Joe Cobb

Vote ‘YES’ on Propositions 101 and 207.
Vote ‘NO’ on all the other 17 proposals.

Vote ‘YES’ on these two:

101 – [Passed] This measure puts restrictions on local governments’ ability to raise property taxes while property values are going through the roof. If this measure passes, governments will only be able to raise property taxes by 2% over the previous year’s taxes on their own. Should the need arise for additional revenues, the government would have to hold an election and seek voter approval. Some are concerned that the cost of government naturally goes up with new residents moving in, but those costs are easily recouped by the taxes generated by new construction. Libertarians oppose all tax increases and support measures that have a real effect on limiting government’s ability to raise taxes.

207 – [Passed] This measure will create legislation that protects private property owners from having their property stripped away and handed to private interests or other non-public uses. It also protects property owners from regulatory takings when government zones people out of use of their property. Opponents of the measure claim that this goes too far and will allow people to collect money from the taxpayers every time a zoning law is tweaked because a person “might��? build a mall on their front yard. But property owners would not be able to collect damages for things they “might��? do in theory, rather they would have to show an actual diminution of the value of their land.

Vote ‘NO’ on these seventeen:

100 / 102 / 103 – [All passed] These three anti-immigrant measures are part of Rep. Russell Pearce’s (R-18, Mesa) dream to restore “Operation Wetback.��? 100 would deny bail to illegal aliens, despite the fact that Immigration & Customs Enforcement already puts holds on those they suspect to be here illegally. 102 denies punitive damages to illegal aliens, a total non-issue. Finally, 103 would make English the only language allowed to be spoken in official government business, a proposition that has twice before been found to violate the Constitution. Could Russell Pearce find nothing better to do with his time?

104 – [Passed] This would allow local governments to increase their debt ceiling by reorganizing the accounting rules. Currently, public safety, law enforcement, emergency services, and transportation costs can be paid in part through debt incurred by the local government, but that debt level cannot exceed 6%. If this measure passes, those categories of expenses can be included with those categories in the 20% debt ceiling. The obvious consequence of this is that the local governments will borrow more, and thus raise taxes more. The rational response would be to require local governments to trim the fat from their budgets.

105 / 106 – [Both Failed] State Trust Land questions are always fun because of the very nature of the beast. Vast swaths of undeveloped land are held in trust by the State to be sold to developers for the financial benefit of the public schools. This pits the teachers’ union and the ecofascists, two of our favorite left-wing groups, against each other. The longer this battle goes on, the longer the disunity between these two groups. In this election cycle, they seem to have swallowed a bitter pill in order to compromise and solve the question. Neither of these questions takes care of the issue; 105 is a big giveaway to developers and 106 is an environmental sellout as well.

107 – [Failed] The “protect marriage��? measure is pure anti-gay bigotry, and nothing more, but it would also strip away any domestic partner benefits unmarried couples enjoy, affecting heterosexual couples as well. See the discussion below, posted on October 22.

200 – [Failed] The “Arizona Voter Reward��? is simply ridiculous. Its sponsor, the increasingly silly Dr. Mark Osterloh, correctly pinpoints the symptom of the problem, that voter turnout is decreasing. But he misdiagnoses the cause, which has little to do with people needing a shot at a million dollars and has a lot more to do with dissatisfaction with the criminals, morons, and other unqualified individuals who continue to run for office from the Bipartisan Party.

201 / 206 – [201 passed; 206 failed] Both smoking initiatives are violations of the right of private property and the freedom to choose to smoke. 201 is so draconian that it spurred RJ Reynolds to sponsor 206 on behalf of bar owners who otherwise would be put out of business. A pragmatic voter can vote in favor of 206 to save the bar owners from certain demise, but the principled Libertarian vote must be no on both measures.

