The Official e-newsletter of the Philadelphia Libertarian Party - April 2010

News, views, events and more.

Featured Articles:
Help Abolish the BRT on Primary Day
Health Care "Reform" Another Big Government Sham

Help Abolish the BRT on Primary Day
by John Karr

Just because you are registered Libertarian doesn't mean you should stay at home on Primary Day in May. In fact it may be more important to vote on Primary Day, because that is frequently when the Ballot Issues come up.
This year we can help Abolish a City Department that has gotten so Bad that even Liberals Hate It!

It looks like we will have several Ballot Questions to vote this year. The one I am most aware of is the Mayor's proposal to abolish the BRT. BRT stands for Board of Revision of Taxes, and what the BRT is supposed to do is assess property tax. However, the method of valuation used by BRT is a closely held secret, which means that there really is no system and that assessments are completely arbitrary. In addition to not assessing your property fairly, the BRT also handles appeals so that they can just as arbitrarily deny it, and certainly they would never allow their assessment process to be revealed via the hearing process.

If the proposal passes, the existing board will be abolished and the assessment and appeals processes will be handled by two completely different departments.

Health Care "Reform" Another Big Government Sham
by Anthony Perrella II

March 21st saw landmark health care reform legislation passed by the House. Was the bill another brick in the American dream, as Obama proclaimed, or was it a cornerstone in the arch of socialism, as Lenin saw socialized medicine? (Obama might have been slying paraphrasing as is his wont.)

The effect of the new bill will be to regulate private insurance companies into bankruptcy, so the government can then move in, declaring free enterprise has completely 'failed', and fully confiscate it. This government take-over of the health care system breaches the social covenant American citizens have long held with our government, which is essentially that it exists with the consent of the governed, to serve its citizens, not the other way around. That American citizens make the best decisions about how to run their personal lives - not Washington bureaucrats. That free enterprise offers the most competition, quality, and accessibility to a product - not central planning.

With the passage of the bill, Washington deigns to take over the management of the American health care system, heretofore the best in the world, and fundamentally socialize it. Out - the freedom to buy health insurance or not. Out - the freedom to buy insurance based on your needs rather than being forced into a one-size-fits-all plan. In - 16000 new IRS agents ready to scrutinize your taxes for compliance with government health insurance regulations. Not in - anything to do with improving our health system, lowering premiums, limits on medical tort, and with inevitability of rationing, less accessibility to needed services. In fact, the bill will have the opposite effect of what its promoters tried to sell the public. Not to mention pummeling the economy and jobs, as we start hearing about billion dollar tax levies on big companies to help pay for the health care scheme.

For about 100 years big government types have been chipping away at our basic liberties, and trying to install socialized medicine. Now, after arm-twisting, bribery, and procedural shennaningans, they pulled it off. But they have a problem - most Americans were content with their existing health coverage, and many recognize the fundamental threat to their basic freedom this bill entails. If people think health insurance companies are uncaring, evil profiteers, wait until they're left with the one option of government run coverage. Who do you complain to then when you're denied coverage? You're only option will be to go to another country, and they're all socialized. And since you've been forced to pay into the U.S. insurance pool, or pay the fine, you won't be able to afford coverage elsewhere. This bill essentially turns the populace into cattle. We will be tended to as deigned by our elitists masters. Have a complaint? Hold your tongue or you might be denied care, or have your confidential medical information disclosed (we've seen that this current regime and congress will use any political weapon at their disposal).

But it's not over. Millions of Americans have been viscerally shaken by this power grab over our lives. This bill must be repealed, and replaced with solutions with that will truly address the problems in our health care system without destroying it.

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Articles reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily those of the Philly LP.

Have a letter to the editor, article, event, or suggestion? Send it along to Vice-chair@lpphilly.org! We want our newsletter to fit the interests and needs of our members.

Quick Links:
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New Movie!
Links to Libertarian Minded Articles/Movies
Events:
Monthly Meeting
End the Fed March and Rally
Volunteer on Election Day!

Libertarian
Minded Events:

LPPhilly Monthly Meeting

Check out our monthly meetings!
The Libertarian Party is about limited government, lower taxes, and more freedom, but it's also about people! The meetings are a great opportunity to meet other local Libertarians and talk about subjects your are particularly interested in, upcoming events, rallies, and more. There's not many Libertarians in Philly so we have to stick together! Our monthly meeting the 3rd Monday of each month at the Raven Lounge (17th and Sansom) at 8p.

Where: The Raven Lounge, 2nd Floor
17th and Sansom Streets
When: April 19, 2010 | 8:00 PM regular members, If you are new please arrive at 7:45pm and meet with an LP officer so we can answer any questions you may have.
Short Description: Get involved, volunteer, or meet up with fellow
libertarian minded folk.

More Info: lpphilly.org
OR: meetup


END THE FED - MARCH, RALLY, & CONCERT
Where: 10:00AM Gathering (west side of City Hall)
When: April 24, 2010
Short Description: This is the official "END-THE-FED" March & Rally for Philadelphia. Including Special Guest Speakers Jordan Page & Michael Badnarik.
More Info: meetup page

Volunteer on Election Day!
When: May 18th, 2010
Short Description: The 2010 Pennsylvania Primary is Only Six Weeks Away: We Need Your Help to Ensure a Clean and Fair Election! Become one of Committee of Seventy's Voter Protection Program volunteers and help us resolve problems at polling places and answer voters' questions on Election Day.
More Info: Committee of Seventy Website

If you attend a local event, send a review along to Vice-chair@lpphilly.org.

Movies:
FILM: The Cartel

The Cartel shows us our educational system like we've never seen it before. Behind every dropout factory, we discover, lurks a powerful, entrenched, and self-serving cartel. But The Cartel doesn't just describe the problem. Balancing local storylines against interviews with education experts, The Cartelexplores what dedicated parents, committed teachers, clear-eyed officials, and tireless reformers are doing to make our schools better for
our kids.

This movie will force the scales to fall from the eyes of policymakers, education officials, reformers, intellectuals, teachers, and taxpayers. Putting a human face on the harm done by the educational cartel,The Cartel takes us beyond the statistics, generalizations, and abstractions that typically frame our debates about education-and draws an unequivocal bottom line: If we care about our children's futures, we must insist upon far-reaching and immediate reform. And we must do it now.

Screening at Ritz Theaters 4/30-5/6
www.thecartelmovie.com

Links:
John Stossel Commentary
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Overview of America
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