A case for real reform

Mr. Williams underestimates the untapped, libertarian mainstream of America. Thomas Jefferson could be elected today, if he managed to hijack the big-government Republican party like Ronald Reagan did. Reagan and Newt proved that the people want small government reform and more freedom, but people will have to get used to government reform before we can make reform the natural state of politics.

If a real small-government, pro-freedom reformist ever tried to run, he would be elected, and if his agenda was blocked, those blocking it would be voted out as well. The Republicans squandered their shot, but mainstream America still yearns for freedom. The key to significant, sustained government reform is managing it. We have to start with a big idea that provides instant benefits to all Americans. But reformers can't stop with one reform; they have to continue the reforms like an avalanche.

The FairTax is perfect as the first reform. It would ignite the economy overnight because U.S. products would become competitive on the world market and at home. IRS workers, tax attorneys, and tax accountants would be freed up to perform wealth generation instead of services. Companies and jobs would return to America and create a period of economic growth we haven't seen in generations.

Arresting the employers of illegals would also yield near instantaneous benefits as illegal aliens packed up and went home. Those jobs would open up for Americans, the income would stay in America, and if done in concert with lowering the minimum wage, more teens and unskilled workers could get jobs. Helping teens and unskilled workers get a foot in the economic door would benefit the country almost immediately as well with a boost to the economy and a drop in crime. Some illegals would turn to crime, but we would arrest, convict, and deport them.

It's too bad that legalizing and controlling drugs would meet so much resistance at first, because the benefits of that would be nearly immediate as well. Letting drug users out of prison would make the economy soar as these workers reentered the market and prison costs went down. Without their war on drug income, the Mexican cartels would be unable to control our border, the Taliban would be forced to throw rocks at NATO troops, and U.S. crime rates would plummet overnight as funding for drug gangs including MS-13 dried up. Drug addicts would get help instead of prison, the cost of the war on drugs would disappear, and the U.S. would have new cash crops.

Balancing the budget with across the board budget cuts would boost the U.S. economy as well. The debt would no longer put pressure on interest rates. We also would be freed to strategically deal with China since we would no long be dependent on China to buy our debt to keep the American government running.

Repealing the McCain/Feingold abomination would be a breeze, and could be done nearly immediately. Removing bureaucratic obstacles to the free market could begin one obstacle at a time.

After experiencing all the benefits from these reforms, Americans would be ready to abolish the Department of Education so our kids would be freed to get a good education, abolish the entitlements even though young workers would have to eat the cost of paying for older Americans - that price will eventually have to be paid thanks to our political ancestors, and completely remove government from the health care business.

Americans would demand complete overhaul of federal interference in the free market. Americans would be ready to abolish the DEA and ATF as they would have no reason to exist. (Why does the ATF, a prohibition era agency, still exist anyway? Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms are legal.) RICO would be repealed.

The key to reforming government is managing it. Tiny reforms that are hard to notice won't transform the outlook of the public. We need to start with a big reform with big benefits, like the FairTax to move the entire nation to a position where reform is the only politically viable option, and we debate what reforms to implement first, and how much to shrink government with each reform. For this we need a modern Thomas Jefferson who is willing to start the reforms and transform the political landscape so that reform becomes the norm.