Want to support him but one thing really bothers me...

[wbbgjr]

If you really want to have an in depth understanding of the Fed read "The Creature of Jekyll Island."

The Fed creates the bubbles and busts.

The Fed contributes to the devaluation of the U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar has lost 30% of it's value versus the Euro in the last 5 years.

The U.S. dollar has lost 40% of it's value versus the Canadian dollar in the last 5 years.

Most importantly, the Fed is the machine that allows the politicians to spend as much as they want and then borrow and print the money to pay for it. This causes the govt to grow with no limits. No limits means that the people will increasingly be robbed through taxes. The more they are robbed through taxes, the less prosperous we will become and the more we will become dependent on the govt. This increases the demand for bigger govt. It's a viscious cycle and it ends with socialism and the totalairism that is need to enforce the high taxes.

 

[nbhadja]

"someone that refuses to take action against domestic enemies like Cheney"

Are you kidding me?? Ron Paul goes against everyone corrupt in this country like the corrupt Neocons he always brings up. In the debate he told everyone that the other candidates are spreading war propaganda and lying. He has frequently called out the Bush admisstration for lying. I haven't heard of this being voted on (source please).


"I was reading that the fed is good because it can pour money into an economy to put it back on track if its faltering."

Reading from where?? A new agency like Fox, CNN etc that benefits from the corrupt Fed?? The Fed is horrible for this country, it inflates it badly. It keeps the money in the hands of a small elite group.



Btw, Kucinich supports amnesty (which is unconstitutional) for ILLEGAL immigrants. I guess he can't take action against 12-20 million foreign invaders.

 

[LibertyEagle]

I think he does not want to anger the neoconservative base with something trivial.

LOL! I've followed this man for over 20 years and I've never known him to back down from anything. If we did, he wouldn't have been the SOLE vote against many pieces of legislation.

 

[spiteface]

Hi castor, glad you found your way here. I'd like to let you know about a resource you may not be aware of: http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/. Ron Paul has written quite a bit over the years and many of his writings are collected at this site. There is quite a large section on the fed and monetary issues there and I think you'll find it beneficial to get first hand information. There are many knowledgeable people on this forum as well, just wanted to let you know about this great resource.

 

[chrismatthews]

For anyone that is interested in starting to get a grasp on monetary policy, and specifically the origins of Ron Paul's thinking on it, please see:

The Case of the 100 Percent Gold Dollar
What Has Government Done to Our Money?
Against Fiduciary Media
Man, Economy, and State
Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles

Cheers!

Murray Rohtbard makes for some tough reading unless your an econ rat, but if you are he's the man. The Libertarian Manifesto is pure gold to the hardcore classic liberal.

 

[RP4ME]

Congress is supposed to hold hearings and have an independent investigation before voting for impeachment. That is what Congress did for both Nixon and Clinton. I share your feelings on Cheney, but Kucinich was out of order. But at least Paul took it seriously and didn't vote for it just to try to embarrass the Democrats, like the other Republicans did.

Thats tru b/c teh Reps are teh ones that forced this on teh dems to embarrass them.....the GOp IMO made a mockery of impeaching Cheney....they werent taking it seriously.....It pissed me off!!!! I dont think it was something RP was taking seriously at this point b/c neither was his party...it was all to make teh DEMS look bad! Another waste of our tax payer money with their stupid games the lot of them....

 

[RonPaulStreetTeam]

trying to impeach Cheney now would only create a media circus to divert your attentions from the real issue.
The presidential candidates for 08, the war and Iran, etc etc etc

Cheney can be tried for war crimes after he is out.
but to impeach now would not get done before he was out therefor wasting over a year of BS time, money and media focus.

Don't trust Kusinich, he is only trying to get popular by tricking America into thinking we are taking action.
The issues is said and done, we only need to get the right person in next time then handle the problems.
But he wont leave now and it wont fix what he did.

 

[spiteface]

Also this is a great video "Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve" put out by the Mises Institute (if no one posted it already). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZM58dulPE

 

[American]

I like Dennis, he also stands for the Constitution but has a different view point to it. I respect him for not selling out and for admitting he seen a UFO on National TV during a debate no less.. That was priceless.

And his wife has a tongue rings, big props on that one also.

 

[murrayrothbard]

Murray Rohtbard makes for some tough reading unless your an econ rat, but if you are he's the man. The Libertarian Manifesto is pure gold to the hardcore classic liberal.

Well the first two are sort of easy reading. The rest of the list gets a lot more involved. I say if you want to understand Ron Paul's monetary policy go to the source.

