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Gary Johnson on Free Trade
Libertarian presidential nominee; former Republican NM Governor
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No tariffs, no restrictions; but no corporatism
On trade, Johnson "generally supports NAFTA and other free-trade agreements," In a June 9 segment on John Stossel's program on Fox Business, Johnson "debated" Obama impersonator Reggie Brown and said he wanted "no tariffs, no restrictions" on trade.
He did sound a little squishy on trade in a March 2011 interview when he said that "So much of the legislation that we pass isn't really free market at all. It's touted as free market, when the reality ends up to be very corporate.
The reality ends up to be corporatism. I was always looking at business legislation from the standpoint of having it affect everyone equally as opposed to big business being further advantaged. So many of these treaties--NAFTA being one--the criticism of
NAFTA should be rooted in the fact that big business became even bigger business."
Source: Club for Growth 2012 Presidential White Paper #9: Johnson
, Jul 21, 2011
Eliminate needless barriers to free trade
We should Reduce Federal Involvement in the Economy: - Reject auto and banking bailouts, state bailouts, corporate welfare, cap-and-trade, card check, and the mountain of regulation that protects special interests rather than benefiting
consumers or the economy.
- Restrict Federal Reserve policy to maintaining price stability, not bailing out financial firms or propping up the housing sector.
- Eliminate government support of Fannie and Freddie.
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Reduce or eliminate federal involvement in education; let states expand successful reforms such as vouchers and charter schools.
- Legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana, rather than wasting money on an expensive and futile prohibition.
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Eliminate needless barriers to free trade and make it easier for would-be legal immigrants to apply for work visas.
Source: Presidential campaign website, garyjohnson2012.com, "Issues"
, May 2, 2011
NAFTA benefits New Mexico; jobs lost are those we don't want
Q: What is behind your support of NAFTA? A: NAFTA has benefited New Mexico. With each passing day, it's a bigger boom for New Mexico as a border state.
Q: Do you disagree that NAFTA has caused the "sucking sound" Ross Perot warned of--the sound of
US jobs being sucked into Mexico?
A: My opinion is that the jobs we're talking about are those we generally don't want. What jobs are we saving?
Q: Manufacturing jobs.
A: There is shifting, and some companies have relocated to Mexico.
But we've benefited far more than we have lost. Also, it's still settling. Intel has a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, one of the most sophisticated plants on the planet. It is in the
US because the workers are qualified and efficient here. If we're not competitive, we had better get competitive. We're moving toward a global economy whether we like it or not.
Source: David Sheff interview in Playboy Magazine
, Jan 1, 2001
Page last updated: Oct 17, 2012