The Best of Ron Paul so Far This Year

by Charles Goyette,

Each week, libertarian and former Congressman Ron Paul takes the time to talk with Money and Markets’ Charles Goyette on subjects ranging from our schools to the NSA and the Fed.

What follows are some of the most notable quotes from Paul during those conversations so far this year:

On Iraq and U.S. foreign policy:

“I would think the American people, if they decide we’ve gone in the wrong direction, are coming around to believing that we ought to stop the bleeding. The bleeding of our liberties and the bleeding of our Treasury and the bleeding of our American military, and that means we need to talk about a foreign policy of noninterventionism.

“We have to change the psychology, the nature and the philosophy of the American people to that of defending our liberties and understanding what our liberties are all about, and not believing we are the policemen of the world. And we need to give up on this whole concept of running a world empire.”

On talking to our enemies:

“The neoconservatives and so many others in Washington think that it’s a sign of weakness. And yet I see the opposite. I see it as a sign of strength and confidence about who we are and what we are, and we can defend ourselves if necessary.”

On the NSA and whistleblower Edward Snowden:

“One thing I think that’s good that’s coming out of this thing with the NSA: There are more and more people skeptical of the government and don’t believe that the government is telling the truth. And that’s why we need the whistleblowers to come forth and reward them rather than putting them in prison.”

On education:

“I am convinced that there are going to be more and more American people standing up and saying ‘I’ve had enough,’ and take their kids out of school just for the benefit of their children, the benefit of their safety, the benefit of getting a decent education.”

On government spending (Jan. 24):

“A nation that lives beyond its means will live beneath its means. And that is what we’re doing every single day. You hear another single statistic showing that there’s more and more wealth in the world, but it’s all going into the hands of the very few, which just gives the redistributionists the argument, ‘well, we ought to do something.’ . . . failing to realize that this mal-distribution of wealth is a consequence of big government. In a military industrial complex, and the people who are receiving these funds first, the bankers and government, they all benefit from this.”

On the government shutdown:

“But, of course, there was great fanfare with it and (they) try to frighten the people, and it became just a political football. At the same time, the spending marches on, the conservatives vote for, you know, a budget that does nothing to rein in Obamacare. They do nothing — as a matter of fact, they endorse common cause and that funding keeps going up.”

On Fed Chair Janet Yellen:

“We’re still in the midst of a big bubble that’s been pervasive in the ups and downs, and that’s the bubble in the bond market. And they’re oblivious to it, they don’t think it’s a problem, and their creating new money is always the answer. But if you look at what Bernanke did, to me the numbers are astounding. He’s leaving with a balance sheet of over $4 trillion, and it was under $1 trillion when he took over eight years ago.”

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