Ron Paul’s Texas Straight Talk 3/1/10: Bizarre Spending Habits
http://house.gov/paul
http://CampaignForLiberty.com
Last week I had the opportunity to bring up spending and transparency in two important hearings. On Wednesday I questioned Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on some highly questionable uses of funds at the Federal Reserve, and on Thursday I asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about exorbitant spending at the State Department.
It is extremely important to continue bringing these issues up, especially in light of our difficult economic times, when so many are out of work, as I saw up close in my district at the Oceans of Opportunity Job Fair in Galveston two weeks ago. Those who are working live with the fear of losing their jobs as they struggle to pay bills. Meanwhile, Washington is talking of increasing their taxes, something voters were promised, clearly and adamantly, would not happen in this administration.
Government also struggles with money, but the struggle centers on how to get more of your money into government coffers. Rather than expanding the Federal budget in the face of economic downturn, we should be focusing on eliminating waste and being the very best stewards of public funds that we can possibly be. Most businesses have had to streamline and cut back in order to survive, and so it is only fair for our government to do the same.
Instead, the State Department is building a $1 billion embassy in London, the most expensive ever built. The plans even include surrounding it with a moat! I asked the Secretary of State about this massive expenditure, and she claimed the funds for this were coming from the sale of other properties. If money can be saved, then save it! Dont spend it on such an extravagant structure overseas when people back home cant find jobs or pay bills. Not only that, but the administration has committed to doubling foreign aid. That is one promise that is likely to be kept, despite our economic crisis.
I asked Chairman Bernanke about Federal Reserve agreements with foreign central banks and if he had had any conversations about bailing out Greece, which he flatly denied. However, he recently announced that the Federal Reserve will be looking into Goldman Sachs derivative agreements with Greece. Goldman Sachs, as we know, has too big to fail status with the Fed, so it is conceivable that any Greece-related catastrophic losses at Goldman Sachs will once again be passed on to taxpayers.
Perhaps most sinister are the revelations in Robert Auerbachs book Deception and Abuse at the Fed that $5.5 billion was sent to Saddam Hussein in the 80s – money that allowed Iraq to build up its military machine to fight Iran prior to the first Gulf War, the very machine turned against our brave men and women within just a few years! I agree with Bernankes characterization of this it is indeed bizarre to think that Americans at the Federal Reserve could engage in this type of behavior, which a some have called criminal. However, Professor Auerbach served as a banking committee investigator, and as an economist at the Treasury Department and at the Federal Reserve. His claims are hardly without merit. In fact, they are solidly backed by court rulings and other evidence.
The lack of accountability and transparency in our leaders on government spending is appalling. We simply must keep pressing these issues and voicing our objections if we are ever to reverse our failed policies.
Duration : 0:4:7
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The US is suppose …
The US is suppose to be about individual liberties and freedoms, not special treatment for collectives and groups.
The US is suppose to be about equal opportunity, not socialized equal outcome.
The US Constitution was basically made to protect the people from big reckless government.
Think about it…
Controlling the economy means controlling the people as seen by Hitler. Obviously, obama is transferring control to government forcing Americans to become more reliant and dependent on them.
I wouldnt be …
I wouldnt be surprised if they filled that moat with snakes and gators. Whats next, bring back Tar and Feather, Drawn and Quartered for non payment of taxes? Hmm wonder if I can put up a moat around my house….
Dont know if you …
Dont know if you can trust a certain politician or someone running for office in your city? Ask them about the Federal Reserve while a camera is pointed at them, most will cower and run while very few will openly discuss it. Ron Paul has a bigger pair then most half his age.
Dr. Paul is the …
Dr. Paul is the greatest politician since the founding of our Republic. His message has spawned a Revolution to take back our country from the criminal elites who have hijacked Washington.
thnx for the post.
…
thnx for the post.
go mises
1 BILLION?! A moat? …
1 BILLION?! A moat? mote? WTF !!! GET RID OF THESE CROOKS
ron paul for pres
ron paul for pres
Thomas Jefferson …
Thomas Jefferson explained it well.
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
Thanks for the …
Thanks for the current information.
yo what up ron…. …
yo what up ron…. k thats cool. i will just say this for my homies… DOWN WITH THE NWO!!!!!!!!!
Mine too!
Mine too!
Ron Paul is MY …
Ron Paul is MY president.
Boy Chris your …
Boy Chris your quick… lol Thanks for the post.
Go Paul!!
Go Paul!!
I wish Ron Paul was …
I wish Ron Paul was my grandfather. I could sit at the dinner table with the man for hours on end talking freedom, liberty and economics!
They can hand out …
They can hand out foreign aid money like it was water, but they can’t pay for the unemployment insurance extensions, when they are the ones who created the conditions?
The FED is saying, “We didn’t do it, Congress did.” Congress is saying, “We had to do it, the FED told us we had to.” This type of “nobody is to blame” is just a ploy to confuse, and shed responsibility for both of them.
Get the warrants. Who is not doing their JOB on THAT?
“if money can be …
“if money can be saved, then save it”
yep. makes me sick.
That’s a great point about Greece and GS too. If Bernanke givs GS a trillion and they funnel it to GS Greece, and GS Greece bails out Greek’s government, then the Fed IS bailing out Greece.
But then he called RP crazy when RP asked him if the Fed was involved with Greece.
It really is more of a question of “what are the Fed’s liabilities” (more liabilities = likely more inflation).
Fed’s liablities = Greece’s? GTFO!