By Liberty Report Staff
America's health insurance crisis didn't develop overnight. We're now reaping what has been sown from many decades of government intrusion. Government, of course, intruded with the aid and applause of politically-connected corporations and the voting public. Politically-connected corporations despise competition and free markets just as much as the politicians do. So-called "government regulations" are an easy way to get rich ... It's much easier than having to compete in a free market. American voters, who have been trained to believe that "government regulations" are necessary and beneficial, still haven't figured out that the exact opposite is true. And here we are... Ron Paul discusses how Obamacare and Trumpcare are just more of the same. They both perpetuate the downward spiral of health care in America:
By Jacob G. Hornberger
President Trump has reminded us of how the U.S. government destroyed the liberty of the American people in the name of fighting tyranny abroad. Exercising the same dictatorial method that his predecessors have employed — executive decrees — he has made it illegal again for most Americans to travel to Cuba and spend money there. Trump’s justification? The communist regime in Cuba is tyrannical and engages in human-rights abuses. Think about that for a moment: A foreign regime is tyrannical and so what does a U.S. president do? Through a decree-law, he imposes his own tyranny on his own citizenry by punishing Americans who travel to Cuba or do business there. Let’s not forget, after all, that the U.S. embargo on Cuba is, first and foremost, an attack on the freedom of the American people. That’s the way it has been since the very beginning of the embargo more than 50 years ago. If an American traveled to Cuba and spent money there, he didn’t need to fear the communists. He needed to fear federal investigators, prosecutors, and judges, who would have him indicted, prosecuted, convicted, and sent to federal jail for a long time. Who’s the tyrant here?
After all, freedom of travel has always been considered one of the most fundamental natural, God-given rights of man. And as we libertarians have long held, so is economic liberty — the natural, God-given right of people to dispose of their own money any way they want.
Natural, God-given rights are rights with which no government — not even the U.S. government — can legitimately infringe upon. Such rights preexist government. It is the solemn duty of government to protect such rights, not destroy them. That’s the central message expressed in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, whose anniversary Americans will be celebrating on the Fourth of July. But destroy is precisely what President Trump and the U.S. embargo do to the liberty of the American people. In name of fighting communism in Cuba, they do precisely what the communist regime in Cuba does — they destroy the freedom of their own citizenry. That was the way it was throughout the Cold War. After World War II, U.S. officials told Americans that they now faced a more dangerous enemy than Nazi Germany. This new official enemy, they said, was communism and the communist Soviet Union. Never mind, of course that they had just finished partnering with, befriending, and supporting the Soviet Union for some four years of World War II. That didn’t matter, U.S. officials said, because the Reds were supposedly now hell-bent on coming to get us through a worldwide communist conspiracy supposedly based in Russia. That’s how we ended up with the NSA, an agency whose mission of surveillance over the American people is no different in principle from that of the Gestapo in Nazi Germany and the KGB in the Soviet Union. It’s how we ended up with a government that wields the power to torture people brutally, the same power of torture wielded by the Nazis and the communists in the Soviet Union, Red China, Vietnam, North Korea, and elsewhere. It’s how we ended up with a government that wields the power to detain people indefinitely in military dungeons, secret prison centers, and concentration camps, just like in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Red China, and elsewhere. It’s how we ended up living under a regime that wields the same power of assassination that was wielded by the Nazis and every communist regime in the world. It’s how we ended up living under a regime in which the legislative and judicial branches are scared to death to interfere with anything the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA do in the name of “national security.” No matter how much Americans have convinced themselves that they are still a free peope, there is no way to reconcile freedom with such totalitarian powers. Such powers destroyed freedom, not only in Germany, Russia, China, North Korea, and North Vietnam, but also right here in the United States. All because the commies (and, later, the terrorists, and, later, the Muslims, or ISIS, or drug dealers, or whoever) were supposedly coming to get us. That’s how Americans lost their freedom at the hands of their own government. The government convinced them that if they didn’t trade away their liberty for the aura of security, they would end up under the control and dominion of the Reds or others. That’s the major way that people throughout history have lost their liberty. Frightened by crises or threats, most of which were caused by their own governments, people willingly surrendered their liberty in the hopes of being kept safe and secure from the crises or the threats. People who have made that trade, however, have always found that it was a fool’s bargain, one in which they found themselves neither free nor secure. Instead, they have always found themselves in the position of compliant, obedient, submissive, and deferential serfs whose lives and livelihoods depend on the beneficence and largess of their rulers. Why should every American be angry, indignant, and outraged over President Trump’s actions on Cuba and, for that matter, the entire U.S. embargo against Cuba? Because every American should be placing the highest value on his own liberty. His mindset should be that same as the mindset of those men who signed the Declaration of Independence against their own government, whose officials were doing the same types of things against their citizens that Trump is doing against his citizens. The mindset of every American toward President Trump this Fourth of July — and, for that matter, every other day of the year — should be: No matter how much tyranny or oppression there is in Cuba or anywhere else, you are not going to take away my freedom here at home. I have the right to travel anywhere I want and spend my money any way I want. These are rights endowed in me by nature and nature’s God. And neither you nor any other federal official is going to destroy my freedom, not even in the name of fighting tyranny abroad.
