Times Tribune - Rand Paul Speaks in London

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By Carl Keith Greene

The meeting room at London's Cumberland Valley Area Development District was full as recently elected U.S. Sen. Rand Paul spoke Wednesday.

For nearly 20 minutes he discussed the economy, possible presidential candidates and how Social Security funding will continue.

He opened his speech by calling the government a "busy-body." Paul explained, "They are involved in every nook and cranny of your life. And it gets worse every day. Every time they write a regulation, I think they should take one away. Instead they just add more regulations." He explained that the leaders of the nation don't look to see if the existing regulations work, "they just add more."

He discussed how government agencies have their own special weapons and tactics teams, noting that the Department of Agriculture in Los Angeles "shut down an awful, awful crime in an organic food store, selling milk directly from the cow."

"A Department of Agriculture SWAT team just swoops in and does that."

The country does need rules, he added, but "it's going overboard."

"Instead of doing some of the good things, we have a government that's run amuck," he said, adding that the government is so over zealous that it's hurting its people.

While there is massive coal mining in the Appalachians, particularly in east Kentucky and western West Virginia, the government should pull away some of its rules and regulations, he said.

He said the Environmental Protection Agency has "gone crazy."

"There is some evidence that the air is cleaner now than it was 30 years ago and the air is a lot cleaner than it was 80 years ago."

When they add new regulations they don't look and see what it will do for employment, Paul said.

With 10 percent unemployment in Kentucky and it may be higher in eastern Kentucky, Paul said, "What we don't need is to heap new regulations on businesses that are providing products and services that other people are buying. The President does not quite get this and he wants to create new jobs. He doesn't realize that the society and environment and economy already have decided who the job creators are."

He jumped then to the national debt.

"We're spending a hundred thousand dollars every second. Forty thousand dollars of that is borrowed. China, Japan or even just printed."

"I'm for more profit. I'm for creating more rich people. Everybody succeed, that's what's great about capitalism."

He added, "I don't think the government should bail you out."

He said if someone opens a restaurant in London and it fails, "nobody will bail you out. That's the way the marketplace works."

Some of the bailing out came under George W. Bush and more under "the current President," he added.

"We've spent trillions of dollars we don't have. Now we're on a curve toward disaster," he said as he led into the entitlement programs.

Those programs are growing. "That's no one's fault. It's just that we're living longer and have less young people than old people."

He noted that when Social Security and Medicare started there were 50 workers for one retiree. Now it's three workers for one retiree.

Then he brought up the new health care program, what he called another entitlement program. "The problem is," he said, "we were struggling to pay for Medicare and Social Security. They were already in arrears."

So, he asked why would the country want to have a whole new benefit.

He called the current administration the most anti-business administration the country has ever had.

"We need to be friendlier to business. That's where the jobs are created. Instead of trying to vilify people who do well, we should be saying right-on, do more. Make more profit, hire more people."

Paul said he thinks everyone should pay taxes, either income tax or corporate tax. "We need to lower some of it."

He also said, as in the past when the budgets have been balanced, the budget should be balanced in the future.

"You can cut one penny from every dollar the government spends for six years," and in those six years it will balance, he said.

He wrapped up his speech with "We have to start using our brains, not just our hearts. If someone needs help, why don't we cut out the 81 duplicate programs that help people and stick with the one that might work? We're going to have to do that, not just piling on more programs. We need to see what works, what is duplicate. Some have to be cut."

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