Today, I continue the "My Take" series with a look at internet phenomenon, Ron Paul. Paul is a Texas Congressman and was the Libertarian candidate for President in 1988. Paul is currently running as a Republican, although a much different Republican from every other GOP contender in the field. Recently, Paul's campaign has been energized by raising $4.2 million in a single day (setting a new political record) as well as the fact that Paul is on the rise in New Hampshire polling (currently ahead of Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee at around 8% support). The truth is that I have very mixed feelings about Ron Paul. I love the fact that he is strongly opposed to the Iraq War and wants to bring our troops home. Paul is also 100% correct on issues such as domestic surveillance and the Patriotic Act. However, on most other issues, Paul is dead wrong.
For example, I completely disagree with Paul's position that the U.N. and NATO are evil and that we need to immediately withdraw from them. Also, while the abolition of the income tax is a grand idea in theory, when it comes right down to it, where is the government going to get the money to do the things that the government needs to do? We would be forced to borrow even more money from foreign countries which leads to a host of all other kinds of problems.
A huge issue I would question Paul on is the issue of abortion. His position seems directly contrary to his Libertarian and Constitutionalist values. Doesn't the Constitution guarantee an individual his/her right to privacy? Doesn't the government have no place to get involved in a individual's personal life according to the Libertarian platform? If Paul believes in the Constitution, why is he staunchly opposed to a woman's right to choose, which is protected under the right to privacy? I don't think anybody is personally in love with the idea of a woman having an abortion, but it is a fact that abortion is a necessary choice for a woman to have.
Another issue that Ron Paul is dead wrong on is the issue of universal healthcare. Paul has said that if the government just stays out of the healthcare world, then somehow more people would be able to afford healthcare. It is simply insane to think that the healthcare crisis will simply fix itself; it won't. As far as I'm concerned, healthcare should be a constitutional right guaranteed to every American. It is literally a life or death matter. To think that there are people who die because they do not have access to quality healthcare is something that everyone should be outraged at. I admit, sometimes the government gets involved where it shouldn't, but healthcare is one area where it is essential for the government to act and act quickly. Universal healthcare is long overdue in this country and I can only hope that in 2008 America elects a President who will bring about it.
I'll close by saying something else positive about Ron Paul besides his opposition to the Iraq war and domestic surveillance. Paul, unlike most of the GOP candidates, is someone who I feel is being true to himself. Paul's positions have been consistent and he's not afraid to speak his mind and speak it forcefully. Although I may disagree with him on many issues, I truly have a lot of respect for his honesty and boldness. America needs a leader who is not afraid to stand up for what he/she believes in and, love him or hate him, Paul does just that. In fact, Paul may be the only Republican in years to do that. Thats why I feel it really is a shame that Paul doesn't have a chance to do better in the nomination process. For once I would like to see the Republicans nominate someone who at least tries to work for the good of the American people. The last thing I'll say though is that I don't think Paul is just going to go away. As I've said before, I could see him running as a third party candidate in the general election, which would be interesting to say the least.
5 comments :
One of the issues Paul is right on target on is the massive debt this president has put the country in. He has actually explained what that does to our country in a few of the debates. The moderators should talk about the republicans lack of fiscal responsibility.
^Has the Democratic Congress we elected passed a balanced budget yet? It's going to be really tough to talk about an issue that you yourself are guilty of. Instead of trying to turn this deficit around, this Democratic Congress has added more debt on to it.
A couple disagreements here:
1) The government, even without the income tax, would not have to borrow a single dollar if it spends less than it takes in. I, and I assume you, have spent less than we have earned in every, or nearly every, year of our lives. There is no reason that the government cannot do the same.
2) If healthcare grew on healthcare bushes, and was there for the plucking, then there would be no reason that everyone could not consume as much health care as they cared to in any given year, regardless of their production. It would cease to be, in the language of economics, a scarce good and to have a market price.
In this universe, reality is very different. In order for somebody to consume health care, somebody has to produce health care. Unless we care to enslave our doctors, somebody will have to pay for it. Of course, if we do enslave our doctors, our medical school admissions will drop to 0 the following day.
So when you say that everyone should have a "constitutional" (where does it say this in the constitution?) right to medical care, you are saying that everyone should have a right to consume an infinite quantity of resources they have not earned. This would, obviously, cause an economic collapse.
So we need rationing, I hear you say (if you're honest, that is). The reality is, we have rationing. It's called free market. Everyone's consumption of all goods is limited to their production of goods. There can, in the real world, be no "right" to consume more than you produce.
By the way, the free market would fix the artificial, government created, healthcare "crisis" very easily. First, if we changed laws requiring a government license to practice medicine, and instead allowed the government to issue certifications to doctors, we would open the medical field to less skilled people. Such people would probably specialize in a very narrow area, for example setting broken bones, and work much more cheaply than a M.D. Many of them might well be attending medical school, and merely using the skills they have acquired so far in order to pay for the completion of their education.
Also, there are things that should be done on the demand side. We have been in a viscous cycle for decades with healthcare. The government requires that anybody who wanders into an emergency room be treated regardless of their ability to pay. This means that those who do pay must pay not only for their own healthcare, but also for the health care of those who do not pay. As a result, fewer people can afford health care. And more people wander into emergency rooms without the ability to pay. The government forces the hospitals to treat them, and the hospitals raise their prices to compensate. And around we go again.
The reality is that there is no such thing as a free lunch. You can sprinkle fairy dust on the problem until the cows come home, and then you can sprinkle fairy dust on the cows, and yet neither the law of gravity nor the laws of economics will go away. In the real world, where adults live, if you want a thing, you pay for that thing.
^*YAWN*
Ron Paul's view of abortion should not matter because either way he would give the state the right to determine any ways pertaining to abortion. Healthcare also should not be given to every citizen of the United States as of this day in age. We are 7 trillion dollars in debt not considering programs like Social Security and when counted jumps to 60 trillion dollars. How do expect to pay for Healthcare for every citizen of the United States if we are in this much debt? Would you like us to go into a recession?
Whether or not you want Healthcare should not influence your acknowledgement of the finicial crisis this nation is in.
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