Hence do not take this as a political plug for a party but I was heartened to see Ron Paul's son announce his candidacy for Senator. As I sit tonight reading about Fannie Mae asking for another $10.7B in bailout funds, with Freddie Mac on deck tomorrow I have a sliver, ever faint, of hope now. (p.s. Fannie Mae still paid out $400M+ in dividends even as it asks for handouts from taxpayers - a direct transfer from the taxpayer to investors - amazing)
In a VERY related note - I was given this handy link (which is now in the right margin under "Industry Focus Sites") which is a real time calculator of all our debts - with US federal debt at $11.63T and US unfunded liabilities at $58.85T (both of course growing by the second). It also comes in a handy "oh my gosh!" format since its broken down by the cost to every living man, women, and child that walks our fine soil. US Debt Clock.org. Enjoy!
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Unlike most politicians Rand seems to understand the term "representative" does not mean a "career" in politics. Via CNN
- "I'm very worried about our country; I'm worried about the debt. I'm worried about what the debt will lead to," Paul said in an interview on CNN's "American Morning" when asked why he's jumping into the political arena. "Both sides of the aisle -- Republican and Democrat -- have been unwilling and afraid to address the deficit, and someone's got to."
- "You need people outside of government. If your primary goal is to continue your career, you tend to do things that are good for you, but not necessarily good for the country," he said.
- He says the government needs to stop borrowing money, because "we cannot borrow our way into prosperity."
- "For example, with the stimulus project, my little town -- they brought $1 million to. Republicans and Democrats clapped their hands and said, 'We have $1 million!' But no one asked the hard question: Where did that million dollars come from? "If we have to borrow it from China, Japan or foreign countries, is that good for our country to go further and further in debt to build a new ballpark or a new a parking garage? We have to understand where does the money come from. But debt leads to inflation," he said.
- "I have a lot of older patients who have grandkids. They come in to me, and I say, 'Would you borrow money to buy a gift for your grandkids?' No, you pay for gifts out of your savings. But you don't borrow money to give people cash for clunkers.
- "I don't know how you get rich as a country by borrowing money and giving it to people and saying, 'Go to the mall and spend it,' and somehow we're supposed to be richer as a country," he said, echoing the sentiment his father shared during his 2008 presidential bid.
- Paul is expected to compete in the GOP primary next year with Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson. While Grayson is considered the frontrunner in the Republican primary, "Paul will make things interesting for sure," said Al Cross, a veteran political writer in Kentucky and director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.
