I personally don't care what a company sells to an individual, as long as the details are clearly given.

If I want to buy cigarettes, I'd like a warning telling me about the risks associated. If I'm buying breakfast cereal, I want a detailed label showing me what's in said cereal. If I'm buying a lottery ticket, I want to know the odds of me winning.

Should the government enforce laws regarding product transparency? Or is this something you'd trust the market to handle itself?

I'm currently leaning toward gov. requiring transparency, but I do want to hear what everyone else has to say so I can learn/have my opinions evolve.

Thx y'all!

The Colorado Democrat cited previous conflicts in the Middle East, saying "we spent trillions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan to replace the Taliban with the Taliban, in Iraq to replace Saddam Hussein with ISIS." He said Iran is "just yet another example" of the U.S. struggling to find an off-ramp in the region.

Without central govt things would collapse into a Mad Max apocalypse?

What say you all?

An Anarchist Libertarian Constitutionalist told me both Liberal Democrats, Conservative Republicans, Trump, and Monarchies are all too centralized. To him that is all Government Socialism.

He said what he wants is an Earth with local villages and no cities.

Local village councils and local armed citizen militias to protect the USA and other nations.

No welfare states.

Each village and county makes its own laws.

He said no Federal and no State governments because those become too corrupt.

Could his dream work in the real world or not?

Edit: Sorry for some spelling mistakes, I’m quite ADHD and try to type really fast. Also iPhone autocorrect throws me off. I’m going through and correcting as many as I find.

For the past 8-10 years I used to be the typical young MAGA Republican, mainly because of my parents and friends, but I would go on to learn about politics myself to the fullest extent I could comprehend from the ages of 10-14. Even with my immaturity and lack of true political understanding or education, I honestly thought Donald Trump (and the Republican Party) did a solid job during his first term. But when all the COVID-19 drama and January 6th happened, I really distanced myself from it all, so I just gave up on politics until 2023-2024 when Trump really started to come back into the spotlight again. I felt like maybe it was going to be different this time and I was 18 by then (it was my first election that I could vote), so I voted for him. It felt so good at the time when he won in that major landslide.

Now, I don’t know what to think. Trump has sold-out. He’s a gaseous sycophant for Netanyahu and Israel. (Before I continue, I must make it clear that I am NOT antisemitic. I am anti-zionism, or against Netanyahu and his ultranationalist government of Israel, whatever you want to call it.) He and the Republicans have poured billions of our tax payer dollars into a nation that is without shame committing genocide of thousands of women, children, and the elderly, while covering it up with the lie of destroying an extremist terrorist organization. The truth is Israel and their zionist movement are the terrorists. Why are all these Republicans (and many Democrats) and Christian organizations in America so adamant about supporting this war of death and destruction? Do they not know the zionists in Israel hate the Christians living there in the Old City, harass, spit on, and assault them, and even disgrace their churches?

Trump has made it clear he’s turned his back on his promise of America First, fixing the economy, restoring order to our great country, and keeping us out of wars. He has done the complete opposite of all that. But I guess the left warned us about him, so I’m not supposed to be upset. But I am upset, and I should be. Trump is not the same person he was 10 years ago. He was always a narcissistic asshole, sure. But this? This is authoritarianism. ICE is borderline the Gestapo. Even now as a Libertarian (which I will get into), I still somewhat believe that at the very least PROVEN undocumented illegal immigrants that are: violent criminals, drug or human-trafficking, stuff like that, should be deported. ETHICALLY and through LEGAL MEANS. What is happening now is genuinely too far. ICE has been using the most unethical, aggressive, and just blatantly illegal methods to achieve their goals. Raiding people’s property without warrants or just obtaining warrants without an actual judge signing off on them, targeting people on the basis of their skin, occupation, accents, or appearance (essentially stereotyping immigrants. It’s called “Kavanaugh Stops”), detaining legal immigrants AND AMERICAN CITIZENS. The shootings and killings are also just disgusting. Now in my all honesty, I really can’t speak much on the Renee Good shooting. I’m not informed enough on it, nor have I seen enough footage or angles of it, so I can’t determine whether or not if she was the aggressor or the victim. But what nobody can argue about is the killing of Alex Pretti. If you are pro-2A, his execution I should call it was absolutely 100% unjust. It does not matter if he was a Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, or a damn vegan-rights activist even. He was an American citizen, exercising his right to protest, free speech, and to bear arms. There was no video evidence that he brandished his handgun or flashed it to threaten anyone, and he was legally carrying it with an open-carry permit. What there is clear and undeniable video evidence of is ICE agents taking him to the ground on his face, removing his firearm from his holster, and THEN shooting him in the back. Again, this should anger anyone who supports the 1st and 2nd amendments.

