Libertarian Presidential candidate pushes affordable health care, debt reduction, security

Editor’s note: This is the second part in our series on third-party candidates for the U.S. Presidential Election. Last week, we featured the American Solidarity Party, and this week’s article takes a look at the Libertarian Party.

Presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen wants to turn the United States “into a giant Switzerland.”

She says this nation - one of the most prosperous on Earth but also one that is struggling mightily with debt, civil unrest and health care costs higher than almost any other nation - should be powerful, peaceful and dedicated to the personal rights and liberties of all its citizens.

Jorgensen says neither major party has offered viable solutions. In essence, she seems to agree with humorist Dave Barry, who years ago wrote: “The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They’re the kind of people who’d stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn’t bother to stop because they’d want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.”

“‘Libertarian’ is a term that conjures up vague notions in many voters’ minds. They tend to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. They value personal freedoms above all else. Sometimes they forget the name of a city in Syria and it goes viral.” (This wasn’t Jorgensen; that was Gary Johnson, who was at the head of the Libertarian ticket four years ago.)

But really, libertarian ideas have been a major force in human civilizations for many hundreds of years. From John Locke to the ancient Taoist philosopher Lao-Tzu, many thinkers have played with what it means to be free, and what it means to participate in society while maintaining fundamental individual freedoms.

When voters head to the polls in November, they will see Dr. Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen running for president and vice president, respectively, and the pair will give an option to citizens who value libertarian ideas and values.

Jorgensen is a senior lecturer in psychology at Clemson University. She holds a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology and has taught fulltime since 2006. She graduated in 1979 from Baylor University with a B.S. in psychology and in 1980 from Southern Methodist University with an MBA.

She formerly worked as a marketing representative for IBM, then relocating to Greenville, S.C. in 1983, where she started her own software sales business.

After taking a career sabbatical to raise her two children, she became a partner in a software duplication company, later taking over as president and sole owner. She founded a business consulting company in 2002 and continues working with clients today.

She was the Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee with Harry Browne in 1996.

In 1992, she was the Libertarian Party’s candidate for South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District.

Cohen touts a vision of “common-sense Libertarian solutions that will make us all more free, safe, and prosperous.” He started a web design company in 1999. He retired from that three years ago to promote libertarian ideas fulltime. His stated goal is to make people more familiar with “voluntary solutions” and property rights. He is the host of My Fellow Americans, the co-host of the Muddied Waters of Freedom, and the co-owner of Muddied Waters Media, a podcast platform that reaches millions.

At the heart of the modern Libertarian philosophy is the idea that the dominant Republican and Democratic parties have failed the American people; the notion that the right is addicted to wasteful militarism while the left is addicted to wasteful welfarism. Many libertarians believe neither endeavor is helping anyone.

Jorgensen points to more than $26 trillion in debt and trillion-dollar deficits, as well trillions more in unfunded liabilities. She is critical of what Democrat Tulsi Gabbard has called “the forever wars” overseas. She says she has market-based solutions to skyrocketing health care costs. She also lists the “highest imprisonment rate in the world; even higher among racial minorities and the poor” as one of the country’s biggest problems. In addition, Jorgensen says the country’s retirement system is “broken” and tariffs are destroying American farmers.

Her solution is both simple and complex, depending on how deep one digs.

“Turn America into one giant Switzerland: Armed and neutral – with the military force to defend America’s shores and soil against any foreign attackers or invaders,” she said. “Protected by an armed citizenry and by a military laser-focused on defending America. No U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Bring home our 200,000-plus American military personnel stationed in foreign countries. No U.S. military aid to foreign governments. No U.S. blockades or embargoes of non-military trade. Peace.”

On the issue of health care, Jorgensen said attempts by politicians to fix rising costs have only made things worse.

“Republican and Democratic policies over the past 50 years are the reason health care has become so expensive,” she said. “Their latest proposals to ‘fix’ health care will further micromanage your doctors and restrict your access to care while failing to solve the underlying problem. They differ only on whether this should be done by private insurance companies or government bureaucrats. This is the exact opposite of what needs to be done. We can reduce the cost of health care 75 percent by allowing real price competition and by substantially reducing government and insurance company paperwork. This will make health care affordable for most Americans, while also reducing the cost of legacy programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the VA.”

As for spending and debt, her views are conservative.

“As President, I will use my Constitutional authority to block any new borrowing,” she said. “I will veto any spending bill that would lead to a deficit, and veto any debt ceiling increase. I will give every Cabinet secretary a specific spending reduction target to meet and hold them accountable. There is simply no excuse for sticking our children and grandchildren with the bill for these bipartisan bloated budgets.”

She also unveiled a plan that she said would reduce carbon emissions and help care for the environment without politicizing the issue.

“I will work to remove government barriers to replacing coal-burning and oil-burning power plants in the United States with safe, non-polluting, high-tech nuclear power plants – and allowing off-grid use of solar power,” she said. “Worldwide, I believe we need to consider all scientific and economic knowledge to care for our environment, not cherry-pick data to support a pre-determined outcome. Most pollution is generated in developing countries, so reducing pollution worldwide requires cost-efficient zero emission energy sources like nuclear.”

Jorgensen says her trust in the country’s current government – both its size and its personal leadership – is low.

“Do you trust politicians to keep their promises? I don’t,” she said. “They’ve spent every cent in the Social Security Trust Fund on other spending, leaving behind worthless IOU’s. Other countries have successfully replaced their government-run systems with individual retirement accounts safe from greedy politicians. As President, I would work to implement a solution like the Cato Institute’s ‘6.2 percent solution,’ which would allow any American the opportunity to ‘opt out’ of the current system while making the current system fiscally stable for those who choose to remain.”

Matt Geiger is executive editor of News Publishing Inc., the parent company of the Reedsburg Independent.