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Ron Paul on CNBC’s Squwak Box Part 1 – Feb 22

Run, Ron, Run!

Part 1

Part 2

Texas Straight Talk – A Weekly Column
Rep. Ron Paul (R) – TX 14

Last week, the House approved another increase in the national debt ceiling. This means the government can borrow $1.9 trillion more to stay afloat and avoid default. It has been little more than a year since the last debt limit increase, and graphs showing the debt limit over time show a steep, almost vertical trend. It is not likely to be very long before this new ceiling is met and the government is back on the brink between default and borrowing us further into oblivion. Congressional leaders and the administration acknowledge that the debt limit will need to be increased again next year. They are crossing their fingers that the forecasts are correct and they will not need another increase sooner, even before the 2010 midterm elections.

Continually increasing the debt is one of the logical outcomes of Keynesianism, since more government spending is always their answer. It is claimed that government must not stop spending when the economy is so fragile. Government must act. Yet, when times are good, government also increases in size and scope, because we can afford it, it is claimed. There is never a good time to rein in government spending according to Keynesian economists and the proponents of big government.

Free market Austrian economists on the other hand know that times are bad because of the size and scope of government. The economy is fragile because of the overwhelming stranglehold of bureaucracy and taxation of Washington. Any jobs Washington might create through these endless spending programs are paid for through more taxation and debt put on the productive sectors of the economy. Just as insidious is the hidden tax of inflation caused by the Fed and its ever-expanding credit bubble. When the Fed steps in with its solutions, it only devalues the dollars in everyone’s pocket while encouraging more reckless waste on Wall Street. All of this leads to a worsening economy, not an improved one.

And so the downward spiral continues. The worse things get, the more politicians want to spend. The more they spend, the heavier the debt load becomes and the more we have to spend just to maintain our interest payments. As our debt load becomes unsustainable, the alarm of our creditors increases. It is becoming so serious that our credit rating, as a nation, could be downgraded. If this happens, interest on the national debt will increase even more, leading to even higher taxes on Americans and inevitably, price inflation.

Still, Washington is full of talk of more regulation, more taxation and more spending. The Senate is still struggling to pass a massive regulatory increase on the financial sector, even as the stock market suffers more shockwaves. Pay-as-you-go rules give the appearance of fiscal responsibility, but in truth these rules are only used as a justification to raise taxes. Spending programs like healthcare reform, increased military spending, and a recent doubling of destructive foreign aid are viewed by Washington as necessary and reasonable, instead of foolishness we absolutely cannot afford.

The people understand this, which is why there is so much anger directed at politicians. Washington needs to change its thinking and adopt some common sense priorities. The Constitution gives some excellent limitations that would get us back on the right path if we would simply abide by them. The framers of the Constitution understood that only the ingenuity of the American people, free from government interference, could get us through hard times, yet Washington seems bent only on prolonging the agony.

Patrick Henry Sellers is running for US Congress to represent Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District (southeast). Pat can win the GOP primary race and I’ll explain why. First, let me tell you that Pat is the right person for the job. He’s our kind of guy and I know what I’m talking about here. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. agrees and has endorsed him. Please read Pat’s PLATFORM.

Pat was an indefatigable Ron Paul supporter. He started one of the earliest Ron Paul meetups, #314 in June 2007 in Chester County, the heart of the Congressional District. His crew was very active. I worked closely with him as Ron’s former Pennsylvania Field Director during Ron’s Presidential campaign.

JOIN US to become one of Pat’s supporters. We need volunteers at both the local and national level. Give us your feedback. Please also kindly DONATE generously to Pat’s campaign. I did so and I decided to join his campaign team as well. His team is all volunteer.

The Opposition – RINO #1
Despite Americans’ overwhelming opposition, incumbent Congressman Jim Gerlach broke Republican ranks to vote for the Bailout. His record is a disaster: he also voted for Cash for Clunkers, the Hate Crime bill, its sexual orientation amendment, warrantless searches and other federal overreaching and destruction of liberty. He has angered many conservative rank and file. Gerlach tried to run for Governor but he raised insufficient funds, so he now wants to hold onto his Congressional seat. He just can’t stop bailing out. Apart from his record, Gerlach has three other problems: cash, a rich RINO #2 opponent — and Patrick Henry Sellers.

Law prohibits Gerlach from transferring his Gubernatorial campaign funds to his Congressional campaign. His Congressional account had only $35,000 in Sept. 2009. Right now, he’s busy collecting commitments and pledges from people who already donated to his expired campaign. NRCC funding may well be unlikely for two reasons: they are low on cash and Gerlach’s last general election was tight.

