I left this comment for the Union Leader’s editorial on Ron Paul’s Plan to Restore America:
Ron Paul’s plan is the only one that actually keeps Social Security afloat without borrowing more (unpayable debt) money from China – surely that has merit? It’s the only one economists will actually score as being workable. Others may have catchy names, but call this one the $999,999,999,999 plan if that matters more than fixing the problem.
Listening carefully, he said eliminating departments (bureaucratic organizations) doesn’t entail eliminating all of the programs within each department – some of the programs would be moved to other departments. Nobody expects Yellowstone will be abandoned, but Ron Paul’s plan does reduce the cost of administering Yellowstone (by eliminating administrative redundancies).
Ron Paul is calling for a 10% reduction in the Federal workforce, and a return to Clinton-era spending levels – a time when the economy was in arguably better shape. Real non-government unemployment is in the 19% range (or more for minority demographics) and the Federal government isn’t even being asked to match that level. The key to understanding this plan is that the money used to pay those workers is drained off the productive members of society. Government is by definition merely administrative, not productive – returning that trillion dollars per year to our economy’s productive members (and associated deficit reductions) will provide it with a jolt it desperately needs. Getting everybody back to work is the most important goal, and those dollars in production will have a multiplicative effect (the economic ratios are documented on the US House’s website).
Pretending that we can continue all of the existing programs and spending without accumulating debt on an ever-increasing spiral isn’t a useful exercise. Ron Paul’s plan is the only one that takes a mature, sober approach to the problem. Given his 30 years of experience in government fiscal policy, it should hardly be surprising that he’s the right man to get this job done. Does that mean there are some tough choices that have to be made? Absolutely. But there are no easy answers. The time for fiscal games is over, and we’re all in this together.
Bill McGonigle, Plainfield
Co-Chair, Ron Paul 2012, Sullivan County