Ron Paul's ideas no longer fringe
With the economy still struggling, the lawmaker's libertarian views are getting serious attention.
By Don Lee
January 2, 2010
Reporting from Washington
For
three decades, Texas congressman and former presidential candidate Ron
Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far
fringes even among conservatives. Not a few times, his views put him on
the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.
No longer. With the economy still struggling and political
divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience
but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over
economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including
jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy.
Already, Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory
power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be
on its way to becoming law.
His warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras.
And with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the
Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has
helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan
divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending
and the deficit.
"People are wondering what went wrong. And they're not happy with
what the government is offering up," said James Grant, editor of
Grant's Interest Rate Observer, offering an explanation for why
seemingly wonkish arguments over interest rate policy and the money
supply are spilling over onto ordinary Americans.
Some of Paul's most extreme views are still beyond the pale for
most economists. Despite the eroding value of the dollar, no one
expects the U.S. to return to the gold standard, as Paul advocates;
most economists think that could wreck the economy.
In their less drastic forms, however, Paul's ideas are being
welcomed by conservatives and viewed with foreboding by liberals. For
conservatives, runaway inflation constitutes the biggest potential
threat to the nation's future. Liberals worry that cutting back
stimulus efforts too soon could slow or even halt the current recovery.
The debate over that question -- what the basic thrust of U.S.
economic policy should be -- is likely to dominate the coming elections
and Washington policymaking.
And so far, Paul and his fellow conservatives are on the
offensive. President Obama and congressional Democrats are repeatedly
pledging not to increase the deficit and to begin cutting back soon.
