5 Most Hardcore Libertarian Positions of Gary Johnson

3. End the Department of Education

In 2012, Gary Johnson said: “I don’t think people recognize that the the [sic] Department of Education was established in 1979 under Jimmy Carter. So if you measure educational performance since 1979 there is nothing to suggest that the federal government has added any value. The federal government gives eleven cents out of every school dollar that every state spends but it comes with 16 cents of strings attached, and I found this as governor of New Mexico. … There is so much education that is being distorted by Washington. Give it up to the states and in my opinion there will be some fabulous successes that will be emulated.”

Johnson’s always been a friend to the US taxpayer on this issue. His position is to advance school vouchers, which he recommended for New Mexico. Vouchers aren’t explicitly libertarian because they still require taxpayer money, but they are a step in the right direction for increasing accountability for our public education system.

“I realized that many people believed vouchers take money away from the public school system. But my plan would have increased the per capita funding for kids who remained in public schools because we were actually spending about $5,500/child—so each public school district would get an extra $2,000 for each student who opted out,” Johnson stated.