They write, in part:

State and local governments are getting squeezed ever more tightly and something is going to have to give. They will be forced to cut key services to residents, hit up taxpayers again with higher levies, or curtail pension benefits.

A survey this month by Loop Capital Markets found that only 58 of the 149 state-level pension plans it viewed were funded at 80 percent or more, the standard by which funds are judged to be financially healthy. The median funded ratio for state pension plans fell from 76 percent in 2010 to 73 percent in 2011.

What passed for good news here was that while Loop Capital said the situation was “bad,” it argued it was not “catastrophic.” Not yet anyway. States and local governments could still make up the shortfall.

That’s the most positive spin on the situation. The bipartisan State Budget Crisis Task Force used a colder, more clinical eye in a July report. It found that state and local governments underfunded their pension plans by more than $50 billion between 2007 and 2011. The shortfall will have to be made up.

The task force noted that under current actuarial assumptions the total unfunded liability is $1 trillion, but many economists believe those assumptions are far too generous. The real unfunded liability may be as high as $3 trillion. Why are pensions underfunded in the first place? Because elected officials have overpromised benefits and then failed to fill the coffers.

“California, Illinois, and New Jersey, with 19 percent of the nation’s population, accounted for more than half of the contribution shortfall. Between 1996 and 2011, Illinois underpaid contributions by $28 billion,” the task force report noted.

“They did. They gave us five tax proposals — plus one change to the criminal code — that every one of them could support wholeheartedly, from left to right.”

What were they?

1. Eliminate the mortgage tax deduction
2. End tax deductions for health-care
3. Eliminate the corporate income tax
4. Eliminate all income and payroll taxes
5. Drop the income tax, tax consumption
6. Legalize marijuana

Libertarians are the only party dedicated to eliminating income taxes and ending costly drug prohibition, and many Libertarian officeholders

Thirty-one percent (31%) say “the economy” is “the most important problem facing this country today.”  The second most pressing issue is “jobs,” coming in at 26 percent.

Combined, 57 percent of Americans cite jobs or the economy as the issue most in need of attention.  Immigration garnered only three percent.  Drugs, war and climate change did not even register on voter’s list of concerns.

The poll also found:

* “Seniors as well as Americans in households earning less than $30,000 annually join blacks in putting the greatest emphasis on unemployment and jobs as the nation’s top problem. By contrast, middle- and high-income Americans and those aged 18 through 64 are more likely to name ‘the economy.’”

* “Blacks focus more than either whites or Hispanics on unemployment as the nation’s top problem. However, whites worry more than blacks or Hispanics about the federal budget deficit…”

* “About 10% of adults in every major age group mention the federal budget deficit as the top problem, but it is of particular concern to Republicans (16%), adults earning $75,000 or more (12%), whites (11%), and men (11%). Relatively few blacks, Hispanics, low-income Americans, or Democrats mention the issue.”

“The results of this election may have preserved the Greek bailout deal for now, but a bailout is not the correct way to handle such a situation. Bailouts essentially reward fiscal mismanagement and create a moral hazard that encourages more fiscal irresponsibility.

“As bailouts subsidize bad economic behavior, they will cause more bad economic behavior in the future. The Greeks have made poor decisions and taken ill-advised risks, and the time has come for them to suffer the consequences of those decisions. Continuing bailouts of their socialist system will only make the inevitable crash worse.

“The correct message to send to other struggling nations in the Eurozone is that the time has come to get their fiscal houses in order, and not to continue to spend wantonly and look for a bailout that may not come.

“The United States is the only nation with the power to veto IMF bailouts, and the time has come to not only use this power, but to withdraw from the IMF, as no authority is granted to the federal government by the Constitution for involvement in an international monetary bureaucracy.”

The Libertarian Party is the only party that will get the United States out of the IMF.

Go here to read the full column.

“That’s the lowest level measured since Jan. 27 and is just two points above 2012′s low.  The Consumer Index is down five points from a week ago, down 12 points from one month ago and down 11 points from three months ago.”

Americans and job creators have no confidence in Barack Obama.  With Mitt Romney now leading in the polls it appears they still see no relief on the horizon.

It’s time to vote Libertarian.

And the Libertarian Party is the only party with a plan to stop inflation.

And what did they find?

“My firm, Public Opinion Strategies, in conjunction with Democratic firm Momentum Analysis, has been listening to an important group of voters since the 2008 elections: Walmart Moms. These are women defined as voters with children age 18 or younger living at home and who shop at Walmart at least once per month…

“These moms opted for Obama in 2008 but pulled the lever for Republicans in 2010.  Our various projects over the years have shown these women to be truly swing voters. Six months away from the election, we decided to take their temperature again to hear what they have to say and what they’re going to be paying attention to as the presidential candidates vie for their vote in November.

