The Washington Post is outraged to learn there is a libertarian in the US Congress, and they're outraged. In fact, and almost unbeknownst to the investigative reporters of the Post until now, Ron Paul has been under their noses for some time, it's just they've only just noticed:The Mises blog corrects The Post, "those are all state initiatives of the 20th century, of course," but recommends their reading of Paul's record:Republican Ron Paul missed out on the 19th century, but he admires it from afar. He speaks lovingly of the good old days before things like Social Security and Medicaid existed, before the federal government outlawed drugs like heroin.
A pity there's no one even close to that in the NZ Parliament.In his legislative fantasies, the amiable Texas congressman would do away with the CIA and the Federal Reserve. He'd reinstate the gold standard. He'd get rid of the Department of Education and leave the business of schooling to local governments, because he believes that's what the Constitution intended.
"Article 1, Section 8 gives me zero amount of authority to do anything about public education," says Paul on a recent weekday. He's seated in his congressional office near a sign than says, "DON'T STEAL; THE GOVERNMENT HATES COMPETITION." Paul, 70, has earned the nickname Dr. No for his habit of voting against just about anything that he sees as government overreach or that interferes with the free market...Ron Paul may seem an unlikely advocate for the repeal of federal drug laws, but this stance stems from the same impulse that leads him to call for the abolition of the Food and Drug Administration and its "health nannies." He says that decades of government programs can soften Americans' sense of personal responsibility and that the free market can do a better job of keeping people safe and healthy than the government can.
LINKS: Congressman Paul's legislative strategy? He'd rather say not. - Washington Post
Eek, a libertarian! - Mises Economic Blog
TAGS: Politics-US, Libertarianism
3 comments:
Thanks, PC. Ron Paul's name is familiar to me from my time over there. I'll follow him with interest from hereonin.
What a breath of fresh air.
It's tragic that Ron Paul is a lone figure in the U.S. Congress - the only man of principle, the only one of them who bothers to check his job description from time to time, namely to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution.
I wondered if Ron Paul has any relation to John Paul (Pope). If they are related then obviously Ron Paul is not alone as all the Catholics in the world are with him.
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