Ron Paul's Farewell Speech to Congress

[Dusty Bake Activate]

Maybe now the people of the 14th district of Texas will get a representative that is more concerned with doing their job than being a stubborn ideologue and has more than a 0.2 success rate on sponsored legislation.

Ron Paul's Long Record of Glorious Failures in Congress - Politics - The Atlantic Wire

 

[badvillain]

Without fiat money, people would not be able to maintain their current lifestyles. How much do you really produce on a day-to-day basis? Not enough to support your consumption in a world of fixed currency supply and exchange rate. We'd be living like frontiersman and shyt, lol. I like my comfortable home, luxurious European sedan, android phone, laptop, big screen LCDs TVs, ipod, dining out, etc.

Getting rid of fiat money in America is an impossibility with anything short of a full-fledged armed coup anyway. It can't happen though the legislative process. We're fully and inseparable intertwined with other nations' banking systems and currencies.

There's a reason why almost every nation in the world uses fiat money and every industrialized nation in the world has a central banking system. It's not a conspiracy anymore than us moving from hunter-gatherers to tribes to nation states was. It's just common sense.

I understand what you are saying, and I'm not a proponent of a strict full gold standard and am no way an authority on economics. But a completely fiat money system with no commodities to back it is destructive.

Fiat currencies allow for massive booms and busts. Fiat currencies are superior to commodity based ones, for the creator of the fiat.

Fiat money makes easy manipulation of the value of the currency possible, it makes inflation/deflation cycles possible, it makes it easy to steal money from the masses without them ever knowing it.

In a personal note: I cut up all my credit cards, am in the process of completely paying off the debt accumulated by it and getting out of the system, and am now living off what I make weekly; and still am able to afford all those things. I save then spend, and don't live outside my means.

 

[badvillain]

You guys really sent me to the red? I haven't attacked, put down or mocked anyone else's views in this thread and tried to lead a mature informational discussion in which everyone can voice their opinions and beliefs.

I don't understand why I would get negged to red for reasonably voicing my opinion without attacking others.

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

Ron Paul would have made a hell of a 19th century president....

so fukking true.

 

[Type Username Here]

You guys really sent me to the red? I haven't attacked, put down or mocked anyone else's views in this thread and tried to lead a mature informational discussion in which everyone can voice their opinions and beliefs.

I don't understand why I would get negged to red for reasonably voicing my opinion without attacking others.

It's how it is here sadly. You were very respectful and backed up your points well. People here can't objectively listen to any libertarian arguments in a mature way.

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

You guys really sent me to the red? I haven't attacked, put down or mocked anyone else's views in this thread and tried to lead a mature informational discussion in which everyone can voice their opinions and beliefs.

I don't understand why I would get negged to red for reasonably voicing my opinion without attacking others.

I just turned you back green. You happy?

 

[badvillain]

I just turned you back green. You happy?

Appreciate it. Didn't want to sound like a nagging twat, but I don't usually post outside the Booth or Arcadium; with that said, when I do post in Higher Learning I expect us to be open to hearing all reasonable debate and opinions.

 

[No_bammer_weed]

so fukking true.

Its amazing. The relevancy of Paul's views on foreign policy, race and social relations, and especially economics all cap around the early 20th century. How this man prompted a social movement outside of his fringe lunatic base, will forever remain one of the great mysteries of this decade.

Outside of his on target views of our prison industrial complex, his policy suggestions make absolutely no sense.

 

[badvillain]

Its amazing. The relevancy of Paul's views on foreign policy, race and social relations, and especially economics all cap around the early 20th century. How this man prompted a social movement outside of his fringe lunatic base, will forever remain one of the great mysteries of this decade.

Outside of his on target views of our prison industrial complex, his policy suggestions make absolutely no sense.

True, but I actually find myself agreeing with most of his foreign policy. When was the last time a military strike was successfully orchestrated by another nation on the contiguous US soil? I think it was in the late 1700s by the British(or possibly the South in the civil war, but they weren't recognized as a nation)?

