Ron Paul Statement on Tax Freedom Day

“My ultimate goal remains to repeal the 16th Amendment and end the tyranny of the IRS once and for all.” – Ron Paul

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – Texas Congressman and Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul issued the following statement regarding today being Tax Freedom Day, the day when average Americans finally stop working to pay federal, state, and local taxes.

Below please find comments from Congressman Paul:

“Knowing that every penny the average American has earned from January 1st until today has gone to pay federal, state, or local taxes is a frightening reminder of how much liberty modern Americans have lost.  Unfortunately, even after Tax Freedom Day, Americans will still suffer from the Federal Reserve’s regressive and hidden inflation tax, which erodes their purchasing power for the benefit of big banks and big-spending politicians.

“As a Congressman, I have never voted to raise taxes or increase spending, which is why I have consistently been named one of the top ‘Taxpayers’ Best Friends’ in Congress by the non-partisan National Taxpayers Union.  As President, I will work to reduce the burden of taxes and spending on the American people by passing my ‘Plan to Restore America.’

“This Plan not only cuts $1 trillion in the first year of my administration and balances the budget by the third year, but it provides much-needed tax relief to the American people.  It does this by permanently extending the Bush-era tax rates, lowering the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, allowing American companies to repatriate capital without paying additional taxes, abolishing the death tax, and ending all taxes on personal savings.

“My ‘Plan to Restore America’ also begins to free the American people from the inflation tax by conducting a full audit of the Federal Reserve and legalizing competing currencies.  These simple steps will allow the American people to at last learn the truth about how the Fed is working to prop up big banks at the expense of average Americans’ standard of living and then to take the appropriate actions to protect themselves and their families.

“My ultimate goal remains to repeal the 16th Amendment and end the tyranny of the IRS once and for all.  Of the four men seeking the presidential nomination of one of the major parties – President Obama, Governor Romney, Speaker Gingrich, and myself – I am the only one who has consistently opposed increases in taxes and spending.  I am also the only one who has consistently fought the Federal Reserve’s assault on the middle class’ standard of living.  My campaign to Restore America Now is the clear choice for any American concerned about rolling back taxes, cutting spending, and curbing inflation.”

Ron Paul Only Candidate Able to Defeat Obama in New Poll

Edges out Obama while Romney, suffering from Obama’s enthusiasm gap, at best ties Obama

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul again polls better against President Barack Obama in a head-to-head matchup than establishment-choice moderate Mitt Romney, according to a poll released today from Rasmussen.

The poll notes that in a general election matchup, the 12-term Congressman from Texas edges out Obama by 1 percentage point, 44 to 43 percent. The survey also notes that in a hypothetical 2012 head-to-head, Obama and Romney are tied at 45 percent, which bodes poorly for Republicans being urged to believe the race is over, only to later experience buyer’s remorse.

The poll also finds that this far into Obama’s first term, 40 percent of voters respond that they “strongly disapprove” and 27 percent “strongly approve” of his performance.  With a Presidential Approval Index of -13 points, it is noteworthy that some Republicans are seemingly settling on a candidate no more popular than the President, suggesting an establishment liberal Democrat is no more popular than a establishment liberal Republican.  The Rasmussen poll may be prescient in showing a general election scenario of confusion among voters over which candidate has the least liberal record.

“Now that other candidates presenting themselves as the ‘conservative’ alternative to Mitt Romney have stepped aside, the numbers are clear.  Ron Paul is the only conservative able to garner the enthusiasm, resources, and votes required to win in November.  Voters perceive the contrast, and are ready to elect the candidate who will end the status quo and Restore America Now,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

Rasmussen’s daily tracking results are collected from 1,500 Likely Voters and have a +/- 3 percentage point error margin.

Ron Paul Shatters Records

Dear friend of liberty,

You and I know that no other candidate can claim such passionate and enthusiastic supporters as Dr. Ron Paul.

But what our campaign has witnessed over the past couple of weeks has been truly astounding, even for our Revolution.

The number of people now coming to our events is shattering all our previous records for attendance.

