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Government Solutions Lack Understanding [Ron Paul]
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, 14th District ^ | 2009-09-08

Posted on 09/08/2009 3:39:13 PM PDT by rabscuttle385

Things seem to be unraveling quickly for the new administration. The latest unemployment numbers are worse than the last reports. For all the billions of dollars spent and committed to fixing our economic problems, the situation is only getting worse. This was to be expected by those who understand the root causes of the problems. Throwing money around and creating more government programs is both simplistic and damaging to the economy. Of course, the administration claims that we would have been much worse off without these efforts. You can’t improve this situation by adding to our mountain of public debt for the benefit of big banks and other special interests. The American people know this. When will Washington learn?

In addition, the president’s plans for healthcare reform – or health insurance reform - are becoming more and more unpopular as details are examined. But because of all the alarmist rhetoric, politicians in Washington feel obligated to pass something, even if it doesn’t help. Rarely are liberty and prosperity at greater risk than when politicians feel they must “do something”. It is frightening to watch Washington toy with our healthcare purely for political reasons.

However, the saddest shortcoming of this administration is its utter failure to pursue a more peaceful foreign policy. Just last week up to 90 people, apparently mostly civilians, were killed in Afghanistan in an airstrike, and the violence is only getting worse. The administration is mulling over how many more troops they will send as part of their “Afghan Surge” with advisors getting it exactly backwards. They qualify sending fewer troops as “high-risk” and sending more troops as “low-risk”. This is not the perception at all if you were to ask the families of those being sent over. The best answer would be to stop risking any of our troops for the sake of what is, for all intents and purposes, a violent occupation, helping no one.

But all of these problems and their wrong-headed solutions come from one greater problem - which is not understanding the reasons that we are here. The economy is in bad shape because of too much government intervention producing a myriad of unintended consequences and perverse incentives. Healthcare is broken because the doctor-patient relationship has been broken down by hyper regulation and too much government interference. Afghanistan is a mess because they ignored the mission approved by Congress - to seek out those who attacked us on 9/11. They have instead gotten sidetracked with nebulous interventionist tasks such as promoting democracy and nation building. Eight years later, there is no real progress. The Soviets bankrupted themselves fighting in the mountains and caves of Afghanistan and we’re about to do the same. If we would just look to history it would be self-evident that there is nothing left to win in Afghanistan, and everything to lose.

Most of all, we need to understand that we don’t understand Afghan culture and politics, and for that reason alone, intervening in their affairs is unlikely to produce positive results. The best thing we could possibly do now is to bring our troops home, from Afghanistan, from Iraq, from Japan, from Germany, from all occupied countries, and concentrate on mending badly damaged relationships around the world. Free and honest trade has always been the best way to do that, without fail. Not understanding the benefits of peace, freedom, and nonintervention will always bring about catastrophe.


TOPICS: Candidates; Issues
KEYWORDS: crazypeoplerus; kookcentral; liberalsrus; lping; paultards; realconservatives; rlc; ronpaul

1 posted on 09/08/2009 3:39:16 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
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To: bamahead; djsherin; Bokababe; dcwusmc; mysterio; Extremely Extreme Extremist
But because of all the alarmist rhetoric, politicians in Washington feel obligated to pass something, even if it doesn’t help. Rarely are liberty and prosperity at greater risk than when politicians feel they must “do something”. It is frightening to watch Washington toy with our healthcare purely for political reasons.

BTTT

2 posted on 09/08/2009 3:40:25 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 (So many Communists, so little time.)
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To: rabscuttle385; djsherin; bamahead; murphE; Extremely Extreme Extremist; Captain Kirk; Gondring; ...

Ping


3 posted on 09/08/2009 3:52:14 PM PDT by djsherin (Government is essentially the negation of liberty.)
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To: rabscuttle385

IBTPH


4 posted on 09/08/2009 3:53:49 PM PDT by mysterio
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To: rabscuttle385
Old, America-hating, hypocritical kook!
5 posted on 09/08/2009 4:16:03 PM PDT by Rodebrecht (Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.)
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To: Rodebrecht

Who, YOU?


6 posted on 09/08/2009 4:49:45 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: Rodebrecht

Or do you mean the Paul-bashers? (after a peek at your homepage)


7 posted on 09/08/2009 4:51:54 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: dcwusmc

;)


8 posted on 09/08/2009 4:56:57 PM PDT by Rodebrecht (Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.)
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To: djsherin
...Though I was with Bush and Congress on Afghanistan, seems that it can't go on much longer. Or will go on and on, if we don't go all out. We have the capability. The distraction in Iraq, the diplomacy debacle, elsewhere is not working...
9 posted on 09/08/2009 5:44:11 PM PDT by gargoyle (...My thoughts are not seditious, or treasonous, they're revolutionary...)
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To: rabscuttle385; Abathar; Abcdefg; Abram; Abundy; akatel; albertp; AlexandriaDuke; Alexander Rubin; ..
It is frightening to watch Washington toy with our healthcare purely for political reasons.



Libertarian ping! Click here to get added or here to be removed or post a message here!
(View past Libertarian pings here)
10 posted on 09/08/2009 8:31:18 PM PDT by bamahead (Avoid self-righteousness like the devil- nothing is so self-blinding. -- B.H. Liddell Hart)
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To: djsherin

voice of reason bump


11 posted on 09/08/2009 8:38:26 PM PDT by murphE ("It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." - GK Chesterton)
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To: gargoyle

Interventionism never works. Never has. From Pearl Harbor to Vietnam to 9/11 to Iraq, the consequences of our actions have always been horrific to our nation.


12 posted on 09/08/2009 9:13:50 PM PDT by RAO1125 (Neoconservatism:Failed. Socialism:Failing (again). Next up: Libertarianism)
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To: rabscuttle385

Health care: get the government out of it entirely, at every level.

Foreign military actions - make them all-volunteer, including the funding.


13 posted on 09/09/2009 7:36:18 AM PDT by secretagent
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