This article was originally published at The Future of Freedom Foundation.
After our blockbuster interview with Edward Snowden this week...the cameras kept rolling! Edward surprised us because he wanted to ask Ron Paul a question! You will enjoy these really fun extras from the Edward Snowden interview!
By Liberty Report Staff
Ron Paul spoke with RT International about the recent U.S. escalation of violence in Syria:
By Ron Paul
Like their colleagues in the House, the Senate Republican leadership has squandered an opportunity to repeal Obamacare and replace it with true free-market health care. Instead, they have unveiled a bill that retains Obamacare's core mandates. Even the planned state waivers do not provide relief from the most destructive mandates -- "guaranteed issues" and "community rating" -- which are nothing more than price controls. The GOP plan even includes a version of Obamacare's individual mandate, and "temporarily" extends federal payments to insurance companies (payments that House Republicans sued President Obama to stop) that participate in Obamacare exchanges. Of course, these payments are likely to be extended by a future Congress, from now until the eventual collapse of the welfare-warfare state and the fiat money system that makes it possible. Like all price control schemes, Obamacare and the GOP's Obamacare 2.0 will decrease both availability and quality of health care while increasing prices. Those most in need of affordable care will be hardest hit. Hopefully the Senate will follow the lead of my son, Senator Rand Paul, and reject this bill and pass a free-market health care bill. This statement was originally published at The Campaign For Liberty.
Once it's generally accepted that the role of government is to remove risks and hazards from our lives, its policies actually encourage more reckless risk taking and something called "moral hazard." Government "insurance," in its many forms, only ensures more economic calamity.
By Ron Paul
Congress has no authority to outlaw online gaming and nullify the laws in the states that have legalized online gaming. Criminalizing online gaming gives the surveillance state one more excuse to spy on our online activities and ensures that online gaming will be controlled by criminals. The Restoration of America's Wireless Act (RAWA) represents not only a textbook example of the "Bootleggers and Baptists" coalition but the worst type of crony capitalism. It is an open secret that the main reason this bill is being pushed is to please casino owners who happens to be one of (if not the) GOP's largest donors. These donors wish to use the power of government to put his online competitors out of business. It is outrageous that Congress would even think of sneaking this unconstitutional and anti-Liberty bill into law by adding to an it appropriations bill, or, even worse, a large end of year omnibus spending bill.
This statement was originally published at The Campaign for Liberty.
By Ron Paul
I recently had the pleasure of speaking at a conference hosted by The Future of Freedom Foundation addressing the topic of America's National Security State. The title of my talk was "Enemies: Foreign and Domestic." I hope you enjoy it:
The Russia/Iran sanctions bill passed earlier this month in the Senate has stalled in the House on a procedural issue: bills dealing with revenue must originate in the House. Is there a chance the bill may be scuttled? Don't hold your breath!
By Nick Giambruno
It’s predictable… A government in need of cash will turn to destructive “solutions.” Money printing, higher taxes, and more regulations often come first. Unfortunately, these are just the hors d’oeuvres before a 10-course meal. As they become increasingly desperate, governments implement increasingly destructive policies. This might include capital controls, price controls, people controls, official currency devaluations, wealth confiscations, retirement account nationalizations, and more. The same pattern has played out again and again around the world and throughout history. The worse a government’s fiscal health gets, the more destructive its policies become. This is the root of political risk. It’s no secret that political risk is snowballing in many parts of the world. This is especially true in the US and Europe, where welfare and warfare spending continues unabated. It doesn’t matter which party is in power. But no matter where you live, international diversification can greatly reduce the threat your home government poses to your personal and financial wellbeing. You know the benefits of diversifying your investment portfolio. If you put all of your asset eggs in one basket, you could lose your entire portfolio if that basket breaks. The same idea applies to political risk. If your home country “breaks”—and turns to the destructive policies I just mentioned—you could lose everything. Most people have medical, life, fire, and car insurance. You hope you never have to use these policies, but you have them anyway. They give you peace of mind and protect you if and when the worst does happen. International diversification is the ultimate insurance policy against an out-of-control government. Think of it as “freedom insurance.” It frees you from absolute dependence on any one country. Achieve that freedom, and it becomes very difficult for any group of bureaucrats to control you. The results can be life changing. The Easiest First Step It’s crucial to place some of your savings beyond the easy reach of your home government. It keeps that government from trapping your money if and when it implements capital controls or outright asset seizures. Any government can do either without warning. The ultimate way to diversify your savings is to transfer it out of the immediate reach of your home government and into something tangible. Something that cannot be easily confiscated, nationalized, frozen, or devalued at the drop of a hat or with a couple of taps on the keyboard—while retaining as much privacy as legally possible. Something whose value is recognized around the world and is not controlled by any government. Gold (and silver) fit the bill perfectly. There is nothing particularly American, Chinese, Russian, or European about gold. Different civilizations have used it as money for millennia. It’s always been an inherently international asset. Read the rest at International Man |
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