202 – [Passed] Increasing the minimum wage from $5.15/hr to $6.75/hr will have a benefit to those whose wages are increased. But it will have the obvious effect of reducing employment in minimum-wage jobs and cause a lot of “working poor��? to become “not working even poorer.��? The unions support this because their members will get a wage increase, and what do they care if non-members lose their jobs? Price fixing never works, and principle requires opposition to these kinds of government controls on the economy. See the discussion below, posted on October 25.

203 – [Passed] Raising cigarette taxes by $.80/pack in order to raise money for state-run child care programs is a classic taking from Peter to give to Paul. So much so, that even the Arizona Daily Star recognized the illegitimacy of scapegoating the smokers in this way.

204 – [Passed] The humane treatment of animals may be a noble wish, but it does not belong on our ballot.

205 – [Failed] Voting by mail is a pleasant convenience for some, but it is still a nascent program that is plagued by fraud. The time may come for this initiative in the future, but that time is not now.

300 – [Passed] We’re back to Russell Pearce’s bigotry. This measure would further limit illegal aliens’ eligibility for public programs. Ironically, this initiative works against 103, because how can people learn English if Pearce wants to kick them out of English classes? If the issue is about kicking people off the dole, let’s be uniform about it and not isolate people by what amounts to racism.

301 – [Passed] This measure would take methamphetamine users out of mandatory probation for drug users that the voters overwhelmingly supported in 1996 with what is still called Prop 200 in the criminal courts. Contrary to the language in the voter guide by the Arizona Legislative Council, probationers already face jail time when they screw up on probation. This initiative scapegoats meth users more than they deserve, and the effect of this measure would be to fill up our jails more and strip meth addicts of opportunities to get clean.

302 – [Failed] Would raise legislator pay. Just what we need to add to campaign welfare for these clowns is to give them more money for doing a shoddy job.

(Thanks to David Euchner, Tucson, for this analysis. For more detailed analysis, see the discussion [here] by Bennett Kalafut.)

There’s a lot of scientific evidence that higher minimum wage laws increase unemployment among unskilled workers, most of whom are teenagers living at home and spouses of better paid workers.

Why does anyone want to create more unemployment?   This is a “feel good” law.   People aren’t thinking about its actual effects.

The real reason this counterproductive, “feel good” law is pushed by labor unions is because union contracts have differential clauses, which say that higher seniority or pay grade workers must always have a specified differential of higher pay than those below.  So, mandate a higher legal minimum wage and you trigger those provisions and give pay raises to legal workers.

This kind of law DOES NOT cause “inflation,” nor even a higher CPI.  It causes a trade off between how a family budget is spent, paying a higher price for some services like fast food and buying less of other stuff to compensate, thus depressing prices over there.  And, of course, no employer/producer can merely “pass along” the costs of production.  Consumers reduce quantity demanded at higher prices, so employers have no choice except to reduce workforce when higher minimum wages are imposed.

But union leaders and “progressive” thinkers really don’t give a damn about weak and poor people anyway.  We know that.  Only Libertarians stand in the tradition that has lifted poor workers out of dung and early death, since the Industrial Revolution.  The conservatives and socialists have fought against industrial progress and social innovation at every turn.

Vote ‘NO’ in Arizona on November 7th against Proposition 202.

Hello, I’m Joe Cobb. I’m running for Congress in the 7th Congressional District, which covers part of the West Valley and stretches from Tucson to Yuma.

I’m representing the Libertarian Party, and I’m asking you to vote for me because our nation needs a new direction in politics.

If you vote for me, you will be voting for a candidate who will cut spending and taxes and cooperate with other congressmen to make our country a better place to live and raise children.

The Libertarian Party combines the best ideas from the two old political coalitions, economic freedom and personal freedom, and we offer you a chance to vote for a new direction for American politics.

The Democratic and Republican parties are sharply divided. Most of us don’t really agree with either one. The Libertarian Party is a third way. Libertarians believe the government should leave honest citizens alone. We would always support cutting taxes and cutting government spending, and we would end the war in Iraq.