On Thursday, over 8,500 people came to hear Dr. Paul speak at UC-Berkeley.

On the Tuesday and Wednesday before that, Dr. Paul attracted crowds of more than 6,000 at UCLA and over 6,200 at Cal State – Chico!

So don’t give in to the media’s story that this race is over.

It remains unlikely that any candidate will reach the number of delegates required to secure the nomination, and I believe Dr. Paul’s message of individual freedom, limited government, and personal responsibility is more popular than ever!

And now, Dr. Paul needs your help to demonstrate that not only are his supporters still dedicated to spreading our message, but they are willing to fund this campaign all the way to Tampa.

Our campaign is holding another Money Bomb on April 15, and I wanted to send you a “Save the Date” notice for this important effort.

Our government is growing more out of control each day, and every year we are reminded of the massive bureaucracy it has become when we are forced to sort through a maze of forms just to keep as much as we can of our own hard-earned money.

Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate who can be trusted to get rid of the IRS and stop the government’s plundering.

But to continue his march to the Convention and keep recruiting delegates at hundreds of meetings all across the country, he needs your help.

This week, we’ll send you a link where you can pledge to donate on April 15th, and I hope you will give whatever you can.

Any amount helps Dr. Paul reach another voter and fight for another delegate spot.

Together, you and I can elect Ron Paul and Restore America Now!

For Liberty,

John Tate

Campaign Manager

Ron Paul Responds to Obama’s ‘Global Tax’

“Yet another example of this administration’s hostility toward liberty”

 

LAKE JACKSON, Texas–  Congressman and 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul has issued a statement strongly condemning Gene Sperling’s call for a global minimum tax. Sperling is President Obama’s director of the National Economic Council. See comments below:

 

“Gene Sperling’s call for a global minimum tax is yet another example of this administration’s hostility toward liberty, as well as its ignorance of economics. A global minimum tax would logically require some sort of global IRS to ensure the tax was paid, and it would give the government even more excuses to invade our financial privacy.

 

“History shows that any time ‘minimum’ taxes are created, they do not remain minimum. Greedy politicians will eventually increase both the tax rate and the number of people subject to the tax.

 

“A global minimum tax will further cripple economic growth, as more money is sucked out of the productive sector to be wasted by politicians and government bureaucrats. The American people are already struggling under the burden of high taxes, high spending, and outrageous debt. They do not need new taxes imposed on business at the international level.

 

“Instead of trying to impose new global taxes, President Obama and Mr. Sperling should join me in supporting repealing all taxes on the repatriation of foreign capital. This would inject trillions of dollars into the American economy and help create new businesses and new jobs. Tax-free capital repatriation is a major part of my Plan to Restore America.

 

"I hope my four rivals for the presidency – Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and President Obama himself – will join me in denouncing Mr. Sperling’s call for a global tax.”

Ron Paul Winning the Battle for Delegates

Campaign is well-positioned in delegate race

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign released the following statement regarding the results of yesterday’s election results. See comments below from Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Manager John Tate.

“We are thrilled with the yesterday’s results. Our campaign to Restore America continues to gain ground, and we are poised to pick up even more delegates from Minnesota and Colorado adding to our delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.

“As people across the country view the results of  yesterday’s contests, it is important to consider a few facts that have not been clearly reported.  Not one single delegate was awarded yesterday, instead the caucuses in Minnesota and Colorado were the very first step in the delegate selection process. And there are still over 40 states left to go. The Ron Paul campaign plans to continue to vie for delegates nationwide.

“There are a few significant takeaways from yesterday’s contests to remember:

1) The Missouri primary means nothing. It was a non-binding beauty contest, and the contest that matters in the ‘show me’ state won’t take place for another month. The Ron Paul campaign is well positioned to win delegates in Missouri’s caucus a month from now.

2) As in Iowa where not 1 of the 28 delegates has been awarded yet, in Colorado and Nevada the Paul campaign will do very well in the state delegate counts. We will have good numbers among the actual delegates awarded, far exceeding our straw poll numbers.

