IN: Libertarian City Councilor Fights Republican Corporate Welfare Statists

From Timothy Maguire at the Libertarian Party of Indiana:

In this coming year, I will face a serious challenge: Maintaining my seat as a City-Councilor in Indianapolis. I currently have served as an at-large city-county councilor since 2007, and it has been a privilege to serve over a million citizens. In 2009, I made the decision to leave the Republican Party for the Libertarian Party.

The Marion County Republican party has spent the last four years giving welfare to major corporations, denying the second amendment rights all Indianapolis citizens are due, and punishing those within their party that dare to speak up for principle. It was easier to fight for libertarian principles as single voice on the council than it was to continually be silenced for the principles on which I stand.

I’ve been a consistent voice against the Republican majority’s policies of bailouts for the CIB, a $30 million dollar bailout for the Pacers, the creation of new government controlled monopolies benefiting special interests, and keeping taxes low. I need your help to get this message out. . . .

Libertarian No More? Bob Barr Calls for Extension of Massive Ethanol Subsidies

From Bob Barr at The Hill:

Much post-election newsprint and internet chatter has been devoted to the debate over whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts and, if so, in what form and for what length of time. This is understandable considering the degree of lethargy still plaguing our economy. Saving taxes also is a good topic to be discussed at any time -- whether in the form of marginal rate reductions, extending tax credits, or via other mechanisms -- insofar as saving money for taxpayers is never a bad thing. And, with regard to tax savings for businesses, more often than not tax cuts increase government revenues in the long run.

However, one particular tax-credit issue – that involving the extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (“VEETEC”) which is otherwise doomed to expire at year’s end – has failed to receive the attention it should, even though it is a tax credit that makes sense for farmers, ethanol producers, and consumers alike.