Ron Paul Texas Straight Talk: Government Solutions Lack Understanding - 09-08-2009

http://house.gov/paul

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Texas Straight Talk: Government Solutions Lack Understanding

WASHINGTON D.C. - 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 cant 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 presidents plans for health care 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 doesnt 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 health care 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. Health care 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 were 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 dont 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.

Thanks for calling this update, a new update is placed on this number (888) 322-1414 every Monday morning. The written text can be found on my website www.house.gov/paul under the heading Texas Straight Talk.

Thanks for calling.

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Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ron Paul
• Texas Straight Talk
• Government
• unemployment
• administration
• public debt
• Washington
• president
• health care
• liberty
• foreign policy
• Afghanistan
• Afghan Surge
• troops
• occupation
• economy
• Congress
• 9/11
• Soviet
• bankrupt
• politics
• Iraq
• Japan
• Germany
• free trade
• freedom
• peace
• nonintervention

[minnesotachris]

Good to see another Texas Straight Talk video from you Allison - they're FAR more creative than mine :-)

[TheSmokingArgus]

Perhaps, but you facilitated the spread on both YouTube and the blogosphere.

Dr. Paul's message is the meat and potatoes of course, my eye candy is merely a compulsive obsession with graphic design & production.

Nevertheless, thank you very much for the compliment. It means a lot to me coming from you.

Liberty in Our Lifetime,

Allison Bricker

[rea1001]

"the American people know this"

Hardly.

[TheSmokingArgus]

The American people do indeed know that one cannot merely spend themselves into prosperity.

The fact that many lived off the credit card and refinanced their homes as if they were piggy banks is not a blanket dispersion that all were guilty.

Holding contempt for your fellow Americans will not solve the problems as the entity which has the power to exert legal coercion upon you is the Federal Government.

[jlailman]

Great videos, I pass them around to as many people as I can on facebook and twitter. Please keep up the great work.

[banemaler]

These are great videos TSA. Hope you keep it up, even if it isn't every week.

[rea1001]

Simple question. If Americans knew this, then that knowledge must be the reason why we all find ourselves in the position we are in right?