U.S. Rep. Ron Paul | market principles |
market principles
INTRODUCING LEGISLATION CALLING FOR THE UNITED STATES TO WITHDRAW FROM THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
March 1, 2000 2000 Ron Paul 12:12
When our Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, they placed the treaty-making authority with the President and the Senate, but the authority to regulate commerce with the House. The effects of this are obvious. The Founders left us with a system that made no room for agreements regarding international trade; hence, our Nation was to be governed not by protection, but rather, by market principles. Trade barriers were not to be erected, period.
market principles
Defense Production Act
10 September 2001 2001 Ron Paul 76:5
Mr. Speaker, I encourage the members of this body to begin thinking about the amount of false hope they place in the centralization of power in the hands of a central-planners and reconsider their apparent lack of confidence in the market process and a free society. I encourage a strict adherence to market principles and strongly oppose H.R. 2510.
market principles
Steel Protectionism
Wednesday, March 13, 2002 2002 Ron Paul 15:1
Mr. Speaker, I am disheartened by the administration’s recent decision to impose a 30 percent tariff on steel imports. This measure will hurt far more Americans than it will help, and it takes a step backwards toward the protectionist thinking that dominated Washington in decades past. Make no mistake about it, these tariffs represent naked protectionism at its worst, a blatant disregard of any remaining free-market principles to gain the short-term favor of certain special interests. These steel tariffs also make it quite clear that the rhetoric about free trade in Washington is abandoned and replaced with talk of “fair trade” when special interests make demands. What most Washington politicians really believe in is government-managed trade, not free trade. True free trade, by definition, takes place only in the absence of government interference of any kind, including tariffs. Government-managed trade means government, rather than competence in the marketplace, determines what industries and companies succeed or fail.
market principles
H.R. 2427, the Pharmaceutical Market Access Act
24 July 2003 2003 Ron Paul 91:13
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to express my disappointment with the numerous D.C.-based “free-market” organizations that are opposing this bill. Anyone following this debate could be excused for thinking they have entered into a Twilight Zone episode where “libertarian” policy wonks argue that the Federal Government must protect citizens from purchasing the pharmaceuticals of their choice, endorse protectionism, and argue that the Federal Government has a moral duty to fashion policies designed to protect the pharmaceutical companies’ profit margins. I do not wish to speculate on the motivation behind this deviation from free-market principles among groups that normally uphold the principles of liberty. However, I do hope the vehemence with which these organizations are attacking this bill is motivated by sincere, if misguided, principle, and not by the large donations these organizations have received from the pharmaceutical industry. If the latter is the case, then these groups have discredited themselves by suggesting that their free-market principles can be compromised when it serves the interests of their corporate donors.
market principles
Are Vouchers the Solution for Our Failing Public Schools?
September 30, 2003 2003 Ron Paul 103:14
Mr. Speaker, proponents of vouchers promise these programs advance true market principles and thus improve education. However, there is a real danger that Federal voucher programs will expand the welfare state and impose government “standards” on private schools, turning them into “privatized” versions of public schools. A superior way of improving education is to return control of the education dollar directly to the American people through tax cuts and tax credits. I therefore hope all supporters of parental control of education will support my Family Education Freedom Act and Education Improvement Tax Cut Act.
market principles
International Protectionism
13 December 1999 Texas Straight Talk 13 December 1999 verse 9 ... Cached
When our founding fathers drafted the constitution, they placed the Treaty making authority with the President and the Senate but the authority to regulate commerce with the House. The effect of this is obvious. The founders left us with a system that made no room for agreements regarding international trade. Hence, our nation was to be governed not by protection but rather by market principles. Trade barriers were not to be erected, period.
market principles
Drug Re-Importation Will Lower Prescription Drug Costs
09 October 2000 Texas Straight Talk 09 October 2000 verse 7 ... Cached
Legislation I introduced earlier this year would go farther in creating beneficial price competition for pharmaceuticals. The "Pharmaceutical Freedom Act" (H.R. 3636) eliminates needless FDA regulations which prevent Americans from buying low-cost drugs from foreign and Internet pharmacies. The Act also provides seniors with a tax credit of up to 80% of their prescription drug expenditures. My approach applies free-market principles to the problem: drugs become more affordable when we encourage price competition and provide tax relief to offset drug expenses. The free-market approach lets you and your doctor choose the prescription drugs that are appropriate for you.
market principles
Free Trade Means No Tariffs and No Subsidies
30 July 2001 Texas Straight Talk 30 July 2001 verse 5 ... Cached
The same free-market principles that compel me to oppose subsidies apply to tariffs as well. Simply put, tariffs are taxes. Like subsidies, tariffs are paid for by American taxpayers and consumers. I vote against tariffs for the same reasons I vote against any federal taxes- I want to get the federal government out of your pocketbook. Many tariff bills in Congress are touted as pro-American, but they really just raise taxes by stealth. In a free society, consumers must be allowed to buy goods from abroad if they so choose. Americans should not be taxed simply because they determine that their family budgets are better served by purchasing an imported item.
market principles
Drug Reimportation Increases Medical Freedom
04 August 2003 Texas Straight Talk 04 August 2003 verse 3 ... Cached
The pharmaceutical industry obviously likes this, and it worked overtime lobbying against the reimportation measure- paying off some strange bedfellows in the process. Several supposedly free-market groups came out against reimportation, making tortured attempts to argue that the free-market principles they normally promote somehow just don’t apply to imported prescription drugs. Some even made the outrageous argument that reimportation will threaten the pharmaceutical industry’s profits, as though it is the job of government to ensure the profitability of any industry!
Texas Straight Talk from 20 December 1996 to 23 June 2008 (573 editions) are included in this Concordance. Texas Straight Talk after 23 June 2008 is in blog form on Rep. Paul’s Congressional website and is not included in this Concordance.
Remember, not everything in the concordance is Ron Paul’s words. Some things he quoted, and he added some newspaper and magazine articles to the Congressional Record. Check the original speech to see.