October 31st, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy (DIMP), and a nationally recognized expert on monetary policy, issued the following statement regarding the Federal Reserve’s decision to again lower interest rates:
“America’s economic difficulties, especially the problems in the housing market, are the direct result of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies. In the past year, we have seen MZM grow by 12%, yet the Fed continues to inflate the money supply. While prices for gold, oil, and staple commodities continue to rise, the purchasing power of the dollar for all Americans continues to fall. Inflationary monetary policies created the problems in the economy we are seeing, and these problems will be made worse, not better, by more inflation. Today’s action by the Fed is very bad news for American workers and retirees who are about to get hit with yet another jump in prices.
Make no mistake, the problems faced by the American people are not caused by unscrupulous mortgage brokers or the rising price of oil. These are symptoms of an economic disease caused by a spendthrift Congress enabled by loose monetary policy. Too many pundits praise the weak dollar as benefiting exporters, but they fail to see the harm done to thrifty, hard-working Americans. Rather than continuing to pursue a policy of easy credit and increasing debt, we need to return to a sound monetary system.”
Posted in Press Releases | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 29th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on to a letter directed to the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee asking them to continue allowing sales taxes to be deductible on Federal Income Tax returns. This deduction is set to expire at the end of this year.
State income taxes are deductible on federal income tax returns, however Texas and six other states do not have a state income tax, relying instead on sales taxes for revenue. This puts residents of these states on unequal footing if the sales tax deduction is allowed to expire.
“While my long term goal is to make the sales tax deduction permanent, even an extension would be a victory for taxpayers in Texas ,” stated the Congressman.
Congressman Ron Paul is fighting for this deduction to be renewed either long-term or permanently for tax fairness in Texas . In addition to signing on to this letter, he has cosponsored HR 60, which calls for the sales tax deduction to be made permanent, and HR 3680 which extends it for another year.
Posted in Press Releases | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 17th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul voted this week to extend the moratorium on internet taxation for another four years. The Internet Tax Freedom Act passed decisively 405-2 to continue to ban state and local governments from levying taxes on the internet and electronic commerce.
If the bill gains passage in the Senate and is signed by the President, this will mark the third extension of the original moratorium enacted in 1998.
Congressman Paul stated, “I believe strongly that government should refrain from any and all unconstitutional intervention in the internet and e-commerce. The internet is a dynamic and growing medium of communication that needs freedom from burdensome government restraints to grow and develop to its fullest extent.”
Congressman Paul, in addition to supporting the extension of the moratorium, has also cosponsored legislation that would make the ban on internet taxation permanent, as a mandate of the commerce clause which calls for Congress to regulate interstate commerce so that states do not impose duties on each other.
Posted in Press Releases | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 17th, 2007
Mr. Chairman, as you know, I have consistently favored a policy of non-intervention with regard both to foreign affairs and to economic policy. While there may well be problems with the Russian economy in terms of failed privatization, government expropriation of assets, etc., there is no reason that these issues should concern the United States government.
Foreign nations could easily criticize the United States for its weak dollar policy which favors our exporting industries while harming the exporting industries of our trading partners; for our eminent domain policies which make a mockery of property rights; and for Sarbanes-Oxley, which unfairly burdens companies operating in this country and causes companies to move to foreign capital markets. We would understandably resent this intrusion into our affairs.
While I empathize with the investors who have lost money through the Yukos incident, the fact remains that markets are fraught with risk. Our loose monetary policy and stimulation of credit have led to expectations of permanent positive economic growth. The technology bubble and the housing bubble have caused many to believe that markets can only go up. When bubbles burst, when stocks decline, something must have gone awry, and the government is called upon to right the wrong.
While many innocent investors are lured into the stock market as a result of our flawed expansionary government policies leading to visions of ever-increasing wealth, and may not be entirely at fault for their losses, the principle of caveat emptor seems to have been forgotten. In the case of a burst asset bubble or a stock’s decline in price, some investors will lose out. It might be painful, it may have come about through injustice and government meddling, but government wrongdoing cannot be undone by more government wrongdoing.
Neither a bailout, as in the case of the housing bubble, nor attempted government pressure on a foreign government, as in the case of Yukos, are appropriate reactions to the losses of investors. I wish the investors affected in the Yukos incident well, but urge my colleagues to resist the temptation to intervene in Russia’s internal affairs.
