Dr. Ron Paul's 11-Point Plan That Could Save America

Laura Trice from The Huffington Post wrote probably one of the best articles I’ve read on Ron Paul. Everyone should know their candidate and what he / she stands for. In my opinion, most of Ron Paul’s ideas are just plain common sense in probably the most critical time in this country’s history. I don’t agree with all of Dr. Paul’s ideas, but most of the key issues are what’s important and I’ve never been this excited about a candidate in my life!

Have Americans read Dr. Ron Paul's written plan for the country? Are Americans ready to upset the apple cart in a controlled and methodical way for the betterment of the greater good? The main source I am referencing here is Dr. Ron Paul's website, so that we can debate his priorities and proposed approaches. I have paraphrased items from his site; however, I encourage the reader to thoroughly review all the links.
Here is Dr. Ron Paul's 11-point plan:

Link To Full Article

Was listening to Alex Jones and he had Jesse Ventura as a guest today. Jesse made the comment that if Ron would leave the Republican Nomination and run as a Libertarian he (Jesse) would run with him.

Now that would excite a lot of people, me being one of them, and i really think it would be awesome to watch them in the debates.

11. Energy Independence: Eliminate the federal gas tax of $0.18 per gallon and eliminate the EPA, allowing prosecution of polluters to answer to citizens, not Washington, and allowing coal, oil, nuclear and other forms of energy to be safely explored.

This seems like this could be a risky move. Prosecution of these companies and company heads who pollute the environment would be great, BUT I'm not convinced getting rid of the EPA would be the ideal way to go about that.
Anyone care to shed some light on it?
Also, coal and oil are not the best types of energy; we need to find more sources of renewable energy, not continue our dependence on these things.

Originally posted by trollz

11. Energy Independence: Eliminate the federal gas tax of $0.18 per gallon and eliminate the EPA, allowing prosecution of polluters to answer to citizens, not Washington, and allowing coal, oil, nuclear and other forms of energy to be safely explored.

This seems like this could be a risky move. Prosecution of these companies and company heads who pollute the environment would be great, BUT I'm not convinced getting rid of the EPA would be the ideal way to go about that.
Anyone care to shed some light on it?
Also, coal and oil are not the best types of energy; we need to find more sources of renewable energy, not continue our dependence on these things.

I believe the main issue here is that the EPA levies fines against industry violators, but doesn't ever seem to make them large enough or take significant enough action to actually rectify any ongoing issues, so it's merely another wasteful government entity whose job we can likely handle better otherwise - however, Paul recognizes that he can't just come in an eliminate federal deparments, so would have to work with Congress on the like, and concessions/other changes would likely result first.

As far as coal, oil, and nuclear - these are immediately available and we should review things to get unnecessary hurdles out of the way for these to be looked into as needed (as determined by market forces), but Paul also wants to stop subsidizing them as well as getting other hurdles out of the way of things like industrial hemp and various other renewable energy startups that have a hard time competing with big business right now due to oppressive regulatory climates that tend to only shelter very large and established companies (that already receive government subsidies as well, resulting in an uneven playing field).

More research on Paul's views here is warranted, this brief summary doesn't really do it justice. Valid concern, though...but he does address all these related issues & reasoning further otherwise.

reply to post by trollz

On Regulations The libertarian candidate expressed his opposition to regulation organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “The agencies of government end up serving special interests,” said Paul. “The FDA frequently serves the interests of drug companies.” When pressed by an audience member on the need to regulate pollution, Paul responded that the EPA is not the best solution to control environmental damage. He said pollution issues were dealt with by the free market before the EPA was formed, adding that special interests controls the regulators far too often. “The market is a more powerful regulator,” said Paul.

Link To Full Article
I believe special interest groups are controlling the EPA as well as the FDA as Dr. Paul states. Wether his solutions will work is a concern of mine as well. But the current system is failing...so how do you fix it?

