End wars, spending and reintroduce sound money

ANKENY, Iowa– The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign released the following statement from National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s August 2011 Employment Situation Summary:

“The August national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent is another unfortunate chapter in the Obama administration’s almost superhuman mishandling of the economy.  Total nonfarm employment was unchanged, with zero jobs created.  The number of involuntary part-time workers is up, and the number of those marginally attached to the workforce is up.

“Six million workers, 42.9 percent of total unemployed persons, have been jobless 27 weeks or longer – a frightening proposition considering that mortgage, rent, food and back-to-school bills may go unpaid.  The most recent four-week moving average of new unemployment claims, favored for being a less volatile indicator of our jobs picture, is a frowning 410,250 – also cause for dismay.

“Indeed, much more than these data hangs in the balance.  Americans are enduring painful long-term joblessness.  They’re witnessing their savings disappear due to lost income.  They’re seeing their personal debt rise due to lost income.   And they gaze despairingly upon their retirement plans as these arrangements are tabled or upended entirely.

“We’ve been told our economic situation would get worse before it gets better, yet circumstances have remained near to their utmost worst for nearly three years. 

“We’ve been told that help was on the way, yet taxpayer-derived aid was granted to pet causes and favored political allies.  Too often, bailouts were targeted to the President’s corporate and financial sector allies, a policy similar to that of tossing life preservers to those partying on yachts.

“Americans have had enough.

“It’s high time that the President and his Washington establishment allies – those in both parties – ‘man up’ and face the responsibility to enact authentic change.

“First, America must put an end to the unconstitutional, undeclared wars that are nothing more than destructive conflicts having an unclear connection to U.S. national security.  And we should stop putting our war-weary armed services men and women in danger by being the world’s police force and dispense with state building while there are pressing needs at home. 

“Ron Paul has called for an authentic stimulus that communities across America will find economically and affectionately stimulating: the return to America of 305,000 of their sons, daughters, husbands and wives who are deployed overseas. 

“Dr. Paul says time and again that these men and women’s absence from the U.S., their deployments by international organizations such as N.A.T.O. and the United Nations, and their involvement in unconstitutional, undeclared wars puts America at risk. 

“America’s heroes should finally return, reunite with their loved ones in the vicinity of U.S. bases – many of which face closure, as foreign bases thrive – and they can spend, save or invest their pay right here in America.

“A return to the U.S. of service men and women and their equipment just months ago would mean that Vermont would have possessed the needed Blackhawk helicopters and personnel to adequately respond to Hurricane Irene’s destruction.  Instead, Vermont was required to borrow helicopters from Illinois and New Hampshire.

“In the wake of Hurricane Irene, there’s a national conversation about the constitutionality, efficacy and efficiency of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) happening.  Yet, none of Ron Paul’s Republican primary competitors have raised the issue that, since the U.S. reportedly spends more than $500 billion on overseas adventures, just seven days’ worth of U.S global militarism would pay for Hurricane Irene response.

“Second, President Obama and his Washington enablers of both parties must end the appalling practice of overspending and borrowing.  American households are becoming poorer as the economic doldrums continue, however Washington enjoys a kind of golden age as it grows and promotes its relevance in every facet of life. 

“The Obama administration offers empty promises on a jobs fix despite the economic reality that government does not create jobs, and in lockstep those in government garner little criticism as few in the media hold Washingtonians’ feet to the fire.   This selective examination of the facts, too, must end.

“Third, the U.S. must avoid the disastrous boom and bust cycles that promote irresponsible spending, investing, borrowing and lending and this can only be done by returning to a sound money system. 

“The Federal Reserve should undergo a complete and thorough audit, and currency competition should be introduced by decriminalizing the use of gold and silver as legal tender.  The final aim would be to end the Fed, which rewards the wealthy few while punishing and injuring working class Americans.

“The numbers and anecdotal evidence of a failed jobs picture speak for themselves.  They are a glaring argument for abandoning the failed Big Government, discredited Keynesian response to the national crisis all but those in Washington are experiencing.

“We do not need another speech or prime-time lecture for that matter to tell us what we know: Washington has failed and it is time for new leadership. 

“Ron Paul has championed the same constitutionally-limited government, noninterventionist foreign policy and sound money arguments for more than 30 years. 

“Dr. Paul wisely predicted the economic crisis and foresaw that it would fall hardest on the hardworking and most vulnerable.  The issues now match the candidate, which is why his message is resonating with more voters as the primary campaign cycle advances.”