The Libertarian Party is founded on the Belief in Liberty. And the belief that Two Party Rule was slowly and surely making this country less of a Free Country and more of a Dictatorship of the Majority. That was true in 1971 when the party was founded, and unfortunately, more true today.

Mission Statement

The Libertarian Party is for fewer laws and lower taxes.
The Libertarian party is for free enterprise and defending the Bill of Rights.

Since its founding in 1971 the Libertarian Party is the only National Party to without reserveation defend the Bill of Rights. On behalf of the Democratic and Republican Parties we can make this promise: If you don’t join the Libertarians to defend your rights you will Lose them.

Libertarian Party Positions for Philadelphia

Disclaimer

This Document was prepared by John Karr. Hold him personally responsible for anything anyone disagrees with. Bear in Mind that we are a Political Party with a wide range of opinions and that this isn't a formal statement of LP Philly's position on anything.

The Libertarian Party of Philadelphia has at present no formal Manifesto. The following has been reviewed by the Executive Board of the Philadelphia Libertarian Party as a generalized summary of how we think the majority of our member view the issues discussed.

• Taxes:
  The Structure of Taxes in Philadelphia makes the City uncompetitive with its Neighbors and other Cities in the United States and around the Global Economy. While we consider it imperative that the City immediately fix its tax structure, we also believe that lower taxes drive growth. Reducing the overall level of taxation (through reducing City Expenditures) at the same time as we re-structure the tax system will help avoid having "losers" in tax reform.
• Violence:
  We see the curent wave of violence as a symptom of the failure of the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs is a War on Americans, it is a racist war, incarcerating an ever increasing portion of the African American population.
• Gun Control:
  The overwhelming majority of guns used in street crime were not obtained in compliance with existing State Laws. In fact the street price for illegal firearms is typically lower than the price of the same guns legally purchased. Yet most of the calls for new gun control laws focus on people who are obeying the law. It is our view that those calling for the City to have the Authority to institute its own Gun Control Laws are scapegoating guns and gun owners because they are not able to deal effectively with the Criminals.
• Drugs:
  We believe that both as a matter of personal freedom and due to the costs of drug prohibition that the drug laws need to be re-evalutated. We believe it is unconsionable to deny patients access to Marijuana given the body of evidence of its medical value. The current wave of violence devasting entire sections of this City is Fueled and Financed by the Drug Trade. The City may not have any authority to institute a change in drug policy, but we need to understand that the War on Drugs is very expensive in many ways, particularly in this City in terms of the amount of crime, especially Murder. Given the widespread availability of illegal drugs we have to ask the question to those who support the War on Drugs: "Is Drug Prohibition reducing the amount of Drug Abuse?".
• Smoking:
  We believe that Private Establishments have the right to enforce their own Smoking Bans and refuse service to those who do not comply, conversely these same establishments have the right to permit Smoking. We believe in voting with your Dollars, if you find smoke offensive, tell the owner or manager and leave. Smoking is presently Legal in Philadelphia, therefore it is contradictory to make it illegal to provide a place for people to smoke.
• Casinos:
  The process by which two Casinos are being imposed on the Philadelphia Riverfront is a perfect example of the level of corruption in Pennsylvania Government. If the state had simply auctioned slots licenses to the highest bidders, we believe that a number of small and mid-sized facilities would have been licensed around the city instead of the two mammoth-slots barns that will dominate the riverfront.
• Regulation:
  One of the reasons that Philadelphia makes the top of every Business Magaazine's list of the worst cities in the U.S. for Businesses is our Licensing process. Talk to anyone who has tried to build something in this city and you can hear horror stories about the delays while waiting for L&I to approve minor things. We support replacing the Municipal Building Code with the National Building Code. We support allowing the creation of private Inspection and Bonding Services, in the private sector time is often money and businesses should be allowed to pay for premium services in this manner.
• Schools:
  The Philadelphia School District is a Failure. The one bright spot has been Charter Schools. We believe that expanding School Choice can be the cornerstone for turning the district around.