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DES MOINES, Iowa Republicans werent the only ones who braved the bitter cold Monday night to do some political business.

The Libertarian Party of Iowa (LPIA) also conducted a statewide caucus and held its own 2024 Presidential Preference Straw Poll. LIPA says this marked the first time they had held a caucus during a Presidential campaign as a major party.

We firmly believe in the process that is the Iowa Caucuses, the proving ground of campaigns, says LIPA Chair Jules Cutler. It has been extremely exciting to witness candidates actively building their brands, expanding their teams, and fortifying our party well in advance of the LP nominee's selection by delegates at the Libertarian National Convention.

With 98 of 99 counties reporting results of the straw poll stand as such:

Chase Oliver - 42.70%

Michael Rectenwald - 16.85%

Michael ter Maat - 13.48%

Joshua Smith - 13.48%

Vivek Ramaswamy - 4.49%

Mario Perales - 2.25%

Robert Sansone - 2.25%

Jacob Hornberger - 1.12%

Lars Mapstead - 1.12%

Art Olivier - 1.12%

Chase Oliver is a former Libertarian Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in Georgia.

Too often our candidate in the past was starting way behind the other two major parties because they had only campaigned to Libertarians at various State Conventions and didnt have the structure and organization in place to move into the general election at full speed, says Cutler. With the results of our Straw Poll last night, its clear that those with support teams in place, putting in the groundwork, are beginning to position themselves not only for the LNC but also if they were to get the nomination, for the tough campaigning to come in the general.

Delegates elected Monday night will reconvene in Des Moines on February 16-17th for the District/State Conventions. They will play a crucial role in electing the new State Central Committee and delegates to the Libertarian National Convention in Washington D.C. on May 24th-26th.

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Libertarian Party of Iowa announces the winner of its statewide Presidential caucus - KIMT 3

Was Milton Friedman the most important libertarian of them all? That's part of the conversation I had with today's guest, Stanford historian Jennifer Burns, who has written a masterful and definitive new biography of the Nobel Prizewinning economist. Without reservation, I recommend you check out her new book, Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative.

Friedman was arguably not just the most influential free market economist of the 20th century but the central figure in building the broad political and intellectual coalition that successfully challenged Keynesian economics and the top-down rule of experts in so many aspects of our lives. I talked with Burns about Friedman's conceptual and methodological breakthroughs in economics; his way-ahead-of-his-time collaboration with female economists such as Anna Schwartz and his wife Rose; his role in popularizing free market economics through his columns in Newsweek and the TV series Free To Choose;his controversial engagements with politicians such as Richard Nixon and Augusto Pinochet; and his role in ending the military draft and championing school choice. We also talked about Burns' previous book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, and its connections to her new work.

This episode was taped at the Reason Speakeasy, a monthly, unscripted conversation in New York City with outspoken defenders of free thinking and heterodoxy that doubles as a live taping of this podcast. Go here to get information about Speakeasys and all our upcoming events.

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Jennifer Burns: Why Milton Friedman Matters More Than Ever - Reason

"Does this economic system produce a lot of Dollar Stores?"On Glenn Greenwald'sSystem Update Rumble show, former Fox News star Tucker Carlson issued a scathing indictment of what he calls "libertarian economics" over the weekend.

"Libertarian economics was a scam perpetrated by the beneficiaries of the economic system that they were defending," Carlson told Greenwald.

"So they created this whole intellectual framework to justify the private equity culture that's hollowed out the country," said Carlson. "A smarter way to assess an economic system is by its results."

"I think you need to ask: 'Does this economic system produce a lot of Dollar Stores?'" said Carlson. "And if it does, it's not a system that you want, because it degrades people and it makes their lives worse and it increases exponentially the amount of ugliness in your society. And anything that increases ugliness is evil.So if it's such a good system, why do we have all these Dollar Stores?"

Carlson is indicting not just cheaply, readily available consumer goods, but also something deeper, he claimed.

"And the Dollar Store itself is a sort of symbolfor your total lack of control over where you live, and over the imposition of aggressively in-your-face ugly structures that send one message to you, which is, 'You mean nothing. You are a consumer, not a human being or a citizen.'"

