...bushbots like yourself....
Are you lying about me or just ill-informed?
Posted on 02/02/2009 12:38:16 PM PST by rabscuttle385
I have recently had several opportunities on various news programs to discuss the economy and what is wrong with the so-called economic stimulus package. I have said over and over what we shouldn’t be doing, and now I’d like to explain what we should be doing.
But to improve the situation, you must first have a solid grasp of how we got here. Government policies and central planning created the housing bubble, now going bust. About a decade ago the government made expanded homeownership and affordable housing a public goal. Through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the secondary mortgage market the government incentivized creative, low down-payment, more widely available mortgage products, and discouraged the market-proven lending standards of the past. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates artificially low, which added more fuel to this fire. Many related sectors temporarily flourished because of this, and many people got into homes they otherwise could not have afforded. The increased demand for housing sent prices soaring until in many markets housing became even more unaffordable, necessitating even more creative mortgages, and impossibly leveraging homeowners. Many risky investment vehicles such as mortgage-backed securities, derivatives, credit default swaps grew out of this unsustainable situation. As the foreclosures began, the house of cards started to tumble. Too many people have confused the symptoms and the pain of the bust with the problematic policies that caused the bubble, which is really what needs to be treated.
First of all, just as the best cure for a hangover is not to drink so much, the best cure for a recession is a recession. It is time to sober up and return to free market sanity, risk and reward, supply and demand, without political intervention. Politicians are good at catering to the needs of special interests, but very bad at determining what needs to take place in the market. Government should stick to punishing fraud and enforcing contracts. When they use the tax code, bureaucratic departments and their manipulative rules and regulations to dictate social and economic behavior, we end up with distortions and malinvestments. Bailing out banks, continuing failed Fed policies and strapping the taxpayer with toxic debt will worsen the pain, and punish the innocent.
If Congress really wanted to do something helpful, it would cut taxes. Ideally, we would repeal the income tax altogether and get the IRS off the economy’s back, which would be a huge boon. We should also cut spending. Cut every unconstitutional department and program, every wasteful governmental encroachment on the people’s liberty and money, starting with our massive overseas empire. The cost of our empire is bringing us to our knees, just as the Soviets’ empire did to them. Congress should also abolish the Federal Reserve and take back its responsibilities to ensure sound money, safe from the manipulations of powerful banking interests.
These things would constitute real change, real economic stimulus. The plans being bandied about Washington are just more of the same. As long as no one seriously considers the cure, we are unfortunately destined to prolong the disease.
...bushbots like yourself....
Are you lying about me or just ill-informed?
Where would you get a ridiculous idea like that?
Must be some truth to it. You’re getting comic-al about it.
/joke
Those last five words ("marxist in the White House") are true enough.
On my drive home this afternoon, I was channel-flipping and ran across an NPR program about how Hussein was giving fatherless black children “hope” about their futures.
I wish there was some way to post it. I had just finished my lunch and was getting gaggy.
That’s very humble of you to admit the err in you past ways mnehrling. : = D
I haven’t changed what I think about why he has stood for things, nor changing what I think about Paul, just admitting these statements lack the fundamental problems with his prior statements. This is from a chat I was having with someone else on the subject
::::
it wasn’t just that he was against it (the war), it was why he was against it.. it was about American exceptionalism. He talked as though America was a force for evil in the world instead a force for good... His views on economics, while correct at the 30thousand foot level, are rooted in the same way.. it isn’t about the positive, you can achieve anything if the government steps back spirit like Reagan.. it is rooted in the, ‘we are a force for evil’ you are a slave, etc mentality.. he didn’t get his point across by building folks up, but instead by tearing the country down..
...I realized that the fear they (Bircher/Libertarian Party types) generate through conspiracies is just as destructive as liberalism because fear is disempowering of the individual. It is collective control of will and emotions, just another form of collectivism. I started to understand then why Rand hated the libertarians, when you base everything on so much fear, you cross the line from anti-Statist to just anti-State and you get anarchy, something not compatible with Capitalism.
::::
This is a question I’ve asked many Freepers, and never gotten a straight answer, so I can’t think of anyone better to ask than you, the founder of this site: Given Ron Paul’s track record on all the issues versus that of Bush’s, why are there so many people who still defend the foreign policy of the Bush administration over that of Ron Paul? Everyone acknowledges that except for tax cuts and two decent Supreme Court nominees, Bush was not in any way conservative, so why do they assume he was right about Iraq? Also, as Ron Paul points out, the two cannot be separated; our foreign policy is a large portion of government spending.
Unfortunately, Ron Paul has his head in the wrong place when it comes to national security/national defense. Someone can probably post the graphic that shows where his blame America first, 911 truther head is.
How ironic that is it fiscal irresponsibility, not national security weakness, that is relegating us to third world status. I’m not discounting the latter nor should you discount the former.
Maybe people like Ron Paul should get serious about defending our liberty AND our nation.
I agree. Ron Paul has the right ideas on many areas, particularly those related to taxation, monetary policy, and limited government. But he is wrong on foreign policy and defense.
I think it is worthwhile to note that there are many libertarians and libertarian leaning conservatives who would agree with you as well. Those folks are our natural allies in combating an expanding, liberal state.
Just since joining, I've seen you ask that three times now. Either the lame joke is played or you need to look the guy up ASAP.
what?
And yet Ron Paul got the largest amount of support of any 2008 presidential candidate, from the soldiers who actually do "defend our nation".
I suspect that this is because RP's idea that the US military should only be used to defend our country and not play the world's cops or babysitters.
I suspect that worked in 1776. The founders punted the Islamic problem down the road. We had plenty of time...then.
I think that you overestimate the Islamists.
We have given Islamists "a mystique", as being "so different from every other enemy we have ever faced." They are not! They offer no more or less a threat that communism did in the last century -- and how did we protect ourselves against communists while still observing the Constitution?
The way to control it & protect the American people is not as difficult as it has been made out to be -- secure our borders, control Islamic immigration, refuse to change our culture or form of government for them. Take a stand, don't give an inch, fight against any politician who does give them an inch -- Democrat or Republican. Refuse to do business with companies offering Sharia mortgages. Take a real and committed stand.
But if you are saying that adherence the Constitution is no longer politically viable in protecting this country, then write a new one and get it passed by the American people.
Because if we are no longer holding US politicians accountable to abide by the Constitution we already have, then we are allowing those politicians to function with NO RULES whatever as to how they govern(and you can see the result). If we let politicans do whatever they want, then we deserve what we get from them -- which I suspect ultimately will be some form of totalitarian government, either communist or fascist, at which point which of those it is will be irrelevant!
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. -- H. L. Mencken"
“And yet Ron Paul got the largest amount of support of any 2008 presidential candidate, from the soldiers who actually do “defend our nation” “
Where did you get this absurd idea?
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