Libertarians are not social conservatives. I am deeply offended at the way the Republican Party is going, in the direction of more and more laws and regulations that affect your personal life. Your personal life, in the privacy of your own home, should be nobody’s business but your own. Our Constitution was written with this kind of individual freedom in mind.

It makes me very sad that the Republican Party is no longer the party of Barry Goldwater, who was a proudly independent Arizonan. He was my first political hero, way back when I was just a boy. The Republican Party has rejected the libertarian spirit of Barry Goldwater and Arizona.

The Democratic Party always has been the party of big government, big spending, and more taxes. It’s dominated by labor unions and progressive special interest groups. You don’t want to vote for those guys, but you should vote, as an American, to protect our country and to protect your individual rights.

Many voters look at those two bad choices and just vote against the worse candidates. That’s a mistake. That is really wasting your vote.

I used to work for the United States Congress in Washington, DC, and I know how that game is played. In Congress, I would vote with the Republicans on economic issues, like tax cuts, where I agree with them. I would vote with the Democrats against the war in Iraq and on social issues, where I agree with them.

Let me give you some examples:

On the immigration question, the real issue is whether honest people willing to work should be allowed to come to America. I say, ‘Yes.’ America needs more workers. Immigration is how the Social Security bankruptcy will be avoided. But these new people should not come to the United States illegally. They should not be sneaking across the border, and dying in the desert.

The problem is an 80-year old quota system. It was created in the 1920s to make racial quotas for people from different countries. I think the quota system should be abolished. I would offer a legal green card to anyone who comes to the United States to work. At the same time, I would restrict all of our welfare programs, so new Americans would not be eligible for welfare benefits.

I support cutting taxes. When I worked for the U.S. Congress, we all knew the retirement of the Baby Boomers would become a crisis for the government. Medicare is already bankrupt and Social Security is going there fast. The Democrats want to raise taxes right now and the Republicans will do it when you’re not looking. They’re all afraid to tell you the truth.

But instead of trying to cut wasteful pork barrel spending to make money available for really important things, the news is full of stories about greedy Congressmen voting for special interest spending and taking bribes, sex scandals, and fighting with each other.

Don’t vote against any candidate. Vote for someone you want to vote for. You cannot send a message to Washington, DC, by voting against the Democrats or against the Republicans. Voting for the lesser of two evils sends no message about what is good.

If you vote for me, and for the Libertarian Party, your vote will count and it will be seen to count for something positive. It will count as a vote for lower taxes, for individual rights to privacy and private property, and it will make a difference.

Don’t waste your vote by voting for Democrats or Republicans. Vote for Libertarian candidates and make a difference.

[This speech was recorded by KTVK in Phoenix and KSMB in Tucson as a public service message and broadcast on television November 1-6, 2006, approximately two dozen times. KAET-PBS, Phoenix, also broadcast the message before the election. KSWT in Yuma broadcast a similar message, but without a teleprompter, it was more ad lib.]

Election Results: 3,746 votes (3.7%) out of 103,479 cast.

I believe in full equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals regardless of their sexual orientations or perceived gender identity or presentation.

I would call for the immediate repeal of federal and state Defense of Marriage Acts.

I would do away with the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, thus allowing our gay and lesbian service men and women to serve their country openly and proudly.

I oppose the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment and all state constitutional amendments seeking to define marriage as a bond between one man and one woman. I would do away with all special benefits and privileges granted to individuals on the basis of their marital status. I would like all state governments and localities to get out of the business of granting marriage licenses and allow people to enter into contractual relationships to order their lives as they see fit, but so long as the government continues to grant marriage licenses to heterosexual couples, I believe gay couples are entitled to the “equal protection” of the laws and should be allowed to obtain government issued marriage licenses as well.

I do not believe the government should require religious institutions to perform marriage ceremonies that go against their church doctrine.

I oppose all laws that discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered Americans and feel they deserve full equality under the law.

Vote ‘NO’ in Arizona on November 7 against Proposition 107.

[ Historical Note: Proposition 107 was defeated on November 7, 2006. ]