Ron Paul Talks abt the Economy (60 QUOTES)

* A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank.
* Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism.
* The greatest threat facing America today is the disastrous fiscal policies of our own government, marked by shameless deficit spending and Federal Reserve currency devaluation. It is this one-two punch-Congress spending more than it can tax or borrow, and the Fed printing money to make up the difference-- that threatens to impoverish us by further destroying the value of our dollars.
* True prosperity can only come from a healthy economy and sound money. That can only be achieved in a free society.
* How can a policy of steadily debasing our currency be defended morally, knowing what harm it causes to those who still believe in saving money and assuming responsibility for themselves in their retirement years?
* The consequences of a rapidly declining dollar are not yet fully understood by the American public. The long-term significance has not sunk in, but when it does there will be political hell to pay in Washington.
* For our economy to remain competitive in the world, we must remember what it is to be truly free. We must lift the regulatory shackles threatening to sink our industries into oblivion. Free trade begins with freedom domestically, and we can't afford to lose that.
* As the dollar weakens, it becomes ever clearer that we need a return to sound, commodity-based money for a secure future. Money based on real value, not empty promises and secretive backroom machinations, is the way to get out of the current calamity without causing even bigger problems.
* True prosperity can only come from a healthy economy and sound money. That can only be achieved in a free society.
* Economist Lawrence Parks has explained how the creation of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913 made possible our involvement in World War I. Without the ability to create new money, the federal government never could have afforded the enormous mobilization of men and material. Prior to that, American wars were financed through taxes and borrowing, both of which have limits.
* At some point Americans must realize that Congress, and the Federal Reserve system that permits the creation of new money by fiat, are the real culprits in the erosion of your personal savings and buying power.
* As long as we live beyond our means, we are destined to live beneath our means.
* The truth is that many politicians and voters essentially believe in a free lunch. They believe in a free lunch because they don't understand basic economics, and therefore assume government can spend us into prosperity. This is the fallacy that pervades American politics today.
* We cannot suspend the laws of economics or the principles of human action any more than we can suspend the laws of physics.
* I reject the notion that tax cuts harm the economy. The economy suffers when government takes money from your paycheck that you otherwise would spend, save, or invest. T
*
* Every new dollar erodes the value of existing dollars based on simple supply and demand. Does anyone really believe the Treasury can make us rich simply by printing more money?
* Few Americans realize the extent to which their own government has sold out American sovereignty by borrowing money overseas.
* Capitalism--which is to say economic freedom-- raises the standard of living for everyone in a society.
* We must understand what capitalism really is. Capitalism is not a system, but rather the result of free individuals taking economic actions without interference by government. A true capitalist economy is neither planned by bureaucrats nor steered by regulators.
* We must understand that economic liberty is every bit as important as political and civil liberties.
* In a truly free nation, the government acts only as a referee by protecting property rights, enforcing contracts, prohibiting force and fraud, and providing national defense. Such was the system envision by the Founding Fathers, who strictly limited regulatory and tax powers in the Constitution. They were tired of having their business affairs managed by the Crown, so they created a servant government that would allow freedom and capitalism to flourish.
* Today's political rhetoric demonstrates that the servant has become the master. Most politicians, and too many Americans, have accepted the premise that government should plan our lives and control the economy.
* For a nation founded upon rugged individualism and self-reliance, the modern political landscape represents a wake-up call. Unless and until Americans begin to reclaim the mentality that made us great, we are destined to slide further into an economic and political malaise that cannot be solved by the grandiose plans of politicians.
* The real purpose of the IMF is to channel tax dollars to politically-connected companies. The huge multinational banks and corporations in particular love the IMF, as both used IMF funds-- taxpayer funds-- to bail themselves out from billions in losses after the Asian financial crisis. Big corporations obtain lucrative contracts for a wide variety of construction projects funded with IMF loans. It's a familiar game in Washington, where corporate welfare is disguised as compassion for the poor.
* War cannot raise the standard of living for the average American.
* It is not too late to change course. The United States can again be viewed as the shining city on the hill and an example to other nations by re-embracing the kind of foreign and economic policies that made us wealthy and admired across the globe in the first place. This means less government, less taxation, and no foreign meddling. Regaining our economic security will go much further toward guaranteeing our national security in the future.
* New debt is not wealth, and it's impossible to borrow one's way into prosperity.
* True wealth cannot be created simply by printing money; families and businesses cannot prosper by getting deeper in debt.
* Government-managed trade is inherently political, meaning politicians and bureaucrats determine who wins and loses in the marketplace. We should not allow globalist trade schemes to masquerade as free trade.
* When the federal government monetizes debt by magically paying its bills with newly printed money, the economic effects are diffused throughout the economy. Over time, however, we all pay for the increased number of dollars in circulation. Prices go up, personal savings are eroded, and the dollar becomes weaker against other currencies.
