[Title3]
On Budget & Economy:
Veto any budget Congress sends that is not balanced
Oliver said he wants to tamp down inflation by returning to pre-?pandemic spending levels, and would veto any budget Congress sends that is not balanced. "And if a government shutdown occurs because of that, well that's less money we're spending," he
said. "And that's a bluff that I've got to be willing to call as a Libertarian."Asked about the impact that would have on American households and the interruption in pay and benefits for millions of Americans, Oliver argued the country has been put
into a "no-win situation, because we've been spent into a $32 trillion debt."
"It's like alcoholism," he said. "If you take the bottle out of the alcoholic's hand, they're going to detox….
But, over time, the body will heal itself. We have to balance our budget now and get spending under control. Because, if we don't, it only gets worse … and eventually will have a bad outcome for our economy."
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Jul 23, 2023
On Budget & Economy:
Reckless spending by both parties causes reckless inflation
Oliver also went on to attack the reckless spending of both Democrats and Republicans over the last several decades, stating, "So I think it's time we provide a new voice with new enthusiasm, with new fresh ideas for the 21st century.
That's why I want to be your candidate, because I know I can be a great messenger of the libertarian philosophy throughout the 2024 election cycle.
There are so many issues where we have to have a libertarian voice, whether it be the extreme rising inflation and cost of living that are happening through households all over the country,
whether it be housing, the cost of food, or any other area the cost of living that has been driven out of control due to reckless inflation that's caused by reckless government spending."
Source: Palm Beach Examiner on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Oct 23, 2023
On Civil Rights:
I'm armed and gay: armed gays are harder to bash
Oliver is running for president on a platform emphasizing immigration and criminal justice reforms as a man who is both pro-police reform and pro-choice. He is also pro-Second Amendment, describing himself as an "armed and gay"
Libertarian who owns a .38 special revolver. "Armed gays are harder to bash," Oliver told the small crowd at Hoosier Brewing in Old Town Greenwood.
Source: Franklin (IN) Daily Journal on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 25, 2023
On Civil Rights:
Don't tell LGBTQ people who to be or how to live
A gay Libertarian from Georgia is making waves in his run for his party's nomination for U.S. president--becoming the first-ever third-party candidate to speak at the Iowa State Fair Political Soapbox. Oliver spoke with the Bay Area Reporter, telling
the paper that 2024 represents "a unique opportunity for our party to break out into the mainstream.""We have stood for self-expression and self-ownership and autonomy since our founding in 1971--just two years after Stonewall," Oliver said of the
Libertarian Party. "It took Democrats decades to catch up because they had to wait until it was politically popular. If there's one thing I know about LGBTQ people it's that we like to go our own way and not be told who to be or how to live."
And Oliver might be right--enthusiasm for the lead candidates in the Democratic and Republican primary races, Biden and former President Donald Trump, respectively, is not great.
Source: Bay Area Reporter on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Aug 22, 2023
On Corporations:
End tax cuts for big businesses & not small businesses
Broadly speaking, Oliver says he is "pro-make your own choices" and not "pro-the government making choices for you." The interactions people have with the government should be voluntary, he said.
Libertarians seek to remove the force of government from people's lives, and this includes supporting ending restrictions on certain things.
For example, Oliver wants to make things easier for people who want to start a business by getting rid of tax cuts and subsidies that exist for big businesses and not small businesses.
"I want to get rid of those subsidies and lower the cost of corporate cost of doing business overall across the board," Oliver said.
Source: Franklin (IN) Daily Journal on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 25, 2023
On Education:
Let schools & parents decide on LGBTQ books in libraries
On "Don't Say Gay" bills such as in Florida, Oliver said school choice--a system wherein money follows the pupil, rather than everyone paying for public education--could give parents options in states with anti-LGBTQ school policies."I'm somebody
who wants to have inclusive education that focuses on critical thinking and age-appropriate curriculum, and I think we can certainly have that while being inclusive to LGBTQ people and families," he said. "Personally I think it's important to acknowledge
LGBTQ people exist. I believe personally, in my personal opinion, that should fall under the role of education--but as a candidate for president, ultimately parents and students should decide where to send their education dollars."
When it comes to
books about LGBTQ people or with LGBTQ themes being allowed in school libraries, Oliver said that's a decision best left to the schools and parents themselves. Competition from private schools may cause public schools to reassess.
