Steven A. Rosile
Libertarian Candidate for
United States Senate
Kansas 2002

Mission

To restore Constitutional principles and reduce the size, expense and intrusiveness of government.

Profile

Place and Date of Birth: Stillwater, Oklahoma. April 15, 1952

Kansas Residency: Continuous for 49 years, has lived in Sedgwick, Butler, Johnson, and Douglas Counties. Is now residing in Sedgwick County.

Occupation: Currently is working in the construction industry. Has worked in concrete flatwork and masonry, as an auto mechanic and repair shop owner, aircraft assembly and modification mechanic at Boeing Wichita, and sound reinforcement technician, booking agent and promoter for acts such as the late Bill Monroe, the Father of Bluegrass, Asleep at the Wheel, Ray Wiley Hubbard, Bugs Henderson, Lonnie Mack, Albert Collins, Koko Taylor, and Kim Simmons and the New Savoy Brown.

Education: 1970 graduate of Wichita Southeast. 1992 B.A. Political Science from Wichita State University, graduated Cum Laud and Honors Program. Attended the University of Kansas Law School but did not graduate.

Marital Status: Single.

Length of affliation with Libertarian Party: 26 years. Was a delegate to the 1993, 2000 and 2002 Libertarian National Conventions in Salt Lake City, Utah, Anaheim, California and Indianapolis, Indiana. Currently serving as Chair of the Libertarian Party of Kansas (LPKS) and Vice Chair of Libertarians of South Central Kansas (LSOCK).

Previous political offices sought: United States House of Representives First District Kansas 1992. Secretary of State for Kansas 1994 and 1998, United States Senator 1996, United States House of Representatives Fourth District Kansas 2000.

Information

Positions on Issues

Budget Deficit:

The deficit is the most damaging single factor to the economy. The current projected surpluses either will not materialize or will be spent before they are realized by the members of the bipartisan party incumbents. Massive forced government borrowing siphons funds that otherwise would be available to our entrepreneurs and businesses. Without access to these resources new businesses can not be established, and existing businesses are unable to expand and modernize their operations. This translates to no new jobs and the loss of existing jobs. The deficit must be brought under control in the next few years if the U.S. is to remain a great nation. This goal is achievable without any tax increases. In fact, the Libertarian program can accomplish this goal with tax decreases, and eliminate the personal income tax altogether. This can happen by reducing the size and number of federal agencies by the implementation of "sunset laws", such as some states have enacted. In effect, all federal agencies except the few that are expressly authorized by the Constitution, would automatically expire after some specified term of years. This would force all of these agencies to justify their budget and existence at regular intervals, and so would greatly facilitate the downsizing and elimination of unneeded bureaucracy.

National Debt:

The burden of the debt on the citizens of this nation, and their children and grandchildren, is simply scandalous. The total is now over 4 Trillon dollars and is growing over $10,000 a second. To eliminate the debt we must first deal with the deficit in the manner I have outlined above, and in addition we should sell off some of the huge tracts of public lands in the western states that the federal government has no legitimate need for and apply these revenues to paying off the national debt, and also to fully fund and privatize Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Health Care:

Much of the current mess in health care can squarely be placed on government intervention. I have reliable information that our retired citizens are paying as large a fraction of their income on health care today under Medicare and all the myriad additional programs enacted subsequent to it as they were in 1965, before the government initiated these programs, and that the bureaucracy and related regulations and paperwork are responsible for much of the increase in health care costs. For these reasons I oppose any form of national health care, and desire to remove the federal government from responsibility for providing health care services for anyone, with the exception of military hospitals for our active servicemen. Veterans Hospitals should be abolished as they are with few exceptions substandard medical facilities. Disabled veterans should be treated at public facilities of their choice, and the fair market value of their treatment should be paid for by the military establishment, as is only just.

Education:

The federal government has intervened in education with the result that our public schools graduate students that are unable to read, write, or do mathematical computations at the level that business and industry require to be competitive in a global economy. Responsibility for education must be returned to local communities, parents and educators must work together to improve the quality of education of our greatest natural resource, our children.

Abortion:

On a woman's right to obtain a legal abortion, I am pro-choice. However, I respect the beliefs of, those who disagree with this position. I understand their outrage at the thought of their forced tax dollars being used to finance abortions, and I oppose federal or state funding of abortions.

Environment:

This is an issue of utmost concern to all of us. It is also one of the few areas that I depart from the strict application of fundamental Libertarian philosophy. The position taken by the party purists is privatization of resources for conservation and efficient utilization, and in addition so that environmental damages can be addressed by private litigation in the courts. The underlying premise is sound, in my opinion, but is lacking in that it does not adequately cover many real world situations, such as air pollution, where it may be impossible to determine the specific source for purposes of litigation, and many of the problems are the result of aggregate, diverse causes. Acid rain and ozone depletion are two examples of this difficulty of identification. For these reasons, and the fact that solutions to global environmental damage necessitates coordination between nations, I feel that this area qualifies for some governmental control. This may involve setting standards for vehicular and industrial emissions, monitoring of pollutants in the air, water, and soil, funding of research to determine the extent, causes, and hopefully solutions, that will enable us to reverse the damage already sustained, and encouraging the use of renewable, cleaner burning fuels such as ethanol.

