Ron Paul Strikes Again?

"From 1933 until the now, our country has doubled the amount of goods and purchases that are available for purchase -- goods and services. In that same period we have multiplied the money supply by 23 times. So eleven and a half dollars are now chasing what one dollar used to chase. And that's all that inflation is: a depreciation of the value of money."

"And yet, in spite of all the evidence that points to the free market as the most efficient system, we continue down a road that is bearing out the prophecy of the Frenchman who came here 130 years ago -- de Tocqueville. He was attracted by the miracle that was America. Think of it, our country was only 70 years old and already we had achieved such a miracle of standard of living and of productivity and prosperity that the rest of the world was amazed. So he came here and he looked at everything he could see in our country, trying to find the secret of our success and then went back and wrote a book about it. But even then, 130 years ago, he saw signs that prompted him to warn us, that if we weren't constantly on guard we would find ourselves covered by a network of regulations controlling every activity. And he said, if that came to pass we would one day find ourselves a nation of timid animals, with government the shepherd."

Those quotes absolutely sound like Ron Paul. But they're not Ron Paul, and they're not from this campaign. Nope, these go back to the Carter years...

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ronaldreaganhillsdalecollege.htm

Yes, a candidate for president said these things. His descendants frequently try to claim his mantle, but in reality, I don't think they know very much about what he actually said. And there's just no chance in hell that anyone would come out with such a firm defense of the market and profit in this day in age, except Ron Paul. Huckabee, McCain, and Romney would not say this.

The remnants of the Reagan Revolution have essentially punted away this legacy. There is no longer an ardent defense of the markets or a criticism of what government tries to do. Candidates pay lip service to the ideas, but nothing more than that.

I love this speech.

Back to work...