Economic Policy

To work hard and achieve what you set your mind to; that's the American dream. For generations, Americans have worked hard to make their dreams a reality. An economy that works for them, free of bureaucratic excess but still supporting those most in need, can help Americans achieve their dreams better than any other system. The free market, backed up by a less bureaucratic but still plenty generous welfare state, is that system.

Free Trade

• Free trade is mutually beneficial to the countries involved in trade. It promotes growth, competition, lowers costs for consumers, and allows specialization in higher productivity industries, keeping American wages higher. We seek to create more free trade agreements and lower government barriers to zero globally. We can do this through expanding NAFTA and creating a broader, North and South America trade union, which would be the largest trade union globally, to date.
• We do recognize that free trade can create losers, but we do not believe that is an argument for protection. The growth from trade creates higher tax revenues, which allows the government to help ease the transition of those workers who lose out. This can be done through active labor market policies, such as retraining programs.
• The Liberal Party recognizes that along with free trade, free movement of workers can come at great benefit to all countries involved. We would support an agreement to enable the free movement of persons across the United States-Canada border.

Taxes, Regulation, and Welfare

Inefficient taxes can squeeze the lifeblood out of any economy. America has many inefficient taxes and regulations which hamper growth to all our determent. The Liberal Party seeks to promote economic growth and fairness through the modification of the American tax regime and welfare system.

• Taxes such as the Income Tax, which taxes labor, and Corporate and capital taxes, which tax investment, are highly inefficient and negatively impact our economy. They are seen as the cost of running a government, but this is not exactly true. While taxes are absolutely necessary to run the government, the taxes we currently levy are not optimal for the task the seek to perform. The Liberal Party supports replacing many of Americas taxes, such as the Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, and taxes on Capital Gains, with a Progressive Consumption Tax, Land Value Tax, a Carbon Tax, and other pigouvian taxes that seek to correct market failures. The tax regime that results will be more progressive than the current system, promote growth, and massively simplify the time, money, and effort taken by individuals and firms when filing taxes. It will also not sacrifice a penny in the government coffers.
• Barring the imposition of a Progressive Consumption Tax, the Liberal Party seeks to move to a Negative Income Tax (NIT) regime for distributing welfare. An NIT has many benefits. It allows for the bundling of multiple separate government programs into one cash rebate program, killing the bureaucratic leviathan that is the current welfare program in one action. It also gives people more freedom over the money they receive, allowing them to spend it as they like without meddlesome government restrictions, enhancing the freedom of poorer Americans. This system will not skimp on the benefits either; it would create a floor at the poverty line that no American would sink under, ensuring at least a minimal level of dignity for every American.
• The Liberal Party also supports the expansion of Obamacare into a true universal healthcare program, in the vein of multipayer systems seen in places such as the Netherlands. This includes the expansion of medicare to become a public option, but not the only payer, and the re-expansion of Obamacare subsidies which were cut in 2017. This program will allow you to keep the healthcare plan you are currently on, should you or your employer choose to do so.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure can have a big impact on the economy of a country. Development of it allows to quicker, cheaper, and safer trade of goods, services, and labor creating economic growth. Good infrastructure also gives Americans the ability to explore their entire country, enriching their understanding of their fellow Americans and giving them the freedom to explore, a freedom near and dear to every American.

• As the population increases, so too must our infrastructure adjust. We require massive investment in our infrastructure, which can be funded by a temporary gas tax as well as debt, which will be repaid through growth enabled by better infrastructure connections.
• For a long time, public transit services have been lacking. The Federal government should seek to invest more in high speed rail lines and increase capacity for AMTRAK while state and local governments should look to do the same for their lines.
• It is important we look ahead to the needs of the future and create a framework to deal with any new and unique problems caused by things such as driver-less cars.
• On a state and local level, the Liberal Party stands opposed to NIMBYism and movements which seek to extract rents at the expense of local economies and the poor. Allowing for more liberal zoning policies will keep housing and rent costs cheap as well as attract investment and migration to local communities.