By Matt Hawes
Latest press release from Dr. Paul’s congressional office:
Paul Urges a Full and Complete Audit of the Federal Reserve
Conferees to the Financial Reform Bill have an Opportunity to Demand Full TransparencyWashington, D.C. - House Conference Committee members, which will reconcile the House and Senate versions of the financial reform bill, have been announced. Congressman Paul is pleased to note that 15 out of 31 total conferees are cosponsors of HR 1207, his bill to audit the Federal Reserve Bank.
The House-passed version of the financial reform bill contains the basic language of HR 1207 (in the Paul-Grayson amendment). However, a similar amendment offered by Senator Vitter to the Senate version was rejected by the Senate. Thus, it is essential that conferees consider adding the undiluted language of the Paul-Grayson amendment when reconciling the Senate and House versions of the Financial Reform Bill. Only the full language of the Paul-Grayson amendment will insure a thorough, complete, and ongoing audit of the Fed.
“This Financial Reform bill is set to grant sweeping new powers to the Federal Reserve, which has made a mess of our economy. If my colleagues insist on expanding the power of the Fed, the very least they can do is require the Fed to be transparent rather than secretive in its actions,” stated Congressman Paul. “Luckily, many of the conferees already have demonstrated their concern about transparency by cosponsoring HR 1207, and hopefully those conferees will insist on full transparency in the conference report.”
The House Conferees are: (Democrat/Republican) Representatives Frank, Kanjorski, Waters, Maloney, Gutierrez, Watt, Meeks (NY), Moore (KS), Kilroy, Peters, Peterson, Boswell, Waxman, Rush, Conyers, Berman, Towns, Cummings, Velazquez, Shuler, Bachus, Royce, Biggert, Capito, Hensarling, Garrett, Lucas, Barton, Smith (TX), Issa, and Graves.
Presentations on the Budget and Economic Outlook – The Prosperity Caucus was described in a recent article in The Hill newspaper as a group founded in 1986 with the purpose of “gather[ing] libertarian-minded economists, Hill staffers and academics … to hear someone talk about the …
There is a war of ideas going on right now. The GOP is working to reinvent itself into the hero of smaller government and appeal to the TEA PARTY movement for less government. Many leaders and important figures of the Republican Party have downplayed the important message of Libertarians. Those who try to smear the message of a Libertarian always have the role of government to a Libertarian all wrong. Let’s address this today.
Do Libertarians want zero government?
This is the biggest misconception people who have not educated themselves on Libertarian values label the party with, however it is completely false. Those people have confused Anarchist with Libertarian; however this is why they have separate names. Libertarians do not believe in Anarchy or no government, we believe in limited government. Limited means government’s role should be, protecting individual’s property. In the eyes of a Libertarian, that property extends much further than just my home. My property is my body, my labor, my car, anything I have ownership of is my property. When I put in 60 hours a week to better my life, that paycheck is my property.
Libertarians are not foolish enough to think bad guys do not exist. I believe they do, and that is why we have a strong judicial system where those who commit a crime are to be punished. This is exactly what government is intended for. If a country wishes to invade us, clearly we would need a strong national defense to repel them. This translates to all levels down to the local level. Local government is best for protecting its local citizens from local threats like thieves, rapist, and murderers.
When a contract is created, we believe that contract represents both parties claim to property rights. If a contract is not being honored, government should enforce that contract in order to keep both parties accountable, again a very reasonable expectation of government.
We believe in smaller government for most other things. Almost any other function of government should be considered for privatization. I recently heard of the Yellow Page test. If there are three or more companies offering a service, government should not be in that business. I will post more on how I privatization of services should be embraced, but that is for another day. Until then, if you are a true Republican, then you are a Libertarian.
Matt
http://talkofliberty.com
