Ron Paul, does he stand a chance?

[voodoochile78]

Originally Posted by rinthea

lol
If you think of the terms in concepts, rather than dictionary.com definitions you might get it.

The world unfortunately is a lot more complicated than what you paint.

I'll take this as your concession post.

[Uncle Duke]

Originally Posted by Soriak

Two issues with that:

1. The government will have much less revenue, which either means less spending (cutting governmental jobs and expenses through contracts with private companies), which is going to have repercussions now, or more debt, which, like for individuals, is always an option but rarely a good one.

I suggest you read The Tax-Cut Myth for starters. Cutting taxes has been proven to increase taxable revenues. Mises and Friedman did a wealth of work on this.

The problem is that government also has to decrease spending as well in order for tax cuts to really take effect.

2. Cutting taxes across the spectrum is like printing more money - an expansive monetary policy, which is going to raise inflation and thus while everyone would have more money, they'd effectively have the same or less as things get more expensive. Now if the tax cut isn't permanent, that'll catch up with people: things will be more expensive effectively, leading to a decrease in consumption and it may even lead to a recession. The only way to prevent that is to keep the expansive policy going with keeping taxes the same or even reducing them further, a vicious cycle.

No, cutting taxes is isn't even close to printing more money. Continuous government deficits is like printing more money. Again, cutting taxes is a GREAT thing. When government does not control spending and stay within their means, that's when tax cuts are negated.

Currency value is another can of worms altogether. For every argument I have heard against bringing back Bretton Wood, I say take the S&P 500 since March 2000 and value it based on the Bretton Wood standard today and tell me if you still believe the S&P 500 is doing well under the current fiat currency system.

Fiscal policy is a VERY difficult and complex issue and needs to be entirely disconnected from politics. imo in a perfect world, politicians would have no say when it comes to taxes - it's bound to be abused to gain votes or appease supporters, when really its only purpose should be maximum prosperity and stability.

Hence the reason people make the argument for the FairTax system (which if implemented and the 16th Amendment is repealed at the same time) can be the start of a return to true economic expansion. Of course, I agree with Ron Paul (being Libertarian/Constitutionalist-minded and very lassiez-faire on economics) that the IRS and the income tax should be abolished and replaced with nothing....but Rome wasn't built in a day either so you have to start somewhere.....

[Havelock]

Anyway, back to the title of the post, the answer is "no." Paul's polling 0 - that's "zero" - at the moment. And assuming he were to somehow get in front of the general public, some of the stuff he's said in the past would bite him really hard on the ass.

Originally Posted by Ron Paul Political Report

Regardless of what the media tell us, most white Americans are not going to believe that they are at fault for what blacks have done to cities across America. The professional blacks may have cowed the elites, but good sense survives at the grass roots. Many more are going to have difficultly avoiding the belief that our country is being destroyed by a group of actual and potential terrorists -- and they can be identified by the color of their skin. This conclusion may not be entirely fair, but it is, for many, entirely unavoidable.

[Mario Speedwagon]

Source for that quote if you don't mind me asking?

[Havelock]

Originally Posted by Mario Speedwagon

Source for that quote if you don't mind me asking?

It's from a newsletter he published back in the 90s. I found it excerpted at a few different places, including both Daily Kos and Captain's Quarters, and some old usenet archive. I haven't found a scan of the original, and it may be bogus, but the only refutation I could find was Ron Paul saying an excerpt from it it didn't sound like something he'd write. So take it with a grain of salt, but damn.

[Uncle Duke]

The quote Havelock is mentioning has already been discredited several times over by someone who admitted to penning and slipping the article in Dr. Paul's former newsletter he ran.

What Really Divides Us? should tell you what he thinks about racism. As a whole, Ron Paul has probably the most outstanding voting record of any Congressmen in Washington. I find it sad (and this is not directed at you Havelock) that some people will try to discredit him not based on his issues but words that weren't even written by him.

Congressman Ron Paul: Archives is also a great wealth of resources if you TRULY want to know how this man thinks.

[Havelock]

Originally Posted by Uncle Duke

The quote Havelock is mentioning has already been discredited several times over by someone who admitted to penning and slipping the article in Dr. Paul's former newsletter he ran.

What Really Divides Us? should tell you what he thinks about racism. As a whole, Ron Paul has probably the most outstanding voting record of any Congressmen in Washington. I find it sad (and this is not directed at you Havelock) that some people will try to discredit him not based on his issues but words that weren't even written by him.

Congressman Ron Paul: Archives is also a great wealth of resources if you TRULY want to know how this man thinks.

Ah, my bad. I googled some excerpts from the alleged article and all the results I saw were people quoting it, nobody ripping it apart. Apologies to Ron Paul.

[Uncle Duke]

It happens, mate; no worries.

[rinthea]

Originally Posted by Uncle Duke

Currency value is another can of worms altogether. For every argument I have heard against bringing back Bretton Wood, I say take the S&P 500 since March 2000 and value it based on the Bretton Wood standard today and tell me if you still believe the S&P 500 is doing well under the current fiat currency system.
.

A little unfair choosing March 2000.

[Cadrid]

It seems like support for Ron Paul has swelled.. and so has his funding.

[Havelock]

Originally Posted by Cadrid

It seems like support for Ron Paul has swelled.. and so has his funding.

I'm really curious how much of that money comes from likely primary voters given his performance in the polls.

[QforQ]

Originally Posted by Cadrid

It seems like support for Ron Paul has swelled.. and so has his funding.

I really hope this gives him a chance. If not to win the GOP nomination...atleast get his ideas out there. I'm a very liberal person but I really like that he has the balls to say some of the stuff he's saying.

[Rhaze]

The debates and his interviews really seem to be doing him a lot of good.

[Soriak]

Many of his views aren't really heard though, I think in many cases he's very extreme. Like how he wants to end Medicare and pretty much kill every social program in time.

[Wrathcaster]

He at least seems intelligent, and his interview on the daily show was pretty decent. Don't really know his politics too well, still reading on him but he seems to advocate privatization and letting the market handle our healthcare problems in favor of reducing big gov't expenditures and strengthening of the feds. Dunno, I'm still reluctant to give the Reds another shot, but goddamn i hate hillary.