Stop Dreaming
Ron Paul on Taxes, War and Liberty.
Even today, individual income taxes account for only approximately one-third of federal revenue. Eliminating one-third of the proposed 2007 budget would still leave federal spending at roughly $1.8 trillion - a sum greater than the budget just 6 years ago in 2000! Does anyone seriously believe we could not find ways to cut spending back to 2000 levels? 1
By the way, when I say cut taxes, I don't mean fiddle with the code. I mean abolish the income tax and the IRS, and replace them with nothing. 2
One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens pay nearly half of everything they earn to government. 3
We need to understand that the more government spends, the more freedom is lost. Instead of simply debating spending levels, we ought to be debating whether the departments, agencies, and programs funded by the budget should exist at all. 4
You know I won't play the Capitol Hill games with the Capitol Hill gang, denouncing the IRS while giving the Gestapo more of your money. Or figuring out some other federal tax for them to squeeze out of you. I also want to abolish the Federal Reserve... The value of our dollar and the level of our interest rates are not supposed to be manipulated by a few members of the power elite meeting secretly in a marble palace. Without the Federal Reserve, our money could not be inflated at the behest of big government or big banks. 5
Military force is justified only in self-defense; naked aggression is the province of dictators and rogue states. This is the danger of a new "preemptive first strike" doctrine. 6
If we can't or won't define the enemy, the cost to fight such a war will be endless. How many American troops are we prepared to lose? How much money are we prepared to spend? How many innocent civilians, in our nation and others, are we willing to see killed? How many American civilians will we jeopardize? How much of our civil liberties are we prepared to give up? 7
I rise to urge the Congress to think twice before thrusting this nation into a war without merit - one fraught with the danger of escalating into something no American will be pleased with. 8
Failure of government programs prompts more determined efforts, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away. Whether it’s the war against poverty, drugs, terrorism, or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here and there, is a small price to pay. The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so. 9
Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record: 10
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.
1. Cough Up by Ron Paul, April 11, 2006
2. Congressman Ron Paul's TV Gaffe
3. Statement For We The People Press Conference, July 17, 2001
4. Oppose the Spendthrift 2005 Federal Budget Resolution, March 25, 2004
5. Congressman Ron Paul's TV Gaffe
6. Arguments Against a War on Iraq, September 4, 2002
7. Ron Paul speech in the House of Representatives, September 25, 2001
8. Arguments Against a War on Iraq, September 4, 2002
9. Sorry, Mr. Franklin, “We’re All Democrats Now”, January 29, 2003
10. About Ron Paul
Click to viewEven today, individual income taxes account for only approximately one-third of federal revenue. Eliminating one-third of the proposed 2007 budget would still leave federal spending at roughly $1.8 trillion - a sum greater than the budget just 6 years ago in 2000! Does anyone seriously believe we could not find ways to cut spending back to 2000 levels? 1
By the way, when I say cut taxes, I don't mean fiddle with the code. I mean abolish the income tax and the IRS, and replace them with nothing. 2
One thing is clear: The Founding Fathers never intended a nation where citizens pay nearly half of everything they earn to government. 3
We need to understand that the more government spends, the more freedom is lost. Instead of simply debating spending levels, we ought to be debating whether the departments, agencies, and programs funded by the budget should exist at all. 4
You know I won't play the Capitol Hill games with the Capitol Hill gang, denouncing the IRS while giving the Gestapo more of your money. Or figuring out some other federal tax for them to squeeze out of you. I also want to abolish the Federal Reserve... The value of our dollar and the level of our interest rates are not supposed to be manipulated by a few members of the power elite meeting secretly in a marble palace. Without the Federal Reserve, our money could not be inflated at the behest of big government or big banks. 5
Military force is justified only in self-defense; naked aggression is the province of dictators and rogue states. This is the danger of a new "preemptive first strike" doctrine. 6
If we can't or won't define the enemy, the cost to fight such a war will be endless. How many American troops are we prepared to lose? How much money are we prepared to spend? How many innocent civilians, in our nation and others, are we willing to see killed? How many American civilians will we jeopardize? How much of our civil liberties are we prepared to give up? 7
I rise to urge the Congress to think twice before thrusting this nation into a war without merit - one fraught with the danger of escalating into something no American will be pleased with. 8
Failure of government programs prompts more determined efforts, while the loss of liberty is ignored or rationalized away. Whether it’s the war against poverty, drugs, terrorism, or the current Hitler of the day, an appeal to patriotism is used to convince the people that a little sacrifice of liberty, here and there, is a small price to pay. The results, though, are frightening and will soon become even more so. 9
Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record: 10
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.
He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.
1. Cough Up by Ron Paul, April 11, 2006
2. Congressman Ron Paul's TV Gaffe
3. Statement For We The People Press Conference, July 17, 2001
4. Oppose the Spendthrift 2005 Federal Budget Resolution, March 25, 2004
5. Congressman Ron Paul's TV Gaffe
6. Arguments Against a War on Iraq, September 4, 2002
7. Ron Paul speech in the House of Representatives, September 25, 2001
8. Arguments Against a War on Iraq, September 4, 2002
9. Sorry, Mr. Franklin, “We’re All Democrats Now”, January 29, 2003
10. About Ron Paul