Liberty Maven

As often is the case, Ron Paul is the voice of reason when it comes to political and economic matters.  In this week’s Texas Straight Talk he quite clearly opposes any types of bailouts — of the “Big Three” automakers, or otherwise — and reminds us that the true responsibility of the government is to be “good stewards” of our nation’s resources:

We must remember that governments do not produce anything. Their only resources come from producers in the economy through such means as inflation and taxation. The government has an obligation to be good stewards of these resources. In bailing out failing companies, they are confiscating money from productive members of the economy and giving it to failing ones. By sustaining companies with obsolete or unsustainable business models, the government prevents their resources from being liquidated and made available to other companies that can put them to better, more productive use. An essential element of a healthy free market, is that both success and failure must be permitted to happen when they are earned. But instead with a bailout, the rewards are reversed – the proceeds from successful entities are given to failing ones. How this is supposed to be good for our economy is beyond me.

Read the whole column.