The Wall Street Journal’s Kyle Peterson writes about the Free State Project in a lengthy article entitled The Great American Disconnect:
“The U.S. has been drifting into a collection of red or blue enclaves. Libertarians decided they needed a state of their own.”
The intrepid reporter visited Liberty Forum last month in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he bought jam with Bitcoin from an ATM and watched Edward Snowden address over 500 attendees.
Jason Sorens told him that “New Hampshire, with his comrades’ help, has become “much freer” in the past five years. Lawmakers weakened teacher tenure and repealed the state’s certificate-of-need law, which required hospitals to get permission before building a new facility. They overrode the Democratic governor’s veto to pass a budget that by the end of the decade cuts the business-profits tax to 7.9% from 8.5%. They enacted an education tax credit, giving companies an 85% deduction for donations to private-school scholarships.”
Peterson attended talks on “Anarchy: Dress for Success” and about non-agressive parenting, leaving him “wondering whether Donald Trump was spanked as a child.”
Also mentioned: Liberty Carrots, Robin Hooders, Cynthia Chase, Church of the Sword, jury nullification, Guy Fawkes, Ross Ulbricht‘s mother Lyn, Rastafarians, and of course, Ron Paul.
“One needn’t be won over by all their views to wish Free Staters well. It isn’t as if New Hampshire can offer Mr. Snowden asylum, and the odds seem slim that the state will repeal its vice laws and let citizens freely trade barbiturates for bitcoins. If, however, 8,000 activists have a shot at making New Hampshire a model of school choice and fiscal responsibility, that seems worth cheering.”
Worth cheering indeed. Head over to read the full article.