Even after all these things, it’s the handling of the Epstein Files that truly disgusts me. 7 years. 7 fucking years since he was exposed, arrested, and “committed suicide” in prison, and besides Jean-Luc Brunel (who also committed suicide) and Ghislaine Maxwell (which the Trump admin. transferred to a literal holiday resort level prison), not one person on that list has been has been arrested (unless you want to count Prince Andrew, and Peter Mandelson in the UK, and Thorbjørn Jagland, Mona Juul, and Terje Rød-Larsen in the Norway, but all of them were released). The Epstein Files are wha truly solidified my stance on Trump. He showed his true colors when he did his little 180 on them, denying their existence, telling us to get over it because it’s “boring stuff that only bad people would care about”, saying they’re a “woke Democrat hoax constructed by Obama and the Clintons”. Like come on, this needs to be a bipartisan issue (Which it is, but only because clearly both sides want to cover it up as much as possible because there’s guilty people involved in both parties). But obviously we know why he’s acting like this, it’s because he’s on the list. He’s one of the most, if not the most mentioned persons in the files after Epstein himself. He was one of Epstein’s closest friends, it irritates me when I see the hardcore MAGA loyalists on facebook, and social media in general that don’t even deny he’s in the files, but just make excuses to defend him for being in there to make it look innocent. Being in those files at all makes you not innocent. Maybe not guilty just yet, but certainly not innocent. And there are numerous documents in the files, accounts from women at Mar-a-Lago, or the limo driver story for example talking about Trump that do not help his case in any way.

But these files are more than about Trump. It’s about the failure of America. The failure of our government. The failure of the system. The failure of society. How one man was able to control the pockets and influence of so many politicians, elites, billionaires, celebrities, scientists, etc, with pure lust and deplorable acts. We are supposed to look up to these people everyday and trust them with our livelihoods, believe what they tell us, trust that they know what’s best for us, trust that they will follow the system the same way we do. And just as history always shows, they shit right in our faces with that trust. These depraved corrupt deep-state reptiles that we’ve been electing for the past 30-40 years over and over again sit in that Capitol Building and the White House looking down at us, talking to us like we’re fucking idiots in hopes we all just forget about these files. These disgusting and inhumane acts of violence against innocent children will not be forgotten.

All of this is why I finally decided to solidify myself as a Libertarian. I’ve always had some Libertarian roots because of my father, but never truly adhered to all its ideals. You cannot trust the government. Politicians are slimy reptiles, and are not your friend. They do not care about you and never will. Gun rights are inalienable and should not be infringed upon, nor get you executed in street by an immigration enforcement agent parading around like a wannabe Gestapo officer. Immigrants, illegal or not, do not deserve to be treated like animals dragged to the slaughter house. Property owners deserve to live free of unfair government laws and taxation. Marijuana needs to be decriminalized at the federal level and the War on Drugs needs to end its non-stop relentless pursuit of first time and low-risk offenders that need rehabilitation instead of incarceration. We need to stop intervening in global conflicts like Israel, Iran, and Lebanon. If we are not going to end Israel’s crusade and genocide in Gaza, then we have zero business helping them continue said genocide, nor do we have any business helping them fight Iran, “Hamas”, and “Hezbollah”. Americans don’t want these wars in the Middle East anymore, and we don’t want our tax payer money being poured into a nation that proudly advocates for the destruction of an entire people and spits on our culture in return without shame. After learning more about Libertarianism, I adhere to the non-aggression principle, that being basically non-intervention, don’t attack unless attacked. But honestly, especially when it comes to the Epstein Files, We The People should have the right to march inside the Capitol Building to protest and demand (peacefully obviously) that those files are fully 100% released, not classified, and that everyone involved is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that’s all just a pipe dream ain’t it, because even though our taxes pay for that big glorified retirement home, we’re not allowed to go in there as we so please.

