Carla Howell, political director for the national Libertarian Party, made a statement to Press TV on April 6 in response to Republicans attacking President Barack Obama about high unemployment. It can be listened to here.
Here’s a summary of what was said:
On April 5 in the Republican weekly address, Sen. Tim Scott criticized President Obama because unemployment in the United States remains high. He said that Obama’s job-training programs have produced no measurable results.
But the Republican called for replacing Obama’s 35 government-run job-training programs with one government-run job-training program.
Republicans are saying that we need another government program. They presume that the government is qualified to train workers in the private sector.
Libertarians say government bureaucrats are not qualified to dictate who is or is not qualified for a job. Only employers can and should make that decision.
Libertarians say the free market — through private programs and classes, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training — is far more capable of producing qualified workers for jobs than any government-run or government-funded program.
Big Government in the U.S. — put in place by both Democrats and Republicans — is causing high unemployment. It’s the reason so many Americans are out of work.
High taxes, government overspending and debt, bailouts, unnecessary wars, government regulations and thousands of failed and wasteful Big Government programs — including phony jobs training programs — are precisely why the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in world markets.
Government regulations prohibit employers from hiring people who are qualified.
This includes minimum wage laws, which prevent poor people from working and prevent small businesses from hiring the help they need to survive.
This includes government requirements for college degrees, “continuing education” and other state-mandates that block qualified workers from getting jobs.
Libertarians say the only way to create jobs is to get government out of the way.
Libertarian candidates running for office this year say:
- cut taxes
- dramatically cut government spending
- stop piling up government debt
- repeal thousands of unneeded laws, regulations and red tape that get in the way of economic progress.
- repeal the minimum wage
This will create tens of millions of new, productive, private-sector jobs in America.
This will allow poor people to get jobs they want and need.
It will remove the justification that politicians use for endless extensions of taxpayer-funded unemployment insurance.
When we get the government out of the way, we’ll have plenty of jobs, preserve the wealth of Americans, and keep our country at peace with our world neighbors.
