Ron Paul Is Right

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Texas Rep. Ron Paul:

"We should be doing hardly anything in Washington but politically that is unacceptable. But that's the right thing to do.

Because when you develop a financial bubble and have too much investments and too much debt and too much malinvestment, you have to liquidate it.

In 1921, we had a severe depression. It was over in one year. In the 30's we had another one, but then the government decided to do all these things, bail everybody out (exactly what we're doing now) and it prolonged the correction.

So it's sad, but the whole thing is, is you should let these banks go bankrupt, you should let all the companies go bankrupt, that overextended themselves. The politicians would feel that they're not necessary, and they wouldn't like that so they have to do something. But everything they're doing is wrong so far."

Bill Maher:

"But if that's true, why do so many economists say we should do the opposite?"

Paul:

"Well, you're listening to the wrong economists if you think they're serious.

All Keynesians, Socialists, Welfarists, will say you have to do something. But if you believe in the free market and you understand the business cycle (the business cycle was caused by the Federal Reserve System), you know that you have to get rid of the mistakes that were built in the system.

The real cause was created by the Federal Reserve. And yet very few people are talking about the Federal Reserve."

Maher:

"But isn't the free market what got us into this situation? It must be a hard pill for you to swallow, because I know a free capitalist like yourself, hates socialism. But it's the screwing up of the free market and capitalism that now has brought us socialism."

Paul:

"Yeah, okay, now you've touched on the most critical question ever in dealing with that.

Because in the 30's, they said the same thing... that capitalism and the gold standard caused our problems. But that was an absolute falsehood. It was the Federal Reserve and government intervention that caused it.

Today, we haven't had capitalism. We've had too much regulation, too much spending, too much debt, too much inflation by the Federal Reserve, so we're not even close to capitalism."

Maher:

"But that's in the past. I mean, we're in this fix now. My question to you is: If we did nothing, as you are proposing, or even cut taxes and spending, give me a realistic estimation of what this country would look like in six months, in a year, in five years."

Paul:

"In six months to a year, it would still be tough, but it would be over. But the way we're going now, it's going to last fifteen years. That's where the real problem is.

But the whole thing is, is my argument won't work unless you cut. And I say you have to cut and balance the budget. But we're spending one trillion dollars on overseas maintenance of our empire.

I say: Bring all our troops home, quit spending this money, save hundreds of billions of dollars, cut the deficit, spend some of that money at home, but you can't keep printing money!"

Maher:

"Yeah, I agree with that. If we want to get serious, we have to really get serious. Which would be, I agree, ending our overseas empire. "

CONCERNING THE PROHIBITION OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

Maher:

"Well, in this country, people like pot. And if we ended that prohibition, that would be a giant boon of money."

Paul:

"Okay, I don't like pot. But I hate the drug war so I would repeal all the prohibitions. But I wouldn't even bother taxing it.

I would just say that people have the right in a free country to make important decisions on their own lives. If they want to make mistakes they can. They just can't come crawling to the government to be bailed out or taken care of if they get sick.

But I believe in freedom of choice, in all that we do, as long as the individual never hurts anybody else."

CONCERNING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THEIR SO-CALLED FISCAL CONSERVATIVE APPROACH

Maher:

"Do you guys have any credibility? You're the ones who ran up a couple of wars on the credit card and drug entitlement thing for the Medicare. It seems in my lifetime, Bush, the second Bush, and Reagan - these were the guys who broke the budget. Clinton's the one who left it okay. How did your party get to be the one who's preaching about fiscal conservatism? "

Paul:

"Well, they preached it, they didn't practice it. So they have absolutely no credibility. I hope I have a little bit. But the Democrats haven't been in charge too long yet but they're going to lose credibility if they expand the war. What about sending 17,000 troops into Afghanistan? I mean, that's not the way to have change! I want the troops to all come home. I don't want to expand the war into Afghanistan. So we need to do that or you're going to lose credibility too as all the Democrats will."

Maher:

"Right. I'm with you on that one. Thank you. Congressman Ron Paul everybody!"