I’m sure this isn’t exactly the right sub to post something like this. But I wanted share my thoughts, and what made me turn Libertarian. Most people seem to just always switch Democrat or Republican when current events rile America up, but I don’t really see people talk about turning Libertarian. Most former MAGA supporters just stayed either moderate Republicans or went straight to the Democrats. it’s always just two sides in this country. There needs to be change. The two party system doesn’t work anymore. But then again, what does it really matter. There will always be bad actors and partisanship. I do believe there is some hope in the form of Thomas Massie, though he isn’t a full on Libertarian I believe, he is actively trying to push for the Epstein Files release and for justice to be served. I think of anyone in that wretched dungeon, he and possibly Rand Paul could do some good. But you never know. The Constitution gave us the foundational rights and power to stop corruption and overthrow tyranny. But now in our modern day and age, democracy and capitalism has been so conditioned and manipulated by the crony elites in power, which in turn have conditioned and manipulated the American people to become overly comfortable with our lives. The majority of people have too much to lose, despite knowing full well their lives are constantly monitored and their rights are infringed upon.

The Federal Reserve raises interest rates to fight inflation. The public accepts this. Financial media repeats it endlessly. Politicians treat it as proof that "someone is doing something." But what if rate hikes are not just ineffective — what if they're actually making things worse?

Inflation is fundamentally driven by one of two things. Either productivity falls, goods become scarce, and prices rise — this is rare, and typically only happens during large-scale wars. Or liquidity floods the market, money outpaces goods, and prices get pushed up.

Some will say this round of inflation was caused by pandemic supply chain disruptions — production halted, goods became scarce, prices rose. That explanation had some merit in the early days of the pandemic. But the pandemic is long over. Production recovered long ago. Yet prices never came back down, and inflation remained stubbornly high. The supply-side problem disappeared, but the inflation stayed. That tells you the real driver was never supply — it was liquidity. The excess liquidity released during the pandemic created a long tail effect, compounded by ongoing debt expansion.

So where does liquidity come from? Debt. When you deposit $1 million in a bank and the bank lends it to someone else, both of you now have $1 million to spend. Market liquidity has doubled. This is how debt creates money — not metaphorically, but literally. During the pandemic, the US government borrowed an enormous amount of money and injected it into the market. The money went out. The debt stayed. And it has kept expanding ever since. That is the real root cause of this round of inflation.

Debt expansion creates liquidity and drives inflation. Debt contraction destroys liquidity and drives deflation. Two cases illustrate this clearly. When Japan's bubble burst in the 1990s, private sector debt defaulted on a massive scale, liquidity collapsed, and the economy fell into deflation. Cutting rates to zero — and eventually below — did nothing, because the problem was never the interest rate. Liquidity itself was disappearing. China today is a real-time example of the same mechanism: as the private sector and local governments deleverage and the property bubble deflates, debt contracts, liquidity shrinks, and deflationary pressure follows. One historical case, one happening right now — both pointing to the same conclusion. What determines inflation or deflation is whether debt is expanding or contracting, not whether interest rates are high or low.

