You Deserve to Be Free

By Howard Mora

Why I am running

I am Howard Mora, and I am running for U.S. Congress. The United States of America is the wealthiest and most successful nation in the history of the world. We are the envy of the world. Our founding fathers created a nation in which all citizens were free to do as they wished. As a result, we flourished. Everyone had an opportunity to become successful and to provide a better opportunity for his or her children.

Our government in recent years has lost that great vision for a free nation. Government believes every social problem must be solved by some new program at the expense of every working person. Government takes your hard-earned money and spends it on programs that most people would never choose to support if it was voluntary. Government enacts bad laws to protect people from themselves. Government enacts many laws to eliminate crime, including bad laws that only reduce your ability to protect yourself and be safe in your home and community.

I am running because I know, as did our founding fathers, that you deserve to be free. The current ruling parties in government believe they can run your life for you better than you can run it for yourself. I believe that the person best suited to make the decisions for you and your family is you. I want to return to the freedoms once enjoyed in our country that allow us to continue to be the envy of the world.

I have three main priorities if I am elected:

1. End the insane War on Drugs

From 1920 to 1933, prohibition was the rule of law. Crime was rampant. Outlawing alcohol didn't stop people from getting it. Instead of legal alcohol vendors, organized crime was the distributor, and gang warfare was quite common. Crime was quite profitable thanks to the illegal market. Eventually, levelheaded individuals saw the light and prohibition was ended. Today, most people who choose to drink do so responsibly. Alcohol vendors compete profitably in a free market. There is no illegal market for alcohol and no crime or violence that accompanies such a market. Competing products sit next to each other on shelves in markets and liquor stores without an ensuing turf war. Distributors do not need to go after children to create a market since there is plenty of profit in the responsible adult market.

It certainly made sense to end prohibition in 1933, and it still makes sense to end prohibition today. Ending the War on Drugs would allow people to be free to do with their lives as they wish. It would free up significant government resources. Most arrests today are for minor drug offenses in which no one was injured or victimized. Our prisons wouldn't be so crowded and we wouldn't need to be lenient on murderers, thieves, and rapists so we can keep marijuana smokers behind bars for mandatory sentences. Ending the War on Drugs would reduce the huge profits available to organized crime and get the drugs out of the schoolyards.

2. Free working people from the Income Tax

Today working people pay up to 50 percent of their earnings in taxes. Over time, taxes increase and government programs increase. Yet they never go away. Most government programs perform functions that you would never voluntarily support. The tax rates have increased well beyond what anyone thinks is reasonable. When debating the income tax in the early 1900s, some members of Congress wanted to place a cap of 10 percent on the proposed tax. They were shouted down as alarmists since it was inconceivable that taxes could grow so large. The only solution is to end the Income Tax completely, and allow working people to keep the money they earn to spend, save, or donate as they see fit.

Currently, in two parent households, both parents must work to support the family. Without the oppressive Income Tax, these families could afford the option to allow one parent to stay at home. Without the income tax, many federal programs would end. Unnecessary ones would disappear. Those that are worth keeping would find a profitable place in the private sector or would find many willing donors in the non-profit sector. Ending the Income Tax would infuse our economy with one trillion dollars. That is more than enough capital to provide a job for every person who is capable of working and charity for every person who is not.

3. Ensure law-abiding citizens can protect themselves and their families

Criminals are willing to break the law to get what they want. Laws against stealing, murder, and rape do not prevent them from committing those crimes. Making it illegal to possess a gun does not deter criminals either. Gun-control laws do, however, prevent honest law-abiding citizens from protecting themselves. Innocent citizens who obey the laws are left defenseless; they become safe targets for criminals. It is no surprise that areas with the strictest gun control have the highest crime rates.

The 2nd Amendment in the Constitution says, "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The oath of office says, "I will defend the Constitution." In defense of the Constitution and of innocent citizens, I will work to repeal existing federal gun-control laws and to prevent further infringement on our rights.

I am running for office because you deserve to be free.