PRIMARY: Ron Paul

From ronpaul2008.com

May 03, 2008 09:00 pm

— Name: Ron Paul
Age: 72
Office sought: Presdient of the United States
Party affiliation: Republican
Occupation: U.S. Representative from Texas 144th District; medical doctor
Family: Wife Carol, five children, 18 grandchildren
Canddiate’s Web site: ronpaul2008.com
What can the federal government do to reverse the economic downturn?
The disastrous fiscal policies of our own government, marked by shameless deficit spending and Federal Reserve currency devaluation, may be the greatest threats facing our nation today. It is this one-two punch — Congress spending more than it can tax or borrow, and the Treasury printing money to make up the difference — that threatens to impoverish us by further destroying the value of our dollars. To reverse the downturn, I have proposed a four-part plan that calls for lower taxes, elimination of wasteful spending, a sound monetary policy, and regulatory reform.
Do you favor a new federal jobs initiative that could put people to work repairing the nation’s infrastructure?
The federal government has neither the constitutional authority nor the competence to determine the infrastructure needs of a nation as large and diverse as the Unites States. Responsibility for infrastructure should be returned to states and local governments. If Congress wishes to pursue a truly effective tax plan, it should not take from taxpayer Peter to give Paul a government “make-work” job, but instead cut taxes and regulations that prevent economic growth and job creation.
How will the war in Iraq affect the next Congress and President?
The next Congress and president will be forced to either end our occupation of Iraq or continue to bankrupt our nation by borrowing from China and Saudi Arabia to finance our approximately $12 billion a month war budget for Iraq and Afghanistan alone. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates that the Iraq war could cost us between $1 and $2 trillion before it is over. If the next president and Congress continue on the present course, then I believe they will further endanger our national security and worsen the current economic trouble we are facing.
Do trade pacts, such as NAFTA, need rewritten to be accountable to workers, communities, and the environment?
Trade pacts such as NAFTA and CAFTA are not “free trade” at all; they are managed trade agreements. True free trade does not take thousands of pages to explain and only involves two words: low tariffs. I favor withdrawing from these agreements. Free trade occurs in the absence of government interference in the flow of goods, while NAFTA and CAFTA represent more government. Workers, communities, and the environment will all benefit if we end government interference and pursue true free trade.
How is the best way to spend federal dollars on education?
The federal government has no constitutional authority to subsidize any form of education. True education reform will only come when we turn control back over to parents and states. I have introduced H.R. 1056, the Family Education Freedom Act, in Congress to allow parents a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjustable for inflation) per student per year for the cost of attendance at an elementary and/or secondary school, including private, parochial, religious, and home schools. This would help parents educate their children without taking tax dollars away from other Americans to fund it.
What is the best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and promoting clean energy?
The best way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to end the federal regulations and taxes that impede the development of new energy sources and cause resources to go to those producers with the most political clout, rather than to those who best meet consumers’ needs. We can also stop our dependence on foreign oil by taking such steps as allowing more domestic drilling and ending our interventionist foreign policy. Alternative sources that are truly cheaper, cleaner, and reliable will not need government help to develop or sell in the free market.
Why are you running, and what will you focus on if elected?
The Republican Party has not fulfilled its promise to shrink the size of government and restore our Constitutional Republic. Instead, deficits have exploded, entitlements are out of control, and our personal liberties are threatened. I believe that the solution to our problems can be found in Americans being as free and prosperous as possible. We need a president who will hold the federal government to abiding by the Constitution. I would focus on returning America to a sound monetary policy, strengthening our national security and ending our interventionist foreign policy, and stopping the abuses of our civil liberties.