I read the whole article and is one issue that no politicians can address and that is how to bring the middle class into production again to support the economy. He doesn't touch that topic, the article talks about reduction of budget and eliminating agencies but nothing about how to bring the bread and butter of the America economy back.

I guess is true when it comes to our nations economy we are doom regardless of who and what comes into power, our nations productivity is gone forever to never come back.

Originally posted by marg6043
I read the whole article and is one issue that no politicians can address and that is how to bring the middle class into production again to support the economy. He doesn't touch that topic, the article talks about reduction of budget and eliminating agencies but nothing about how to bring the bread and butter of the America economy back.

I guess is true when it comes to our nations economy we are doom regardless of who and what comes into power, our nations productivity is gone forever to never come back.

You should research Paul more thoroughly, since in my view he's the only polician actively doing so...it's a cumulative effect from a whole range of his policy views. First off, stop government waste. End the overseas idiocies that are draining about a trillion dollars a year from the US at this point - cut bloated, wasteful, and redundant government agencies and employees (they keep sucking up more money while getting less effective - time to break the cycle and get back to basics). End ineffective government action and policies against non-violent offenders (stop the drug war - it's backfiring and sucking down tens of billions of dollars a year). And so on...stop sucking up so much money that's just wasted to no good effective, and then stop putting the US people on the hook for it - let them keep more of their own money to put back in the economy.

Then, when current and would-be small business owners, investors, etc., have more of their own money to work with, deal with the inefficiencies of the regulatory agencies - which only regulate big business into a secure domination of the marketplace while they regulate small business right out of existence (that also allowing price gouging by big business as they no longer have to worry about genuine competition and innovation), while also regulating their employees into those same massive corporations for big-dollar positions while they regulate former execs from those companies right into the overseeing agencies. Clearing this niggling restrictions will help allow small businesses to thrive and prompt innovation to help kick the middle class back into gear while no longer protecting big business (the only ones who can usually meet any regulations or pay fines without problem, if not just having the regulations crafted to suit their needs in the first place).

Ending the drug war in the US would also firmly launch the hemp industry in all its aspects, which would result in a renaissance in various related industries as new industrial farms sprang up and all of the innovative and diverse uses for the plant created new jobs galore.

There are multiple ongoing shades of the ideas Paul has been espousing for decades now that expand on what I've mentioned as well as what I haven't, but pretty much all of the other politicians we've seen up to this point are very comfortable with big business, the Federal Reserve, the drug war, and related policies and entities that block this and other rejuvination of the US economy. Some of them get small pieces right, but when you look at their donors and contacts, it seems to be only lip service as they appear beholden to these groups in the first place.

If you disagree with what I've posted here, please provide your thoughts on how to address the situation as they may lie amongst what I didn't think to mention, or may otherwise be in need of consideration.

Take care.

reply to post by Praetorius


America needs jobs that can support a middle class no a working poor class that is what we have been developing into since the production was moved oversea, everybody likes to talk about small businesses but small businesses are failing because those that are in the working poor can not support them.

A small business can not afford more than minimum wages that is not enough to bring any employee out of welfare in the nation right now.

My town has been voted by the state the the poorest town why? because within 10 years we lost about 6 production companies that were the ones supporting the middle class, even when we got two brand new Walmarts within the same city limits we are still the poorest town in the state, while Walmart has brought jobs they do not pay enough to get people of the welfare roller coaster.

I hope this example will explain what I mean about how America is becoming a working poor while eliminating the middle class, politicians wants to bring the subject of small businesses, but they fail to tell that small businesses can not produce middle class jobs.

edit on 27-9-2011 by marg6043 because: (no reason given)

reply to post by marg6043


Actually he does have a plan and it is a 'package deal' where a combination of all of his policies would bring America back to prosperity.

