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Jason Gatties: Another Libertarian candidate worth knowing about. . . .


OK, he's in Michigan, and I'm not moving out there to register to vote for him, or anything, but still. . . .

It's important to keep real in-the-trenches Libertarians like Michael Munger (NC), Allen Buckley (GA), and now Jason Gatties (MI) out there in the public eye, because they are the ones who are actually building a political party that can work toward liberty in America.

Jason Gatties is running for Lake Michigan College Board of Trustees. He's a serious candidate (OK, so neither he nor I could resist the graphic, but still), who is not just spouting off Libertarian theory, but actually trying to put it to work in local politics.

Here's a brief excerpt:

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY- As a member of our community, you should have a vested interest when it comes to the financial matters of Lake Michigan College. After all, your tax dollars help fund this fine institution. You have been gracious over the years and the school has thrived. Frankly, you’re doing your part, now the Board of Trustees must do their part as well.

I’m not in favor of any sort of millage raise. I’m also not in favor of cutting back on services the school currently offers or raising tuition cost. We should encourage people to attend our school, no matter your age. But this must be affordable. We can keep all of our current services, activities & keep tuition costs in tact by privatizing certain non-academic services. A good example is, currently, maintenance or ground crew members remove snow from the parking areas during the winter. Thats fine, but for a full time employee, paying overtime adds up over the season. You could easily contract that service out to the lowest bidder, keeping costs down and nobody loses their current job. Now thats just one department, imagine the potential savings if we included other non-academic services.

Also, the school can save money by limiting the size & growth of administrative jobs. Much like the federal government, any time you add a new administrative position, the cost is passed on to taxpayers and in the case of a College or University, the students. Big government doesn’t work in Washington and will not work in Benton Township either.


Personally, I just think it's cool that Michigan elects trustees to public institutions (sure wish Delaware would pick up that idea).

Good luck, Jason, and thanks for running.
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