There are a lot of staunch supporters of Ron Paul for President, and I am not against the man, in fact, I say: "Let him speak" and let's let the dialogue permeate the GOP race to insure that we keep ourselves intellectually honest, and even as a non-supporter I think it's the right thing to do.
Not long ago, I was discussing this with a fellow libertarian, and no we don't agree on everything, as I am a Libertarian Ronald Reagan sort of political type.
Still, here's the thing, it's hard to ever believe or be "on board with all the positions of any politicians" my acquaintance reminds me.
True enough, granted, yes, good call, he's right.
And, yes, I understand that, and I also understand that even if we are for a certain politician based on what he says, that may not be his actions.
Therefore, there may be others in the GOP who sound real good, say all the right things, but their actions past, present, and judging by that future reveal the fact that they are a politician podium pusher all the same.
Still, my issue with Ron Paul is one with the absolutes and the challenges with all the drastic changes he wishes to make, I find those things to be too disruptive, and going back to the gold standard simply isn't feasible, there isn't enough gold in the world available to do that presently.
Of course, that's just one problem I have with Ron Paul's assertions.
We cannot, in my view, change everything all at once without chaos, it would have to happen over a number of years because if it was not done correctly would actually destroy the country.
So I'm not for destroying the country.
And, since when has our government ever executed a short term plan and got it 100% right? Hint: the answer is never.
You see, you can't all the suddenly take away someone's medical benefits, medicine, social security checks, food stamps, or whatever all at once.
That's not fair, and if the government did that, after making those commitments and promises then it would be trusted even less in the future, and the US Federal Government is already in the Dog House when it comes to credibility, what was that last confidence poll in the US Congress, in the teens? No, we cannot remove all the social programs all at once or cut out everything so fast, however, you can wean them off, or see to it that folks that are getting money from the public dole are at least volunteering to be teacher's aides at the local school while they are collecting their checks.
My acquaintance suggests "that government shouldn't be in 90% of what it is doing" and that we need to make drastic changes, and deal with some of the disruption.
Indeed, I understand where he's coming from, however after running a franchising company I also know what happens when the government starts changing regulations too fast.
Regardless of what direction, that's all I'm saying, and I know what happens as a CEO of a franchise change when and if I were to make serious changes at that level of disruption.
We'd need a longer term plan, but since we change out the leadership so often, that's unlikely to happen.
Congress, Administrations, and Bureaucrats avoid the sacrifices and pain to protect their careers.
Indeed, it's a lot easier to go out a hero, kick the can down the road, set yourself up for the revolving door sweetheart deal, and then go on your merry way and leave the problems for the next group of incoming freshmen senators and representatives - which is another problem, and we all know the system is broken, and no, that doesn't make it okay, but we all know what the actual problem is here.
I just ask my readers to please think on this.