Year of Youth

ISSUES whose time has come

"An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army, or any government." -- Ron Paul

Localism

"There will come a day when the checks from Washington will stop coming, or -- more likely -- the money delivered by Washington's checks will not buy much. On that day, Americans will look locally for leadership." --Gary North

The closer a government is to its people, the better a given people are represented; this much is obvious.

The ability for a people to revamp, revitalize, and restore their visions for a prosperous, free, and altogether good society at a local level has a much greater potential for success than a nation of hundreds of millions, governed by a handful of people in a city far-detached from their concerns.

As a result, YoY maintains that the protection of rights and the assertion of liberty are strongest and most effective at the local level. Whether left, right, or none-of-the-above, conflict resolution must be localized to solve the problems of society.

Want a greener city? Good luck dealing with federal lobbyist powers! How about turning to a coalition of peaceful citizens who advocate for less waste and greater efficiency in city, county, or state operations, without the coercive hand of the federal government involved?

You see, the likelihood of you acheiving that goal, or any goal for that matter, is much more likely when it is voluntary, peaceful, and truly grassroots, at the local levels of society.

The same can be said for any other issue, again, these are frameworks.

Change that happens locally, through a grassroots movement, has the most long-standing effect. Decentralizing power will empower the individual, the youth and provide the most effective method for affecting the character of this coming, peaceful, revolution.

Localism, in short, is a framework that can be applied to all issues to decentralize power and put your voice back into politics.

Individual Liberty

"Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is the highest political end." -- Lord Acton

Throughout the history of the human race, there is, if nothing else, one prominent theme: Those who are free do not run towards slavery willingly, and those who are not free seek freedom while their freedoms are repressed, unwillingly.

If society expects to prosper and protect the liberty of all, they must respect the rights of the smallest minority in existence: That minority is the individual.

Liberty at the individual level means no less than ensuring that each and every individual is free to live according to their own ends, so long as that person does not tread on the liberty of another individual (see non-aggression axiom).

As Lord Acton stated, there is no higher political goal than to protect, promote, and produce liberty.

Fiscal Responsibility

"Debt is the slavery of the free." -- Publilius Syrus

Debt acquired without consent, passed onto future generations, is unacceptable. Governments at all levels have been on  drunken spending sprees. Now, however, the party is over and we're about to experience the hangover.

Did anyone consent to trillions of dollars of debt? Did society emphatically state that it in fact wanted to spend the future of the youth? Highly doubtful.

When debt is acquired, one must see the holistic approach to the problem; not only where the money is coming from, but who will foot the bill.

This new fixation with spending puts the burden of repaying the debt on the youth, on future generations. This is not our debt, it is not the youth's debt, and it is certainly not the debt of those yet unborn, in this country.

As a result, government, at all levels, can and should not commit to any expenditure it does not have the funding for. The issue is simple, no matter how convoluted the debate may be.

Governments cannot spend society into prosperity.