Ron Paul's response to the debt deal....

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   SparklingJewelposted 12 years ago

   ...this guy is a truly non-partisan, clear thinking, fiscally responsible citizen of the United States of America
   
   August 1, 2011
   
   ALEXANDRIA, Virginia - Today, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul issued a statement outlining his opposition to the debt ceiling deal struck between the White House and Congress. See statement below.
   
   "While it is good to see serious debate about our debt crisis, I cannot support the reported deal on raising the nation's debt ceiling.  I have never voted to raise the debt ceiling, and I never will.
   
   "This deal will reportedly cut spending by only slightly over $900 billion over 10 years.  But we will have a $1.6 trillion deficit after this year alone, meaning those meager cuts will do nothing to solve our unsustainable spending problem.
   
   "In fact, this bill will never balance the budget.  Instead, it will add untold trillions of dollars to our deficit.  This also assumes the cuts are real cuts and not the same old Washington smoke and mirrors game of spending less than originally projected so you can claim the difference as a ‘cut.'
   
   "The plan also calls for the formation of a deficit commission, which will accomplish nothing outside of providing Congress and the White House with another way to abdicate responsibility.
   
   "In my many years of public service, there have been commissions on everything from Social Security to energy policy, yet not one solution has been produced out of these commissions.
   
   "By denying members the ability to offer amendments and only allowing an up-or-down vote that will take place in the hectic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, this Commission essentially disenfranchises the vast majority of members from meaningfully participating in the debate over reducing spending and balancing the budget.
   
   "Furthermore, despite the claims of the bill's proponents, there is nothing to stop the commission from recommending tax increases.
   
   "One of the reasons why I humbly suggest that I am the most qualified Presidential candidate is my experience to see and understand the long track record of failure, disappointments, and bad recommendations made by such commissions.
   
   "Times like these require statesmanship and steady leadership, which I and the grassroots activists who have joined my campaign believe I am uniquely qualified to provide.
   
   "What should bother Americans most is that under cover of this debt ceiling circus, we learned from a recent GAO one-time, limited audit that the Federal Reserve secretly pumped $16 trillion into American and foreign banks over three years.  All of the Fed's fat cat cronies were taken care of at the expense of the American public.
   
   "To put that into perspective, our entire national debt is $14.5 trillion, and our annual deficit will be about $1.6 trillion, meaning the Federal Reserve created and appropriated more than our entire national debt to banks around the world in a few short years.  We have been fighting in Congress these past few weeks over raising our debt ceiling by $2 trillion, an amount the Fed secretly gave away to just one big bank.
   
   "For decades, politicians have promised future restraint in exchange for hikes in the debt limit.  We are always told that we must act immediately to avoid a crisis.  But time and time again, politicians reveal themselves to be untrustworthy, and we soon find ourselves in a crisis being led by the same folks who wish only to maintain the status quo.
   
   "I believe in the great American traditions of free markets, sound money, and personal Liberty.  But we are moving far away from what made us the greatest nation in human history. We must cut spending and balance our budget now, before it is too late.
   
   "Let me be clear.  The cuts we must make will not be easy, and there will be difficult times in the short run.  But I have the greatest confidence that if we come together as a People, work hard, and do the right things, our country will be back on track in no time and on its way to unprecedented prosperity.  But, if we continue to print money and pyramid debt, we will destroy ourselves and lose the promise of America forever.
   
   "These difficult times require a President willing to stand against runaway spending.  If elected, I will veto any spending bill that contributes to an unbalanced budget, and I will balance the budget in the first year of my term.  I will not allow the Federal Reserve to destroy the value of our money by shoveling dollars into the pockets of its banker friends.
   
   "I remain committed to working on behalf of the American people to drastically reduce spending and implement fundamental changes that will reform government and restore our nation's prosperity."

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      Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I just got done reading this in my e-mail.
      
      Ron Paul 2012.

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      Doug Hughesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      There's a lot of ignorance about what the debt ceiling is and does. The crisis we are in was entirely manufactured by the Tea Party for extortion. Terrorism.
      
      The debt ceiling is the credit limit. We have to raise the ceiling (or increase income) JUST TO PAY OUR OBLIGATIONS.
      
      If you need to borrow to pay the mortgage or keep the electricity on, you do. If you don't borrow the money you default. They turn off the electricity and evict you.
      
      Defaulting on the national debt would have catastrophic results, which is why the House passed a compromise bill to maintain our ability to PAY OUR DEBTS.
      
      Democrats do not advocate permanent deficit spending. Remember, there was a budget SURPLUS under President Clinton which the republicans gave away with tax cuts.
      
      The House has rejected plans to increase revenue by closing tax loopholes. Shared sacrifice means the richest 2% will have to PAY their share. It means oil companies will have to give up subsidies (corporate welfare). Balancing the budget will require a balanced approach.
      
      Teabaggers don't do balanced. Vote them out in 2012. No terrorists in Congress!

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         Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You're off your rocker. If you actually think that the Tea Party generated the Debt Ceiling crisis for extortion, then I'd ask you where the Tea Party was 3 decades ago when the debt was increasing.

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            Doug Hughesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            The debt ceiling has been raised 74 times since 1962 including 18 times under Reagan who tripped the national debt in what was pure Keyesian economics that produced an economic recovery.
            
            Never in the 74 times the debt ceiling has been raised has either party questioned the full faith and credit of the US.
            
            This was a hostage situation where the Teabaggers , holding the US economy hostage, demanded not a vote, but a two-thirds outcome of a vote by the Senate on a constitutional amendment.

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               Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Oh, why look at that! The debt ceiling has been pushed up a gazzillion times since 1962?
               
               Well, let's look at what that did to the money supply:
               
               
               
               and
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               Oh, and if you think that "the government being allowed to spend as much money as it wants" and the money supply aren't connected, then I have some ocean front property to see you in Montana. It's beautiful.
               
               ... OH! And look at this strange graph I just "happened" to come across regarding the 70s.
               
               
               
               
               
               The debt ceiling ran rampant since 1962? And then we had to give up on a gold standard? and then gold shot up to 2,000% (then leveled out at half that value)?
               
               -----------
               
               The lesson of the story: sure the debt ceiling will be raised. Sure they'll play games with it. But this is serious stuff.
               
               Buy silver and gold - they can't print that out of thin air.

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         Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I'd also like to point out the way that you've redefined "terrorist" to mean "that which you disagree with".
         
         Remember that anyone in government could (and does) easily do the same thing.
         
         Too bad Obama signed the Patriot Act extension.

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            Doug Hughesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I redefined terrorist to include demanding the outcome of a legislative vote under duress.

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               Evan G Rogersposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               So, the founding fathers were terrorists?
               So was Abraham Lincoln, you say?
               AND FDR?
               
               Intriguing. I just hope that the people with the military don't redefine the word as carelessly as you have.

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