* Without liberty and property rights, the human spirit diminishes. More freedom always means more prosperity, which is why American enjoys a much higher level of material well-being than almost any other nation.
* The desire to save money and build a better life is intrinsically human, and no society that punishes saving can remain prosperous for long.
* Both history and economic theory demonstrate conclusively that government-run economies lower the standard of living for everyone except government elites charged with the "planning."
* Free market capitalism is the only moral economic system because it is the only free economic system. Socialism, communism, and authoritarianism- variants on the same collectivist theme- all use immoral government force to control the economic lives of individuals.
* If we ever hope to enjoy real and lasting prosperity in this country, we must redefine our view of the proper role of government. It is tempting during difficult times to demand that the government "do something," but a free society is defined by what its government does not do.
* Many big corporations soak taxpayers for billions in government subsidies every year, while using political influence to avoid fair competition in the marketplace.
* Government consistently debases our money. How and why it debases our money has everything to do with politics, and nothing to do with the laws of economics.
* Many big corporations soak taxpayers for billions in government subsidies every year, while using political influence to avoid fair competition in the marketplace.
* The only real and lasting way to stimulate the economy is to reduce the amount of money government takes out of the private economy.
* When taxes are reduced on individuals, they have more money to spend, save, or invest. When taxes are reduced on companies, they have more money to hire new employees, increase wages, or pay dividends to investors. Since all economic growth depends on private capital, the goal of any economic stimulus plan must be to leave more private capital in the hands of investors
* In a truly free society, interest rates should be set by the market. The laws of supply and demand work better than any government bureaucrat in determining the correct cost of money, and without the political favoritism and secrecy that characterize central banks. Americans should not tolerate the manipulation of our economy and the inflation of our currency by an unaccountable institution.
* A free market economy requires that government keeps its hands off and allows the consumers to exert their rightful control over the economy.
* One of the major reasons we've drifted from the Founders vision of liberty in the Constitution was the division of the concept of freedom into two parts. Instead of freedom being applied equally to social and economic transactions, it has come to be thought of as two different concepts. Some in Congress now protect economic liberty and market choices, but ignore personal liberty and private choices. Others defend personal liberty, but concede the realm of property and economic transactions to government control.
* Free market economics teaches that for every government action to solve an economic problem, two new ones are created.
* While many innocent investors are lured into the stock market as a result of our flawed expansionary government policies leading to visions of ever-increasing wealth, and may not be entirely at fault for their losses, the principle of caveat emptor seems to have been forgotten. In the case of a burst asset bubble or a stock's decline in price, some investors will lose out. It might be painful, it may have come about through injustice and government meddling, but government wrongdoing cannot be undone by more government wrongdoing.
* The basic tenets of the American dream are that through hard work and ingenuity, you can earn a better life for yourself, and you can give your children a better start than you had. Surveying American history this vision has played out through steady economic progress and growth from one generation to the next. Our prosperity now is our reward for hard work and achievement in the past. Today we are the strongest economy in the world, and have much to be proud of, but Congress doesn’t seem to understand that we did not tax our way here.
* It is troubling to me that this country is chasing away wealth, while entitlements recklessly grow. The power to tax is the power to destroy, and we are making strides towards destroying prosperity but expanding the welfare state. This is a dangerous and untenable trend.
* All empires end, end badly, for economic reasons, because you can't afford them. If you look out through all of history, eventually they collapse. And you may be militarily powerful, but eventually you undermine the finances.
* The goal should be to provide all useful services and goods through a market mechanism instead of central economic planning or world planning. That system doesn't work.
* We live way beyond our means, with a foreign policy we can't afford, and an entitlement system that we have encouraged. We print money for it. The value of the money goes down, and poor people pay higher prices.
* It is a road to our financial disaster if we don‘t read the Constitution once in a while.
* The economic benefits of a foreign policy of nonintervention are extraordinary. The wars that result from meddling in the internal affairs of other nations cause much greater economic harm than most people imagine. The cliche that war is a stimulus to economic growth is blatantly false.
* Lip service is given to the free market and free trade, yet the entire economy is run by special-interest legislation favoring big business, big labor and, especially, big money.
* One thing is certain, no matter how morally justified the programs and policies seem, the ability to finance all the guns and butter being promised is limited, and those limits are becoming more apparent every day.
* Spending, borrowing and printing money cannot be the road to prosperity.
* A few have, and others will continue to do so, but too many both in and out of government close their eyes to the issue of personal liberty and ignore the fact that endless borrowing to finance endless demands cannot be sustained.
* True prosperity can only come from a healthy economy and sound money. That can only be achieved in a free society.
* One of these days we're going to have to wake up and I'm afraid we're not going to wake up until we go bankcrupt.
* Every new dollar makes the dollars that eventually trickle down to the poorest Americans worth less and less.