"Rising power of GOP libertarians" (Politics Aside by Robert Hornak — February 17) was a refreshing alternative to the status quo. Many of us cherish economic and civil liberties. We believe what consenting adults consume, inhale, perform, read or view in the privacy of their own home or private social club isn’t the concern of government. Individual economic and civil liberties prosper best when government stays out of both the bedroom and marketplace.
We do not support the massive deficit spending that has resulted in today’s $14 trillion dollar long-term debt. We oppose the thousands of Congressional earmarks supporting tens of billions of dollars in pork barrel member item spending. We are no fan of corporate welfare or spending billions on useless weapons systems supported by Congress but not requested by the Pentagon.
We support a return to limited government accompanied by a minimal amount of confiscatory taxation to support only essential services along with Pay as Go budgeting; means testing for all government assistance programs; no member item pork barrel spending; sunset provisions for agencies and programs which have long ago met their objectives, balanced budgets; actual surpluses and down payments to reduce long-term debt.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
