smtwngrl
08-14-2007, 07:30 PM
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18699801&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555123&rfi=6
Meet the candidates: Ron Paul
By Gordon Wolf
08/14/2007
While in Denison on Tuesday speaking at Cronk's Cafe, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a Republican candidate for president, spoke about his plan to strengthen the economy.
"What you have to do is get the government out of the way because we're over-taxed and over-regulated. That's why our businesses go overseas and our jobs leave us," Paul stated.
He said the government has to restore sound money, not by printing more currency, but by balancing the budget, cutting back on spending and getting rid of the regulations.
"That is a big, big job. You can't do that overnight," Paul stated. "But you can at least move in that direction, instead of always moving in the opposite direction.
"If we had favorable tax conditions and regulatory conditions, maybe some of our companies would build here, but they don't."
Paul said the government should do away with incentives that allow corporations to go overseas.
"Even our foreign aid is tied to corporations. Right now we're proposing a $50 billion program to provide weapons to the Middle East, like they need more weapons," he stated. "But that money will go to the military industrial complex here. That's a false allocation of resources. Instead of the money being loaned out on market conditions, the money is dragged out of the economy and goes into a weapon that goes overseas, and it makes us poorer. If that money is left here, and small businesses and others borrow it, it would help our economy here."
Paul said he is concerned about the amount of money that the United States is borrowing from China and other countries per day. He said the current account deficit is between $2.5 and $3 billion a day.
"It's not all from China, but they are the biggest lenders. Japan and Saudi Arabia are also involved in lending," he stated.
Paul continued, "If they wouldn't loan it to us, interest rates would skyrocket. And right now they own so much of our debt, they don't want to destroy the dollar either. So they keep loaning it to us, but someday there'll be something that will get it out of control. Then you could have a run-away destruction of the dollar."
Paul also spoke about the national debt, listing it at $9 trillion.
"That's a big problem, but it's not as big as all the commitments we've made for future generations. That's up to about $60 trillion," he stated. "We can't deal with it unless the American people agree with their leaders as well as Congress, in changing in what we think government ought to be doing."
Paul said the United States can't maintain the belief that it can police the world, help build nations and promise everybody anything they ask for and be strong financially.
"We have to come to our senses, and my argument is let's come to our senses before we have a financial crisis, because it will come," he stated.
Paul continued he wants to get rid of the income tax and not replace it with anything, and cut spending.
"If you have a proper-sized government, you won't need an income tax. We didn't have one before 1913," he explained. "If we cut back on some of these expenditures overseas, we literally could help many of these programs here at home and cut the deficit. Cutting the deficit will actually shrink the national debt, but it's the overall entitlement obligation that is probably the biggest burden we face."
Paul said he wants U.S. troops to come home as quickly as possible from Iraq.
"You can't do it in days or weeks, but you could bring our troops and equipment home and let the world know that our policies have changed," he stated. "You could turn the Navy around immediately, from aggravating the situation with Iran. At least move the Navy back and say we're going to change our policy. I think it would go a long ways toward softening all this hostile talk between our nations."
Paul said he is concerned about the stability of Iraq once the U.S. troops are withdrawn.
"But I'm more concerned about the moral obligation we have to our troops and our taxpayers, and that our policies are perpetuating a greater danger to us," he said. "The longer we're there, the more Al Qaeda there are. The policy has to change.
"Vietnam was never as bad as what they said it would be when the U.S. troops withdrew. The people who say it's going to be so bad in Iraq are the ones who said it would be a 'slam dunk' operation," Paul added.
Paul also talked about the moral decline of American society.
He said the rebuilding of society can't be government's role, although he agreed government does things to hinder the strengthening of society.
"I think the government encourages debt accumulation and the idea that people will be taken care of detract from self-reliance," he said.
"Our country started doing abortions before the law was changed. Then the law was changed. It was the moral decay that led to the legalization of abortion," Paul continued.
He said ideas and prevailing attitudes are very important, and that there is a limit to what any individual can do.
"Sometimes you get the government you opt for," Paul stated. "That's why I want to make the optimistic point that I sense a change where even these young people are not nearly as cynical and driven as they were in the 1960s, because we did have a drug culture, violence and assassinations then. Domestically, we had worse trouble then."
On the subject of immigration, Paul said he favors no amnesty, no birth-right citizenship and no compulsion on the states to provide benefits. Paul added he is in favor of more border guards.
Paul said is not in favor of a fence along the border by itself.
"I don't think it's necessary and don't think it will work," he stated.
Paul added there was a bill that contained many reforms, which he supported, but said that was more or less a case of being in a terrible position to either not improve things at all or vote for the fence. But he said he de-emphasizes the fence.