I'm all for building positive relationships, with an emphasis on free trade with limited government interference. While at the same time avoiding negative relationships, with an emphasis on military non-intervention(including so-called humanitarian wars). All wars not in self defense are wrong wars to me.

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

Its amazing. The relevancy of Paul's views on foreign policy, race and social relations, and especially economics all cap around the early 20th century. How this man prompted a social movement outside of his fringe lunatic base, will forever remain one of the great mysteries of this decade.

Outside of his on target views of our prison industrial complex, his policy suggestions make absolutely no sense.

I think it may honestly be due to his consistency. He stood his ground on his views, and never compromised them in terms of voting for bills (to my knowledge...) he didn't just vote with his party. In a time where politicians will change what they say and believe if it will get them elected.

times have changed though, and time passed Ron Paul a long time ago. If he was born today, he might actually be a great president in the future but his views are just too oldschool and archaic.

 

[No_bammer_weed]

I think it may honestly be due to his consistency. He stood his ground on his views, and never compromised them in terms of voting for bills (to my knowledge...) he didn't just vote with his party. In a time where politicians will change what they say and believe if it will get them elected.

times have changed though, and time passed Ron Paul a long time ago. If he was born today, he might actually be a great president in the future but his views are just too oldschool and archaic.

I see, but I still think that niqqa needs a delorean under the christmas tree, asap. Homie doesnt have triple beam dreams, he's got agrarian-influenced dreams he wants to exercise.

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

True, but I actually find myself agreeing with most of his foreign policy. When was the last time a military strike was successfully orchestrated by another nation on the contiguous US soil? I think it was in the late 1700s by the British?

I'm all for building positive relationships, with an emphasis on free trade with limited government interference. While at the same time avoiding negative relationships, with an emphasis on military non-intervention(including so-called humanitarian wars). All wars not in self defense are wrong wars to me.

Foreign policy the only thing I can agree with Paul on.

 

[No_bammer_weed]

True, but I actually find myself agreeing with most of his foreign policy. When was the last time a military strike was successfully orchestrated by another nation on the contiguous US soil? I think it was in the late 1700s by the British(or possibly the South in the civil war, but they weren't recognized as a nation)?

I'm all for building positive relationships, with an emphasis on free trade with limited government interference. While at the same time avoiding negative relationships, with an emphasis on military non-intervention(including so-called humanitarian wars). All wars not in self defense are wrong wars to me.

I feel you, but I think interventionist is too broad of a term. Im all in w/ concern to a smarter and more fiscally sound foreign policy, but I do support an international presence in troubled regions of the world. Does our military industrial complex need federal funds that exceed more than 6 times that of the second largest spending nation-state? Of course not, but even tho this canard as been abused by the right, there are countries that want to do us harm, and inflict harm elsewhere. The isolationist leanings of RP, like most of his other approaches, are obsolete in our current day and age.

 

[No1]

So basically he went with an insignificant speech just like his entire congressional career? Cool. The Free Market of ideas determined that no one gave a shyt about what you thought. Now go fade away.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

Ron Paul stans... gotta love their devotion to their deal leader of the cult of individualism.

Look, we all love and value the constitution, but you gotta realize some things here:

• The (presumably) well-intentioned Ron Paul doesn't really understand the constitution. He'll say lots of high-minded and quotable things about it, but that's about where it ends.
• He seems to treat the constitution as a holy scripture rather than a malleable government document left up to interpretation.
• He is for civil liberties, which is cool and I cosign, but he also is an anti-federalist that would allow many states to take freedoms away from their citizens anyway, making his position of office virtually meaningless.
• The man doesn't understand why the economy had behaved the way that it had throughout the 20th century, hence his 19th century ideology about economics.
• His doggedly loyal interpretation of the constitution would mean that he would not take any actions if the state governments began abusing their own people.
• He is in favor of an economy that puts consumers at risk in favor of giving businesses the "freedom" to put them at risk.
• Seems convinced that humans on the whole are completely efficient actors on their own economically, despite the last century's history.
• Is against the bill of rights.
• Thinks that the gold standard was a good idea.