Curing Debt with More Debt

Got an email today from Congressman Ron Paul.. here are a few excerpts..
Many Americans are looking to the new administration to solve our economic problems. Unfortunately, that is probably a vain hope. Although we were promised "change," we are only getting a continuation of the same superficial economic fixes that have damaged so many economies in the past, and that will only delay the return of prosperity.

These fixes are based on the false belief that the free-market economy has failed. But it is not the market that has failed. It is intervention into the market that has failed. The Federal Reserve and its manipulation of money and interest rates have failed. None of this can be blamed on the free market.
...

Our years of living beyond our means, of buying everything on credit and on money printed out of thin air, are over. Sure, our government will carry on with its nonsensical policy of curing indebtedness with more indebtedness, inflation with more inflation, but the game is up. It's not going to work. The resources aren't there. The more we intervene and the more we prop up economic zombies, the worse off we'll be. But the sooner we understand what has happened, assess our economic situation honestly, and rebuild our economy on a sound foundation, the sooner our fortunes will be restored.
Congressman Paul is such a plain speaker on these kinds of issues.. too bad he couldn't do better in the presidential race.. I think that he often comes across like a bit of a crackpot.

That said I have to agree with him about "superficial economic fixes" and the "nonsensical policy of curing indebtedness with more indebtedness". Not sure if we can continue to spend our way out of debt.. seems like a day of reckoning will eventually have to come.

4 comments:

  1. Ain't that the truth. It's really too bad, because Ron Paul is so right on so many things.

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  2. Congressman Paul has endorsed and wrote the introduction for a recent book called "Meltdown," which explores the history of the problems we're experiening, the reasons that the government fixes haven't worked, and most importantly why the root of so many of these problems dates back to the creation of the Federal Reserve. It's a really interesting book; I'm reading it now.

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  3. Dr Paul mentioned Meltdown in the email he sent me. I will be interested in hearing your thoughts about it Matt.

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  4. Ron Paul claims;
    “These fixes are based on the false belief that the free-market economy has failed. But it is not the market that has failed. It is intervention into the market that has failed”

    The root cause of the worldwide economic crisis we now face was the mortgage based derivatives market. This was Laissez-faire capitalism at its finest.There was no intervention what so ever.


    The derivative markets have been accused lately for their alleged role in the financial crisis. The leveraged operations are said to have generate an “irrational appeal” for risk taking, and the lack of clearing obligations also appeared as very damaging for the balance of the market. The G-20’s Financial-Market Regulation proposals are all stressing these points out, and suggest:
    • higher capital standards
    • stronger risk management
    • international surveillance of the financial firms operations
    • dynamic capital rules

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivatives_market

    The only ones who don’t want regulations are those who profit the most from free market capitalism (capitalists) and the uneducated middle class.


    “I think that he often comes across like a bit of a crackpot.”

    If it looks like a nut and acts like a nut, well then maybe it just might be a nut.

    (Mat 7:16) You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?

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