Nick Coons is a Libertarian congressional candidate in Arizona's 5th district for 2010. http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 The term "the invisible hand of the market" was coined by economist Adam Smith, and is used to describe the self-regulating functions of the market. Essentially, it encompasses self-interest, competition, and supply and demand. The term "the middle finger of the state" was coined by me, and represents the opposite of everything a free market stands for. The flaw in arguing for state intervention in the market is in realizing that you must ne... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=55 Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700 While there is no shortage of people wishing each other a Happy 4th of July, and I'd like throw in my good wishes for everyone as well, I'd also like to add a little something to this bitter-sweet holiday. In 1776, the Founding Fathers of the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain as a result of continued oppression from the King.  While they were ahead of their time in realizing that the only solution is to throw off the shackles of bad government, they... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=54 Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Today is election day in Arizona for the infamous Prop 100, the proposition that will raise the state sales tax from 5.6% to 6.6%, an 18% increase.  Combined with county and city sales taxes, this would set the sales tax rate in many localities in the state over 9%, and some over 10%.  Additionally, many cities are providing their own propositions to raise their local rates.  Prop 401 in Tempe raises the sales tax rate by 0.2%.  If both proposit... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=53 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700 "Coercion" is one of those words used by libertarians to distinguish between which human interaction is moral and which is immoral. But the word seems to be used somewhat ambiguously in many cases as to blur the meaning. I intend to clear that up. Coercion occurs when one person presents a set of choices to another person, and all of those options will leave the second person worse off than where he is currently. For instance, if a mugger approaches you with a gun, and s... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=52 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0700 I received a newsletter from Congressman Mitchell's office the other day that I found amusing.  He rails against the Congressional automatic pay raises (which come to about $4,000/year per person).  And rightly so.  All the reasons that he gives for Congress receiving pay raises are right ones, and even more so. For instance, he talks about how Congress shouldn't be getting pay raises when unemployment is rising.  I would also suggest that Congress... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=51 Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Depending on which dictionary you consult, you'll find a variety of definitions for the word "law."  For instance, "the collection of rules imposed by authority", or perhaps, "legal document setting forth rules governing a particular kind of activity."  All of these various definitions are technically correct, but they blank out the method of their enforcement. Laws are enforced by the threat or use of violence.&n... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=50 Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700 All taxes imposed on business transactions ultimately hit the consumer's pocket.  Regardless of this economic truth, it's always popular to recommend hitting businesses with the burden of pulling our weight. Last year, the catch phrase was "windfall profits tax" when it came to the oil industry (care to guess who made "windfall profits", the oil industry or government, as a result of high prices?).  This quickly went away as market for... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=49 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 The minimum wage increase to $7.25/hour went into effect a few days ago, back on July 24, 2009. But minimum wage is just another term for price-fixing, and price-fixing always leads to market instabilities. This is a completely misguided attempt at helping lower income individuals. A wage is a price, like anything else; it's a price on labor.  Prices should be set by the market, as the market takes into account both supply and demand so that the maximum number of people ge... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=48 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 In my day job, I'm a professional troubleshooter.  When something (usually IT-related) isn't working right, I have to figure out how to fix it.  Over more than the last decade, I've gotten quite good at this, and have decided to apply those same skills to the economy.  Essentially, the process is to identify the problem, identify the culprit, then identify the solution. First, we identify the problem(s): The national unemployment rate at the end of Jun... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=47 Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 There are many names for it: Modified capitalism, socialized capitalism, regulated capitalism, government-controlled capitalism, corporatism, soft fascism. Essentially they're all the same thing, and they've all failed. The real tragedy is that too many don't realize the differences between capitalism proper, and all the above-mentioned variants. A pure capitalist system (one that's never been tried, and therefore cannot be called a failure), is one that can be explained briefly. It all... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=46 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Whether or not they practice what they preach (and we know they don't), Republicans are often the ones arguing for a freer economy, using arguments that indicate regulations and controls will drop Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for X amount.  Those arguing for the controls might respond, "So what?  Who cares if profits drop a little, as long as everyone has (whatever it is they're proposing)?" That sort of statement coming from the average person is under... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=45 Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700 233 years ago, the founders of our new country began by stating a set of principles -- That all people have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  "Inalienable" refers to the fact that these rights cannot be taken away; not by government nor by the majority vote of your neighbors.  "Liberty" refers to freedom from oppression, freedom from the forceful interference of others.  A free society allows ea... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=44 Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 There's a lot of talk recently about the government investing.  President Obama says he's going to invest in the economy.  My opponent, Congressman Mitchell, is talking about investing in education.  But there's one big problem with all this talk about investment -- Government doesn't invest. "Investing" is putting money into an enterprise with the expectation of profits.  If the government is going to invest our money, shouldn't they ... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=43 Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700 If I asked, "who is in support of freedom?", I would imagine that most people would raise their hands.  