The Opposition – RINO #2
RINO Steve Welch has admitted voting for Joe Sestak (D-PA) in 2006 and for Obama in the 2008 primary. He also donated to Sestak’s campaign. He doesn’t realize it yet, but that probably makes him toast. Welch has low name recognition and will, in his substantially self-funded race, target Gerlach.

The upshot is that Gerlach and Welch are damaged-goods candidates with political bulls-eyes on their foreheads.

Pat Sellers is the only conservative in the race. Pat will campaign on the economy with the subtexts of salvaging national finances while improving business competitiveness and national security by dramatically reducing the scope and scale of government. That includes sound money, phasing out the income tax and the Fed, and reverting to a common sense non-interventionist foreign policy that entails bringing our troops home and ceasing the squandering of military assets. In a nutshell, peace, freedom and prosperity. You’ve heard that expression previously from a certain doctor.

Please mark the inauguration of Pat’s campaign fundraising with a Donation. We will soon be calling people in the freedom movement in the 6th District and throughout Pennsylvania for donations, and we need and respectfully request intellectual and financial support of the movement at the national level as well. We’re going to do this. Pat will add to Ron’s voice.

The Revolution continues. Spread the message. Patrick Henry Sellers is running.

Yours very truly,

William E. Faust
Sellers for US Congress

Texas Straight Talk – A weekly column
Rep. Ron Paul (R) – TX 14

Last week politicians in Washington made a few things clear about how they really feel about the state of the union. First, they are beginning to hear the growing discontent with the size and scope of government and the broken promises that keep piling up. Certain events in Massachusetts recently made that statement loud, clear and unavoidable. In the face of those events, the powers that be made the determination that some populist rhetoric was in order, and the idea of a spending freeze in Washington was proposed, albeit with several caveats. These caveats to the proposed spending freeze ensure that we are not at any real risk of actually doing anything about spending.

First of all is timing. It wouldn’t go into effect until 2011, which allows plenty of time to increase spending levels quite a bit before they are frozen. If the administration really understood and cared about our spending problems they would not freeze spending a year from now, but cut spending immediately and significantly. But, spending cuts almost never happen in Washington, and they are not likely now or a year from now – if the politicians have anything to say about it.

The second caveat is the huge areas of the budget that are shielded from this freeze. The entire State Department budget is exempt, as are all entitlements, all military industrial spending and almost all foreign aid. Fully 7/8 of federal spending is excluded from this freeze, and some areas to be frozen were actually set to decrease, which means a freeze actually guarantees a higher level of spending.

Especially insulting is the idea that in spite of our own fiscal problems at home, taxpayer dollars will continue to be sent overseas in the form of foreign aid where it often does more harm than good. When need is demonstrated to Americans and they can afford it, they can be counted on for a tremendous outpouring of private, voluntary charity to worthy aid organizations, as we recently saw in Haiti. By contrast, government-to-government aid is taken from the poor by force and too often enriches the corrupt. It is counterproductive and wasteful. But the idea of eliminating, freezing, or reducing foreign aid is not up for serious debate any time soon.

The third caveat is what is included in the freeze that would make it politically impossible to pass Congress, for example air traffic controllers salaries, education, farm subsidies and national parks.

I do not necessarily want a cut in spending in this country – I just want to change who does the spending. The spending should be done by the people who earn the money, if they choose, and on what they choose, without any government interference. That is what makes the economy work. Politicians should stick to the very limited roles given them by the constitution instead of allocating such a sizeable portion of our capital and intervening through regulations and tax policy. But because politicians have disregarded the constitution, and the people have no idea what rule they will break next, there is already a very real spending freeze underway in this economy, by the people. If government would stick only to what it was authorized to do, and leave the rest to the people, most of these problems would resolve themselves.

HeeHee!

Texas Straight Talk – A weekly column

Rep. Ron Paul (R) – Texas Congressional District 14

Legalize Competing Currencies

Much has been made recently about the supposed economic recovery. A few blips in a few statistics and many believe our troubles are all over. Of course, they have to redefine recovery as “jobless” to account for the lack of improvement on Main Street. But the banks have money, Wall Street is chugging along, and the administration would like to get on with other agendae.

They have even set up a commission to investigate the crisis as if it were all in the past.

The truth is that Americans are still losing jobs, the Fed is still inflating, and more regulations are in the works that will prevent jobs and productivity from coming back. We are on this trajectory for the long haul. The claim has been made many times that this administration has only had a year to clean up the mess of the last administration. I wish they would at least get started! Instead of reversing course, they are maintaining Bush’s policies full speed ahead. They are even keeping the Bush-appointee in charge of the Federal Reserve! They are not even making token efforts at change in economic policy. And for all the talk of transparency, we hear that some powerful senators will do all they can to block a simple audit of the powerful and secretive Federal Reserve.

