Ron Paul: The Republic's Financial Prophet

Bonnie Alba

In 2000, Rep. (TX) Ron Paul issued the most comprehensive, undeniably compelling and historical discourse on the state of our nation I have ever read. Entitled “A Republic, If You Can Keep It,” (www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2000/cr020200.htm), he presents an overall picture of the detrimental weaknesses in our government and people. His warning message also considers consequences if we, as a people and government, don’t change.

What we are seeing in the events of our present crisis is a result of a message unheeded for many years. In 2000, a president left office claiming a legacy of bogus surpluses. A new president took office and in eight years spent more than any of his predecessors. During the same era, Rep. Ron Paul continued to preach his message on the House Floor --- to deaf ears.

As a Republican presidential primary candidate, Paul was disdained by the media. Fellow republican campaigners ignored him for the most part, though they reportedly respect him. But word got out and Paul attracted a following of citizens who galvanized his campaign in all areas of the country. Paul was amazed at the large crowds of young men and women who took his message seriously, which has spurred a nation-wide grassroots “Revolution for Liberty.”

The present financial debacle and the actions being taken by the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the federal government are exactly what would be expected from the distortion of the Constitution’s “general welfare” clause. The “redistribution of the wealth” growth of the socialist Nanny State is reaching new heights in socialist Corporate Welfare.

Not that they haven’t been doing it in the past --- but continued public and private bailouts ensure that the National Debt will continue its upward creep. Basically we are bankrupt and diving into a authoritarian, socialist governance.

In small part, what Ron Paul said in 2000: “Even though the Fed did great harm before 1971, after the total elimination of the gold dollar linkage, the problems of deficit spending, welfare expansion, and military industrial complex influence have gotten much worse.

Although many claim the 1990s have been great economic years, Federal Reserve board action of the past decade has caused problems yet to manifest themselves. The inevitable correction will come as the new century begins and is likely to be quite serious.

The stage has been set. Rampant monetary growth has led to historic high asset inflation, massive speculation, over-capacity, malinvestment, excessive debt, negative savings rate, and a current account deficit of huge proportions. These conditions dictate a painful adjustment, something that would have never occurred under a gold standard. The special benefits of foreigners taking our inflated dollars for low-priced goods and then loaning them back to us will eventually end. The dollar must fall, interest rates must rise, price inflation will accelerate, the financial asset bubble will burst, and a dangerous downturn in the economy will follow.”

The Federal Reserve and our Nanny State are doing “business as usual.” Our government fell away from the U.S. Constitution almost 100 years ago. That road appeared paved with yellow bricks. Merrily sowing valueless paper money, the reaped fruit is turning sour. We are ceding to security over liberty and freedom.

Along the way, we took a turn, went off the yellow-bricked road and now find ourselves on a tin-foiled path threatening to crackle, pop and collapse under the sheer weight of our massive debt creation with no sound money (dollar) to back us up.

Paul is much like the old testament prophet, Jeremiah, called by God to warn the Israelites and the surrounding nations of the consequences if they continued to reject God.

Though Ron Paul does not preach turning back to God (he leaves that to the churches), he reminds us of our founding fathers, the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and God’s Providence and blessings.

Other warning messengers, I mention two: Former U.S. Comptroller David Walker (www.pgpf.org) is now CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. With his “Fiscal Wake-Up Tours”, Walker is awakening the American People from a denial of the National Debt and our own collusion in that pact with our State. The film and book “I.O.U.S.A.” provides much information on our nation’s financial status.

Michael Hodges created the online “Grandfather Report” (mwhodges.home.att.net/) which is a comprehensive, decades-long chronicle of our nation’s government actions which has propelled America away from our original constitutional principles and governance.

Ron Paul’s ending words: “Let’s hope and pray that our political focus will soon shift toward preserving liberty and individual responsibility and away from authoritarianism. The future of America depends on it.”

© 2008 Bonnie Alba
tttalba@hotmail.com