by Ron Paul
Last week the Senate and House demonstrated again why their approval ratings are so low. The 154 page “fiscal cliff” bill was made available to Senators just three minutes before the vote was taken on the legislation. No one can read 154 pages in three minutes, so it is safe to assume that the legislation was passed without being read.
Then the House brought the lengthy and complicated bill to a vote just 22 hours after the text had been available, meaning a full reading of the legislation was not likely possible. This was a clear violation of the “three day rule” adopted by the 112th Congress, which in the name of transparency ordered the House to make legislation available to the public a full three days before a Floor vote.
Perhaps this race to a vote, amid cries of the end of the world without a solution to the manufactured crisis, explains why an even greater than usual amount of special-interest carve-outs made it into the bill.
Article 1, Section 7 of the US Constitution clearly states that “All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives,” but as has been done many times, the Senate simply attached its bill to an existing House bill and claimed that this Constitutional requirement had been satisfied.
If the process was dishonest and unconstitutional, the content of the bill was even worse.
The “rescue” legislation was packed full of special tax deals for well-connected corporations with the money to hire high-profile lobbyists – usually those who have spent a good deal of time as legislators themselves.
The principle of tax cuts and breaks themselves are not the problem, however. It is incorrect to view any return of tax money to its rightful owner as money taken from the government. Wealth belongs to those who generate it not to government. However, while well-connected special interests like Hollywood and rum manufacturers were being granted targeted tax assistance, the vast majority of Americans were being hit with a significant tax increase in the form of higher payroll taxes. Rather than cut a dime from federal spending, this bill granted breaks to the corporate elites and paid for the “lost revenue” by passing the costs on to the rest of us.
The “fiscal cliff” bill also rescued other corporate interests. Included in the text was a nine-month extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. This is corporate welfare at its worst, spending billions to enrich big corporate farms with direct subsidies at the expense of small farmers — and the taxpayer.
Last week’s last minute deal was the worst of both worlds: higher taxes on nearly all Americans now and a promise to begin thinking about modest cuts in spending growth two months down the road. While there was much hand-wringing over the “draconian” cuts that would have been imposed by sequestration, in fact sequestration would not have cut spending at all. Under the sequestration plan, government spending would increase by $1.6 trillion over the next eight years. Congress calls this a cut because without sequestration spending would increase by $1.7 trillion over the same time frame. Either way it is an increase in spending, however.
I have little hope that a majority of Congress and the President will change their ways and support real spending reductions. Fortunately, increasing numbers of Americans are awakening to the dangers posed by the growth of the welfare-warfare state. Hopefully this movement will continue to grow and force the politicians to reverse course before government spending, taxing, and inflation destroys our economy entirely.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
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People should screaming bloody murder over bills not being read!!! Nevermind not reading, but why do they create weighty lists of all kinds of shit (special interests) to begin with?!!! Thoreau wrote “life is frittered away by detail. An honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers…Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!…let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”
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Thank you!
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Cheers Ron Paul ,, your my president .. Obama can go eat a shrap grenade
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Like it because of Ron Paul.
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Just the other day he said that if Obama enacts an executive order to restrict firearms ownership there could well be mass resistance across the country.
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Reince Priebus has been an embarrassment to the Republican Party and a hindrance to the American people. Now, ron paul supporter Mark Willis answers the call of millions for a change in RNC leadership. Is this the GOP’s last chance at change before the party stops being relevant?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od_hmAeMbJQ&feature=youtu.be
currently 2 states have nominated Mark Willis for RNC Chair. Maine and Nevada. This means 2 more RNC members from 1 more state is needed to satisfy the nomination requirements. Why This Is Important… Mark Willis For RNC Chair: http://stepdownnow.com/why-this-is-important-mark-willis-for-rnc-chair mark willis for rnc chair facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Willis-for-RNC-Chair/408904252521639
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Ron Paul is great,.. not just because he is smart and a true patriot… but because he stayed serving the government for sooooooooo long and put up with all their bullshit. That really takes a lot of strength and courage.
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Ron Paul has really weighed into the gun debate……not!!
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people need private sector union’s only! As well as the USA dollar to be back by Gold and Silver!
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Troll a bloddy troll, we aren’t supposed to talk about the Troll but there it is……. TROLEEE TROLEEEE TROLEEEEE (in my Austin Powers voice)
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YOUR MOTHER is fuckin’ jackass. She’s real piece of shit in a bag of PUKE!
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Hollywood and Rum; yeah, they need the tax breaks.
Congress breaks its own rules, but God help us if we do.
Go Ron Paul!
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People need unions! And to over throw the tyrants running our political system.
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“both republicans and democrats are fucking you America”using my George Washington voice
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I don’t think that you think your name is spelled wrong.
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RON PAUL! RON PAUL! ( :
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LOL.obamanoids.
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Idiot.
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I’m glad he’s continuing to do this.
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Why? LOL— you just name call, like labeling people, but don’t offer any logic or reasons, lol. Did you not go to school? What’s your home country, lol?
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Ha ha ha that’s so funny! Were you born an idiotic fuckin’ colostomy bag of turds, or did you have to work at it? You are such a fuckin’ paultard jackass! Suck my dick you fuckin’ weirdo!
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i keep thinking of him as President Paul !
Had he gotten to run
DrPaul would have Won
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You misspelled yer name..
I-AM-HE-HO-HAM
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wRONg Paul is fuckin’ jackass. He’s a real piece of shit in a bag of PUKE!
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Jew, Romney & Ron Paul -
1. Jewish neocons served under Bush were on Romney’s campaign.
2. Ron Paul had no Jewish neocons
Conclusion -
No Jew can manipulate Ron Paul to send Americans to war & death for Israel.
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that’s them for you… it’s good
enough for govt. work – sheeesh…
Dr. Paul’s invited to fish with us
at Shy pond, been 1983 since it
was in my backyard…
…..
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My, you’re a contentious one, aren’t you?
Since you probably haven’t been following Ron Paul’s calls, most of them do not have this problem.
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I wish he was in the white house. The constitution is in peril.
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I was just thinking this today. If I step outside to help someone and in appreciation the person gives me a couple dollars for it somehow the government has a right to part of it. lol It’s absurd really.
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We really need this voice of reason!
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Tax the rich and run real fast and complete your 1040 before inflation makes you “rich”
ALL INCOME TAXES were created only for the “rich”. Then Inflation pushes down the tax bracket, down to what you have now. People making 200 dollars a week having 20 bucks removed “Tax the Rich” Just another Lie the Gov puts out.
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not taxation but spending reduction of the government
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Go Ron , were still behind You. God bless America, and not the idiots running it.
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then the tax falls on you! Cause the rich will just pass it onto the employees
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