3rd- and 4th-party candidates' ideas don't go that far against the grain

by Al Greenwood

Although Democrats and Republicans hold most of the political power in America, third-and fourth-party candidates often offer insightful political alternatives to hot campaign issues.

For example, Libertarian Pierre Blondeau campaigned for tax reform when tax reform wasn't "cool."

Blondeau campaigned for a national sales tax two years ago when he ran against Kay Bailey Hutchinson for U.S. Senate.

For the 1996 campaign, Blondeau and Mike Angwin, the Libertarian candidate for the U.S. Representative of the 25th District, are running on a national sales tax platform again.

Blondeau said because "businesses have to pay taxes on employment, they have an incentive to avoid employing people."

He maintains that a national sales tax would promote employment because businesses wouldn't pay taxes on their employees.

The sales tax would not change the amount of revenue the government received, only the origin of the taxes, said Blondeau. "The government can preserve its social services," he said.

"By removing the employment taxes, businesses will be making a lot more profit," Blondeau said. He said companies would then lower their prices to increase their share of the market.

Angwin said the lower prices would help remove the trade deficit by making U.S. exports more marketable.

A national sales tax would be just as simple to calculate as the sales tax in Texas, Angwin said. "I do it myself and spend five minutes a month," he said.

Angwin and Blondeau said they also support a private voucher-based school system. Under such a system, the state government would give parents vouchers for any school in Houston, Angwin said.

"You could take your child to whatever school you wanted," Angwin said. "Parents would make the decision based on their child's needs."

He said schools would not neglect poor students. "A $3,000 voucher the poor parent has is just as valuable as the $3,000 voucher the rich parent has," Angwin said. "The children are going to be customers, and schools will try to improve their services in order to attract these customers."

The platform of Gary Moore, another Libertarian, addresses local issues. He said he wants the speed limit on the Sam Houston Tollway raised.

"The police are basically tax collectors with radar guns," said Moore, a candidate for Texas Representative of the 136th District.

Currently, a state legislative mandate prevents increasing any tollway's speed limit past 60 mph.

Moore would also legalize drugs, gambling and prostitution. Moore said this would "free up police so they could concentrate on real crimes against people and property."

Moore would also punish juveniles for misdemeanors and felonies. He said, "The punishment would give them an incentive to change their behavior."

Libertarian candidates are not the only ones with less-heard opinions. American socialists have influenced U.S. policy for years.

Aaron Ruby, national committee member of the Socialist Workers Party, said his party will name their candidates by April.

Ruby said the Socialist Party's platform includes canceling Third World debt, which stands at about $1.5 trillion.

"The debt is being used to charge millions of dollars out of the Third World," Ruby said. "In order to make the payments on interest, the countries have to cut social services."

The party also wants to lower the work week to 30 hours from the current 42.3 hours, with no reductions in pay, Ruby said.

Houston Socialist Party chairman Jerry Freiwirth said, "It's a way to spread the available work around."

Ruby said the Socialist candidates would also preserve affirmative action programs to address inequalities in hiring.

Freiwirth said, "The greatest weakness working people have is the divisions created among us." He said affirmative action programs help unite workers.

The candidates will also continue to defend the Cuban government and protest U.S. intervention in foreign countries, Ruby said.