Spring Break
Libertarian Ideas Are Unreasonable
Brandon Nadeau
Issue date: 9/11/07 Section: Commentary
Paul doesn't like the federal tax system and actually signed a document circulated by the National Libertarian Organization a few years ago affirming this belief. Lower taxes is one of the tried and true methods of getting people to vote for you. The problem with Paul saying he'll get lower taxes is that it's not entirely true. Yes, your income will be less taxed, but Paul wants to raise the sales tax to 23 percent at the least. Have fun being poor, because you won't be able to afford anything under Paul's administration. What would be really interesting is seeing how much price gouging we would see with no regulatory bodies, but I'd rather not think about it.
More interesting is Paul's absolute belief in the free market. He wants to see an end of public service agencies and governmental controls. Private post offices, for example, would be bought up by companies and if you're not served by the same post office as say, the people sending you bills, you might never get the bill. Or you might incur a fee when you get the bill. Imagine all roads in the country being up for sale: Paul sees a future where this has happened and thousands of toll booths are being constructed across the country.
We wouldn't have a nutcase presidential candidate without him being a racist, not these days anyways. Paul luckily fits that bill. He's made his case against the African American community known very well, starting with this comment back in 1992, "If you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be." Later he would say the age to be prosecuted as an adult should be lowered to 13 because "black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult and should be treated as such." It's no wonder White Supremacist Website and forum Stormfront.org has come out in support of Paul, as has former Ku Klux Klan member and politician David Duke.
Here's a list of things Paul wants to end because they have had failures in the past, or he sees them as useless: CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, FDA, IRS, Medicare, FBI, DEA, UN, NATO, NAFTA and CAFTA. That's the short list. This is my biggest problem with Ron Paul. He offers no constructive thoughts, only destructive ones. He doesn't think a single thing can be made to work if it failed even once. Bad intelligence? Cut it out completely, don't try to reform it.
Overall, Paul has no workable ideas. He wants to return to a gold standard, which would destroy the US economy. He wants to cut nearly every government department and build a giant wall (not a fence) on our border with Mexico. I honestly don't understand how people can think he would make a good president.
Staff Columnist Brandon Nadeau is a 7th-semester anthropology major. He can be reached at Brandon.Nadeau@UConn.edu.
More interesting is Paul's absolute belief in the free market. He wants to see an end of public service agencies and governmental controls. Private post offices, for example, would be bought up by companies and if you're not served by the same post office as say, the people sending you bills, you might never get the bill. Or you might incur a fee when you get the bill. Imagine all roads in the country being up for sale: Paul sees a future where this has happened and thousands of toll booths are being constructed across the country.
We wouldn't have a nutcase presidential candidate without him being a racist, not these days anyways. Paul luckily fits that bill. He's made his case against the African American community known very well, starting with this comment back in 1992, "If you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be." Later he would say the age to be prosecuted as an adult should be lowered to 13 because "black males age 13 who have been raised on the streets and who have joined criminal gangs are as big, strong, tough, scary and culpable as any adult and should be treated as such." It's no wonder White Supremacist Website and forum Stormfront.org has come out in support of Paul, as has former Ku Klux Klan member and politician David Duke.
Here's a list of things Paul wants to end because they have had failures in the past, or he sees them as useless: CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, FDA, IRS, Medicare, FBI, DEA, UN, NATO, NAFTA and CAFTA. That's the short list. This is my biggest problem with Ron Paul. He offers no constructive thoughts, only destructive ones. He doesn't think a single thing can be made to work if it failed even once. Bad intelligence? Cut it out completely, don't try to reform it.
Overall, Paul has no workable ideas. He wants to return to a gold standard, which would destroy the US economy. He wants to cut nearly every government department and build a giant wall (not a fence) on our border with Mexico. I honestly don't understand how people can think he would make a good president.
Staff Columnist Brandon Nadeau is a 7th-semester anthropology major. He can be reached at Brandon.Nadeau@UConn.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 49
Mark G.
posted 9/11/07 @ 9:52 AM EST
The government which governs best governs least
whe you are willing to give up you liberties for safety you deserve neither.
This is only unworkable because we have come to depend so heavily upon big brother goevernment from cradle to grave that to actually be independant and able to pursue our own happiness is such a foreign concept that one who espouses it is considered fringe, some smells when this is the case. (Continued…)
Mike
posted 9/11/07 @ 9:53 AM EST
>>Overall, Paul has no workable ideas. He wants to return to a gold standard, which would destroy the US economy. He wants to cut nearly every government department and build a giant wall (not a fence) on our border with Mexico. (Continued…)
Michael G.
posted 9/11/07 @ 10:14 AM EST
I am a student at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. It is important that I point out several things this short article fails to mention about Dr. Congressman Ron Paul. (Continued…)
Tim
posted 9/11/07 @ 10:19 AM EST
Wow, I can't believe how ignorant both the author is and Mike is about Paul, and libertarian ideas, maybe you should both go read a couple books or something. (Continued…)
Mark M.
posted 9/11/07 @ 10:29 AM EST
Brandon,
Your idea of Libertarian ideas is uninformed at least, and you offer no alternatives. I do agree however, Ron Paul is the extreme opposite of what we currently have in office. (Continued…)
Dan Warner
posted 9/11/07 @ 11:08 AM EST
I do not believe that you have read Dr. Paul's positions. You should take the time to dig into each candidate and judge them by their actions.
On taxes, you are incorrect in stating that he wants a 23% sales tax. (Continued…)
Sean
posted 9/11/07 @ 11:38 AM EST
"but Paul wants to raise the sales tax to 23 percent at the least."
That is what Ron Paul is proposing ... other candidates have proposed this "fair tax". (Continued…)
James Peron
posted 9/11/07 @ 11:43 AM EST
As a former staff member of the Daily Campus, some years ago, I should note a few things. One is that Ron Paul has some libertarian sentiments and many sentiments that are most decidedly unlibertarian. (Continued…)
mgpthoc
posted 9/11/07 @ 12:08 PM EST
It is very clear the aurthor of this article has never read the Consitution or any of Ron Pauls writings.
Mike
posted 9/11/07 @ 12:11 PM EST
Paul does not want to raise the sales tax, that is what the advocates of the Fair Tax want to do. Ron Paul wants to get rid of the income tax and replace it with nothing. (Continued…)
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