1984 STATE PLATFORM: LIBERTARIAN PARTY          
                          863

7. Poverty and Unemployment
  Government fiscal and monetary measures that artificially foster business
expansion guarantee an eventual
increase in unemployment rather than curtailing it. We call for the immediate
cessation of such policies as well
as any governmental attempts to affect employment levels.
  We support repeal of all laws which impede the ability of any person to
find employment, such as minimum
wage laws, so-called "protective" labor legislation, governmental
restrictions on the establishment of private
day-care centers, and the National Labor Relations Act. We deplore government-fostered
forced retirement,
which robs the elderly of the right to work.
  We seek the elimination of occupational licensure, which prevents human
beings from working in whatever
trade they wish. We call for the abolition of all federal, state, and local
government agencies which restrict
entry into any profession, such as education and law, or regulate its practice.
No worker should be legally
penalized for lack of certification, and no consumer should be legally restrained
from hiring unlicensed
individuals.
  We oppose all government welfare, relief projects, and "aid to the
poor" programs. All these government
programs are privacy-invading, paternalistic, demeaning, and inefficient.
The proper source of help for such
persons is the voluntary efforts of private groups and individuals.
8. Health Care
   We support the right of individuals to contract freely with practitioners
of their choice, whether licensed by
 the government or not, for all health services. We oppose any compulsory
insurance or tax-supported plan to
 provide health services, including those which finance abortion services.
We favor the abolition of Medicare
 and Medicaid programs. We further oppose governmental infringement of the
health care practitioner-patient
 relationship through regulatory agencies such as the Professional Standards
Review Organization. We oppose
 any state or federal area planning boards whose stated purpose is to consolidate
health services or avoid
 duplication. We oppose laws limiting the liability of health-care professionals
for negligence, and those regu-
 lating the supply of legal aid on a contingency fee basis. We oppose laws
which invalidate settlements of
 malpractice suits through the use of private arbitration services. We also
favor the deregulation of the medical
 insurance industry.
   We condemn attempts at the federal, state, and local level to cripple
the advance of science by governmental
 restrictions on research. In particular, we oppose government attempts to
suppress recombinant DNA re-
 search, which has opened the way for the increased supply of medically useful
human proteins, such as insulin,
 and shows promise of revealing the nature of hereditary diseases, the structure
of bacteria and viruses, and the
 nature of the immune response. We oppose any laws which limit liability
for injuries arising from recombinant
 DNA research.
   We call for the repeal of laws compelling individuals to submit to medical
treatment, testing, or to the
 administration of drugs or other substances.
   We advocate the separation of medicine and state.
 9. Resource Use
   The role of planning is properly the responsibility and right of the owners
of the land, water, or other natural
 resources. We therefore urge an end to governmental control of land use
through such methods as urban
 renewal, zoning laws, building codes, eminent domain, regional planning,
or purchase of development rights
 with tax money, which not only violate property rights, but discriminate
against minorities and tend to cause
 higher rents and housing shortages. We are further opposed to the use of
tax funds for the acquisition or
 maintenance of land or other real property. We recognize the legitimacy
of private, voluntary land use
 covenants.
    We call for the privatization of the inland waterways, and of the distribution
system that brings water to
  industry, agriculture and households. We oppose all government controls
over, or rationing of water; these
  despotic measures can only aggravate a water shortage. We oppose the construction
of government dams. We
  favor the privatization of presently government-occupied dam sites. We
also favor the abolition of the Bureau
  of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers.
    Instances of government recognition of homesteading in which the government
reserves surface mining
  rights to itself are invalid and forced surface-mining of such lands is
a violation of the rights of the present land
  holders. We call for the immediate abolition of the Bureau of Land Management
and the transfer to private
  ownership of federally held so-called public lands, which constitute more
than 80% of certain states. Further,
  we oppose any use of executive orders invoking the Antiquities Act to set
aside public lands.
  10. Agriculture
  . Wisconsin's potential for a free market in agriculture has been plowed
under by government intervention.
  Government subsidies, regulations and taxes have encouraged the centralization
of agricultural businesses.
  Government export policies hold American farmers hostage to the political
whims of both Republican and
  Democratic administrations. Government embargoes on grain sales and other
obstacles to free trade have
  frustrated the development of free and stable trade relationships between
peoples of the world.
    The agricultural problems facing America today are not insoluable, however.
Governmental policies can be
  reversed. Farmers and consumers alike should be free from the meddling
and counterproductive measures of
  the federal government  free to grow, sell, and buy what they want, in
the quantity they want, when they
  want. To restore enterprise in Wisconsin agriculture we advocate:
      a. abolition of the Department of Agriculture;
      b. elimination of all government farm programs, including price supports,
direct subsidies and all regula-
    tions on agricultural production;
      c. deregulation of the transportation industry and abolition of the
Interstate Commerce Commission;
      d. repeal of all inheritance taxes; and
      e. ending government involvement in agricultural pest control. A policy
of pest control whereby private
    individuals or corporations bear full responsibility for damages they
inflict on their neighbors should be
    implemented.