Dear Fed, Happy Sink-O-Deny-O

Dear Fed,

Happy Sink-O-Deny-O!

Sincerely,

Luke

May 5, 2009

Ron Paul, that Loon!

Andrew Malcom’s Top of the Ticket for the L A Times was pleasant today.

Ron Paul on CNN: GOP Made Total Sacrifice of Original Belief

Excerpt:                                                       [Click here to read the original article at CNN]

In the rise and fall of the recent Republican reign of power these past decades, the goal of the party had grown to be only that of gaining and maintaining power — with total sacrifice of the original Republican belief in shrinking the size of government.

By Ron Paul
Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Ron Paul is a Republican congressman from Texas who ran for his party’s nomination for president this year. He served in Congress in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was elected again to Congress in 1996, serving continuously since then. Rep. Paul is a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Ron Paul says the nation is off track and Republicans have to rediscover their core beliefs.

(CNN) — The questions now being asked are: Where to go from here and who’s to blame for the downfall of the Republican Party?

Too bad the concern for the future of the Republican Party had not been seriously addressed in the year 2000 when the Republicans gained control of the House, Senate, and the Presidency.

Now, in light of the election, many are asking: What is the future of the Republican Party?

But that is the wrong question. The proper question should be: Where is our country heading? There’s no doubt that a large majority of Americans believe we’re on the wrong track. That’s why the candidate demanding “change” won the election. It mattered not that the change offered was no change at all, only a change in the engineer of a runaway train.

Once it’s figured out what is fundamentally wrong with our political and economic system, solutions can be offered. If the Republican Party can grasp hold of the policy changes needed, then the party can be rebuilt.

In the rise and fall of the recent Republican reign of power these past decades, the goal of the party had grown to be only that of gaining and maintaining power — with total sacrifice of the original Republican belief in shrinking the size of government.

Most Republicans endorsed this view in order to achieve victories at the polls. Limiting government power and size with less spending and a balanced budget as the goal used to be a “traditional” Republican value. This is what Goldwater and Reagan talked about. That is what the Contract with America stood for.

The opportunity finally came in 2000 to do something about the cancerous growth of government. This clear message led to the Republican success at the polls.

Once the Republicans were in power, though, the promises faded, and all policies were directed at maintaining or increasing power by trying to whittle away at Democratic strength by acting like big-spending Democrats.

The Republican Congress never once stood up against the Bush/Rove machine that demanded support for unconstitutional wars, attacks on civil liberties here at home, and an economic policy based on more spending, more debt, and more inflation — while constantly preaching the flawed doctrine that deficits don’t matter as long as taxes aren’t raised.

But what the Republican leadership didn’t realize was that ALL spending is a tax on middle-class Americans through price inflation and that eventually the inevitable consequence is paying for the extravagance with a financial crisis.

Party leaders concentrated only on political tricks in order to maintain power and neglected the limited-government principles on which they were elected. The only solution for this is for Republicans to once again reassess their core beliefs and show how the country (not the party) can be put back on the right track. The problem, though, is regaining credibility.

After eight years of perpetual (and unnecessary and unconstitutional) war, persistent and expanded attacks on our privacy, runaway deficits, and now nationalization of the financial system, Republicans are going to have a tough time regaining the confidence of the American people. But that’s what must be done.

Otherwise, Republicans can only mimic Democrats and hope for an isolated victory here and there. And that’s just more of the same that brought on the disintegration of the party.

Since the new alignment of political power offers no real change, we will remain on the same track without even a pretense of slowing the growth of government. With the new administration we can expect things to go from bad to worse.

Opportunity abounds for anyone who can present the case for common sense in fiscal affairs, for protection of civil liberties here at home, and avoiding the senseless foreign entanglements which have bogged us down for decades and contributed so significantly to our fiscal and budgetary crisis.

During the debates in the Republican Presidential primary, even though I am a 10-term sitting Representative Member of Congress, I was challenged more than once on my Republican credentials. The fact that I was repeatedly asked how I could be a Republican when I was talking a different language than the other candidates answers the question of how the Republican Party can slip so far so fast.