On so many counts, Carlson is wrong. Life in the U.S. has gotten better since 1969, when he was born, in clear and measurable wayslife expectancy, child mortality rates, average income per person, liberal democratic scores of countries around the world, and much more. The "lack of control over where you live" is a total fablethough housing supply crunch is real (and government-created). If he's describing a sense that something is wrong within the American spirit, he should come right out and say so, but I'd expect the causes of these maladiesdeaths of despair trending upward, for example, or American males falling behind their female counterparts on educational achievementare deeper than "cheaply available consumer goods have proliferated."

Accidental hostage killing: On Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) admitted to accidentally killing three Israeli hostages who had been taken by Hamas.

Three menYotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, both of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer Talalka, of Kibbutz Nir Am"had emerged shirtless from a building and were carrying a makeshift white flag," in Shejaiye, an area of Gaza City where Israel and Hamas forces had been fighting, perThe New York Times.They had reportedly taken off their shirts to make clear that they were unarmed and not wearing any explosives and were approaching IDF soldiers, speaking in Hebrew.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its "soldiers were on high alert for attempts by Hamas to ambush Israeli forces, possibly in civilian clothes, as they patrolled the area," per aTimes account.

Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military's chief of staff, said that IDF policy is to arrest people who lay down their weapons, not shoot, and that so far more than a thousand people have been taken into military custody this way. "It is forbidden to shoot at those who raise a white flag and seek to surrender," said Halevi. Nonetheless, Israeli soldiers made a profound mistake, which is being criticized by both Israelis and the rest of the world.

Scenes from New York:New York City recently passed a law banning size and height discrimination when hiring dancers, which follows in the footsteps of similar legislation passed by San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

"The law includes an exemption for when height or weight may interfere with the essential requirements of a job," reported The New York Times. "But what are 'essential requirements' in the highly subjective world of dance?"

To put an even more cynical gloss on it: It seems highly unlikely that the government meddling in this way will make a difference, even sidestepping the question of whether this is an appropriate thing for policy makers to be spending time on.

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Tucker Carlson Issues Scathing Indictment of 'Libertarian Economics' - Reason

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by Juan David Rojas

Captain Anarchocapitalism, at your service. Credit: Getty

This week, Javier Milei was sworn in as president of Argentina. His election comes at a time of introspection for the international (if not the Latin American) Right. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni has disappointed conservatives and populists for failing to stem uncontrolled immigration as well as her staunch support for Ukraine. In Spain, conservatives suffered a brutal humiliation after Pedro Sanchez secured reelection with the backing of Catalan separatists. Will Milei follow suit by campaigning as a populist and governing as a centrist?

The answer depends on the criteria used to judge his presidency. Already, the president has backtracked on eliminating the central bank and cutting relations with Brazil and China. But these decisions are secondary to the central goal of Mileis presidency: reducing inflation. On that front, its difficult but certainly possible that Captain Anarchocapitalism will succeed in fulfilling the aims of his superhero alter-ego. Just days ago, the administration announced a devaluation of more than 50% of the Argentine Peso with subsequent devaluations of 2% to come on a monthly basis. The objective of these measures is to finally stabilise the overvalued peso by turning Argentinas current account deficit into a surplus.

By devaluing the peso and cutting export taxes, Argentina should be able to make its agricultural exports more competitive and reduce its large trade deficit a key requirement for amassing funds to pay Argentinas debt with the IMF and other lenders. Of course, devaluing too much will lead to further inflation as the peso loses buying power, particularly of imported goods. That Milei has chosen a more gradual approach to devaluation is prudent but is still not enough to repair the countrys economy.

The president is betting that by drastically cutting spending and subsidies as well as privatising state industries, Argentina will finally be able to pay for its obligations without printing money nor piling on more external debt. The problem here for Milei who has stated he wants to cut spending by 5% in 2024 is twofold. On the one hand, drastically cutting spending will require the support of Congress, where Mileis coalition lacks a majority in the Senate. On the other hand, if he succeeds in drastically cutting spending, it will almost certainly lead to large increases in unemployment and reduced economic growth.

Similarly, while privatising state industries and cutting subsidies may alleviate fiscal pressures in the short-term, it will also lead to higher energy prices a key driver of inflation. In either case, the spectre of mass protest will loom large during most of Mileis term. Cognisant of this scenario, yesterday, the President announced a novel security protocol giving the army the right to break strikes and arrest protestors.

The reality is that Argentina has a long road to recovery. It should be noted that Chiles Pinochet took more than 10 years to stabilise inflation and caused mass unemployment in the process. Milei, however, will have to wrestle with the pesky trappings of democracy that otherwise would have led to Pinochet being thrown out of office.