If I followed up that question with "who is in favor of legalizing meth?", I would further imagine that a lot of those same people who just told me they supported freedom would then put their hands down.  This should immediately cause a conflict in the minds of those people. I'm not going to get into the details of why we should end ... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=42 Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 When the economy is down, businesses know that there are fewer people spending fewer dollars, so they provide incentives for their customers to buy from them instead of their competitors. This comes in the form of lower prices, increased services, or even deals like Nissan and Hyundai are promoting such as taking your car back without penalties if you can't make your payments. Businesses do this because they know they need to keep cash flowing in order to survive.  In the s... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=41 Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Libertarian congressional candidate Nick Coons, with his staunch record of advocating a policy of "governmental hands-off" in the economy, has been challenged by Springfield Mayor Joe Quimby to a debate regarding government stimulus.  The debate is to take place in front of the Kwik-E-Mart, a local landmark in the small town.  In these trying economic times, it might seem intuitive that government should take swift and decisive action to prevent an all out e... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=40 Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700 The basic concept that every person may choose their own path in life so long as they don't forcefully interfere with the choices of others is at the core of libertarian political philosophy, and is one of the driving forces for the creation of America and its proceeding prosperity.  There are many people that believe this is the political system we should have continued with, and would like to move more in that direction, even if they don't self-identify as Libertarian. While ma... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=39 Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 I was in a discussion with someone recently who argued that we should increase taxes on the rich because they don't deserve that much money. I followed up by asking why they don't deserve it. The answer I received was because they have so much money and they don't need it all. So the discussion instantly changed from one of "deserve" to one of "need", probably without the person who made the comments even realizing it. This person was one of ma... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=38 Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 With the massive increases in the federal budget, there's been a lot of talk about earmarks, or "pork-barrel spending."  One of the recent bailout bills included an estimated 8,500 earmarks.  And with any call to decrease government spending, accompanying pleas to get rid of the pork soon follow. But what is an earmark?  Does it really increase spending?  If all the pork-barrel earmarks were removed, would the budget go down? An e... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=37 Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700 There are of course other services that government provides that in most of history have never been funded through any means other than taxes, such as civil courts.  Ayn Rand suggested that this could be handled through contract insurance, such that each party entering into a contract could opt to pay into an insurance pool as a means of protecting their interests.  She further suggested that, because of the hundreds of thousands of such exchanges occurring daily, these premi... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=36 Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Switzerland is known around the world as the militarily neutral country. It's been nearly 200 years since their last war. Unfortunately, the United States and many other countries have been involved in numerous wars and military conflicts over that same period of time. During WWII, the Swiss, wanting to remain outside the path of destruction, invited high-ranking German officers to examine their military infrastructure. Amazed at the defensive capabilities of the Swiss, Hitler d... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=35 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0700 As the world's largest polluter, it's interesting that government is seen as the only way to protect the environment. By what reasoning can we think that government, who by sovereign immunity is not subject to even its own laws, is going to hold a clean, safe, and healthy environment as some sort of objective standard? The system that exists now is one of arbitrary regulations created by bureaucracies such as the EPA.  Such a regulation might say that an organization must s... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=34 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Fire departments are one of the few lines on the budget that is rarely underfunded.  People love firefighters; they're heroes and they save lives.  Don't mistake the desire to separate fire protection from government as a wish to see this service dwindle away.  In fact, many municipalities currently utilize private fire departments, which provide better service, and save money while doing it. When the city outsources their fire service to a company that must bid... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=33 Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 The purpose of justice is not to punish criminals, but to restitute victims and make them whole again (if possible) while at the same time providing a deterrent to crime in the first place.  Following this principle, victimless crimes no longer fall under the veil of the criminal justice system.  To rightfully call something a crime requires a victim.  This means that acts such as robbery, assault, and murder are crimes, but drug possession, prostitution, and gamblin... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=32 Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 Thus far, I've made arguments for why government should not have the legal authority to steal (tax).  Many call this a necessary evil.  Though forceful acts committed amongst groups have the same results as when committed amongst individuals.  Something we know to be "evil" has a way of doing that. Most people upon reading this far might say, "I like the concept, but what does this mean in the real world?"  If we rid ... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=31 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 It is sometimes said that if people are good, then we don't need government; and if people are evil, then we don't want government. The first part of this statement is pretty straight-forward. The second part alludes to government power. In our society, government has the ability to do things that individuals don't. But government is just a collection of individuals classified as having this ability. So if people are evil, then why would you want to give them power? Or why would you trus... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=30 Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 On the Libertarian Solution Radio Program, in my campaign newsletter, and in various other places, I and other libertarians often talk about the idea of taxation as theft (I would recommend reading here and here, if you have not already done so, before proceeding).  