Grandfathering

When libertarians become the majority in New Hampshire, we can begin winding down welfare and other positive rights. But I'll be pushing to let non-libertarians already in the state keep what they have, at least for some time.

A bill to begin the process might specify that people moving into New Hampshire after a certain date would have no positive rights. They'd be required to sign a waiver acknowledging that they don't expect or want the government to provide them with food, housing, health care, or education for their children. But those already here who aren't libertarian would be grandfathered into the benefits they have now. The goal is to avoid a sudden drastic reduction in quality of life for anyone.

When Barack Obama was campaigning for the Affordable Care Act, he promised it would include similar grandfathering. Below is an excerpt from a town hall meeting in Green Bay:

I know that there are millions of Americans who are happy, who are content with their health care coverage -- they like their plan, they value their relationship with their doctor. And no matter how we reform health care, I intend to keep this promise: If you like your doctor, you'll be able to keep your doctor; if you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan.

The goal was similar: to avoid a sudden drastic reduction in quality of life, especially for those with individual policies. But insurance companies went ahead and canceled policies anyway, leading Politifact to call Obama's promise the Lie of the Year.

I mention this to emphasize that whatever promise we make to the non-libertarians, we need to make sure we can keep it. My strong preference would be to extend the grandfathering throughout the person's lifetime, rather than just for some number of years. This would showcase our generosity, and help us maintain excellent relations with other states and with the federal government. But I'm not sure this would be feasible without secession, which would free us from federal income tax.

The Loyalists chapter of my manifesto includes a detailed description of how the grandfathering could work as part of a secession treaty. We'd take advantage of the fact that many of our welfare programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are funded by the federal government. The treaty would specify that the federal government would continue funding these programs, but only for US citizens who have been New Hampshire residents continuously since before the secession. Of course, libertarians would be renouncing US citizenship to opt out of federal income tax.