Originally posted by: Evan Lieb
Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX
Last 6-9 months? Try
2002 when he predicted the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6epCVUppjJM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMe_7-hmHHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgCq75g_M7Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCnzr566RR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTljuxZYJ9I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgK0vHZtwno
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c9G_XuIX_A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e9sPjflrxc
So in 1983 (and years before that, btw, I just don't have the video at the moment) when he was claiming that the very crux of the financial system (fiat, the Fed) should be abolished in favor of no Fed (at all!) and gold-backed dollars using fixed exchange rates. So, how long did it take for Paul to get it right about the entire financial system collapsing? And even in its current darkest hour, I can guarantee this is nothing but a temporary recession as long as the bailout goes through.
What was his doing for the past 25 years? He was promoting the return of sound economic policy ever since he stepped into office. He lived through Nixon's closing of the gold standard and immediately began raising awareness against it. As quoted from
Wikipedia,
"He clearly remembers August 15, 1971, when President Richard Nixon closed the "gold window" by implementing the U.S. dollar's complete departure from the gold standard, as the day he realized what the Austrian school economists wrote was coming true.[32] That same day, the young physician decided to enter politics, saying later, "After that day, all money would be political money rather than money of real value. I was astounded."[25]"
And as the multiple links above show, he was wrong, dead wrong, for nearly 3 decades. He has been saying the same stuff about gold-backed dollars and the Fed since the mid-to-late 1970's. He has been wrong for 30 years, wrong about the increase in money supply, wrong about rising standards of living and wages, wrong about the 90's boom, wrong wrong wrong. He happened to get something right (housing crash), for the wrong reasons. Those wrong reasons being the following; Paul claiming GSEs misled investors because of "foolish government interference in the markets", when in reality he has it totally ass backwards, totally missing the boat on the fact that the GSEs shouldn't have been deregulated to begin with, specifically the lack of oversight on income statements and credit. It doesn't help that these banks have been incentivized to give subprime loans to those that don't deserve it. Again, Paul misses the boat, and got it right for the wrong reasons.
Ron Paul is such a man of great conviction that even John McCain (back when he wasn't a neocon) said, "You're working with the most honest man in Congress." (
citation)
Definitely an honest man, no question. He's just dead wrong here.