When common sense scares me

If I told you there was guy running for the United States Senate here in Georgia with a CPA and a law degree, who quotes from Government Accountability Office reports predicting "serious economic disruptions in the future" if we don't change our economic policies; who wants to drastically simplify the tax code and link the tax rate directly to spending; who wants to balance the federal budget; who has an energy plan; an immigration plan; and wants to reduce foreign intervention, how would all that sound?

Uh-oh, though, he's a Libertarian. And he's pitching solutions that "will involve sacrifice."

I wrote this up for tomorrow's Political Notebook:

Allen Buckley, the Libertarian Party's senate nomination, is a certified public accountant and an attorney living in Smyrna, according to his campaign Web site, www.buckleyforsenate.com. He must be a genius of compromise, since he lists degrees from both the University of Georgia and the University of Florida in his bio.

Buckley considers himself a real conservative and plans to pitch real solutions that "will involve sacrifice." Sounds popular, huh?

"It's a tough sale. But a little bit of pain today - an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Buckley.

Buckley links to Government Accountability Office reports on his site (the GAO is essentially the federal government's auditor), including one that warns "our nation is on an imprudent and unsustainable fiscal path."

Buckley said the federal budget must be balanced every year.

He proposes a new tax structure: No taxes for anyone on income up to the federal poverty level, a 20 percent tax on the next $25,000 in income and an "X" percent tax on any income above that.

And "X" is whatever it takes to cover the costs of government, which he pledges to deal with as a fiscal conservative. There would also be four deductions: interest on your mortgage, charitable contributions, retirement funds (up to a limit) and basic health coverage.

Buckley said he also supports government incentive packages for a company that can produce working hydrogen cars in bulk. He sees solar power becoming more common in homes and said the country should pursue more nuclear, wind and hydro energy.