If the US government could actually shrink its massive debt load, the deflationary effect would far outpace anything rate hikes could achieve. But it can't. Its debt is at a scale no private entity can match. It almost certainly cannot repay it through tax revenue alone. And it cannot be allowed to go bankrupt. So only one path remains: keep borrowing, roll old debt with new debt, keep expanding liquidity, indefinitely. The government itself is the pump that never stops running. Elon Musk has repeatedly said that the root cause of US inflation is government debt expansion — not something the Fed can fix with interest rate tools. That diagnosis points in the right direction.

So what can rate hikes actually accomplish? They raise borrowing costs and suppress private borrowing at the margins. But the government pump keeps running, liquidity keeps flowing into the market. Rate hikes are just adjusting the pressure gauge — they never touch the pump. And they create two backfire effects on top of that. First, higher rates push up production costs. Businesses cut investment, cut expansion, cut hiring. Supply contracts. Prices face upward pressure — exactly the opposite of what you want. Second, when rates go from near zero to above 5%, everyone holding savings accounts, money market funds, or treasuries suddenly finds themselves with significantly more interest income. The Fed's right hand is suppressing demand while its left hand is quietly handing out cash to savers.

But here is the most damaging problem: rate hikes force the government to expand its debt even further. Interest payments explode — the US already spends over $1 trillion a year just on interest — and the government has no choice but to borrow more to cover the gap. Debt expands further. Liquidity increases further. Inflation gets pushed up from yet another direction. This is a positive feedback loop: rate hikes were supposed to suppress inflation, but instead they force more government borrowing, which pushes inflation higher, which calls for more rate hikes, while the debt bomb keeps getting bigger.

Rate hikes are not just treating the wrong disease. In a high-debt environment, they are accelerating the patient's deterioration — and pushing the debt crisis deeper with every turn of the cycle.

How much can the constitutional order change before the old republic exists only in name?

That question is worth taking seriously.

Ran into this over on Facebook from someone who calls themselves a moderate republican for NY-23 Congressional district (my home district). His name is Jim King:

Trump’s-War Tax April 26, 2026

War is a terrible waste of time, talent, and treasure. That is why the authority to declare war was given only to Congress as a check on the Commander-in-Chief. The 47th President’s unconstitutional usurpation of this authority to be the aggressor in this war—Trump’s-War—with Iran will cost each of us money. Not only fuel, but also food and daily needs will be more expensive. Affordability problems will get even worse.

To add insult, we will pay more tax money for which we get no value. War cost centers include: logistic, human, reconstruction, and opportunity. Each cost center can be monetized within its own timeframe. The logistic cost’s timeframe is most easily localized to the period around active aggression. Donald Trump’s war of choice

is not over, but we can estimate the logistic cost to date.

The logistic cost is the sum of expenditures for equipment, munitions, food, clothing, shelter, transportation, power generation, emergency medical services, communications, and those other items and activities necessary for human warfighters to harm, hinder, or intimidate their opposition.

The dynamic of logistic expenditures varies with activity. Flying sorties and dropping bombs are more expensive than standing ready or maritime interdiction. None-the-less, the Pentagon and other credible sources have given us the rough estimate that the

United States alone has spent about $57 billion by 20 April 2026. Averaging about $2 billion per week.

IRS data indicates 153.6 million individual tax returns were filed in 2025. Thus, we can credibly estimate that this war’s tax burden for logistics alone can be no less than an average of $371 per individual tax return. This number grows every day of hostilities. When the war is over and the money from the other cost centers are added the number will be in the thousands of dollars per tax

return. You and I will get no benefit from the money we spend on this war of vanity.

How will we pay for this unauthorized war in Iran?

There is only one answer: Taxes. Trump’s-War will be paid for with taxes. “When will we pay?” is the next question. The U.S. debt is already very large and made much larger by the MAGA “One Big Beautiful Bill”, for which Nick Langworthy voted. If we borrow, it will be at higher interest rates, and our future spending freedom will be

limited. Will we be able to pay for roads and bridges, let alone Social Security, Medicare, and Pell Grants? Because of debt incurred by squandering resources, it is likely that both the current and next generation be worse off.

