SGT interviews presidential candidate John Cox

By Steve Adcock
Submitted on: 03/06/07

EDITORIAL - The Small Government Times recently had the opportunity to interview author and presidential candidate John Cox. John Cox focuses on limiting the size of the government and believes in the individual liberties of people, not the regulatory power of the federal government, to lead our nation down a better path. John Cox's book is titled "Politic$, Inc", and is available on Amazon.

The interview focuses on a variety of different topics important to small government, including the War in Iraq, our nation's many social programs, our flawed progressive income taxation system, religion and public schools and flag desecration. John Cox talks about specific goals that need to be accomplished in Iraq before our troops should be pulled out and addresses the increasing tide of American companies in search of cheap labor overseas. What is the job of the government, what amendments are necessary to keep our nation safe and how much regulation does the federal government have the responsibility of mandating on the American people? Find out John Cox's answers to those questions in this interview.

The interview below uses the following format: Questions asked by the Small Government Times are prefaced with the text SGT and appear in bold font. John Cox's answers are prefaced with JC and are italicized.

SGT: The Small Government Times is deeply concerned about the destruction of our Constitution in this age of big government control. What is your view of the Constitution? Under a Cox administration, is the Constitution a document to be followed AS WRITTEN and to the letter, or is it a living document where its meaning is merely "interpreted" based on the day's events?

JC: I absolutely believe the Constitution should be followed to the letter. There should also not be provisions created out of whole cloth. There is no 'right of privacy' in the Constitution. If people feel there ought to be, which I might agree with, then they should follow the procedure included in the Constitution to change it. Get the approval of the states as is provided. Of course, the next question after that would be if a right of privacy would allow abortion. To me, the right of privacy is just that - a right to have some measure of privacy from big government interference. Abortion is murder - plain and simple - and that should be regulated by state law.

SGT: Social programs, like Welfare, Medicare and Social Security, are hugely expensive entitlements. Do you believe these programs are Constitutional? Under a Cox administration, will you strive to remove these social programs from the control of the federal government?

JC: The federal government's role should be to defend the country and facilitate commerce among the states and internationally. Providing financial support for its citizens is not listed in the Constitution, as far as I read it. Promoting the general welfare is meant to deal with matters that impact the general economic conditions of the country such as security and enforcement of the rule of law. Clearly, there are some things that impact interstate operations, like air travel, etc that likely require a federal agency. Social security was an overreaction to a horrific financial situation that gripped the country - the Great Depression. It is with us now and is almost institutionalized - reality says we cannot get rid of it but we should restructure it to a private account plan to empower people, not government.

Read the full article at SmallGovTimes.com