Ron Paul is a Kook

Well, that is the label Ron Paul's been awarded by the good people who oppose him and his ideas.

But what is a "kook". According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a kook is:

"One whose ideas or actions are eccentric, fantastic, or insane"

OK. So from this definition I assume that the "sane" people are implying that Ron Paul and his ideas are "insane".

But, before I allow myself to be sucked into this belief like a sheep, I first need to validate if Ron Paul's ideas are "kooky". Then I will decide.

To do this, I will juxtapose Ron Paul's ideas (the kooky ones) against the dissenter's ideas (like day and night, hot and cold, etc.)

The Kooky Ideas vs. The Sane Ideas

Freedom vs Slavery

Peace vs War

Capitalism vs Socialism (communism)

Sound Money vs Fiat Money

Savings vs Cheap Credit/Debt

Non-Intervention vs Intervention

Free Economy vs Planned Economy

Surplus vs Deficit

Anti Income Tax vs Pro Income Tax

Independence vs Dependence

Solvency vs Bankruptcy

Deflation vs Inflation

Conservative vs Liberal

Deregulation vs Regulation

Proactive vs Reactive

Decentralized Government vs Centralized Government

Limited Government vs Big Government

Individualism vs Collectivism

Pro-Market vs Pro-Government

Private Property vs No Private Property

Money backed by Gold vs Money backed by Debt

Wow, interesting when you compare the ideas like this, huh?

Ron Paul is a kook...yeah, right! He is actually fantastic!

Economics Teaches Us Not To Fret

In a world of scarcity, every choice requires that something else of value must be given up, and the highest-valued alternative given up is the opportunity cost.

That opportunity-cost emphasis focuses on the question of what is actually being given up when a choice is made. Its purpose is to ensure that we don't mislead ourselves with basic errors, because if we misunderstand the relevant costs, our understanding can well be incorrect even if our theory from that point on is correct (following the maxim that logic only means making no more mistakes than you are already committed to).

Equally important, it helps ensure that others can't mislead us with their confused understanding, as so often happens when people try to sell government "solutions" to perceived problems (e.g., ignoring the cost to society of the taxation required to fund some spending program).

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FMM Comment: On the other hand, you SHOULD fret when people vote for warmongers, socialists, fascists, welfarists, big spenders, inflationists, thiefs and liers.

Who’s Been Goosing Goldilocks?

The Myth Of Free Markets

"The power of myth is extraordinary. Correctly applied, the ignorant will believe themselves enlightened and slaves will believe themselves free."

When credit markets began to unravel in the summer of 2007, central bankers and economists were surprised. In retrospect, they should not have been. Warnings of a speculative bubble were issued as soon as cheap credit began distorting housing prices in 2003. Denial, however, always trumps reason in the presence of profits—or ulterior motive in the case of Greenspan.

So it was in the 1920s in the US, in the 1980s in Japan, in the 1990s in the US and it will be so again in the 2000s in the US—all large speculative bubbles ending in collapse; but this time, like in the 1930s, the collapse will affect the entire world, for another global depression may be in the offing.

Credit, like steroids, is a potent tool and is now the prime mover of financial markets in New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, etc. The interest rate of central banks measures the flow of liquidity in the form of credit that credit-addicted global markets depend on and crave; but credit like steroids, with continued usage will destroy the body it once helped—Parcus nex, sic economic death, is the next stage in our deadly dance with debt.

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Financial Setbacks

By Bill Bonner

"There is no magic to Free Enterprise. It is the best way to create wealth, but it does not prevent people from making mistakes. Capitalism offers people a chance to make money. But it also offers them a chance to make fools of themselves."

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Capitalism and the American Way

By Bill Bonner,

"Capitalism we define as merely a state of nature…where people are free to go about their business based on customary, consensual rules in an evolved, vernacular market system. The more you tamper with it, the less well it works."

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Government Regulation vs Free Markets

Economic Outlook: More Darkening Clouds
by Dom Armentano

Every American, from the top Fortune 500 CEO to the youthful fast-food hamburger flipper, owes his standard of living – the highest in the world – to free market capitalism. It's capitalism – private property and free markets – that provides the information and the incentive that allows each of us to maximize the value of our economic activity. Yet to hear the (mostly) Democratic presidential candidates tell it, free markets are faulty, unfair, and inherently unstable; indeed, government should constantly regulate markets and ride to the rescue whenever recession threatens.

The overall economic ignorance displayed in this year's political campaign has been staggering. Instead of calling for balanced budgets, sound money, permanent tax reductions, and less regulation, most of the candidates have called for more inflation and more government intervention.

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