(From the Persuasion Power Point section in Volume 18, No. 18 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!)

What really changes people’s minds about libertarianism?

Sometimes it’s what you say.

Sometimes it’s how you say it.

Sometimes it’s who you say it to.

Very often, it’s what’s going on with Big Government… while you’re having the libertarian conversation.

And it’s 4 big factors. You can express it as a formula: P²C². That’s Big Government Problems, Pain, Costs and Consequences.

Big Problems caused or sustained by Big Government. Massive unemployment. Huge amounts of time wasted complying with government paperwork, rules, and resolutions. Huge Social Security problems. Big Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare problems. And don’t forget the problems created by the problems.

Intense Pain caused or sustained by Big Government. Overwhelming pain. Caused by Big Government problems — or trying to cope with with the problems.

The pain of paying 47% of your income in taxes. The pain caused by trying to understand and correctly fill out government paperwork, trying to understand and comply with government regulations. Throbbing pain as you fill out forms for your small business, enroll your children in public schools, and as you fill out government paperwork… while waiting to see a doctor.

Ballooning Costs of Big Government programs — or complying with them. Big Government puts the POUND into the comPOUNDing costs of everything it touches.

Welfare, warfare, regulation, mandates, and more. Ever-growing costs that squeeze every last dollar out of your family income and savings.

Cascading Consequences of Big Government policies and programs. Marijuana prohibition promotes gangs and gang violence that fosters more drug enforcement cops and costs, more arrests and prosecutions, and massive numbers of long-term prisoners serving time in jails and prisons for selling, possessing, or buying marijuana or other drugs.

U.S. government foreign wars, gunboat diplomacy, occupation forces, military aid to foreign despots create new enemies, are often paid for by overspending, inflation, and debt.

Consequences – all of which hurt taxpayers, weaken the economy, and flush American wealth into bottomless sewers.

Want to make people far more receptive and responsive to your libertarian suggestions and solutions?

Want to amplify the impact of your persuasive libertarian proposals?

P²C². Big Government Problems, Pain, Costs and Consequences.

First, show and tell them how huge, intense, extensive and expensive the Big Government policies and programs are.

Second, tell them: “This is America. Birthplace of freedom. We can do way better than this.”

Third, offer them libertarian solutions. Freedom remedies that reduce and remove the root cause of the huge problems, pain, costs, and consequences: Big Government programs.

Fourth, tell them the huge, immediate, direct benefits of reducing and removing these wasteful and harmful Big Government programs: dramatically less burden on them and their families, radically lower taxes and higher take-home pay for them, their co-workers and their neighbors — and ever-growing economic, social, and personal liberty for all of us.

Fifth, let them know that that’s just a taste of libertarianism — and ask them if they’d like to find out more.

Sixth, if they say “yes” to learning more about liberty, see that they get immediately some great introductory material. Books such as Libertarianism In One Lesson by David Bergland or Healing Our World by Mary Ruwart. Free online information about libertarianism and the liberty movement — the Advocates has lots of good introductory material at our website, under the tab “Libertarianism: What You Need to Know.” A free subscription to the Liberator Online.

You’ll be glad you did.

Posted on October 15, 2013

in Communicating Liberty, Liberator Online Archives

by Michael Cloud

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Michael Cloud is President and Co-founder of the Center For Small Government. He also co-founded the Massachusetts End the Income Tax ballot initiatives with Carla Howell, serving as spokesperson, primary fund-raiser and Communications Director. In 2002, Cloud ran for US Senate against 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, winning 19% of the vote — the highest vote for a Libertarian US Senate candidate ever. He has been politically active since 1976 and has raised over $8 million for small government candidates, projects, and initiatives. He is also a speechwriter and the Master of libertarian communication. He writes the Persuasion Power Points column for over 70,000 readers of the Advocates for Self-Government Liberator Online and is author of the books Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion and Unlocking More Secrets of Libertarian Persuasion. Cloud is also the co-author of Small Government News, an email newsletter that is published approximately every two weeks; more often around elections.