Posted in Speeches and Statements | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 16th, 2007
Washington, DC – Congressman Ron Paul has signed on to co-sponsor legislation that will repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax on individuals and replace it with an alternative, simplified tax that individuals may choose.
The Taxpayer Choice Act of 2007 H.R. 3818 would completely repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax, which was originally enacted to impose taxes on a small number (originally only 155) of the wealthiest Americans. Because the tax is not indexed to inflation, more and more Americans are falling under the AMT trap. Temporary increases in the exemption amount have been extended until the end of 2010. If the AMT is not repealed, 50 million taxpayers will be affected within a decade, up from 3.5 million in 2006.
In addition, H.R. 3818 introduces a highly simplified tax alternative with tax brackets at 10% and 25%, a generous standard exemption and no special deductions. Taxpayers who are frustrated and bewildered by our current complicated tax code can opt-in to this simplified version, which is designed to be revenue neutral, but very transparent and much easier to administer. It is indexed to inflation.
“This new tax structure could greatly reduce the cost of compliance, and make the financial pretzels we twist ourselves into to reduce our tax burden a thing of the past. It would certainly be better than what we have now, so I hope my colleagues in Congress will join me in supporting this bill,” stated Congressman Paul.
Posted in Press Releases | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 15th, 2007
Dr PAUL: Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a comprehensive piece of legislation to restore the American Constitution and to restore the liberties that have been sadly eroded over the past several years.
This legislation seeks to restore the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers to prevent abuse of Americans by their government. This proposed legislation would repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and re-establish the traditional practice that military commissions may be used to try war crimes in places of active hostility where a rapid trial is necessary to preserve evidence or prevent chaos.
The legislation clarifies that no information shall be admitted as evidence if it is obtained from the defendant through the use of torture or coercion. It codifies the FISA process as the means by which foreign intelligence may be obtained and it gives members of the Senate and the House of Representatives standing in court to challenge presidential signing statements that declares the president’s intent to disregard certain aspects of a law passed in the US Congress. It prohibits kidnapping and extraordinary rendition of prisoners to foreign countries on the president’s unilateral determination that the suspect is an enemy combatant. It defends the first amendment by clarifying that journalists are not to be prevented from publishing information received from the legislative or executive branch unless such publication would cause immediate, direct, and irreparable harm to the United States .
Finally, the legislation would prohibit the use of secret evidence to designate an individual or organization with a United States presence to be a foreign terrorist or foreign terrorist organization.
I invite my colleagues to join my efforts to restore the US Constitution by enacting the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007.
Posted in Speeches and Statements | Comments Off
Similar posts:
October 2nd, 2007
Madame Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation not because I do not sympathize with the plight of the oppressed people of Burma , particularly as demonstrated by the continued confinement of Aung San Suu Kyi. Any time a government represses its citizenry it is reprehensible. My objection to this legislation is twofold. First, the legislation calls on the United Nations Security Council to “take appropriate action” with regard to Burma and its internal conditions. This sounds like an open door for an outside military intervention under the auspices of the United Nations, which is something I do not support.
More importantly, perhaps, I am concerned that while going around the world criticizing admittedly abhorrent governmental actions abroad we are ignoring the very dangerous erosions of our own civil liberties and way of life at home. Certainly it is objectionable that the Burmese government holds its own citizens in jails without trial. But what about the secret prisons that our own CIA operates around the globe that hold thousands of individuals indefinitely and without trial? Certainly it is objectionable that the government of Burma can declare Aung San Suu Kyi a political prisoner to be held in confinement. But what about the power that Congress has given the president to declare anyone around the world, including American citizens, “enemy combatants” subject to indefinite detention without trial? What about the “military commissions act” that may well subject Americans to military trial with secret evidence permitted and habeas corpus suspended?
So while I am by no means unsympathetic to the current situation in Burma , as an elected Member of the United States House of Representatives I strongly believe that we would do better to promote freedom around the world by paying better attention to our rapidly eroding freedom here at home. I urge my colleagues to consider their priorities more closely and to consider the much more effective approach of leading by example.
Posted in Speeches and Statements | Comments Off
Similar posts: