Written
on June 24th
and 25th,
2016
Edited
on July 19th
and August 8th, 2016
The
following piece was originally written as a spoken address. The
information was delivered by hand, on paper, rather than as a speech.
Thank
you very much for having me. My name is Joseph W. Kopsick, and I’m
a candidate in the race for the U.S. House of Representatives for the
election to be held on November 8th.
I’m running in Illinois’s 10th
Congressional District, which does
not
include Elgin, but which does include my home town of Lake Bluff, as
well as most of Lake County, and parts of northern Cook County.
I
am the only
candidate in the race besides incumbent Republican Bob Dold; and
challenger and former congressman, Democrat Brad Schneider. State
“sore loser laws” prevent me from running as an independent, so
I’m running as a New Party candidate. My candidacy has received the
endorsement of several figures in local politics and interest groups,
and I may receive the endorsement of the
state Libertarian Party.
Some
background about me: I attended public schools in Lake Bluff,
graduated from Lake Forest High School in 2005, and in 2009 I
graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with a major
in Political Science. Since 2010, I have operated the Aquarian
Agrarian, a blog that focuses on libertarian politics, radical
political theory and philosophy, constitutional law, civil liberties
and civil rights, labor laws, and elections. I previously ran for
U.S. House from Wisconsin in 2012, and Oregon in 2014.
The
major themes of my candidacy are: liberty and limited government;
non-interventionism in foreign policy; personal freedom and
individual rights; due process, and security through privacy;
balanced budgets and fiscal solvency; free movement of labor and
capital; and the notion that government should be funded through
penalties on waste, rather than through taxation of labor, sales, and
investment that has the effect of discouraging those types of
productive behavior.
I’ve
entered this race because I’m disappointed at the lack of
ideological diversity among the candidates. Unlike me, both of my
opponents support a strong federal government, domestic surveillance,
gun control, foreign aid, sanctions, keeping Obamacare in place, and
federal funding for Planned Parenthood. Additionally, both candidates
have taken neutral or soft stances supporting the decriminalization
and legalization of marijuana. As the only other candidate in the
race, I hope to bring to the 2016 ballot for House at least some
of the variety that 10th
District voters deserve.
If
elected, I would vote to reduce the size of the federal workforce,
and abolish unconstitutional federal departments; including the
departments of Commerce, Energy, Education, Interior, and Housing and
Urban Development. I would additionally consider restructuring or
abolishing the Department of Homeland Security.
On
spending, I would vote to support a Cut, Cap, and Balance plan; and /
or a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. I would hope that
such bills would require at least a 7-to-1 ratio of spending cuts to
revenue increases.
On
taxes, I would vote to eliminate tax loopholes and differential
taxation rates, but I would also oppose allowing tax cuts to expire,
and eliminate tax credits, while reducing taxes across the board. I
would vote to support a reduction of the individual income tax to
between 12.5% and 20% in the short term, and in the long term, I
would support the abolition of the personal income tax, and the
abolition of the 16th
Amendment.
I
believe that taxes on personal income, investment, consumption,
imports, property values, and the “inflation tax on savings”,
have the effect of discouraging productive economic behavior. While,
in the short term, I would accept a Negative Income Tax, or a
value-added national sales tax, in the long
term,
I would hope to replace all current forms of federal revenue with
user fees, voluntary contributions, and a reform of property taxes,
involving a Single Tax on the abuse, disuse, and blight of landed
property, including fees paid to communities in exchange for the
privilege of extracting natural resources.
On
the military, I would vote to support bringing troops and private
contractors home from Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible, as
well as from Germany, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. I
would vote to dismantle hundreds of overseas military bases, stop
spying on our allies, stop flying drones over foreign countries to
spy and launch airstrikes without their permission (and without
congressional declaration of war), and cut all aid to foreign
countries for military as well as domestic purposes.
I
will vote to oppose efforts to require men and
women alike to
register for the draft, and I would support efforts to abolish
military conscription altogether. I would oppose all proposed federal
gun control legislation, and I would introduce a constitutional
amendment to restore the Second Amendment to its original intent of
protecting the right of conscientious objection.
Concerning
the recent call for “No Fly, No Buy”, I would vote to support
transparency into these secret No-Fly lists, and my record would
reflect a cautious concern regarding due process for suspected
terrorists and the mentally ill. I will never forget that a suspected
terrorist is innocent until proven guilty; that even without the
Geneva Convention, the Eighth Amendment prohibits torture; and that
the Constitution promises a fair trial for all persons, not
just all citizens.
Regarding
immigration: although taxpaying citizens do shoulder the burden of
taking care of illegal immigrants, in my opinion this is primarily
the fault of an expansive and unfunded federal welfare state, not the
fault of people who crossed a border without committing any other
crimes that harmed persons or damaged their property. I believe that
welfare for immigrants should be dealt with on a state and local
basis, and I would vote to support legislative rather than executive
deferred action for childhood arrivals and their parents.
I
would vote to oppose the construction of a border fence or wall,
oppose making English the national language, support issuing Green
Cards and temporary work visas to non-violent immigrants, and support
allowing non-violent undocumented immigrants to apply for citizenship
once they reach the age of adulthood set by the state of their
residence.
On
trade, I would vote to support real
free
trade; the free movement of labor and capital. This is opposed to
“smart trade” (or protectionism of industry), and opposed to
“managed trade”, so-called “fair trade” (that is,
protectionism of labor). I hope to help bring about reduced prices
for American consumers by reducing and repealing tariffs (in addition
to reducing sales taxes).
I
believe that increasing tariffs would only embolden foreign
companies to increase worker exploitation and labor rights abuses (to
offset the costs of the tariffs), and that this would increase human
rights abuses abroad, making trade with such countries more
controversial, thus making sanctions more likely, potentially leading
to trade wars, cold wars, or even hot wars.
On
the issue of wages: given the apparent effect of increasing minimum
wages on unemployment and price inflation, I would vote to oppose
increasing the federal minimum wage. I would work to increase the
affordability of consumer goods and utilities by strengthening the
purchasing power of the dollar; I would do this by voting to reduce
and eliminate sales taxes and tariffs, audit the Federal Reserve
annually (or as often as possible), and abolish the Department of
Commerce and the artificial business privileges which it erects.
On
labor, I take a centrist approach. I believe that Compulsory Unionism
and majority union voting create
the problem of workers free-riding on the benefits of union
negotiation (as well as contributing to stagnating wages and soft
money). But I also
believe that the proposed solution to this – Right to Work laws –
unconstitutionally limits the types of contracts which can be made
between businesses and unions within the states.
Employers,
employees, and unions should be kept on equal footing, in regards to
their freedom to become parties to contracts. I would vote to ensure
that the federal government protects the rights of workers to engage
in concerted activity within the workplace (to form unions and file
complaints against their employers). I would vote to repeal the
Taft-Hartley Act, legalizing wildcat strikes and secondary boycotts),
Finally, I would encourage states to pass laws requiring
employers to inform prospective employees about the nature of their
relationship with – and obligations to – the workplace’s union
(or unions), once hired.
On
campaign finance, I would oppose attempts to overturn the
Citizens United decision. Money and speech are not equivalent
in the strictest sense, but spending money is an exercise of our
unenumerated freedom to engage in trade and participate in the
economy. I believe that unlimited campaign donations and big money in
politics are not the problem itself, but symptoms of the
problem; that of a government that legislates outside of its duly
delegated spheres of influence. In my opinion, candidates who favor
limiting donations to $2,200 per candidate per race per
election cycle, should set a good example, by refusing to accept
donations in excess of that amount.
On
health, I would vote to repeal most, if not all,
of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I believe that the
individual insurance purchase mandate is a penalty, not a tax; and
that even if it were
a tax, it would be an infinite
tax, which is justifiable by neither constitutional nor economic
laws.
The
way to expand access to medical care is not to tax medical device
sales, nor hospitals, nor the income of doctors and nurses; nor to
order people to buy insurance. Instead, to legalize the purchase and
sale of insurance across state lines – and to end the tax credit
for employer-provided health insurance – would expand access, while
reducing costs, as well as make it easier for people to keep their
policies when they move across the country or lose their job.
Additionally,
I would oppose tort reform, in order to avoid taking power away from
juries. I would also vote to devolve the issue of health care to the
states, and in the meantime I would support capping the growth of
Medicare spending.
On
education, I would vote to oppose legislation making public colleges
and universities debt-free or tuition-free; instead, I would vote to
abolish the Department of Education, leaving the matter of educating
children and young adults to states and localities. Until the
department can be abolished, I would vote to oppose all federal
involvement in student loans, I would consider supporting voucher
programs, and I would oppose any efforts to set up national standards
in primary education.
On
the issue of housing, I believe that H.U.D., Freddie Mac, and the
Federal Reserve were significantly more responsible for creating the
environment that led to the mortgage meltdown than Wall Street was.
Accordingly, I would vote to abolish the Department of Housing and
Urban Development.
On
the environment, I would vote to abolish the Department of Energy,
and end subsidies and tax credits for all energy companies and
industries. I would oppose the privatization of natural resources,
instead promoting an integrated approach to taxes and the
environment, which would involve encouraging states and localities to
establish community land and water trusts, and citizens’ dividends
funded through fees on natural resource extraction. I would
additionally vote to end federal maintenance of strategic petroleum
reserves; oppose federal taxes on gasoline sales and oil imports; and
set a goal of achieving zero non-offset carbon emissions by the year
2030, without having the U.S. become a signatory to the Kyoto
Protocol, instead encourage states to pursue this goal the way they
see fit.
On
Social Security, I would vote to support allowing young workers to
opt-out of the program. I support the personalization
of retirement accounts (as opposed to privatization), and I would
encourage workers to open accounts at mutual or cooperative financial
institutions. I would vote to support devolving this issue to the
states, I would consider block grants, and in the interim – until
that can be accomplished – I would vote to oppose means-testing
Social Security.
Social
issues; first, marriage.
I
would oppose Defense of Marriage Act -type legislation, opposing all
federal involvement in marriage between consenting adults, which I
believe is a personal, contractual, and sometimes religious
institution; not primarily a political one.
On
abortion, I would support de-funding Planned Parenthood, I would make
no efforts to overturn the case of Casey vs. Planned Parenthood,
and my voting record would support the notion that so-called
“partial-birth abortion” is not abortion, but infanticide.
Additionally,
I would oppose requiring employers’ health insurance policies to
cover abortion or contraception, and oppose any attempt to interfere
with contraceptive medications and devices being sold in pharmacies.
I would also oppose any legislation which would require an ultrasound
as a condition of getting an abortion; this would help reduce medical
care costs resulting from unnecessary and unwanted medical
procedures.
As
for civil rights and discrimination: while I value the right of
private property ownership of residential and commercial properties
alike, I believe that the federal government has a responsibility to
ensure equal and integrated access to places of public
accommodations, but if and only if such an enterprise is
directly involved in interstate commerce, and / or receives public
funding. I believe that if a business thrives solely on a voluntary
commercial basis, does not operate in more than one state, and
sources all of its materials and labor from within its state; its
owner should retain the right to hire whom it pleases, and the right
to refuse service or entry to anyone for any reason.
Finally,
I have to confess that I consider myself uninformed about veterans’
issues, especially as a 29-year-old non-veteran. Needless to say,
bureaucracy and costs in that department have to be reduced, and
fraud in veterans’ charities is a problem. Also, health care and
employment are issues that affect veterans and non-veterans alike, so
I hope that what I’ve proposed regarding jobs and health will
benefit veterans in addition to ordinary citizens.
But
a good politician ought to be able to recognize when his constituents
know more about an issue than he does, and listen to their
suggestions when they do, so I welcome any input that you all have on
the issue of veterans’ affairs.
Thank
you very much for your invitation and your time. I will have more
information about the status of my candidacy within two weeks. I hope
that you at the I.C.R.C. will recommend my candidacy to voters in the
10th
District.
In
the meantime, I encourage you to visit my blog, and join my
campaign’s Facebook group – the addresses to both of which are
listed on my business card – and if you would like to make a
donation to my campaign, you can send it to Committee to Elect Joe
Kopsick, at my home address. But please, no donations in excess of
the amount set by the McCain-Feingold Act; money is not speech, but
the words of an honest politician are as good as gold, and someone’s
got to set a good example.
Thank
you for your support!