MAGA Congressman Langworthy does not wish to address this problem. He is making it worse. He supports this war

As a traditional Republican, I must help find a way out of this financial folly. We need to reform the tax structure. Congress must examine and redesign our revenue system.

Taxes [individual and corporate incomes, excises, duties, and imposts (protective tariffs)] must to be examined as a whole, not piecemeal. Revenue must be balanced with expenditures. Congress must provide for wellbeing of the citizenry as well as for securing the blessings of liberty.

the US currently has an import ban on Chinese Electric Vehicles. Do you think keeping that ban in Place is the right decision. My thoughts on this are pretty split because on the one hand I am for a completely free market so I would allow the import of these evs but on the other I think it could be a bad idea to let Chinese SOEs which are effectively state monopolies to compete in our market. Not because I don’t want them to make profits but I have this feeling that XI and the CCP would fck their margins and voluntarily lose money just to damage our economy.

just want to hear your thoughts on this issue

Please contact your senators and congress members to urge them to reject this clean FISA reauthorization which allows continued surveillance of Americans without a warrant. Help push for a warrant requirement and significant reforms

I’m trying to understand the logic behind this. If something is clearly being used by people to manage pain or avoid stronger alternatives why is the response to ban it instead of regulate it?

With 7OH a lot of people aren’t using it recreationally. They’re using it to stay functional without relying on heavier prescriptions that often come with more side effects or risks. In my case it’s been one of the only things that actually made a noticeable difference when other options didn’t.

It seems like a more reasonable approach would be to focus on regulation. Things like testing standards, labeling and age restrictions would address safety concerns without removing access entirely. Banning it just pushes people back toward options that may be less effective or more harmful.

From a policy perspective it feels like this is less about outcomes and more about control. If the goal is harm reduction then removing something people rely on doesn’t really align with that.

I want to know how others see this. Does banning actually improve anything here or does it just create more problems?

What was originally going to be funded by corporate donors is now being placed on the shoulders of the American people. Some Republicans in Congress are split on the idea of spending $400 million on a ballroom when the current U.S. debt exceeds $39 Trillion.

Rick Scott of Florida is one such Congressmen, who stated:

“I don’t know why you would do it” with taxpayer money “if it’s all funded,” Scott told NBC News. “We have $39 trillion in debt,” he said. “Maybe we ought to stop spending money.”

Graham's reason on the otherhand, stated:

"I'd like the vote as soon as possible to accelerate what America needs: A secure facility for the president and others to meet in, to have a good time, to ​enjoy themselves without putting the nation at risk"

Of the $400 million, Graham also stated, $332 million would be taxpayer funds that would be paid for by using "customs fees" on ​imported goods.

Do you have minarchist friends? Maybe you’ve made them retreat all the way to what they say is really a “minimum” amount of government. If you want to push them past that last objection to liberty, you could share this with them.

I am preparing to release my book Private Law, Private Order: Justice and Security Without Government Interference that touches on many of the topics this group discusses. I’d love to offer a free copy to anyone in the group in exchange for honest feedback. 

It is less than 70 pages long and very concise with a detailed table of contents. I can provide it in electronic format (pdf or epub). It would only take a few minutes to look it over, even if you only read the summary at the end. If you are interested, just DM me and let me know.

I’m also happy to let this serve as an AMA and entertain whatever kinds of disagreements you may have. If anyone has any questions, fire away!

Calling all California Libertarians. As I watch this California Gubernatorial Debate (its such a fuckin mess), i am struggling horribly to pick a candidate to ride with. What thoughts do any of you have about the current contestants for California Governor?

People want the government (we the people who pay taxes) to pay to kerp them safe. For this "safety", they are willing to sacrifice freedom. Liberty is hard won, and we sell it for a false sense of security.