My rhetorical answer at the time was simple: Why should one be excluded from the Republican Party for believing and always voting for:

• Limited government power

• A balanced budget

• Personal liberty

• Strict adherence to the Constitution

• Sound money

• A strong defense while avoiding all undeclared wars

• No nation-building and no policing the world

How can a party that still pretends to be the party of limited government distance itself outright from these views and expect to maintain credibility? Since the credibility of the Republican Party has now been lost, how can it regain credibility without embracing these views, or at least showing respect for them?

I concluded my answer by simply stating the Republican Party had lost its way and must reassess its values. And that is what needs to be done in a hurry.

But it might just take a new crop of leaders to regain the credibility needed to redirect the Party. It certainly won’t be done overnight. It took a long time to come out of the wilderness after 40 years of Democratic rule for the Republican Party to take charge. Today though, time moves more quickly. Opportunities will arise. The one thing for certain is that in the next four years we will not see the Republic restored. Instead the need for it will be greater than ever.

The problems are easily understood and the answers are not that difficult. Abusing the rule of law and ignoring the Constitution can be reversed. If the Republican Party can grasp hold of the needed reforms, it can lead the way and regain its credibility. If power is sought for power’s sake alone, the Party will never be able to wrench away the power of the opposition.

In the past two years, I found that when the young people heard the message of liberty, they overwhelmingly responded favorably, fully realizing the failure of the status quo and the need to once again endorse a system of self reliance, personal responsibility, sound money, and a non-interventionist foreign policy while rejecting the cradle-to-grave nanny state all based on the rule of law and the Constitution.

To ignore the political struggle and only “hope for the best” is pure folly. The march toward a dictatorial powerful state is now in double time.

All those who care — and especially those who understand the stakes involved — have an ominous responsibility to energetically get involved in the battle of survival for a free and prosperous America.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ron Paul.

Matt Hawes Comments on Possible Government Takeover of 401(k) Accounts

THE FOLLOWING CONTENT by MATT HAWES at Campaign for Liberty

[See original]

Not content merely to socialize our banking system and spend hundreds of billions of your tax money to bail out Wall Street, big government-legislators are considering taking over your 401(k) accounts as well and replacing them with government-sponsored accounts.  These would be known as “Guaranteed Retirement Accounts.”

Under this system, the government would contribute $600 annually to these accounts (indexed for inflation) and workers would put in 5% of their yearly pay, with government paying a 3% rate of return in interest.

Once again, big government proponents are acting on their belief that they know how to handle your money better than you do.  They’ve already robbed the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for their endeavors, so it makes sense that they would make a play for the rest of your retirement.

Just last night, Don Rasmussen informed me about recent events in Argentina, where President Cristina Fernandez signed a bill earlier this week to nationalize the country’s private pension funds.  We mentioned in passing that the U.S. was probably just a few steps away from such a move, but I never imagined I would be doing a blog post less than 24 hours later on Congress considering something so similar.

Read the original US News article on this here.

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Ron Paul: the republic’s financial prophet

I enjoyed the following article at Renewamerica.com… I don’t have any experience with this forum – but they describe themselves this way:

RenewAmerica is a grassroots organization that supports the self-evident truths found in the Declaration of Independence, and their faithful application through upholding the U.S. Constitution, as written. Its purpose, therefore, is to thoughtfully and courageously advance the cause of our nation’s Founders.

I don’t want to vouch for anything else there – since I don’t really know what to expect.  However, the following is helpful…

SEE ORIGINAL AT “RENEW AMERICA”

Ron Paul: the republic’s financial prophet

By Bonnie Alba

In 2000, Rep. (TX) Ron Paul issued the most comprehensive, undeniably compelling and historical discourse on the state of our nation I have ever read. Entitled “A Republic, If You Can Keep It,” (www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2000/cr020200.htm), he presents an overall picture of the detrimental weaknesses in our government and people. His warning message also considers consequences if we, as a people and government, don’t change.