Trade:

I support a policy of free trade with all nations that are not declared enemies of the United States. Unilateral free trade is to our benefit. When we save on goods bought abroad it allows us to spend more on current consumption and savings, allowing us to consume more now, and consume more later. That said, I would not allow any foreign businesses or countries to dump products at below production cost for the purpose of gaining market share and to crowd out domestic industry.

Agriculture:

The business of farming and ranching should be left under the control of farmers and ranchers. The Department of Agriculture and the Commodity Credit Corporation should be abolished.

Subsidies:

Subsidies of all forms for manufacturers, farmers and ranchers, and business and individuals should be abolished.

Taxes:

Federal taxes must be limited to those found in the U.S. Constitution, Art.1, § 8, imposts (user fees), excises (consumption taxes and license fees), and duties (import and export taxes). The I.R.S. and the income tax must be abolished.

Census:

The current misuse of the census by the Federal government must cease. The census is mandated by the Constitution for the purpose of apportioning the number of representatives each state is entitled to send to the United States House of Representatives, and apportioning direct taxes among the states. For this Constitutional purpose the Census only needs to know how many people live at each residence and nothing more.

The personal, financial, and racial information demanded by the Census is an affront to every American and must be eliminated.

Welfare:

It is estimated that no more that $.08 of every tax dollar that is allocated for federal welfare programs are actually received by the needy. This administrative overhead is total waste and it is imperative that the federal government gets out of the individual welfare business so that these wasted funds can remain with the people of the respective states, where, under their control through private and public means the needs of the truly needy can more effectively and efficiently be met.

Social Security:

This program is not insurance and has been operated as a huge Ponzi scheme by the government to fleece our citizens and to force our children to pay for todays government excesses. Benefits must be maintained for those who have paid into the system and depend on it for sustenance during their retirement, but the entire system must be phased out and completely privatized or totally eliminated.

The use by private companies of SSNs for identification must be prohibited as this practice violates personal privacy and has resulted in the proliferation of identity theft. This has destroyed the lives of increasing numbers of Americans.

Firearms:

I support absolutely the right of citizens to own and bear arms, for purposes of sport, self-defense, and militia.

Crime:

Government has the responsibility to protect all of us and each of us from force and fraud against our person and property. But this duty does not extend in any degree to protecting one from him or herself. The so-called war on drugs typifies the great harm the government itself causes when it oversteps its boundaries. This "war" is not a war on drugs, but a war on people and on the Bill of Rights. We now have more people in prisons in this country per capita than any nation on earth, the bulk of whom are convicted of drug crimes. Prohibition should have taught us that the government can not stop the use of drugs (alcohol) and that attempting to do so creates crime, corruption, and violence.

For these reasons possession, use, and sale of all drugs must be legalized for adults. This is not advocating the use of drugs. What is tolerated is not the same as what is advocated. Through education we can curb drug use. But prohibition fails because it creates huge profits. The struggle to control these profits is the root of the increasing violence seen across the country. The only solution to this violence is to remove the profits from the drug trade by legalization. We can deal with abuse and addiction as a medical problem, and effectively reduce them through education.


Death Penalty:

My position on the death penalty is that the state should only be allowed to seek it for multiple or serial murderers and murder committed in a jail or prison. The chance of executing an innocent human being must be nil or society is committing a grave injustice.

The distinction between a single and multiple murders is that many murders are between family members or persons that know one another. This can be the result of domestic violence, child or spouse abuse, a long standing grudge or rivalry, or even an argument between good friends that gets out of hand. Many of these persons are unlikely to ever repeat their crime and so pose little threat to others or society. The distinction also gives an incentive to one who commits a single murder to not kill again.

The provision that jail or prison murder be punishable by death is to lessen the incidence of violence in these volatile environments. Guards, workers, prisoners, all would be better protected to the extent that fear of execution and death is a deterrent to a diverse group. Many of those serving long or life sentences could only be deterred by such a fear.

Campaign Finance Reform:

The Federal Election Commission must be abolished and the federal financing of the Democrat and Republican Nominating Conventions and Presidential Elections ended. Federal funding for all other Presidential candidates must also stop.

All expenditures in excess of $200 in furtherance of a federal election campaign shall be made public.

The candidate may spend as much of his own money as he cares to, subject to the condition above. A candidate may borrow money to spend on his campaign as his own from any person or entity, subject to the condition that all such loans be made public, as well as the terms of repayment.

No one but a natural person residing within the geographical boundaries of the representation of the office may contribute to a federal election campaign, except the candidates home state and national Party organizations.

All contributions to a campaign for federal elective office shall be without limitation, but public disclosure is required for amounts in excess of $200.

The practical effect of these reforms is to drastically reduce the amount of money being spent on election campaigns. This helps to assure that all candidates would have incentive to participate in forums and debates that include all candidates. Without the ability to buy an election by merely broadcasting more television ads than your opponent, the political process of choosing those who will represent us might become more than the sham it is now.

In addition to the above the 17th Amendment must be repealed. The states would be then have proper representation in Congress as the legislature of each state would elect the Senators from that state. States would regain the representation in Congress that they must have to insure the proper distribution of power between the states and the federal government.