We have been on a disastrous course for a long time. The money supply has doubled in the last year, our debt is unsustainable, the value of the dollar is going to continue its drop, and those Americans who understand where we are headed feel helpless and held hostage by foolish policy makers in Washington. When the bills finally come due and the dollar stops working we are in for some real social, economic and political chaos. That is, unless we take some major steps now to allow for a peaceful transition in the future. These steps are laid out in my legislation to legalize competing currencies.

First of all, no one should be compelled by law to operate in Federal Reserve notes if they prefer an alternative. We should repeal legal tender laws and allow Americans to conduct transactions in constitutional money. Only gold and silver can constitutionally be legal tender, not paper money. Instead, it is illegal to conduct business using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve notes. Simply legalizing the Constitution should be a no-brainer to anyone who took an oath of office. Consequently, private mints should be allowed to mint gold and silver coins. They would be subject to fraud and counterfeit laws, of course, and people would be free to use their coins or stay with Federal Reserve notes, as they see fit. Finally, we should abolish taxes on gold and silver, which puts precious metals at a competitive disadvantage to paper money.

The Federal Reserve is a government-sanctioned banking cartel that has held far too much power for far too long and is in the end stages of running the dollar into the ground, and our economy along with it. The very least Congress can do, if they are not willing to abolish the Fed, and perhaps not even conduct a serious audit of it, is to allow citizens the freedom to defend themselves from being completely wiped out by their monopoly power.

Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhm7UELPsSA

Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpyJbWlPGfs

This man looks very presidential, in fact sounds more presidential than
ever too.

Jake Towne, independent candidate for US Congress in PA-15, today announced his support of HR 4248, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2009, and urges the current incumbent to co-sponsor the bill. The short 374-word bill is inline with the campaign’s theme of sound money and would revoke legal tender laws enabling Americans to use other currencies if they so choose to compete with the unbacked script currency issued by the Federal Reserve.

Towne just released his “Sound Money and Jobs” campaign plank (attached in PDF) which explains to all residents the dire importance of sound money, and provides evidence linking the troubles of the American economy to the governments’ actions to devalue the dollar and suppress the gold price. While unknown to most Americans, gold is one of the world’s largest financial markets, trading over $20 billion USD per trading DAY on the London exchange alone.

The campaign’s last “Towne” Hall was well attended by many newcomers, and the next event open to the public at no cost is Monday, February 1, 2010 at the Bethlehem Township Community Center, 2900 Farmersville Road at 7 PM. (Details here.)

Towne is not endorsed by nor affiliated with the sponsor of HR 4248, Pennsylvania-born Dr. Ronald Paul. Paul also recently introduced HR 1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve – which has never been thoroughly audited since its founding in 1913. Towne successfully petitioned the incumbent Congressman for several months before he agreed to co-sponsor this no-brainer piece of legislation and hopes the same can be done here. (The incumbent’s fundamental lack of understanding on monetary policy is demonstrated in this question I asked at a town hall.)

January 21, 2010

Contact: Jake Towne

Email: TowneForCongress@gmail.com

Website: TowneForCongress.com

Full Page Article

Jake Towne is running for US Congress in Pennsylvania District 15 which includes the Lehigh Valley

Dear Friends of Liberty –
2010 has arrived and the campaign looks forward to election day on November 2nd. On that day, the 15th district will elect its first-ever independent private citizen to Congress. In the past 7 months, I have met enough people in the district to firmly have faith that they will make best decision for their own prosperity, health and future, and vote for me as their public servant if only the message can make it to them. Last Monday, 100,000 households will receive a half-page ad promoting campaign events, see here. In December, campaign volunteers distributed almost 15,000 “Who Is Jake Towne?” flyers, and the number of yard signs out is already in the triple digits – and are the only political signs you will see in the district. Yesterday, I parked my car to pick up a pizza and saw one in Bethlehem and stopped by to say hi.

What I bring is a winning message – open, transparent & accountable government with the Open Office, a shift of power back to the state, local, and individual levels, an unquestionable motivation to serve the people (in December I announced I will only accept the median household income and donate the remainder to local non-profit hospitals), peace instead of endless, costly war, and a return to sound monetary and fiscal policy. Where my opponents in truth offer tyranny, I offer LIBERTY and the rule of law. I will speak, listen, and meet with anyone or any group. I will not tire – I will keep promoting and defending the message – I will keep writing and knocking on doors until my knuckles bleed. You have this level of commitment from me until Election Day.

Read More…

Fox Business, Jan. 14th, 2010 – On Thursday, Texas District 14 Congressman Ron Paul appeared on Fox Business to discuss runaway spending and printing, the Freddie and Fannie Mac mess, the Geithner-AIG affair, and Federal Reserve transparency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNkNEWc6kJQ