Cedric has been after me for some time to watch some video of Ron Paul on YouTube. I haven’t had the time, but this morning I did. The video runs a little long, 1 hour and 5 minutes, but it is absolutely worth it.

Blowing my friggin’ mind. The only thing that I can hope for is that what Ron Paul did during this election can affect the mid-term elections in 2 years, and possibly the Presidential elections in 4 years (hopefully minimizing the damage that Barack Obama can do on this country).

Here’s my notes from the video:

• Going after Afghanistan. Used it for economic oil and gas pipeline building. We SHOULD have gone after Al Qaeda, but not Nation built in Afghanistan.

• Left Vietnam, began talking to Vietnam. Founders said engage, trade, and be open with them. Don’t police or nation build. “The American Empire is going to fail.” Don’t get involved with the internal turmoil of other countries. – Foreign Entanglements, George Washington

• The “great burdens” are falling on the next generation.

• Permit trade, low tarrifs.

• Against NAFTA because it’s government interference. Managed international trade. WTO is bigger gov’t as well. High tarrifs hurts consumer.

• International trade is a businesses right. If another company has a problem with that, then deal with it in a free market, don’t go to a politician to solve the problem.

• City of Houston built without zoning laws.

• Without Federal government you get much more consumer protection. Consumer reports, Ralph Nader in the private sector, etc.

• Defense spending versus military industrial complex.

• 1913, uniform tarrifs. No income taxes (income tax means that the gov’t owns your life, same with the draft).

• Only in Socialism and Welfarism do you see people starving in the street (look up old people starving in the street in the Great Depression).

• You do not have famines in capitalism.

• No charity hospitals. Many demands and burdens brought in by gov’t demands, so people who don’t need medicaid will get put on it and charged the maximum.

• Sound money prevents inflation. When people won’t loan more money (other countries) or can’t tax more, because they just print more money. Drugs and school prices are rising in the modern age because the gov’t being involved and they inflate their own money by printing more, which pushes the price of it up. Counter example are electronics, which constantly drop in price. Govern’t regulation in particular industries causes their good to be more expensive, due to regulatory cost, relatively to other industries, as well as stagnating innovation. – “Politicians grandeoise egos wanting to be god, when do people look for god, when they’re in a bad place. As politicians lets really put the squeeze on people, and they’ll come looking for us.”

• You can’t trust a politician to maintain the value of money and not print it when he needs it. Getting off “gold/asset standard”, prices, and gov’t size has inflated, and liberties have deflated.

• City of Pittsburgh was cleaned up without EPA and by private interests. Pollution happens because of a lack of respect of private property. Courts initially didn’t protect private property from pollution. – Internationally, global warming is a two sided argument. Paul thinks its overblown. Solution is to set a good example and talk to China (for example). Not about laws. Noise pollution with early cars became a common sense issue, and handled by towns. Answer is consumer groups, such as products. Easy access to courts. (Side note: How are courts paid for??)

• Don’t attack people who are dependents.

• “Safety nets protect only the bureaucrats”

• Can’t solve immigration issue in a welfare state. Remove the incentives of easy citizenship, free education, etc. Free market would welcome immigrants, because there would be plenty of jobs.

• Country is wealthier without the government.

• Politicians and bureaucrats are not smart enough to make decisions on regulation.

• Licensing creates monopolies.

• In Free Market a monopoly can only exist when the consumer is truly satisfied, otherwise the gap will be filled.

• Need to protect the individual, but NOT in a collective sense. Constitution doesn’t restrain the person, but restrains the gov’t against the individual.

• Politicians are motivated by holding office and having power, not promoting liberty.