As the question goes at the end of the second article linked above, "but how do we pay for X?"  It is the intention of this multi-part series of articles to answer that question. Liber... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=29 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0700 What is freedom, and how do we implement it?  For decades we've seen presidents trying to "spread democracy and freedom" in other countries, all with abysmal levels of success.  My primary concern is first to spread freedom here at home, because we're severely lacking in that area.  But it's important that we first understand what freedom is, and how to successfully spread it. It is the nature of humans that we must do certain things in order t... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=28 Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0700 When discussing our ideas with people, libertarians often use the term "personal responsibility" without giving so much as an explanation as to what this means.  We don't often realize the ambiguity that many people may infer from the term, because in the context in which we use it, it seems self-evident to us. One may argue, "people are not responsible, look at the enormous credit card debt of many familes, which is not responsible at all."&am... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=27 Wed, 17 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Libertarians support the rights of individuals to unrestricted free speech and freedom of the press. This, like other libertarian positions, is based on the principle of self-ownership, and being able to make your own decisions so long as you harm no one else. What exactly does this mean? What about yelling "fire" in a crowded theater? "Unrestricted" in this context means "unrestricted by government."  It means that gove... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=26 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Forced charity, also known more widely as welfare, does nothing to improve society but does plenty to harm it.  We can look back to the beginning of the welfare state several decades ago and find that after hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars we are no better off.  And what's often the proposed solution?  More money. Americans know that welfare causes dependency among its recipients, puts a heavy burden on those who do work, and is horribly mismanaged and i... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=25 Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 There are many professions and businesses in the US that require a license, which is simple a government grant to operate. Most licenses in our country have sprung up over the last hundred years, and are created and lobbied through the legislature by special interests. The first licensing laws were created as a way to institute racial and class discrimination.  They prevented newly-liberated slaves from starting and owning their own businesses, putting them at a disadvanta... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=24 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 It was argued pre-election that we must impose a windfall profits tax on oil companies, and the idea is likely still part of President-elect Obama's economic plans.  The rationale is that oil companies make too much money, so they need to pay more.  Or, they are gouging us, and it's right for us to reclaim what is ours. There are several practical factors here that are overlooked, not the least of which is that increasing taxes on businesses causes price increases for co... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=23 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Last month, a Phoenix police officer was killed by a drunk driver when he slammed his truck into the officer's patrol vehicle.  He was charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault.  The drunk driver had four warrants out for his arrest, two of which were for DUI, and he was an illegal alien. I was listening to talk radio the other morning as the host was discussing this tragic event, focusing the discussion on the drunk driver's illegal status in the United States, a... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=22 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Many have claimed that our current economic situation is because we lack regulations.  They say that businesses were too free to do what they wanted, and experienced no negative consequences for their bad decisions.  It is so commonly spoken, "The problems of today are due to de-regulations," that it's just accepted without question. Well guest what; I agree.  I am in favor of more regulations on the economy, and even stronger than what our gov... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=21 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 There's a lot of discussion going on after Tuesday's election about how history is being made.  On one hand, I'm glad to see that the bulk of the country has gotten past the race issue such that we've elected a black man to the highest level of government.  On the other hand, it was Dr. King himself who said that we should judge a person by the content of their character, not on the color of their skin.  Judging by Barrack Obama's political content, I can't say that ... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=20 Sun, 02 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0700 We're all aware of inflation's existence, and if we've been around for awhile we know that "I used to buy (name of some item) for a lot less when I was a kid."  Most people have accepted inflation as a natural occurrence, and understand that as long as their own income continues to increase to match the rate of inflation then everything will be fine. On the contrary, the inflation that we see year after year (known more specifically as "monetary inflati... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=19 Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The propositions appearing on this November's ballot can be confusing if you don't study the text of each one. I've done the legwork on these, and will outline the pro-freedom position on each one. Prop 100: Protect Our Homes - YES This measure prevents the legislature from enacting a real-estate transfer tax.  A real-estate transfer tax, something which currently does not exist in Arizona (but is being proposed in Tucson) would require that the seller of their home pay... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=18 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The most common argument I hear against voting for the Libertarian candidate or registering Libertarian is that people are afraid of wasting their vote.  I've never really understood the logic behind the wasted vote argument, but it goes something like this: "Why should I vote for a Libertarian when they're not going to win anyway?" This implies one of two things: We think that the Democrat or Republican is going to win simply because he received your one ... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=17 Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 I watched a portion of the presidential debates the other day.  Both candidates said that we needed to look at the root causes of the current financial crisis, and both demonstrated very clearly that they had no clue what the root causes were. In 1999-2000, the dot-com bubble burst as it was realized that many investors put their money into companies that did nothing.  