Ron Paul weekly update for the 28 june 2010

Ron Paul: End the War in Afghanistan!

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http://www.RonPaul.com - 06/27/2010

End the War in Afghanistan

by Ron Paul

This past week various news events once again made it abundantly clear that our foreign policy is an abject failure. Unfortunately in spite of this the administration is determined to stay on this destructive course despite any past promises to change it. For Afghanistan especially, if ever there was an opportunity to admit shortcomings and change strategies, this past week was it.

There really is nothing for us to win in Afghanistan. Our mission has morphed from apprehending those who attacked us to apprehending those who threaten or dislike us for invading their country, to remaking an entire political system and even a culture. I remain highly skeptical that as foreign occupiers we can ever impose Western-style democracy on another country. Our troops have debilitating restrictions on defending themselves against enemies which are so often indistinguishable from civilians. They also face dire setbacks in winning hearts and minds when innocents are mistakenly harmed, which happens all the time. We can never make friends this way, and yet the tactic never works.

This is an expensive, bloody, endless exercise in futility, though few are willing to admit this just yet. But every second they spend in denial has real cost in lives and livelihoods. Many of us can agree on one thing, however: our military spending in general has grown way out of control. This is largely because fiscal accountability and military budgeting is seen by many as "weak on defense." This is absolutely wrong in a dangerous way to think. It is certainly possible for the military to waste money, or to spend money counter-productively, and indeed it has. But out of political correctness the military has been getting blank checks from the administrations and Congress for far too long.

It is important to defend our soil, but let us defend us our own soil instead of defending Europe's soil. Our willingness to defend Europe enables their lavish social spending at our expense while they criticize our model of capitalism. It's time they allocated the money for their own defense. The same goes for Korea, Japan and other countries like Egypt and Israel. It is also important that while our troops are in combat, our soldiers have what they need to do the best they can even if we disagree with why they are there. It's an embarrassment that some soldiers and families have had to buy body armor at their own expense when billions are awarded to politically well-connected defense contractors for weapons systems that don't work, are over budget and past deadlines.

This is the kind of waste that needs to end. I firmly believe that there is enough waste in the military budget that we can both save money overall and at the same time make us safer. Of course, the obvious way to save money and be safer is to stop meddling in the affairs of foreign countries and just bring our troops home. This will happen eventually if our empire, like every other fallen empire, insists on spending itself into collapse. If we want to avoid this we must look into ways to bring our costs under control. The military budget must be on the chopping block along with everything else.

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Ron Paul is America's leading voice for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.

Rand Paul Rising - Short Film

Loved by the Tea Party, endorsed by Ron Paul, and reviled by the liberal media: Rand Paul is the liberty movement's best - and maybe last - chance to take our country back!

Ron Paul on CNN with Wolf Blitzer 22 June 2010

Congressman Ron Paul discusses the BP oil spill, Gen McChrystal and Rand Paul with Wolf Blitzer

Ron Paul vs. Ron Insana on Gold and the Federal Reserve 6/21/10

Ron Paul strikes back at the baseless accusations made by Ron Insana on Dr. Ron Paul's knowledge of economics.

Ron Paul No Taxpayer Bailouts or Liability Caps for BP

No Taxpayer Bailouts or Liability Caps for BP!

by Ron Paul

Sadly the disaster in the Gulf continues this week as BP's efforts at containment keep hitting snags and residents along the coast scramble to clean up and defend their shores and wildlife. Many have criticized the federal government in the past weeks for not doing enough. The reality is, there is only so much government can do to help, yet a lot they can do to prolong the problem and misdirect the pain.

For example, in the interest of doing something, the administration has enacted a unilateral ban on offshore drilling. This is counterproductive. I am proud to co-sponsor legislation to lift that ban. Why punish other oil companies and their hardworking employees who had nothing to do with the disaster and who have better safety records? And, as usually happens after disasters, countless people, even officials in local and state government, have come forward who know what needs to be done and are willing to help but have been stymied by federal bureaucratic red tape as the oil continues to gush.

The real problem is not so much a lack of government assistance but government getting in the way of those who have solutions. We witnessed the same phenomenon during hurricanes Katrina and Ike. It seems government's main role in these situations is to find excuses to stall relief, hold meetings and press conferences, waste money, punish the wrong people, and overregulate. Yet even after many examples of past incompetence people still look to government to solve problems in the wake of disaters. A government that tries to be all things to all people might engender a lot of learned dependence, but ultimately it only harms the very people it is supposed to help, to serve as they wait hopelessly for salvation from Washington.