Still, the cases of Brazil and Peru during the 1990sshow that its possible to control inflation on a shorter timeline. Perus authoritarian President Alberto Fujimori, for instance, coupled many orthodox neoliberal measures with unorthodox ones such as massively increasing the minimum wage. It remains to be seen if the doctrinaire Milei is capable of the same economic heresies.

Likewise, Milei will need to fight the temptation of unfunded tax cuts that so often hypnotises libertarian conservatives. Much of Argentinas current predicament is the result of the ruinous administration of Mauricio Macri (20152019) now a close ally of Milei. Like Liz Truss, Macri had the original idea of passing large, unfunded tax cuts that more than doubled Argentinas national debt and did not result in increased growth.

Many have noted that Macri and many of his allies have secured key posts in Mileis cabinet including control of the Central Bank. Its very possible that the president will not be able to resist calls from coalition allies (and by extension the Argentine elite) to massively cut taxes. This also assumes that the president might himself be against such a proposal.

Regardless, should Milei succeed in taming inflation, his political project favours agriculture over industry and oligarchs over workers. His broader goal of turning Argentina into the United States is the same pipe dream that Latin American conservatives have repeated ad-nauseum since Milton Friedman first visited Pinochets Chile in 1975.

At best, Milei might succeed in temporarily transforming Argentinainto a stabler resource colony (i.e. Chile). At worst, he will follow in the footsteps of Macri and deliver the opposition Peronists another resounding return to the Casa Rosada in 2027.

See more here:
Javier Milei's libertarian experiment begins - The Post - UnHerd

Two and a half centuries ago, on December 16, 1773, a group of ordinary people ignited a spark that would illuminate the path to liberty the Boston Tea Party. This historic event, born out of frustration with unfair taxation practices and government monopolies, continues to reverberate through the ages and finds resonance in the principles of the modern-day Libertarian Party.

In the early days of the American colonies, tensions brewed over taxation without representation. After American patriots nullified the Stamp Act, Britains first attempt to tax North American colonists directly, the British government created new schemes to extract money from the region. One way to they sought to do this was by granting a legal monopoly to the East India Tea Company through the Tea Act of 1773, making it illegal for any colonial competitors to sell tea. Outraged by this blatant violation of their rights, a group of colonists took matters into their own hands on that fateful night in Boston Harbor.

The Boston Tea Party was not just an act of defiance; it was a resounding declaration that ordinary people would not tolerate unjust taxation and government monopolies. The colonists, much like modern libertarians, believed that individuals have the right to decide how their hard-earned money should be spent, and that competition is the best driver of prosperity.

Fast forward to the present day, and the principles of the Boston Tea Party find a powerful echo in the Libertarian Partys unwavering stance Taxation is Theft and central economic planning is immoral. Libertarians argue that individuals should be free from the burden of coercive taxation and monopoly schemes, allowing them to retain the fruits of their labor and make decisions about their money that align with their values and priorities.

The notion that taxation is a form of theft underscores the libertarian belief in individual autonomy and limited government. For libertarians, the Boston Tea Party serves as a symbol of resistance against overreaching authorities and a call to uphold the principles of self-determination.

As we commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, the Libertarian Party stands as a modern torchbearer of the spirit of resistance that fueled that historic event. Libertarians advocate for a society where individuals are free to live without the shackles of excessive taxation, where personal and economic freedoms are paramount.

In the spirit of the Boston Tea Party, the Libertarian Party champions the idea that individuals should be trusted to make decisions about their own lives, including how their money is spent. The legacy of those colonists who dumped tea into Boston Harbor lives on, inspiring libertarians to challenge the status quo and forge a path toward a more liberated and equitable future.

As we raise our tea cups today in a metaphorical toast to the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, let us also celebrate the enduring legacy of liberty it has bestowed upon us. The Libertarian Party, rooted in the principles of individual freedom, carries forth the spirit of those defiant colonists, reminding us that the fight against unjust taxation and for personal autonomy is a cause worth championing. May the echoes of the Boston Tea Party resonate for generations to come, inspiring a world where liberty triumphs over tyranny.

If you believe that #TaxationIsTheft, donate today to support our efforts against the unjust process:

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A Legacy of Resistance to Unjust Taxation - Libertarian Party