "Boise's victory a wake-up call for BCS," Salt Lake Tribune, January 3, 2007

And from Deseret Morning News columnist Doug Robinson:

In America, we tend to go to great lengths to be fair.

...

In America, nothing galls us more than the exclusion of people or groups of people because of something not related to ability.

That's why college football and the Bowl Championship Series drives us insane. It's wrongheaded, nonsensical and un-American.

--Doug Robinson, "Elitist BCS is an insult to good teams," Deseret Morning News, January 9, 2007

Although Robinson cites several unfortunate examples of special interest-spawned government coercion in support of his thesis, the sentiment of fair competition is not only one I share, but why I have been promoting a level playing field in the political arena for several years.

Fellas, devoting one-tenth of your BCS scrutiny to the rules governing the processes used by election-rigging Republicans and Democrats to maintain their hold on political power would be most appreciated.

P.S.: Check out our effort to "Mock the Vote" for the 2007 Salt Lake City mayoral race to demonstrate how more and more American cities are improving how those who hold elected office are selected, and our second annual "Fair Representation Challenge" to Utah's Colleges and Universities.

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The Sutherland Institute's State worship

In case you missed its "Natural Family Resolution," the Sutherland Institute's first salvo (PDF file) -- which apparently no one wants to claim authorship of -- in its "Defining Conservatism Series" reminds readers why its "freedom through obedience" brand of conservatism is not libertarianism.

In a statement that many members of the faith community would find a blasphemous marriage of the worldly and the divine, the Sutherland Institute's essay approvingly quotes Russell Kirk's decree that "the conservative finds that the state is ordained of God."

Rejecting the consensus view among those participating in a recent panel discussion hosted by the conservative and libertarian Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies that government is incompetent as a cultural authority (MP3 file), the Sutherland Institute claims that members of the political class comprise an omnipotent State and promote order as they aggress against those they deem unvirtuous.

Despite libertarianism's long pedigree in the conservative movement, I agree that confusing and conflating the terms "conservative" and "libertarian" clouds understanding, which is why I try to distinguish one from the other.

If, however, you're looking for the brands of conservatism that are compatible with libertarianism, I recommend checking out the magazine The American Conservative.

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The Gadsden Flag symbolizes the American tradition of being left alone to pursue happiness. Unfortunately, the machinations and predations of organizations such as the Utah Legislature and the Sutherland Institute remind us that there are those who refuse to leave peaceful and honest people alone.

For those seeking a political voice among those who believe that "cultural scold" is neither the proper, nor achievable, nor moral role of government, welcome to the Libertarian Party.

Please join us by signing and sending in our petition so our candidates may continue to champion the spontaneous order that arises from recognizing and respecting the inherent dignity and sovereignty of every individual.

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As you begin to prepare your Utah income tax return for 2006, please remember to write an "L" in section 3 of Form TC-40 (PDF file). This does not change your refund or the amount of tax due. The Libertarian Party of Utah receives two dollars for every "L" entered, and these contributions are a major source of our funding.

Even if you are sympathetic to some of our like-minded friends in the Personal Choice Party, every dollar intentionally or mistakenly directed to the election campaign fund of that party is kept by the State of Utah -- the very entity working to take away your personal choices.

Therefore, if you genuinely want to support individual liberty for Utahns, please direct your contribution to the election campaign fund on your Utah Individual Income Tax Return to the Libertarian Party of Utah.

With sincere appreciation, I am

Yours in liberty,

Rob Latham, Chairman
Libertarian Organizing Committee