Open Thread - What would Paul do?

So, I'm hearing through the online tubes and conduits that this U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas just might be your winner of the Iowa caucuses, Republican division, Tuesday.

This is his second caucus run. He's organized, and has spent some time campaigning in the state. His supporters are committed and enthusiastic, including a sizable number of independents and some Democrats who plan to caucus for him.

If it all comes together, Paul might prevail, or maybe not. Polls show him neck-and-neck with this Romney fellow for pole position. It's very fluid, as the pundits say.

But it's all happening so fast. One minute, we were completely ignoring this quirky Texas libertarian. The next, we're wondering what a Paul victory in Iowa will mean. He certainly is trending, as the young kids at the sock hop might say. He's also catching plenty of hell.

But what would he do as, gulp, president of the United States? Good question.

Through the miracle of cut and paste, here are the specific positions on issues I found on Paul's website, including his policy proposals and his "Plan to Restore America." I thought I'd share it and open it up for discussion, purely as a public service. (There's additional background stuff on the website I didn't grab, so if you need more info, go there.)

I'm curious to see what you think.

Energy

* Remove restrictions on drilling, so companies can tap into the vast amount of oil we have here at home.

* Repeal the federal tax on gasoline. Eliminating the federal gas tax would result in an 18 cents savings per gallon for American consumers.

* Lift government roadblocks to the use of coal and nuclear power.

* Eliminate the ineffective EPA. Polluters should answer directly to property owners in court for the damages they create - not to Washington.

* Make tax credits available for the purchase and production of alternative fuel technologies.

Immigration

* Enforce Border Security - America should be guarding her own borders and enforcing her own laws instead of policing the world and implementing U.N. mandates.

* No Amnesty - The Obama Administration's endorsement of so-called “Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants, will only encourage more lawbreaking.

* Abolish the Welfare State - Taxpayers cannot continue to pay the high costs to sustain this powerful incentive for illegal immigration.  As Milton Friedman famously said, you can't have open borders and a welfare state.

* End Birthright Citizenship - As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be granted U.S. citizenship, we'll never be able to control our immigration problem.

* Protect Lawful Immigrants - As President, Ron Paul will encourage legal immigration by streamlining the entry process without rewarding lawbreakers.

Education (Home schooling)

In many cases, home schooling families must forgo the second income of one parent, as well as incur the costs of paying for textbooks, computers, and other school supplies.

And with combined taxes taking almost 50 percent of the average family's income, there is little left over for low- and middle-class parents to even consider other educational opportunities.

That's why, during his time in Congress, Ron Paul has introduced legislation to:

*  Help parents better educate their children by providing parents with a $5,000 per child tax credit for tutors, books, computers, and other K-12 related educational needs.

*  Ensure that the federal government treats high school diplomas earned through home schooling the same as other high school diplomas.

Labor issues

Passage of a National Right to Work law would end forced union dues by repealing compulsory-dues provisions in federal labor law.

In addition to his support for a National Right to Work law, he also voted to defeat Big Labor's “Card Check” scheme.

This bill would have eliminated secret ballot elections for union organizers - allowing union bosses to intimidate workers into signing themselves over to union boss control.

And he voted against the Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill.

This legislation was designed to put all American police and firefighters under the union bosses' control - just the first step toward forcing all state and local public employees under Big Labor's thumb.

Gun rights

The inalienable right to keep and bear arms is not only essential to a free society, but it is the guardian of every other right.

During his time in Congress, Ron Paul has worked tirelessly to restore the Second Amendment rights of all Americans by:

* Introducing legislation to repeal the “Brady Bill” and the so-called “Assault Weapons Ban.”

* Authoring legislation to end U.S. membership in the anti-gun United Nations to ensure American tax dollars are not used to fund global gun control schemes like the so-called “Small Arms Treaty.”

* Writing a bill that would allow pilots and specially trained law enforcement personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers and help prevent future 9/11-style attacks.

With our gun rights under constant attack from our own government and the anti-gun United Nations, as well as the threat of rising crime due to our country's economic woes, Congressman Paul believes it has never been more important that our President be 100% committed to defending our God-given right to keep and bear arms.

Taxes

As President, Ron Paul will support a Liberty Amendment to the Constitution to abolish the income and death taxes.  And he will be proud to be the one who finally turns off the lights at the IRS for good.

Capital gains taxes, which punish you for success (and interfere with your efforts to hedge against inflation by purchasing gold and silver coins), should also be immediately repealed.

Struggling college students and those working to support their families would be greatly benefited and receive an immediate pay raise by eliminating taxes on tips.

As a congressman, Ron Paul has consistently endorsed legislation to let Americans claim more tax credits and deductions, including on educational costs, alternative energy vehicles, and health care.  He also believes it is immoral to tax senior citizens twice by requiring them to include Social Security benefits in their gross income at tax time. A first step to eliminating that requirement would be to repeal the 1993 increase in taxes on Social Security benefits.  Then we must abolish that tax entirely.

