The New Year is near, which can only mean thing. It’s time for an endless array of “Best of 2012” countdowns! But, while you’re used to seeing such lists for music, movies, and books, have you ever seen one for liberty? Here’s a countdown of what I consider to be the top seven political victories for liberty in the United States over the past year

 

7.         Ron Paul’s Federal Reserve Transparency Act passes the House of Representatives.

Not every libertarian agrees on monetary policy — or, Ron Paul for that matter. But, one tune we can all sing to is government transparency. That’s why the outgoing Texas Congressman got the best parting gift he could ask for on July 25^th, when the House overwhelmingly passed his bill to audit the Fed by 327 to 28.

Although the bill has gone nowhere in the Senate since and the chances of getting through the White House seem bleak, the Transparency Act’s bipartisan support is an encouraging sign that the call for more open government is popular across party lines. The Obama administration has repeatedly promised that theirs will be the most transparent government in American history. Future bills like Audit the Fed can hold them to this promise.

 

6.         The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) fail to pass Congress after Internet revolt.

Many items on this list aren’t well known outside of policy circles and the libertarian nerdosphere, but nobody can forget the day the Internet went on strike.  On January 18^th, more than 75,000 websites including Google, Wikipedia, redditt, and Tumblr protested a pair of bills that could have had severe censorship repercussions. Proposed under the guise of stopping online piracy and protecting intellectual property, SOPA and PIPA combined would have given law enforcement wide-sweeping power to punish websites that contain copyrighted material — including preventing advertisers from doing business with them, shutting down their websites completely, or even arresting their owner.

Fortunately, the Internet’s protest over the Fed’s newest victimless crime spelled the death of both bills in Congress and serves as a reminder of how powerful a united coalition of citizens can be against an intrusive government.

 

5.         25 states refuse to establish a state-based ObamaCare exchange.

Speaking of bills nobody understands, ObamaCare’s legitimacy was slightly undermined in recent months by half of the states refusing to set up a state-based health care exchange. This entry is most definitely the wonkiest of the countdown, so please bear with me (or, just skip to #2 about drugs for the lolz).

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, or, as it’s popularly butchered, “ObamaCare”), states have the option to establish an online health care exchange where residents can shop for affordable health insurance online. Otherwise, states can opt of out creating such an exchange and allow the federal government to create and operate one for them.

Here’s where it gets interesting. There was a drafting error in the law that is nothing less than laughable proof of how incompetent Washington can be. As the bill is written, businesses will receive a $3,000 fine (strike that, I meant “tax”) for every employee they fail to find affordable insurance for in states with a state-based exchange. However, this fine is strangely absent in the law if the states opts out of creating an exchange and instead leaves it up to the federal government. Consequently, 25 states chosen to opt out of creating an exchange over the past few months to avoid this burdensome new tax on their businesses.

Needless to say, the Obama administration is not very happy. The IRS has issued a regulation overturning this drafting error, to which Oklahoma is currently suing over.  Although the fate of this big mistake is still to be seen, a legal victory from the Sooner State could potentially be PPACA’s Achilles’ heel that could shield states from many of its worst provisions. But, even if they loose, at least 25 states will be free from spending millions of dollars annually running another inefficient government service.

 

4.         Indiana and Michigan pass right-to-work labor legislation.

This item is perhaps the biggest victory for economic freedom in 2012 – and definitely the most shocking one! As of January 1^st, 2012, 22 states had right-to-work laws in their books, giving workers the choice to join or pay dues to a union without being forced to. However, there had not been new right-to-work legislation passed in almost a decade, making the future of the labor initiative seemed pretty stagnant.

Then, on February 1^st, Indiana broke the 10-year lag by becoming #23. This in and of itself would have made for a successful year. But, almost out of nowhere, Michigan became #24 last Tuesday after a union-supported ballot initiative overwhelmingly failed in November. This is a major victory for right-to-work, especially since Michigan is the birthplace of United Auto Workers and cradle of the American union movement.

