Ron Paul espouses wary view of big government

Ron Paul skirted around potentially controversial issues and was met with respectful enthusiasm at a lecture Tuesday night in Salomon 101. Sharing his views on a plethora of political issues, Paul punctuated his lecture by voicing his distrust of politicians and government, at one point saying he wanted to neuter lobbyists.

The bigger the government, the bigger the lies, the less liberty we have, the former congressman told a packed house.

Paul highlighted what he described as the plights of big government in policy areas ranging from the economy to international relations, calling big government the root of the nations problems.

Once the only OB/GYN in his town, Paul said he was not interested in becoming a politician until then-President Nixon ominously took the United States off of the pseudo-Bretton Woods gold standard in 1971.

Since then, the government has continued to grow, the economy has become overregulated and the United States has ceased to produce tangible goods, Paul added.

Paul cited the end of the gold standard and the increasing power of Federal Reserve monetary policy as the causes of the recent economic crisis.

In the 50s and the 60s when we were graduating from college and medical school, there was never a question about jobs, Paul said, but now even graduates with advanced degrees face serious challenges finding work.

Paul condemned the Feds response to the recent recession as an example of what he called the corruption of big government.

The Fed came in in secret to the tune of trillions and trillions of dollars to bail out all the banks and all the major corporations, he said. What happened to the people who were supposed to be helped?

Large banks and corporations also profit from government welfare programs, Paul said, arguing that the programs do not actually benefit the poor.

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Ron Paul espouses wary view of big government