While a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax would each be a better alternative to the income tax system, Congressman Paul believes we would have to guarantee the 16

^th

Amendment is repealed to avoid having both the income tax and one of these systems as an additional tax.

But there is a better way. Restraining federal spending by enforcing the Constitution's strict limits on the federal government's power would help result in a 0% income tax rate for Americans.

Foreign Policy

* Make securing our borders the top national security priority.

* Avoid long and expensive land wars that bankrupt our country by using constitutional means to capture or kill terrorist leaders who helped attack the U.S. and continue to plot further attacks.

* Guarantee our intelligence community's efforts are directed toward legitimate threats and not spying on innocent Americans through unconstitutional power grabs like the Patriot Act.

* End the nation-building that is draining troop morale, increasing our debt, and sacrificing lives with no end in sight.

* Follow the Constitution by asking Congress to declare war before one is waged.

* Only send our military into conflict with a clear mission and all the tools they need to complete the job - and then bring them home.

* Ensure our veterans receive the care, benefits, and honors they have earned when they return.

* Revitalize the military for the 21

^st

century by eliminating waste in a trillion-dollar military budget.

* Prevent the TSA from forcing Americans to either be groped or ogled just to travel on an airplane and ultimately abolish the unconstitutional agency.

* Stop taking money from the middle class and the poor to give to rich dictators through foreign aid.

Health Care

* Repeal ObamaCare and end its unconstitutional mandate that all Americans must carry only government-approved health insurance or answer to the IRS.

* Allow purchase of health insurance across state lines.

* Provide tax credits and deductions for all medical expenses.

* Exempt those with terminal illnesses from the employee portion of payroll taxes while they are suffering from such illnesses or are incurring significant medical costs associated with their conditions.

* Give a payroll deduction to any worker who is the primary caregiver for a spouse, parent, or child with a terminal illness.

* Ensure that those harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system by providing a tax credit for “negative outcomes” insurance purchased before medical treatment.

* Guarantee that what is taken from taxpayers to pay for Medicare and Medicaid is not raided for other purposes.

* Make all Americans eligible for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and remove government-imposed barriers to obtaining HSAs.

* Stop the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from interfering with Americans' knowledge of and access to dietary supplements and alternative treatments.

* Prevent federal bureaucrats from tracking every citizen's medical history from cradle to grave by prohibiting the use of taxpayer funds for a national database of personal health information.

Abortion

* Immediately saving lives by effectively repealing Roe v. Wade and preventing activist judges from interfering with state decisions on life by removing abortion from federal court jurisdiction through legislation modeled after his “We the People Act.”

* Defining life as beginning at conception by passing a “Sanctity of Life Act.”

Because he agrees with Thomas Jefferson that it is “sinful and tyrannical” to “compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors,” Ron Paul also will protect the American people's freedom of conscience by working to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for abortions, Planned Parenthood, or any other so-called “family planning” program.

End the Fed

As President, Ron Paul will work for passage of comprehensive audit legislation, and he also will fight to legalize sound money so Americans will have alternatives to the Fed's inflated paper money.

Ultimately, he will lead the charge to end the dishonest, immoral, and unconstitutional Federal Reserve System, enabling America to take a giant step toward economic security, financial responsibility, and lasting prosperity.

Plan to Restore America:

SPENDING:

Cuts $1 trillion in spending during the first year of Ron Paul's presidency, eliminating five cabinet departments (Energy, HUD, Commerce, Interior, and Education), abolishing the Transportation Security Administration and returning responsibility for security to private property owners, abolishing corporate subsidies, stopping foreign aid, ending foreign wars, and returning most other spending to 2006 levels.

ENTITLEMENTS:

Honors our promise to our seniors and veterans, while allowing young workers to opt out. Block grants Medicaid and other welfare programs to allow States the flexibility and ingenuity they need to solve their own unique problems without harming those currently relying on the programs.

CUTTING GOVERNMENT WASTE:

Makes a 10% reduction in the federal workforce, slashes Congressional pay and perks, and curbs excessive federal travel. To stand with the American People, President Paul will take a salary of $39,336, approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker.

TAXES:

Lowers the corporate tax rate to 15%, making America competitive in the global market. Allows American companies to repatriate capital without additional taxation, spurring trillions in new investment. Extends all Bush tax cuts. Abolishes the Death Tax. Ends taxes on personal savings, allowing families to build a nest egg.

REGULATION:

Repeals ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, and Sarbanes-Oxley. Mandates REINS-style requirements for thorough congressional review and authorization before implementing any new regulations issued by bureaucrats. President Paul also will cancel all onerous regulations previously issued by Executive Order.

MONETARY POLICY:

Conducts a full audit of the Federal Reserve and implements competing currency legislation to

strengthen the dollar and stabilize inflation.