 

[LibertyEagle]

Castor:

Here's a video for you. It's called Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...317&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Note: Castor, consider what happens when the FED pours money into the economy. The more of something that exists, the less it is worth, right? Would a dollar be worth more, if there were 1000 dollars in existence, or if there were 1,000,000 dollars in existence? 1000 right? Well, when the FED pours money into the economy, they are basically creating more dollars out of thin air, thereby increasing the money supply. Every time they do this, it makes each of the dollars in existence, worth less. So, by pushing a button, they have made every dollar you have in the bank, or in your pocket, worth less than they were the day before. What ends up happening is that prices rise to accommodate the lower value of each dollar. This is where inflation comes from.

 

[vertesc]

Reasonable explanation of the Fed issue - but that's just the problem with fiat money (ie, money not backed by any fixed commodity). The problem with the Fed specifically is even larger.

The Fed is not an elected organization. It is quite literally a "shadowy board" of bankers. The board membership is secret, except for the chairman, who serves at the pleasure of the President. There is no "term" for Fed chairmen either... they can have the job for 30 years if they want. So what's wrong with this picture? The institution that controls MONEY, BANKS and INTEREST RATES - read: the most powerful institution in America - does not have to answer to the people. This is a serious problem. Even if you solve the fiat money problem (good luck), the institution that prints money had better be an elected, accountable, transparent branch of government. The Fed is not.

The impeachment proposition is a more complicated question. Basically, the Democratic leadership had annulled it before it ever got to the table. Pelosi said there was no way they'd impeach, and Kucinich knew that. The impeachment was a lame duck from the get go.

BUT it also presented a golden opportunity to GOP leadership: to get Pelosi and Hoyer on tape defending Cheney against impeachment. This would be as good as iron defense against future calls for impeachment. the only way to get this was for enough to vote for the bill that it make it to floor debate. SO: In order to protect their high executive, enough GOPers voted for the bill to force it onto the floor. This was a political tactic, not a vote of conscience.

All that being said, the political process is horrendously complex around this. SO: After calling out the GOP leadership as having "hijacked" the party and America, violated the Constitution, and broken their oaths of office so many times... why wouldn't Paul have voted for this?

I would like to hear his answer on the subject, mostly because my understanding of the political intrigue in the beltway is so sketchy. But I can offer theories:

1) He was away on the campaign trail.
2) Paul has a history of not engaging in this sort of political gamesmanship. As an insider, Paul would have known the GOP plan to force the bill to the floor. He knew that it was not going to do anything but strengthen the GOPs leadership position.
3) He believes that the Prez, VP, and Secretary of State have all violated the Constitution - but they did so with Congress at their back. He's said many times that the blame lies with Congress for allowing and approving the executive branch to run roughshod over the Constitution. What's more, I think he would be for impeaching all three leaders if anyone at all.
4) A vote "for" would give sooooo much fodder to everyone who says he's not a "real Republican", without getting us any closer to an actual impeachment.

In the end, I don't know. There's a lot of speculation on the net about this issue, and I expect the campaign to come out with a statement about it shortly. We're all watching the issue closely. But I urge you to bear in mind the ridiculous political machinations surrounding a bill of this kind. A vote to send a bill to committee is not necessarily what it seems on the surface.

 

[kickzman]

From LewRockwell.com

Why, Michael Nelson wants to know, did Ron Paul vote to table the Kucinich motion?

Says a friend in the know: "Because it is improper for the House to consider something as important as impeachment without having had hearings and without a report from a committee or an independent counsel. It was appropriately done this way with Nixon and Clinton. If you look at the vote, you will notice the majority of war-mongering Republicans voted with Kuncinich as a cheap stunt to embarrass the Democrats and the anti-war movement by rushing an impeachment resolution to a vote with only an hour's debate."

That is so sick and twisted, its just like the Neocons/Neolibs....

 

[work2win]

The federal reserve system is artificial manipulation of the economy and money supply. It can stimulate the economy in the short term by creating more fiat money out of thin air. The whole shebang is held together by blind faith in the system, both in the US and abroad....this is the only thing backing the dollar today! This is a game we cannot keep up forever. Beneath those short term results that look so good, are consequences such as ever increasing inflation and the very real risk of a major collapse of the dollar. With the dependency and debt of people today, such a collapse would make the Great Depression look like a mere hiccup. This is something I think we ALL would like to prevent!

 

[werdd]

Hello. I just heard recently about Ron Paul and the amount of support he has from people. I started to read up on and I have some questions and conclusions:

- I really like his honesty. I don't believe our government represents the people and I don't believe the current administration reflects any of the ideals I associate with america.

- He wants to get rid of the fed. I don't like how the fed charges interest when it lends to the government, but I was reading that the fed is good because it can pour money into an economy to put it back on track if its faltering. I am not sure though because as much as I hate to admit it, the whole federal reserve system confuses me. Can someone knows about it tell me their thoughts on it?

