http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0427libertarian27.html
States being considered for Libertarian utopia
Nicholas K. Geranios
Associated Press
Apr. 27, 2003 12:00 AM
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Thousands of invaders have their eyes on Idaho. Or Montana. Or New Hampshire.
Free State Project hopes to persuade 20,000 advocates of limited government to move to one lightly populated state and create a Libertarian utopia.
The idea by a Yale political science student is gaining popularity as about 3,100 people around the country have climbed aboard.
"It's perfectly clear that people who believe in small government are outnumbered by people who want to be taken care of by the government," said Elizabeth McKinstry, 33, of Hillsdale, Mich., vice president of the project.
"Rather than change the whole nation, it makes sense for all of us to gather in one place."
The project has identified 10 "candidate" states, all with populations below 1.5 million and politics friendly to limited government. They are Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Vermont.
When the number of registered Free State supporters reaches 5,000, likely by the end of the year, they will vote on which state to target. Then supporters will have five years to move, with an ultimate goal of 20,000 going to the winning state.
In their new home, Free Staters will work to abolish laws regulating drugs, gambling, prostitution, guns, drinking and other individual issues. They will seek to privatize many government functions, such as schools. They will try to slash taxes for everything except public safety and defense.
Free State Project is the brainchild of Jason Sorens, 26, a doctoral candidate in political science at Yale. He got the idea after the 2000 elections, when he felt Libertarians needed a new way to promote their cause. He wrote an article promoting the idea, and the project began in July 2001.
"Even in an era where Americans are heavily overtaxed, private solutions work better than government programs," Sorens said.
He believes that 20,000 committed activists in a state of fewer than 1.5 million is enough to sway the minds of residents.
That is necessary because "we're not going to be a large enough group to take over," Sorens said.
The goal is to reduce state government by one-half to two-thirds in the chosen state, said McKinstry, who spoke recently in Coeur d'Alene about the project.
"We are mostly anti-regulation," she said. "We are not an anarchist group at all."
Ben Irvin of Pocatello, Idaho, who calls himself the lead promoter for the Western states, believes Idaho will emerge as the compromise winner. The state has 1.2 million residents, a fairly robust economy and a big distrust of government.
Idaho's major downside is considered the one-quarter of the population who are Mormon, Irvin said. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aren't likely to support legalizing prostitution and drugs, ending taxes on booze and tobacco, or a strict separation of church and state, Irvin said.
Montana, with 900,000 residents, also is a strong contender, in part because it is more socially permissive than Idaho, Irvin said.
But the state's small economy would make it difficult for 20,000 outsiders to find jobs, he said.
Wyoming's population of less than 500,000 is the smallest in the nation, which has drawn plenty of interest. Irvin believes many who favor Wyoming don't really understand the rugged, nearly primitive nature of much of the state.
He figures North Dakota won't win because "no one wants to go out there."
Alaska is the one candidate that Free State Project founder Sorens would reject because, he said, "My wife is not willing to move there."
New Hampshire has jobs and a strong anti-government tradition, but much of the movement's strength is in the West, and most Westerners would not move to the East, Irvin said.
States being considered for Libertarian utopia
Nicholas K. Geranios
Associated Press
Apr. 27, 2003 12:00 AM
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Thousands of invaders have their eyes on Idaho. Or Montana. Or New Hampshire.
Free State Project hopes to persuade 20,000 advocates of limited government to move to one lightly populated state and create a Libertarian utopia.
The idea by a Yale political science student is gaining popularity as about 3,100 people around the country have climbed aboard.
"It's perfectly clear that people who believe in small government are outnumbered by people who want to be taken care of by the government," said Elizabeth McKinstry, 33, of Hillsdale, Mich., vice president of the project.
"Rather than change the whole nation, it makes sense for all of us to gather in one place."
The project has identified 10 "candidate" states, all with populations below 1.5 million and politics friendly to limited government. They are Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware and Vermont.
When the number of registered Free State supporters reaches 5,000, likely by the end of the year, they will vote on which state to target. Then supporters will have five years to move, with an ultimate goal of 20,000 going to the winning state.
In their new home, Free Staters will work to abolish laws regulating drugs, gambling, prostitution, guns, drinking and other individual issues. They will seek to privatize many government functions, such as schools. They will try to slash taxes for everything except public safety and defense.
Free State Project is the brainchild of Jason Sorens, 26, a doctoral candidate in political science at Yale. He got the idea after the 2000 elections, when he felt Libertarians needed a new way to promote their cause. He wrote an article promoting the idea, and the project began in July 2001.
"Even in an era where Americans are heavily overtaxed, private solutions work better than government programs," Sorens said.
He believes that 20,000 committed activists in a state of fewer than 1.5 million is enough to sway the minds of residents.
That is necessary because "we're not going to be a large enough group to take over," Sorens said.
The goal is to reduce state government by one-half to two-thirds in the chosen state, said McKinstry, who spoke recently in Coeur d'Alene about the project.
"We are mostly anti-regulation," she said. "We are not an anarchist group at all."
Ben Irvin of Pocatello, Idaho, who calls himself the lead promoter for the Western states, believes Idaho will emerge as the compromise winner. The state has 1.2 million residents, a fairly robust economy and a big distrust of government.
Idaho's major downside is considered the one-quarter of the population who are Mormon, Irvin said. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aren't likely to support legalizing prostitution and drugs, ending taxes on booze and tobacco, or a strict separation of church and state, Irvin said.
Montana, with 900,000 residents, also is a strong contender, in part because it is more socially permissive than Idaho, Irvin said.
But the state's small economy would make it difficult for 20,000 outsiders to find jobs, he said.
Wyoming's population of less than 500,000 is the smallest in the nation, which has drawn plenty of interest. Irvin believes many who favor Wyoming don't really understand the rugged, nearly primitive nature of much of the state.
He figures North Dakota won't win because "no one wants to go out there."
Alaska is the one candidate that Free State Project founder Sorens would reject because, he said, "My wife is not willing to move there."
New Hampshire has jobs and a strong anti-government tradition, but much of the movement's strength is in the West, and most Westerners would not move to the East, Irvin said.
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