What we are seeing in the events of our present crisis is a result of a message unheeded for many years. In 2000, a president left office claiming a legacy of bogus surpluses. A new president took office and in eight years spent more than any of his predecessors. During the same era, Rep. Ron Paul continued to preach his message on the House Floor — to deaf ears.

As a Republican presidential primary candidate, Paul was disdained by the media. Fellow republican campaigners ignored him for the most part, though they reportedly respect him. But word got out and Paul attracted a following of citizens who galvanized his campaign in all areas of the country. Paul was amazed at the large crowds of young men and women who took his message seriously, which has spurred a nation-wide grassroots “Revolution for Liberty.”

The present financial debacle and the actions being taken by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the federal government are exactly what would be expected from the distortion of the Constitution’s “general welfare” clause. The “redistribution of the wealth” growth of the socialist Nanny State is reaching new heights in socialist Corporate Welfare.

Not that they haven’t been doing it in the past — but continued public and private bailouts ensure that the National Debt will continue its upward creep. Basically we are bankrupt and diving into a authoritarian, socialist governance.

In small part, what Ron Paul said in 2000: “Even though the Fed did great harm before 1971, after the total elimination of the gold dollar linkage, the problems of deficit spending, welfare expansion, and military industrial complex influence have gotten much worse.

….

READ THE REST AT Bonnie Alba’s article (click the permalink).

Ron Paul on the Economy on Cavuto on Fox

Click to see Ron Paul on Neil Cavuto

Ron Paul – The Current Economic Situation – Necessity of Change

FROM FORBES.COM:

Trailwatch reached out to each of the remaining presidential campaigns and offered them an unedited forum in which they could address voters. As he was when we requested information for our Candidate Screener, Ron Paul was the first candidate to respond to our offer. We asked each campaign to submit 500 to 1,000 words on the issues they believe are the most important ones facing the nation at this moment in time. Here is what Ron Paul had to say.

–Paul M. Murdock

America became the greatest, most prosperous nation in history through low taxes, constitutionally limited government, personal freedom and a belief in sound money. I decided to run for president because I am deeply concerned that the conservative movement has drifted away from these principles that we once so fiercely defended. Deficits have exploded, entitlements are out of control and our personal liberties are threatened like never before.

The current state of our economy drives home the hard truth that living beyond our means has caught up to us. Oil is over $100 a barrel, the housing market is in sharp decline and the dollar is in a free fall.

The national debt now stands in excess of $9 trillion, more than $30,000 per person. The total future debt obligations of the United States, including entitlements, are estimated at around $59 trillion, which equates to over $500,000 per household. Social Security and Medicare will likely consume the entire federal budget by 2040, threatening the average American with an impossible tax burden.

As I said this past November to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, “We’re indeed between a rock and a hard place, and we don’t talk about how we got here; we talk about how we are going to patch it up.” The “solutions” proposed so far–stimulus packages, bailouts and interest rate cuts–just amount to printing more money, which will lead to greater currency devaluation, contribute to the rising costs of living, and further squeeze the middle class and our senior citizens.

This is the first time in over 100 years that monetary policy is being discussed in earnest during a presidential campaign. Money is the lifeblood of any economy, and control over a nation’s currency means control over its economic well-being. Fed bankers quite literally determine the value of our money by controlling the supply of dollars and establishing interest rates. Their actions can make you richer or poorer overnight, in terms of the value of your savings and the buying power of your paycheck. For over 30 years, I have been urging all Americans to educate themselves about monetary policy in order to better understand how a small group of unelected individuals at the Fed and the Treasury Department wield tremendous power over our lives.

In order to immediately strengthen the economy and lay the groundwork for continued prosperity, I have proposed a four-part plan that involves lower taxes, less spending, a sound monetary policy and regulatory reform.