- Here is my big one. There was a vote recently to impeach Dick Cheney. Ron Paul voted to put it on the shelf. Kucinich voted the opposite. Cheney is a traitor to the United States as well as Bush. If Ron Paul has so much integrity in upholding the constitution, why did he not vote to impeach one of its most aggressive attackers? I really want to like this guy, but I don't think I can support someone that refuses to take action against domestic enemies like Cheney. I am hoping he had a good reason for it. Does anyone here know?

It always has something to do with the constitution man, he didnt vote to give rosa parks a medal with tax payer dollars, but he offered congress to pitch in 100 bucks a peace and pay for it theirselves. The vote was however passed, 534-1. Hes a man of principal.

 

[slantedview]

- He wants to get rid of the fed. I don't like how the fed charges interest when it lends to the government, but I was reading that the fed is good because it can pour money into an economy to put it back on track if its faltering. I am not sure though because as much as I hate to admit it, the whole federal reserve system confuses me. Can someone knows about it tell me their thoughts on it?

Being able to pour money into the economy "strategically", while seeming like a good thing, is quite the opposite. If for instance the financial industry is in trouble, as it currently is, the Fed can cut rates, essentially allowing more money/credit to enter circulation. For short, we call this printing money. The expansion of money is the definition of inflation and the result of inflation is that each dollar becomes worth less and the cost of everything goes up. This is all very very bad.

So, it's true that the Fed can use its power to prevent gigantic companies from collapsing, which some would consider a financial crisis, but in doing so, it creates another crisis - inflation, the result of which causes the dollar to be worth less and less. With the Fed, the financial industry wins, all American consumers lose. That's the bottom line and is why the Fed is of no help to us.

If the economy falters, it is meant to falter. A free market economy will always repair itself. Intervention from central banks such as the Fed have historically ALWAYS caused bigger problems. The most recent example, when the Fed cut interest rates to get the economy going after the .com crash, it caused a housing bubble, which is now driving the current economic "crisis". So what is the Fed doing now to help stop the current crisis? Cutting rates again, which may cause another bubble, and on and on. The trouble never ends...

 

[Energy]

Easy-to-digest short story about the Federal Reserve:

"I Want The Earth Plus 5%"
http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_99/hannigan092099.html

 

[Broadlighter]

This is probably the best online movie that explains our monetary system:

Fiat Empire

Ron Paul speaks in this movie, but it tells you about the damage the Fed does to the economy in very sensible, logical terms.

I don't know what to say about the Dick Cheney situation, but some of the other posters here have given you good answers.

Please watch this movie. There are others like "The Money Masters" and "Money As Debt." They are good at telling the history of our monetary system, but they offer no real solutions. "Fiat Empire" does.

 

[saahmed]

Ron Paul wants investigations and a lot more proof that Cheney purposely lied to the public and Congress before moving towards impeachment. Kucinich makes a lot of valid claims, but there needs to be evidence that Cheney had knowledge and knew he was being untruthful.

 

[vertesc]

Aw hell - so many people have posted now, it's a real avalanche. But I noticed that there is a common misconception about inflation that I'd like to dispel.

Fiat money is not the only cause of inflation. With a commodity-tied currency (like a gold standard for instance), yous till have inflation and deflation. What happens is that individual banks increase and decrease the money supply, through credit. When you apply for a loan, the banker considers the "pulse" of the economy, and the likelihood that he can afford to loan you the money. Remember, however much money he gives you, if someone ever goes to a teller and asks to withdraw a penny that the bank doesn't physically have to give... the bank is bankrupt. The banker must make sure that he only gives out as much credit as he can afford, to keep his bank solvent. Every time a bank gives credit, it is increasing the monetary supply.

What happens is a cycle of "boom and bust". The economy takes off, fueled by and fueling easy credit. Then some banks overextend themselves, and either go bankrupt or have to seriously curtail their credit practices. This is a natural cycle for a healthy free economy. Unfortunately, the "bust" part of the cycle sucks, big time. People who invest in a poor bank can lose their savings, companies go out of business, and the economy in general is actually tied to the way the markets are working. (right now the Fed's job is to make sure the economy is always on an upswing of growth)

Anyways, that's why we have the Fed. The argument was that it's terrible to give bankers so much power. That power belongs in government. - ahem -

Unfortunately, boom and bust is a lot like pleasure and pain in a human body. Sure, pain hurts, but it's an essential function! Without pain, you could seriously damage yourself without knowing it. Living in a fiat money world, the Fed controls the boom and bust cycle. After WWI, they tried forcing deflation, the way a market would naturally. It made life miserable, just like a "bust" should. Ever since then, they haven't had the guts to invoke a correction like that. It's just boom, boom and boom. All pleasure, no pain.

This is a problem.

ACtually, it's better to give this power a large, decentralized group like an entire industry, whose livelihood rests on the ability to keep a balance. That way we get both the pleasure and pain parts of the cycle, and NO ONE has the controlling power.