Now on the topic of actually bringing physical jobs back to America, we have to increase productivity and it doesn't seem like we'll be taking jobs back from China anytime soon but at least we have to be headed in the right direction. Anybody but Paul is continuing our path of self-destruction. We may not be able to bring all of our jobs back but at least we can secure our economy, bring value back to our currency, end income taxes and owe less overall to the federal government. Everybody keeping the other half of their income and bringing military back so they can spend here instead of in other nations...doesn't that sound like an actual stimulus plan?

reply to post by marg6043
Perhaps I should have clarified that better, I apologize.

I would consider revitalized, decentralized, and environmentally-friendly paper, plastic, fuel, housing, clothing, automotive, and food industries to all be likely candidates for supplying middle-class jobs and creating middle class lifestyles. Basically, it seems to me if you get hurdles out of the way, stop robbing people, leave them free to exercise their innovation, and stop enabling policies and agreements that engender the export of your production base, you will end up with people who rebuild the middle class just as it was once built in the past.

However, a definition of terms likely helps, since this is the stuff of generalities. Can you clarify what exactly you consider to be middle-class type jobs?

And I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just trying to learn - do you have any thoughts of your own as how one could accomplish this?

reply to post by eLPresidente


The path to Americas destruction of its production base is the same treaties and free trade policies that greedy corporate America by paying off politicians has been able to enact, enriching their pockets while screwing the working class.

Those treaties and policies are already established, only punishing the US companies that are profiting from slave labor over sea can make a difference in the US, but taking into consideration who owns Washington is an impossible task, regardless the good intentions that Mr. Ron Paul may have.

reply to post by Praetorius


The jobs that used to make America great, production, jobs that you didn't need to have education to still make a good living, now we have an overeducated nation working at walmart, or like my own daughter example, 3 degrees and working for a bank, no making enough to be able to move out of the house at 27. While my husband never earned a degree but his experience and hard work earned well beyond what used to be considered middle class income.

But at the pace we are going even his job is in jeopardy right now in our poor town.

The new generation of young people today have more education but makes less than their parents and grandparents did in their life time comparatively, our working class is going backwards rather than improving from the last generation.

Minimum wages are not a middle class income is a working poor income.

People that never had earned a salary with benefits will never understand what been middle class means.

Originally posted by marg6043
I read the whole article and is one issue that no politicians can address and that is how to bring the middle class into production again to support the economy. He doesn't touch that topic, the article talks about reduction of budget and eliminating agencies but nothing about how to bring the bread and butter of the America economy back.

I guess is true when it comes to our nations economy we are doom regardless of who and what comes into power, our nations productivity is gone forever to never come back.

Well Marg.. I mean Politicians these days just have to create a couple jobs here and a couple jobs there in order to say "THEY CREATE JOBS VOTE FOR THEM!"..

RP doesn't want to create just a couple jobs.. Heck he doesn't think he should create any directly..

He believes that only by fixing the market system are jobs created in masse..

To be honest I kinda have to agree with him.. He wants to set a tone to get industry and production back into the states.. I wouldn't mind a Manufacturing boom would you? I bet you would see a lot less relatively impoverished Americans then...

Sure some of the other candidates here have "Created Jobs" but as it turns out those "Jobs" where low paying if not minimum wage jobs... That's not going to get America working towards a very bright future is it?

Now I'm not saying RP is the end all savior for us all here but on that particular issue I think he is dead on.

Besides... If you didn't read it in the article why don't you maybe just listen to him talk for say 10 minutes.. I betcha in that time span he brings it up.

reply to post by DaMod


You are right none of the jobs been created by our corporate buy out politicians in the White house can support a middle class, It took almost 20 years of bad policies to get to the point we are right now, is going to take another 20 years of government that will cater to the people rather than to corporate fat rats to get off the mess we are right now.

I agree with Ron paul 100% on everythung, except his energy policies and health care, which I think he needs to re-evaluate. But everything else? He's got my support.

Which means, sadly, that he will unlikely ever get anywhere near the white house. That place is reserved specifically for the corrupt, incompetant, and people who don't give a crap about America's real interests.