We can take several immediate steps to reform our archaic tax system and give Americans back the fruits of their labor. I will work to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, including a repeal of the estate tax, and I will fight to end taxes on Social Security benefits and income derived from tips. I also believe that if we are to truly address the housing crisis, we will end taxes on forgiven mortgage debt, which is considered “income.”

The most permanent tax reform we can undertake, though, is to end the income tax and abolish the IRS. We could remove the entire personal income tax-funded portion of the budget and the federal government would still receive roughly the same revenues that it did during the Clinton years. And we could do this without even touching Social Security and Medicare.

The key to tax reform lies in spending reform. It’s time to cut back on our trillion-dollar overseas budget and use that money to secure the programs Washington has forced so many citizens to depend on. By doing this, we can let younger generations opt out of these programs and save for their own retirements and health care needs. As president, I will also veto any unbalanced budget and demand that Congress address wasteful spending.

Lower taxes and less government spending will put more money in your pocket. A sound monetary policy will increase the value of that money and drive down the costs of living.

Immediate monetary reform can be achieved by requiring transparency at the Fed. All Federal Reserve meetings should be televised just like the proceedings of Congress, and they should once again make all information on the money supply available. I also favor legalizing competing currencies. History is replete with examples of the inevitable failure of paper money systems, from our own founding days, to inter-war Germany, to the monetary crisis of 1970s Latin America.

However, I believe that for our economy to be secure in the long term, Congress must reassert its authority and end the unconstitutional Federal Reserve.

Finally, we must be willing to undertake regulatory reform. It would serve us well to revisit the myriad federal regulations that have stymied the innovative spirit of the American people.

One of the most damaging regulations imposed on the American people is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. A survey by Financial Executives International put the average cost of compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley at $4.4 million, while the American Economics Association estimates the Act could cost American companies as much as $35 billion. A study by the prestigious Wharton Business School found that the number of American companies delisting from public stock exchanges nearly tripled the year after Sarbanes-Oxley became law. One of the best things Congress could do for the American economy is to repeal this damaging legislation.

According to David Walker, former head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “We are mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren at record rates, and that is not only an issue of fiscal irresponsibility, it’s an issue of immorality.”

Unless we embrace fundamental reforms, we will be caught in a financial storm that will humble this great country as no foreign enemy ever could. However, we can find safe harbor in our ideals. Reclaiming our historic legacy of principled commitment to liberty will, once again, unleash the innovative spirit that propelled our nation to heights of prosperity never before achieved in human history.

Fantastic Interview With Ron Paul on CNN

Click Here to See the Interview

National Taxpayers Union: Only Ron Paul Would Cut Spending

From RonPaul2008.typepad.com [CLICK to see Original]

National Taxpayers Union: Only Ron Paul Would Cut Spending

NTU Report: Other Republicans would increase spending by billions

According to a report released Tuesday by the National Taxpayers Union, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is the only remaining presidential candidate who proposes net spending cuts.

According to the report, Congressman Paul’s proposals would cut government spending by over $150 billion, a conservative estimate of the spending reductions Dr. Paul has proposed. The report concludes that the other remaining Republican candidates, Mitt Romney, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, have proposed spending increases of $19.5 billion, $6.9 billion and $54 billion respectively.

“It should come as no surprise that when you crunch the numbers Ron Paul is the only Republican who would actually shrink the size and cost of the federal government,” said Ron Paul campaign economic advisor Don Luskin. “Romney, McCain and Huckabee don’t hold a candle to Ron Paul – the only true fiscal conservative running for President.”

In ten terms in Congress, Ron Paul has never voted for a tax increase or for an unbalanced budget.

___________________

More on the Tax Payer’s Best Friend:  the next item for helping the campaign!

It’s the Economy, Stupid!: US Controller General Says US is in Financial Cancer; Ron Paul Calls Our System “Immoral”

Controller General of US who runs the Government Accountability Office — his economic thesis is right in line with Ron Paul’s.

READ RON PAUL’S PLAN FOR THE ECONOMY HERE:

[Click the Graphic]:

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