The Federal Reserve expanded credit and lowered interest rates by increasing the money supply in an att... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=16 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The generally accepted method of defining one's political views is along a straight line, with the far left being one extreme and the far right being another.  Most people would tend to place themselves somewhere along this line.  The far left would represent those that espouse a great deal of personal freedoms and zero economic freedoms.  The far right would highly advocate economic freedoms but zero personal freedoms.  Someone in the center would subscribe... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=15 Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700 "The Libertarian Solution" launches its first show Wednesday, September 10th at 7pm on 1310 KXAM. The following press release was just sent out to media outlets.  Please help us get the word out, and don't forget to tune in! PHOENIX, AZ - A new political radio show unlike any other launches in Phoenix on Wednesday, September 10th called "The Libertarian Solution".  The hosts will focus on local, national, and world issues, and... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=14 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Gandhi once said: "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." The intention behind the comment was to highlight how many Christians, whose professed goal in life is to live like Christ, do not resemble him in any way. From a political standpoint, many Christians advocate government attempts to impose their morals on society, such as banning gay marriage, outlawing drugs and prostitution, or stealing from their neig... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=13 Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 As a libertarian, one of my goals is to promote the free market. For many reasons, and in almost every case, the free market can provide better services at lower costs than their government counterparts. But there are several myths I'd like to dispel that sometimes make this claim less than believable. Myth #1: The United States has a free market. A free market is one free of regulations and taxes such that business can operate without interference from government. From tha... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=12 Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 There seems to be a common theme in politics, especially in the economically liberal crowd, that the rich don't pay their "fair share" of taxes. The term "rich" isn't usually too well defined. For some it refers to people that live in lush mansions, and for others it's a term used to describe people who make more than $43,000/year, the income of the average American family. This concept is normally coupled with demonizing those same people, and bei... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=11 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 It seems that with our government trying to promote democracy around the world, we've started buying into the idea that the term "democracy" is synonymous with freedom.  To understand why this is in no way true, we need to understand what democracy really is.  Let's start with a quote to sum things up: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." - Benjamin Franklin In a society where one person tells... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=10 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Imagine our country without taxes of any kind; taking home your entire paycheck and never again having to file a 1040.  No more sales taxes, property taxes, or withholding taxes.  Sound too good to be true?  What if 200 years ago someone said, "imagine our country without slavery"?  It seemed an unattainable goal, but it happened, and we're far better off for it. The first thing most people would think is that we simply can't survive i... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=9 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Politicians often like to jump on to their high horse and preach that they're for better education, cheaper and higher quality health care, true help for the needy, and more higher paying jobs.  They say this with the implication that their opponent is not for these things.  But who among us is against making health care better and more affordable?  Who is against people being educated?  Who is against the creation of jobs, or helping those that are truly in... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=8 Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700 The cost of health care has become a major concern to many people. Washington keeps talking about how they're going to fix it, either by placing new regulations on doctors and hospitals, or by using your tax dollars to pay for it. But few politicians seem to understand the basics of economics when attempting to solve this problem. As many of us have no doubt learned in even the most rudimentary economics course, the first law is that of supply and demand. Prices go down when either the... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=7 Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 This is the other question I've been asked a few times as well.  Most people that I speak with, when I tell them that I'm running for the US Congress in 2010 in Arizona's 5th Congressional District, tell me that I should run now in 2008 instead of waiting.  For those that are interested, here are the reasons that I'm waiting: I'm currently the co-owner and operator of a small business in Tempe and Mesa that's been in business just short of 11 years.  This busin... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=6 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700 I have been asked this several times, especially since Ron Paul and I share many ideas and he's a Republican, and because I spent a good deal of time promoting his presidential campaign. When Ron Paul entered politics in the 70s, Republicans had much more in common with Libertarians, so it wasn't a stretch for a libertarian-minded person to run as a Republican, because they were still somewhat of a small government party, And because it is one of the two major parties, running as a Repub... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=5 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0700 Social Security is one of the largest scams ever perpetrated on us by our government, as the following figures will clearly demonstrate. If one makes $40,000/year, with 12.4% of that* being paid into Social Security, this person could retire at age 65 and collect benefits of $12,180/year. If one makes $40,000/year, does not pay Social Security taxes, and instead puts that 12.4% into a mutual fund investment beginning at age 30 until retirement at age 65, this person will have saved up ov... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=4 Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0700 In the past decade, we've seen two bubbles, and the emergence of a third is on the way.  The first was the tech bubble in the late 90s.  People invested in companies that didn't actually do anything, and many of them rightly lost their investment.  When the stock market began to collapse because of this and shortly after 9/11, the Federal Reserve swooped in to the rescue by "lowering interest rates," which is another term for "pumping newly... http://www.nickcoonsforcongress.com/blog/view.php?id=3