These laws matter. Right-to-work states grow faster in GDP, employment, and population than their union-shop counterparts. Thus, this win is not only good for Indiana and Michigan’s economic growth but will serve as further evidence of the benefits of voluntary association – incentivizing more states to respect their workers rights and embrace prosperity in the process.

 

3.         Maine, Maryland, and Washington legalize gay marriage by popular vote.

Although same-sex marriage is not new in America, most states that permitted the practice before this election cycle had enacted it either through legislation or court ruling. Thus, the thought of gay marriage being popularly supported was always at bay, as opponents could always claim that “activist” politicians and judges were shoving the “gay agenda” down the throats of the American people. By legalizing the practice through ballot initiative, Maine, Maryland, and Washington not only given gay couples the liberty to love that they’re entitled to but also affirmed that a culture shift is happening towards equal rights for all — despite the naysayers.

 

2.         Colorado and Washington legalize recreational marijuana by popular vote.
Like gay marriage, quasi-legal weed has been around for ages. But before this election cycle, states that permitted marijuana usage did so under the guise of medicinal use. 2012 was therefore the first year that a state legalized it for recreational purposes as well. Unsurprisingly, the Drug Enforcement Agency have been a total buzz kill since the referenda passed, insisting that they will continue to enforce the federal Controlled Substance Act banning the bud.

Nonetheless, Colorado and Washington’s brave stand against an unjust federal law that has thrown thousands of non-violent offenders in prison and spawned abhorrent drug violence in Mexico is a step in the right direction. Now 18 states and even the District of Columbia itself have laws permitted some form of marijuana use on their books, making it increasingly difficult for the federal government to turn a blind eye and continue to enforce an antiquated law that mismatches reality. Clearly a cultural change is occurring to allow individuals greater freedom to choose what to put in their bodies, and the Washington, D.C. will soon have to wake up.

 

1.         The Supreme Court limits Commerce Clause and federal mandates in ObamaCare ruling.

No, I have not lost my mind. The Supreme Court’s ruling June 28^th ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA’s unprecedented intervention into the economy was one of the worst days for liberty the United States has ever seen. But, at the same time, it was one of the best. That’s because, for the first time in a long time, the Supreme Court ruled that part of a federal law was unconstitutional because it violated the Commerce Clause.

For decades, that little clause allowing Congress “[t]o regulate Commerce” has been wielded as Washington’s weapon to enforce statist policies from rationing to price controls to all-out prohibition. Thus, the high court’s ruling that “[t]he power to regulate commerce presupposes the existence of commercial activity to be regulated” is one last hurrah for limited government, warning Congress that they cannot do anything and everything in the name of economic activity.

The Court also ruled that PPACA’s massive Medicaid expansion was coercive as well. As originally written, PPACA would have given states the “choice” to extend Medicaid coverage to individuals with income up to 133% of the poverty line or lose all of their federal Medicaid funds completely. Since Medicaid often swallows up to one-quarter of a state’s budget, the Court ruled that the PPACA’s threat to take away billions of dollars from states unless they agreed to even more state spending was unreasonable. As a result, states have the choice to expand their Medicaid program without fear of losing their federal funding – an revolutionary ruling that defines limits to what Washington can mandate when doling out dollars.

Thus, although the Supreme Court’s ruling did not stop the country from taking another step down the road to serfdom with PPACA, it could add some serious roadblocks in the future.

 

Well, there you have it — the top seven wins for liberty of 2012. What does it all mean? While us libertarians can be awfully pessimistic at times, watching the state grow bigger and faster by the day, we should step back and remember that we are still making substantial progress. As Zak Slayback argued on the blog last week, we “are living in what may be the freest and most prosperous time in world history” despite the growth of the state. Be in the economic realm with some of the lowest levels of protectionism and price controls in world history or the social realm with expanding individual rights pertaining to marriage and marijuana, people like liberty perhaps now than ever before.  If only we keep up the good fight, we can continue to experience more of it in our lifetime.