Meet the candidates: Ron Paul
By Gordon Wolf
08/14/2007
While in Denison on Tuesday speaking at Cronk's Cafe, Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a Republican candidate for president, spoke about his plan to strengthen the economy.
"What you have to do is get the government out of the way because we're over-taxed and over-regulated. That's why our businesses go overseas and our jobs leave us," Paul stated.
He said the government has to restore sound money, not by printing more currency, but by balancing the budget, cutting back on spending and getting rid of the regulations.
"That is a big, big job. You can't do that overnight," Paul stated. "But you can at least move in that direction, instead of always moving in the opposite direction.
"If we had favorable tax conditions and regulatory conditions, maybe some of our companies would build here, but they don't."
Paul said the government should do away with incentives that allow corporations to go overseas.
"Even our foreign aid is tied to corporations. Right now we're proposing a $50 billion program to provide weapons to the Middle East, like they need more weapons," he stated. "But that money will go to the military industrial complex here. That's a false allocation of resources. Instead of the money being loaned out on market conditions, the money is dragged out of the economy and goes into a weapon that goes overseas, and it makes us poorer. If that money is left here, and small businesses and others borrow it, it would help our economy here."
Paul said he is concerned about the amount of money that the United States is borrowing from China and other countries per day. He said the current account deficit is between $2.5 and $3 billion a day.
"It's not all from China, but they are the biggest lenders. Japan and Saudi Arabia are also involved in lending," he stated.
Paul continued, "If they wouldn't loan it to us, interest rates would skyrocket. And right now they own so much of our debt, they don't want to destroy the dollar either. So they keep loaning it to us, but someday there'll be something that will get it out of control. Then you could have a run-away destruction of the dollar."
Paul also spoke about the national debt, listing it at $9 trillion.
"That's a big problem, but it's not as big as all the commitments we've made for future generations. That's up to about $60 trillion," he stated. "We can't deal with it unless the American people agree with their leaders as well as Congress, in changing in what we think government ought to be doing."
Paul said the United States can't maintain the belief that it can police the world, help build nations and promise everybody anything they ask for and be strong financially.
"We have to come to our senses, and my argument is let's come to our senses before we have a financial crisis, because it will come," he stated.
Paul continued he wants to get rid of the income tax and not replace it with anything, and cut spending.
"If you have a proper-sized government, you won't need an income tax. We didn't have one before 1913," he explained. "If we cut back on some of these expenditures overseas, we literally could help many of these programs here at home and cut the deficit. Cutting the deficit will actually shrink the national debt, but it's the overall entitlement obligation that is probably the biggest burden we face."
Paul said he wants U.S. troops to come home as quickly as possible from Iraq.
"You can't do it in days or weeks, but you could bring our troops and equipment home and let the world know that our policies have changed," he stated. "You could turn the Navy around immediately, from aggravating the situation with Iran. At least move the Navy back and say we're going to change our policy. I think it would go a long ways toward softening all this hostile talk between our nations."
Paul said he is concerned about the stability of Iraq once the U.S. troops are withdrawn.
"But I'm more concerned about the moral obligation we have to our troops and our taxpayers, and that our policies are perpetuating a greater danger to us," he said. "The longer we're there, the more Al Qaeda there are. The policy has to change.
"Vietnam was never as bad as what they said it would be when the U.S. troops withdrew. The people who say it's going to be so bad in Iraq are the ones who said it would be a 'slam dunk' operation," Paul added.
Paul also talked about the moral decline of American society.
He said the rebuilding of society can't be government's role, although he agreed government does things to hinder the strengthening of society.
"I think the government encourages debt accumulation and the idea that people will be taken care of detract from self-reliance," he said.
"Our country started doing abortions before the law was changed. Then the law was changed. It was the moral decay that led to the legalization of abortion," Paul continued.
He said ideas and prevailing attitudes are very important, and that there is a limit to what any individual can do.
"Sometimes you get the government you opt for," Paul stated. "That's why I want to make the optimistic point that I sense a change where even these young people are not nearly as cynical and driven as they were in the 1960s, because we did have a drug culture, violence and assassinations then. Domestically, we had worse trouble then."
On the subject of immigration, Paul said he favors no amnesty, no birth-right citizenship and no compulsion on the states to provide benefits. Paul added he is in favor of more border guards.
Paul said is not in favor of a fence along the border by itself.
"I don't think it's necessary and don't think it will work," he stated.
Paul added there was a bill that contained many reforms, which he supported, but said that was more or less a case of being in a terrible position to either not improve things at all or vote for the fence. But he said he de-emphasizes the fence.