Austin Petersen in 2018 MO Senate race

On Budget & Economy: Favors balanced budget amendment

Our massive debt is harmful to the economy. It hampers job creation and economic growth, and it forces the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at near zero. It also forces the government to spend about $250 billion a year of taxpayer money on debt interest alone--money that could go back into the economy, allowing the private sector to create jobs and innovate. We need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Dec 1, 2017

On Civil Rights: Libertarian view pro-gay marriage

Petersen said he believes strongly in expanding this right to expression for everyone. He said he strongly supports the First Amendment and Second Amendment and said his ideal was gay married couples having the right to defend their marijuana farms with fully automatic machine guns. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Drugs: My ideal: gay couple defends pot farm with machine gun

On Education: Open to experiment with school choice

Missouri Senators actually approved an education proposal in April that would allow tax credit education savings accounts for some students. They would allow them to transfer away from low performing districts and schools. So, in Missouri actually they are looking at these kinds of programs so I think that it is palatable here. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Free Trade: Free trade is what America is about

I buy local, and I buy American. I do that as a way to support my local economy, and this is what I would encourage Americans to do. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for an American-made vehicle because that's what I believe in. However, I am not going to talk down to someone, who is poorer than I am, and require him to pay more to buy American. People ought to have the freedom to trade. That's what America is all about: that the government can't tell me who I can or can't buy from. Source: Merion West interview on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Gun Control: My ideal: gay couple defends pot farm with machine gun

Petersen said he believes strongly in expanding this right to expression for everyone. He said he strongly supports the First Amendment and Second Amendment and said his idyll [sic; ideal] was gay married couples having the right to defend their marijuana farms with fully automatic machine guns. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Homeland Security: Audit the Defense Department

Why not an audit of the Pentagon? Every soldier that I have spoken, every marine, every airmen, every single person to the coast guard that I have spoken with has said there is plenty of waste, fraud, and abuse at the department of defense so if we could get an audit passed, at a minimum, we could start putting cuts where it actually matters and start cutting down on some of these private contractors where we're way overpaying. You know, there's so many no bid contracts. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Immigration: Problem is welfare state incentive, not immigration

If we have a problem, the problem is the welfare state. Certainly, my ancestors were immigrants. They came through Ellis Island, which actually was a very strenuous test. They had to go through a strict security check, a strict disease check, and then they could be admitted. At the moment, what's happening is the incentives are such that we are incentivizing illegal immigration. We need to disincentivize it. We need to incentivize people to obey the law. Source: Merion West interview on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Principles & Values: Though agnostic, stands for religious freedom

He said has he stood up for religious freedom, and recently, the debate of whether or not a Christian baker had to make a cake for a gay wedding went to the Supreme Court. The baker had the right not to bake the cake, Petersen, who is an agnostic, said. Though he believed they should have chosen to do so, as Petersen said he himself would do in value of the free market, they should not be required to compromise their beliefs. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Social Security: Let young people opt out of Social Security

I think that when it comes to Social Security a perfect example is if you want to introduce a moderate reform, obviously the government stole our money from us in the first place so they ought to pay it back. I mean, I think that's a reasonable position to take, but when it comes to how we might reform it I like the idea that if you're 18 years old you ought to be able to get an option to opt out. Let the young people opt out. Source: Southeast Arrow on 2018 Missouri Senatorial race Nov 17, 2017

On Crime: End mandatory minimums

This is absolutely a constitutional conservative issue. We need to reinstate the Founders' original intent with regards to constitutional checks and balances by eliminating federal "mandatory minimums" laws and restoring power to the judicial branch. We need to end the practice of "civil asset forfeiture"--also known as legal governmental theft. And we need to end, once and for all, the federal government's "war on drugs." Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Drugs: Treat drugs as medical issue, not criminal

This war on drugs is a war on American citizens. It's costly, and it creates more violence on the border. We're destroying people's lives--we should be treating drug abuse as a medical problem, not a criminal problem. Drugs are dangerous in part because they're created on the black market. We must be compassionate towards those who are suffering with chemical dependencies, and let them come into the light and seek treatment and help. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Gun Control: Petersen raffles off an AR-15

Your right to bear arms is a fundamental, unalienable right protected by the Second Amendment. The government has no power to take away our means of self-defense. Austin Petersen will always be a strong ally of the Second Amendment, and we know you will be too. That's why, when you add your name to this petition and stand up to defend the Second Amendment, we'll add your name into a raffle to win an AR-15! Yes, it really is that simple; no strings attached. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Health Care: Marketplace will solve healthcare issues

We need a clean repeal of ObamaCare. Period. It should be legal to buy inexpensive health insurance; it should be legal for insurance companies to sell their products across state lines. These regulations actually hurt the average American because they reduce options in the marketplace, and they make the remaining options more expensive--oftentimes, prohibitively so. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Jobs: Cut regulations for more jobs

It's time to radically reduce excessive and harmful regulations that inhibit economic growth and the creation of new jobs. The more roadblocks you put in the way of entrepreneurs, the fewer jobs will be created. The more hoops you make people jump through, the more time they'll spend jumping through them instead of creating a better product, thinking of new and innovative ways to get their product to market, or hiring that next employee. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Tax Reform: 15% flat tax across the board

In a perfect world, we would get rid of the income tax. In the meantime, we need a flat tax--15% across the board: personal, corporate, capital gains, you name it. This is the only way to make the system fair. By establishing a flat tax and eliminating the self-employment tax, we can level the playing field. We must treat small businesses just the same as we do large corporations. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On War & Peace: No foreign actions without Congress's okay

America first! No more nation-building. The United States should seek to protect and defend its security, its allies, and its national interests abroad, but any military actions taken must come with a proper debate and vote in Congress and comply with the War Powers Act. No president should have the power to unilaterally declare war. That's Congress' job, as per the Constitution. Source: 2018 Missouri Senatorial website AustinPetersen.com Oct 1, 2017

On Abortion: Against abortion, but would limit government role

"I believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all humans. All humans have the same rights, and that means to me that we should always adopt a pro-life stance as libertarians because human life is the zenith." Petersen called for human life to be protected and insisted that fetuses are humans. He also said that he would look for limited government ways to do so, such as legalizing over-the-counter birth control. Source: Libertarian Republic on 2018 Missouri Senate race Mar 23, 2016

The above quotations are from 2018 Missouri Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts from 2018 Missouri Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for other excerpts by Austin Petersen. Click here for a profile of Austin Petersen.
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Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families Foreign Policy Free Trade	Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Jobs Principles Social Security Tax Reform Technology War/Peace Welfare
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Page last updated: Jan 06, 2019