Government could help by holding the appropriate parties fully liable for damages and cleanup costs. I am hopeful that efforts to do this are genuine and BP is indeed held responsible for all damages, not shielded by liability caps or reimbursed under the table by taxpayers. Unfortunately a large sum of taxpayer money has been slipped into the upcoming supplemental bill for Gulf cleanup costs that should fall on BP. Taxpayers should not have to bail out a major oil company that has caused this horrible damage to our shores.

It should be noted that BP is not exactly a bastion of free-market capitalism. Rather they are very vested in acquiring government subsidies, favorably slanted policies and competition-hobbling regulation. BP has been a major proponent of cap and trade because of certain provisions in the legislation it could profit from. Considering who lobbies for them and what they lobby for, my concern is that attempts to hold them strictly and fully accountable could end up being nothing more than a shell game with taxpayers ultimately holding the bag.

If the government's idea of action in crisis is to punish the innocent, bail out the guilty, and raise prices at the pump on everybody, we should want them to do less, not more. Recent polls show sharply waning support for offshore drilling. We still need oil, and a lot of good jobs dpend on oil production. It is crucial to the functioning of our economy, but if accidents continue to be handled this way it is easy to understand why so many see more cost than benefit to offshore drilling. That is also a tragedy.

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Ron Paul is America's leading voice for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.

Ron Paul - The McGovern Lesson

June 14, 2010 — What experience taught George McGovern about government regulation.

Ron Paul: Obamacare Is Bad For Your Health

Ron Paul : Texas Straight Talk June 14 2010

by Ron Paul

The administration's terrible health care reform bill is now law. But the debate over how and whether the federal government should be involved in providing health care services is not over. It is not too late for America to correct its course and stop the march toward a government-run single-payer health care system.

Polls show that a large majority of Americans don't want Obamacare. Congress should seize the opportunity to repeal the very worst aspect of this new legislation, namely the mandate that forces every American either to purchase health insurance or face an IRS penalty. This mandate represents nothing more than an unconstitutional, historically unprecedented gift to the insurance industry.

I introduced the End the Mandate Act, HR 4995, expressly to prevent the administration from ever putting this provision into effect. Instead of mandating the same failed entitlement health care schemes that are bankrupting Europe, Congress should fundamentally reexamine the case for free-market health care.

Our current model, based on employer-provided health insurance, did not arise based on market preferences. On the contrary, it makes no sense to couple health insurance with employment. But federal wage and price controls instituted during World War II left employers with no alternative to attract workers in a tight labor market other than offering extra benefits such as health insurance and pensions. Over time these non-wage benefits became the norm, especially since employers could deduct the cost of health insurance premiums from their income taxes while individuals could not. The perverse consequence is that employees lose both their paychecks and their health insurance when they lose their job.

As reliance on third party health insurance grew, patients became detached from the true cost of their doctor visits. In the 1970s the Nixon administration, along with the late Senator Edward Kennedy, championed the cause of health maintenance organizations. Congress accepted the faulty premise that HMOs would reduce the cost through centralized management of patients, when in fact the opposite was true. More bureaucracy would only lead to higher cost, less accountability, and worse patient care.

In recent years Congress has only intensified the problem with more laws and more regulation, especially with the disastrous Medicare prescription drug benefit. The drug benefit was another example of naked patronage to a politically connected industry and it exponentially worsened the federal government's balance sheet. Obamacare will be the last nail in the coffin of our bankrupt entitlement system.

More laws are not the answer. Instead, we need to allow a market system to operate that reflects consumer choices while rationally pricing services. In a market system patients likely would pay cash for basic services while maintaining relatively high deductible catastrophic insurance for serious illnesses and accidents. The cost of most routine medical care would drop if the patient paid the bill on the spot, especially as doctors no longer needed to employ large staffs solely to deal with insurance and billing.

Let me repeat: we need a system where patients pay cash for basic services and carry insurance only for serious illnesses and accidents. Health maintenance is the responsibility of each of us individually. We cannot continue to collectivize the cost of health care and expect things to get better.

Authoritarianism is bad for your health. Congress should end the Obamacare mandate and allow market-based medicine to flourish.

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Ron Paul is America's leading voice for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.

Ron Paul vs Sarah Palin Tea Party summit , Freedom Watch 12 June 2010

Ron Paul : U.S. Shouldnt Support Israel Gaza Blockade

Ron Paul Defends Obamas Handling of Oil Spill

June 03, 2010 — Rep. Ron Paul, (R-TX), argues people are being too critical of the president's handling of the BP oil spill

Ron Paul on FOX Business News 06/02/10

Congressman Ron Paul discusses gold with Stuart Varney