Source: Bay Area Reporter on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Aug 22, 2023
On Families & Children:
No state mandates on transgender girls athletics
Oliver is against state mandates on whether transgender girls should be allowed to compete with cisgender girls in female athletics."Let kids be kids, and when it comes to more competitive athletics,
let individual leagues determine that stuff, but don't let it come from the government," he said.
And in keeping with the Libertarian Party's maximal positions on the Bill of Rights, Oliver is opposed to laws targeting drag.
"Drag is an art form," he said. "It is a performance art and like any performance art it can range from completely family friendly to something quite explicit--just like cinema, music, visual arts. And that's how drag should be treated."
Source: Bay Area Reporter on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Aug 22, 2023
On Foreign Policy:
Let NATO & Europe defend Ukraine; US takes refugees
As for Ukraine, Oliver said he believes U.S. support is exacerbating the conflict and does not support putting additional resources into that country's fight with Russia. Instead, he said
NATO and European countries--whom he believes have the financial ability to support Ukraine--need to take the lead, as they're the one's directly threatened by
Russian invasion. "I would push our military footprint back," he said. "I think us contributing to a proxy war in the region is not great."
However, Oliver said the United States should be focused on "working to get every single refugee" out of Ukraine, along with Russian dissidents, and granting them asylum in the U.S.
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Jul 23, 2023
On Free Trade:
Free markets & free trade; not central planning
- I support free markets, free trade, open and honest commerce.
- I oppose attempts at central planning and government controlling and picking winners and losers in the marketplace.
- The former creates prosperity, the latter creates poverty.
Source: Twitter posting on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Sep 28, 2023
On Homeland Security:
China just an excuse to fund military industrial complex
On China, Oliver said he feels there's been much saber rattling, but that both countries are so economically dependent on one another that he sees
Chinese aggression as "somewhat of a hollow threat" that some officials use to increase funding for the U.S. military industrial complex.
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Jul 23, 2023
On Immigration:
Comprehensive reform gets millions out of shadows
He is a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform: "We have millions and millions of people who live in this country in a shadow economy, because they live here without documentation,"
Oliver said. "Because getting here was too difficult to do the legal or the right way.
Let's Ellis Island our immigration policy so anybody who wants to come here and make an honest day's pay and put down roots and start their American dream can do the same thing my ancestors did.
"This also has the added benefit of keeping the law enforcement eye on the real criminals at the border."
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Jul 23, 2023
On Immigration:
Immigration crisis created by government, not by immigrants
Chase Oliver, a 37-year-old Libertarian activist living in Atlanta, [was] dubbed "the most influential Libertarian in America" by Rolling Stone [magazine]. Oliver is looking to update America's immigration policies for the 21st century.
Before the event, Oliver stated, "A lot of young people are extremely concerned about the immigration crisis in this country. And by the way, it's a crisis not created by immigrants. It's created by the government."
Source: Palm Beach Examiner on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Oct 23, 2023
On Social Security:
Allow opt out right now; then close up shop responsibly
X posting: "Social security? I say it's time to close up shop and do things differently, and in a way that will BENEFIT the everyday person."X video excerpt: We can have two options: we can have a world where younger workers, like myself, pay into
the Social Security system, and don't get any benefits when we're older. Or you can give us a system where we can opt out right now. Leave the employer contribution for our parents and grandparents to keep them going.
And then--guess what?--we can put our money into a mutual fund, save it. And have a much better retirement--and still not get any Social Security benefits.
What I want to do is keep the system solvent long enough for people who are at or near retirement to be able to do so. And then completely eliminate the system altogether. And never ever bring it back. We have to close up shop in a responsible way.
Source: Twitter posting on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Dec 21, 2023
On War & Peace:
Began political activism opposing the war in Iraq
The Libertarian activist, who began his political activism opposing the war in Iraq under former President George W. Bush, sees a political landscape ripe for a third-party candidate to make
waves--one in which many voters don't want to see a rematch between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden.
"The duopoly is going to gift us with a Trump versus Biden 2.0 election, and that's going to allow millions of voters to feel dissatisfied and to look for something alternative,"
Oliver told a group of eight people gathered Sunday at RAYGUN in Cedar Rapids for a meet-and-greet event with Linn County Libertarians.
Source: Cedar Rapids Gazette on 2023 Presidential hopefuls
Jul 23, 2023
Page last updated: Nov 02, 2024