Rand Paul on taxes, government, and freedom
by Tim Condon
Kentucky Senator, Dr. Rand Paul
From a recent column in The Wall Street Journal by Senator Paul: There is an implication, he observes, “that raising taxes—that is, extracting and confiscating more income from workers and businesses—is harmful to the economy.
I am easily persuaded of this truism. As Milton Friedman said, nobody spends someone else’s money as frugally or as wisely as they spend their own.
But if raising taxes would lead us toward trouble…
…why would raising taxes only on some people (“the rich”) not have some of the same harmful effect?
There are only two repositories of money—the private sector (which efficiently distributes goods) and the public sector (which doesn’t distribute anything well). The only guide to fairness of distribution that I can imagine is the minute-by-minute vote of the most exacting and direct democracy ever known: the marketplace. And if taking more money from the private sector is harmful, it doesn’t matter whom you tax or what form the revenue increase takes. Taking more money out of the private sector is injurious to economic growth.” Period.
It’s nice to see a U.S. Senator who understands basic economics as well as the menace of Socialism and its accompanying handmaiden, Statism. You can read the entire column at Sen. Paul’s website HERE.
I’ve been political my entire life, starting out with Barry Goldwater and The Conscience of a Conservative in the1960's. In 1967 I enlisted in the U.S. Marines for four years, spending nearly two of them in South Vietnam. In 1972 I was a Florida presidential elector for Prof. John Hospers, the first Presidential candidate of the national Libertarian Party which was founded that same year. During the late 1970's and into the 1980's I was a contributing editor and monthly columnist for Reason magazine, and I’ve authored numerous articles in the print and online media about various subjects relating to individual rights and personal freedom. Today I'm a lawyer by profession; I divide my time between New Hampshire and Florida all year long, spending much of my time practicing law in Florida. As an early supporter and past member of the board of directors of the Free State Project, I was drawn to the Live Free or Die state of New Hampshire in late 2003 when it was chosen by a vote of the first 5,000 FSP participants. In 2004 I founded the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, and continue today to work within the state political system to advance the traditional NH values of frugal small government, low taxes, small business, free enterprise, and self-responsibility. To all, I say "Come and see what we are building in the beautiful, healthy, livable Free State of New Hampshire!"
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