In this special episode, Beth interviews libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate (New York) Alex Merced. Alex talks about his background, why he's a libertarian, the current presidential and his positions on a "lightening round" of issues.

Here's what you should know about Alex: 

Name: Alex Merced - Libertarian Party US Senate Candidate (NY)

Age: 31

Married to wife for 2 years (together for 7 years)

Profession: Corporate Trainer in Financial Industry, former retail store owner (Gamers Lounge in Bowling Green, oh), Podcaster/blogger, event promoter, social media consultant

Education: BA from Bowling Green State University

If Elected Would Be...

- Youngest Serving US Senator (dethroning Tom Cotton)

- First Puerto Rican or Guatemalan Elected US Senate

- First Libertarian Elected to US Senate

Main issues:

- Rolling Back Regime Change to reduce new

Instability abroad

- Ending the drug war and the overcriminalization and violence that comes with it

- Increasing families disposable incomes and ability to save with tax reforms and reforming the policy drivers of inflation in healthcare, housing and education

- increasing visibility of Transgender issues and using the pulpit to bring attention to suicide, homelessness, and structural unemployment within the transgender community (have very close transgender issues, so this is more a personal thing than a policy issue)

Economic Policy Proposals:

- Rainy Day Account: rolling IRAs, HSAs, Coverdells into one tax favored savings account for all of life's events such as Unemployment, education, retirement, healthcare, parental leave, etc.

- The America Corp: a new corporate designation with 0% corporate tax rate but requires all assets and employees be in the US and that employees vote for one member of the board of directors to give labor more of a seat in corporate governance.

- 20% flat tax: instead of a complex tax code and complex web of aid programs, have a 20% flat tax with a refundable tax credit that will provide aid to anyone for anything. The amount of the tax credit amount changes with age (25k 18-26,65+ - 10k 27-64)

Interesting facts:

- Son of a immigrant from Guatemala in which regime change created instability in the 1950s which led to decades of civil wars and dictators and has contributed to the frustrations over the border (stability abroad effects border security, so regime change is very much against the countries national interests)

- parents are divorced so mainly raised by mother who after divorced lived in poverty working multiple part time jobs, going to school, raising two kids but worked her way to the middle class by the time I was 18 and has been my inspiration for my belief that anything is possible with hard work and determination

- grew up in suburban CT, went to school in Rural Ohio, and has lived in urban NYC so has experience the different setting Americans live in

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