The Bailout Surge

I figured I'd pass this on, since it's good reading.

From Ron Paul's Congressional Website:

This week the bailout of the Big Three automakers was under heavy consideration in Congress’s lame duck session. I have always opposed government bailouts of private organizations. Back in 1979 Congress had hearings about bailing out Chrysler and I was on record pointing out that these types of policies are foolish and very damaging to the long term economic health of our country. They still are.

There was also renewed pressure this week to bailout homeowners and send another round of stimulus checks to “Main Street” to balance out all the handouts to big business. It seems that eventually the entire economy is going to be blanketed over with Federal Reserve notes. Most in Washington are completely oblivious as to why this model of money creation and spending is so dangerous.

We must remember that governments do not produce anything. Their only resources come from producers in the economy through such means as inflation and taxation. The government has an obligation to be good stewards of these resources. In bailing out failing companies, they are confiscating money from productive members of the economy and giving it to failing ones. By sustaining companies with obsolete or unsustainable business models, the government prevents their resources from being liquidated and made available to other companies that can put them to better, more productive use. An essential element of a healthy free market, is that both success and failure must be permitted to happen when they are earned. But instead with a bailout, the rewards are reversed – the proceeds from successful entities are given to failing ones. How this is supposed to be good for our economy is beyond me.

With each bailout we hear rhetoric that this is the mother of all bailouts. This will fix the problem once and for all, and that this is absolutely necessary to avert disaster. This sense of panic squeezes astonishing amounts of dollars out of reluctant but hopeful legislators, who hate the position they are being put in, but are relieved that it will be the last time. It is never the last time, and again and again we are faced with the same scenarios and the same fears. We are already in the bailout business for such a staggering amount that admitting it was wrong in the first place would be too embarrassing. So the commitment to this course of action is only irrationally escalated, in the hopes that somehow, someway eventually it will work and those in power won’t have to admit they were wrong.

It won’t work. It can’t work. We need to cut our losses and get back on course. There is too much at stake for too many people to continue down this road. The bailouts thus far to AIG, Bear Stearns, Fannie and Freddie, and TARP funds amount to around $1.5 trillion. Considering our GDP is $14 trillion, and our Federal budget is already $3 trillion, this additional amount will significantly eat into our future lifestyles. That amounts to an extra $5,000 that every person in the country needs to somehow produce just to keep up. It is obvious to most Americans that we need to reject corporate cronyism, and allow the natural regulations and incentives of the free market to pick the winners and losers in our economy, not the whims of bureaucrats and politicians.

Economic Doom and Gloom

Peter Schiff who was Ron Paul's economic advisor has a pretty bleak outlook on where the economy is going:



Schiff predicted our current economic crisis back in early 2007 in his book "Crash Proof".

A Letter To Conservatives

I am sure many of you were disappointed last night as the election returns came in.

The American middle class decided to vote for their checkbooks instead of their children.

What we saw last night was a choice by middle america to foreclose on freedom.

The illusion that the government can tax the rich to solve all our problems proved to be stronger than the common sense belief that there are no free lunches.

So the Republicans find themselves out of power. There will be plenty of debate in the coming weeks and months about why we lost, and of course I have many thoughts on the matter.

Those are thoughts for another time though.

The important thought for today that I'd like to share with you is this:

The election, the government, and talking heads on television do not force you to live your life a certain way.

As a free citizen you have choices about how to live your life. Nobody forces you to buy a home with no down payment, nor to buy things you can not afford. They do not force you to constantly change jobs or invest in a stock market that is risky by nature.

Taking responsibility for how you live is the path to liberation, while relying on the government for a handout is slavery.

You might not have a president that represents the traditional American value of rugged individualism, but that does not mean you can't practice it personally and set an example for others.

Don't Throw Away Your Vote!

If you've ever heard a third party candidate mentioned in the nonstop media coverage of the 2008 political race, I'm sure the message included the "fact" that voting for a third party is like "Throwing Away Your Vote".

They couldn't be more wrong.

Due to the quirkiness of our political system, and current political history, odds are your vote only matters if you live in a battleground state.

If you are in Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, or Pennsylvania you should probably consider voting for a mainstream candidate because your vote might make a difference.

If you're anywhere else in the country, your vote is meaningless to the outcome of this election.   Right before an election the media and the political parties play up the concept that more states are in play than they really are, to make sure people vote to give the current candidates a mandate.

So, if you aren't in Florida, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, or Pennsylvania  then your state is either solidly Democratic or Republican,  and in the grand scheme of things the vote you cast means nothing compared to the avalanche of habitual mainstream voters that will overwhelmingly agree or disagree with it.

How To Make Your Vote Mean Something

If you live in a solid blue or solid red state the way to make the most out of your vote is to cast it for a third party candidate.   

Why would you vote for a sure loser?  

There are many reasons.

If a third party candidate can manage 5% of the vote, they will receive federal funding for the next election cycle.  This makes it easier to gain ballot access, media interest, and television time.  If you are sick of the two party system, a vote for a third party could possibly end the monopoly the Democrats and Republicans have in American politics.  Now that would be a vote for real change™.

In addition, a vote for a third party can send a clear message to the major parties that you disagree with what they're doing. 

For example, Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama supported the federal bailout of the banks.   Yet the third parties all opposed the bailout either from a constitution perspective or a populist one.  The banks are now using the money they were given to takeover other banks.   If you ask me, this single issue is enough to cast a protest ballot over.  In my opinion the US treasury should not be a slush fund for irresponsible bankers who's only good investments were made by supporting both Senator Obama and Senator McCain.  

Finally, the mainstream parties pay attention what third parties are successful.  If you think that the Republican party was wrong to endorse torture, big spending and big brother like activities in the war on terror then a vote for the libertarian party or constitution party will likely send them a wake up message.  If you think the democrats were punks for not trying to impeach Bush or push for more investigations into the 9/11 attacks, then the green party candidate might be the right vote for you.

So who are the third party candidates?

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney from the Green Party-    Cynthia likes to hang around with the 9/11 truth movement, tried to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and most notably beat up a capital hill police officer.  Head over to her wikipedia page for a background on one of the most colorful characters in American politics.

Former Congressman Bob Barr from the Libertarian Party -  Bob Barr is a former Republican congressman turned libertarian and was also a federal prosecutor.  He is running a smaller government, lower taxes and 'abundant personal freedom' platform.  Head over to his wikipedia page to read his full background.

Charles "Chuck" Baldwin from the Constitution Party -  Chuck supports putting a tariff on imports to protect American workers, wants to pull out of the UN, supports the gold standard, and wants to make it illegal for foreigners to own American infrastructure.  If you'd like some good old protectionism mixed with anti-globalism, then Chuck is your guy.  He's also won the endorsement of Ron Paul.   Head over to his wikipedia page to read the story of Chuck the crusader.