Jake Towne is different than his two opponents.
The major difference between Towne and the two major parties can be seen in Towne’s view of the role of the federal government. Towne includes a copy of the constitution in his press pack. For him, it is the reference work from which everything else springs.
The role of the federal government is “solely to defend the liberty of the individual.” If you read Article I, Section 8 and the 9th and 10th Amendments, you might not disagree.
Towne takes aim at the individual income tax. Anyone who wants to return to the principles of this country’s first century would do so as well. Our federal government was small and existed on excise taxes. There were a few temporary income taxes until finally the constitution was amended to add the income tax. Adding that tax opened the spigot for federal spending and the tax grew in importance and the federal government grew with it.
“It is unnatural for government to have the first stab at your income,” Towne says. “The law is being used to lawfully plunder the citizens.”
Towne would repeal the federal income tax and with it the federal programs it funds. He says the elimination of the income tax will stimulate people to work. “The federal income tax is an unnecessary and immoral tax,” Towne says. “YOUR income from YOUR labor belongs to you and no one else, especially the government, has a right to steal it from you.”
The core function of government as he’d define them (to include the executive, legislative and judicial branches in their limited roles, the military in a new role and activities like the FBI, etc.) would be funded through the excise taxes and the corporate income tax. He says it would only cost $67 billion to run the core functions, not the $3 trillion the government collects.
Of course, the elimination would not be immediate so Towne would pursue elimination of withholding and other reforms. He says the progressive income tax has its roots in Karl Marx. Towne’s complete plank on his website http://towneforcongress.com deserves a read. You might learn a few things.
There is an argument to be made that a federal education department was never a vision of the founding fathers. Heck, even state-provided public education was a few decades away in most places. There is a duplication of government never imagined in the constitution. The same can be said of energy and highways and many other federal functions we take for granted. Whether you conclude that Towne is right or you conclude that the constitution evolves, you should at least be aware of the issue. Go read Article I, Section 8 and see how limited those powers really were.
Towne also realizes that it would be impossible to immediately go from our bloated welfare-driven federal government back to the original model. It would have to be done in stages. Because of the human factor, Towne would cut the welfare programs last.
While he supports the notion that the federal government must insure a strong national defense, Towne would completely redo the current model. He said his first act would be to remove the “empire of bases” and bring the troops back to the United States. This would get them back to a defensive posture and cut the costs associated with all of our international outposts.
He claims that we have no choice economically and that we can’t support this model forever. He wants to “do it now while we still can.”
Critics will say that foreign postings are, in fact, necessary for domestic defense. Clearly, that is the geopolitical model we have been following.
Towne said he was looking forward to learning Callahan’s stance on the Gulf War. Dent has been pretty public and consistent. Towne is clear—calling for an immediate withdrawal.
His second round of cuts would get at “unnecessary types of [federal] government services.” This would eliminate things like the Department of Education and EPA that simply duplicate state efforts. In many ways, this would mirror the views of Regan Republicans (before we started adding agencies).
Finally Towne would dismantle the welfare system. He admits that “will take years” and require transition but he asserts that we “should aim to end the welfare state.” Medicare and Medicaid would phase out. Employees could opt out of the Social Security/Medicare system at any time ahead of the phase out.
“We have to do this,” Town says. He says voters need to look at the trillions in unfunded liabilities in the Medicaid/Medicare and Social Security systems.
Towne would also try to dismantle the Federal Reserve. It is refreshing to talk to someone who doesn’t think I have three heads and horns when I talk about that fact that our currency is based not on gold or silver but on the national debt. Towne sees the Fed as having “a monopoly on the currency and credit of the United States.” In turning over such power to the Fed, Towne believes Congress has “reneged on their constitutional duty to the American people to maintain the integrity of our currency, the dollar.”
He sees the dollar under extreme pressure and eventually something will give. He says “the Fed is responsible for the price inflation we have seen our entire lives.” The purchasing power of the dollar is plummeting, Towne says, because the Fed has created so many dollars. He would return us to a hard currency standard.
Comments
Dear Ken -
Thank you for writing these articles on the campaign. They have all been very fair, as is the rest of your writings (non-campaign related) that I have read. You also have an open mind, which is a must for any writer -- even in our times where the two-party system has CLEARLY failed, not every reporter would treat an independent with the attention you have. Thank you.
I won't comment on the above, but I would like to embellish on one point that we did not have time for during our interview - the Dept of Education, please take a look here and feel free to add anything. I suppose readers wanting to check out my stance on the DOE would find it useful as well, and it contains some of my many reasons for discontent with the GOP and Dems.
towneforcongress.com/economy/abolish-the-federal-department-of-education-1
That freedom shall not perish.
Jake
I applaud the objective efforts of Kenneth Petrini and hold out hope that it continues through-out the 2010 election cycle.
The role of the media is to simply cover the event. In recent years, some journalists have attempted to manipulate the outcomes. I've never understood why the public puts up with it. Would we follow pro sports if the outcome was manipulated by outside influences?
Examiner.com has risen above the political fray, Thank You! ...and please, plan and schedule multiple public debates where all of the candidates are invited and directly asked honest questions from honest citizens.
Steven Thompson, editor
Freedom From The Press
Jake Towne for Congress!
Ken, Great article. Your coverage of Jake Towne has been fair and well written. Once again, Jake Towne is clearly the best choice for the people of the 15th district.
Great Article. It's nice to see a candidate that will stand on principals and not pander special interests.
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