“It’s clear there is a disconnect between what matters to these moms and what they see and hear coming out of Washington, their elected officials and candidates running for office. (emphasis added)

“These moms aren’t focused on ‘women’s issues,’ they’re not fighting about whether working moms or stay-at-home moms have it tougher.  Instead, they are concerned with the big stuff that’s affecting the whole nation and having a real impact on their daily lives, being able to care of their families and manage the household budget.  Those issues are the economy, jobs, gas prices and education. (emphasis added)

“As you might have guessed by now, these moms are somewhat jaded by the political process.  However, they tell us they are planning to vote in November and they are still very much undecided in how they plan to vote.  They’re open to hearing from candidates on both sides of the political aisle.

“BUT, these candidates must come to the table prepared to have the right conversation.  That means connecting with these women on their terms and what matters to them and their families.  These women aren’t interested in a conversation about “women’s issues” right now.  They’re too busy sweating the big stuff, and think their elected officials should be, too.“

As a Libertarian, what are YOU doing to speak with these voters about what practical, realistic steps you will take to address the economy, jobs, gas prices and education?

74 percent of adults favor “requiring public employees to contribute more toward their own pensions and health care,” and 24 percent oppose, a new Reason-Rupe survey of Wisconsin finds.

“The Reason-Rupe poll asked Wisconsinites how the state should raise funds to pay government employee retirement benefits if the state did not have enough money to fund these benefits,” Reason reports.

72 percent oppose “increasing sales, income, or property taxes” to help fund government worker retirement benefits, 25 percent favor.

75 percent oppose “cutting spending on government programs, such as education and health care” to help fund public employee retirement benefits, 23 percent favor.

49 percent oppose and 46 percent favor “reducing public employee benefits.”

However, 74 percent favor “requiring public employees to contribute more toward their own pensions and health care,” and 24 percent oppose.

The poll followed by asking “if the state and local government had to reduce spending, which of the following areas would you reduce spending on first?” The plurality of Wisconsinites (38 percent) chose reducing spending on “pensions and benefits for public employees” followed by “prisons and courts” (29 percent).

In today’s poetic justice news, Star Wars creator George Lucas is planning to take revenge on his meddlesome Marin Valley neighbors. For years, he’s been trying to get permission to build a new studio in Marin County. But his neighbors wouldn’t budge, insisting that it was a place for homes, not businesses. So now Lucas is pulling out of the area, and is planning to throw some sand in the faces of his former adversaries: “We hope we will be able to find a developer who will be interested in low income housing since it is scarce in Marin.” The New York Times describes the neighbors reaction:

“It’s inciting class warfare,” said Carolyn Lenert, head of the North San Rafael Coalition of Residents.

Mr. Lucas said in an e-mail that he only wanted “to do something good for Marin,” waving away accusations of ulterior motives.

“I’ve been surprised to see some people characterize this as vindictive,” he said, adding that there was a “real need” for affordable housing here.

This story underscores just how economically segregated American society has become in the 85 years since the Supreme Court gave the green light to intrusive housing regulations. People get to veto their neighbors’ land use decisions, and they’ve used that power to effectively prohibit anyone poorer than themselves from living in their neighborhoods. When combined with geographically-based schooling, the result is to concentrate poverty and thereby exacerbate and perpetuate inequality…

Read the rest at http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2012/05/22/how-strong-property-rights-promote-social-equality/.

Mitt Romney has spent months selling himself to the Republican base. Now, Barack Obama is working overtime trying to re-sell himself to his base of voters age 18-29.Team Obama knows that hard times and the growing libertarian leanings of young voters will make them a more difficult target than four years ago…

…Very few of Obama’s young supporters from 2008 are likely defect to Romney. Some may not vote, and I see the possibility of others abandoning both parties and instead choosing the Libertarian candidate…

…Last week, Harvard’s Institute of Politics released an online study of more than 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18-29. This exhaustive look at the policy priorities of First Globals finds the economy and jobs are far and away their highest concern. That data point and others show why support for Obama has slipped since 2008. They favor Obama over Romney, 43%-26%. There is an 11-point difference in Obama’s margin between those 25-29 (23 points) and those 18-24 (12 points.) Congressional Democrats have a higher approval than Republicans, 39%-25%.

However, on some key issues, majorities of First Globals are not doctrinaire liberals. The poll found less than majorities agree with liberals on   some of their most cherished beliefs.  For example: 44% agree health insurance is a right government should provide for those who can’t afford it, 43% agree with the same statement about food and shelter, 37% agree government should spend more to reduce poverty, 20% agree government spending is an effective way to economic growth and 28% agree government should do more to curb climate change even at the expense of economic growth. (That last number has to hurt environmentalists.)

Lest Republicans get too giddy at those findings, they should also know less than majorities agree with these conservative and neo-con ideals: 22% agree it’s sometimes necessary to attack potentially hostile countries rather than waiting until we are attacked, 23% are willing to give up some personal freedoms for the sake of national security, 39% agree cutting taxes is an effective route to economic growth, 24% agree we should eliminate all barriers to trade, 25% agree recent immigration has done more harm than good, 21% agree religious values should play an important role in government and 25% agree homosexuality is morally wrong.

These attitudes betraying both the traditional left and right fall generally within the bounds of libertarianism. Live and let live.  Individual responsibility is as important as collective responsibility. Avoid military interventions. Distrust both government and corporations. Protect civil liberties.