Maverick label a fit for Sabrin
Maverick label a fit for Sabrin
By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff
The most conservative of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate outlined a radical plan to cut the federal government in an interview Monday.
Contending that Washington is "bankrupt" of both money and ideas, Dr. Murray Sabrin said the country is in a "perfect economic storm" that demands a return to free enterprise and confines the federal government to the role outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
"There's nothing (in the Constitution) about agriculture, housing, education, or energy," Sabrin, an economics professor at Ramapo College, said. He proposes that the federal departments bearing those names and functions be eliminated.
Social Security would also be phased out under Sabrin's plan, with new workers shifting their contributions to 401(k) plans.
The Defense Department would remain, but much downsized, limited to defending our own borders and security, while withdrawing from places such as Germany, South Korea and Iraq.
Sabrin spoke Monday to the editorial board of the Courier-Post, which has invited all the candidates for the U.S. Senate, to appear before the board as it considers endorsements in the primaries.
Sabrin is running for the Republican nomination against former Rep. Dick Zimmer, of Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, and state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, of Montville, Morris County.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Rob Andrews of Haddon Heights is challenging incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg of Cliffside Park, Bergen County, and Donald Cresitello of Morristown.
Sabrin calls himself "Maverick Murray" and, lacking support from the party establishment, has striven for media attention in the primary in novel ways, such as inviting people to bet on his pick in the Kentucky Derby (Cowboy Cal) and contribute the winnings to his campaign.
Cowboy Cal finished sixth, out of the money.
But in Monday's interview, Sabrin was deadly serious in painting a picture of a country in crisis, saddled with "$70 trillion in unfunded liabilities" and victimized by both out-of-control federal spending and a Federal Reserve Bank that "prints money, destabilizing the economy." If individuals do that it's called counterfeiting, he said.
With the Federal Reserve, it's an "economic stimulus," with spectacular booms that always lead to "spectacular busts."
"I decided in early January to throw my hat in the ring," Sabrin said. "The issues we face are too important for a business-as-usual, status quo approach."
On welfare and other social programs, Sabrin said "I'm a strong proponent of decentralization." The states should "be laboratories of democracy," he said, devising solutions that work best for them, not sending $1 to Washington to get 50 cents back.
Energy should be left to the free market to decide, he said.
He admits that the changes he proposes won't come quickly. "We're talking about decades, folks," he said. "But we've got to get started . . . for our grandkids."
Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com
By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff
The most conservative of the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate outlined a radical plan to cut the federal government in an interview Monday.
Contending that Washington is "bankrupt" of both money and ideas, Dr. Murray Sabrin said the country is in a "perfect economic storm" that demands a return to free enterprise and confines the federal government to the role outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
"There's nothing (in the Constitution) about agriculture, housing, education, or energy," Sabrin, an economics professor at Ramapo College, said. He proposes that the federal departments bearing those names and functions be eliminated.
Social Security would also be phased out under Sabrin's plan, with new workers shifting their contributions to 401(k) plans.
The Defense Department would remain, but much downsized, limited to defending our own borders and security, while withdrawing from places such as Germany, South Korea and Iraq.
Sabrin spoke Monday to the editorial board of the Courier-Post, which has invited all the candidates for the U.S. Senate, to appear before the board as it considers endorsements in the primaries.
Sabrin is running for the Republican nomination against former Rep. Dick Zimmer, of Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, and state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, of Montville, Morris County.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Rob Andrews of Haddon Heights is challenging incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg of Cliffside Park, Bergen County, and Donald Cresitello of Morristown.
Sabrin calls himself "Maverick Murray" and, lacking support from the party establishment, has striven for media attention in the primary in novel ways, such as inviting people to bet on his pick in the Kentucky Derby (Cowboy Cal) and contribute the winnings to his campaign.
Cowboy Cal finished sixth, out of the money.
But in Monday's interview, Sabrin was deadly serious in painting a picture of a country in crisis, saddled with "$70 trillion in unfunded liabilities" and victimized by both out-of-control federal spending and a Federal Reserve Bank that "prints money, destabilizing the economy." If individuals do that it's called counterfeiting, he said.
With the Federal Reserve, it's an "economic stimulus," with spectacular booms that always lead to "spectacular busts."
"I decided in early January to throw my hat in the ring," Sabrin said. "The issues we face are too important for a business-as-usual, status quo approach."
On welfare and other social programs, Sabrin said "I'm a strong proponent of decentralization." The states should "be laboratories of democracy," he said, devising solutions that work best for them, not sending $1 to Washington to get 50 cents back.
Energy should be left to the free market to decide, he said.
He admits that the changes he proposes won't come quickly. "We're talking about decades, folks," he said. "But we've got to get started . . . for our grandkids."
Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com
posted by The Builder at
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