3) In Minnesota where we have finished a solid second, we also have a strong majority of the state convention delegates, and the process to elect delegates has also just begun, the Paul campaign is well-organized to win the bulk of delegates there.

“We are confident in gaining a much larger share of delegates than even our impressive showing yesterday indicates. As an example of our campaign’s delegate strength, take a look at what has occurred in Colorado:

In one precinct in Larimer County, the straw poll vote was 23 for Santorum, 13 for Paul, 5 for Romney, 2 for Gingrich.  There were 13 delegate slots, and Ron Paul got ALL 13.

In a precinct in Delta County the vote was 22 for Santorum, 12 for Romney, 8 for Paul, 7 for Gingrich. There were 5 delegate slots, and ALL 5 went to Ron Paul.

In a Pueblo County precinct, the vote was 16 for Santorum, 11 for Romney, 3 for Gingrich and 2 for Paul. There were 2 delegate slots filled, and both were filled by Ron Paul supporters.

We are also seeing the same trends in Minnesota, Nevada, and Iowa, and in Missouri as well.

“We may well win Minnesota, and do far better in Colorado than yesterday’s polls indicate.

“In the latest national poll from Reuters/Ipsos Poll, Ron Paul places a strong second with 21 percent, gaining ground on his main competitor nationally, Mitt Romney, whose support seems to be fading at 29 percent.  Congressman Paul’s support has grown by 5 percentage points nationally since January, while Romney has seen a 30 percent decline in his support since January.

“This poll follows a January 30th Gallup Poll showing Dr. Paul within the margin of error of defeating Obama.  Also, a January 16th CNN/ORC Poll showed Congressman Paul and Obama in a virtual tie in a general election showdown.

“Yesterday’s contests were significant, but not a decisive or a conclusive end to this race. Our campaign will keep pushing forward and continue to take our message of liberty all the way to the convention. This race after all is about delegates, not about beauty contests.”

Ron Paul Military Donations Nearly Twice Those of His GOP Rivals and Obama—Combined

Active-military men and women support Dr. Paul about three times more than Obama, and six times more than combined Republican opponents

 

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign raised more campaign donations from active-duty members of the military than all other presidential candidates combined—Republican or Democrat—according to a Paul campaign internal analysis.

 

A veteran of the Cold War-era, Paul raised more than $150,000 from active military in the fourth quarter.  This comes after the Congressman out-raised all GOP candidates – including all GOPers combined, and President Obama singularly – in the second and third quarters of last year.  Dr. Paul also outraised his GOP competitors in a head-to-head comparison during his 2008 run for the presidency.

 

Especially notable is that Paul raised about triple the amount Obama received and about six times that of all currently-competing Republicans—Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Buddy Roemer, and Rick Santorum—combined.

 

Taken together, this means Dr. Paul raised approximately double the money from active military than all the candidates from both parties combined.

 

Romney and Gingrich each received around $10,000, meaning Paul trumps them by about 15 times in a head-to-head matchup.

 

“Whether it’s his loyalty to the Constitution, the fact that Ron Paul is the only veteran running, his foreign policy to end nation building, or his Plan to Restore America, veterans are responding to Ron Paul’s candidacy loud and clear,” said Ron Paul 2012 Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

 

“The question ultimately comes down to, ‘What do the troops know that the other candidates don’t know?’  Plain as day the answer is that the men and women in uniform heroically serving our nation seek a shift away from deficit-financed overseas wars, and from the painful reality of returning home to lingering health issues and unemployment among peers.  Dr. Paul is the only candidate to have made clear where he stands, and he stands with the veterans and active-duty soldiers,” concluded Mr. Benton.

 

The data are derived from a Paul campaign independent analysis of FEC reports on contributors who listed their occupation and employer when contributing.  A graphic illustration of the results can be viewed here.

 

To view the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign’s veterans-themed ad, click here.  To view its subsequent foreign policy-themed ad, click here.

 

To read Dr. Paul’s open letter to President Obama defending veterans’ benefits click here.  To read National Campaign Manager John Tate’s statement elaborating on Dr. Paul’s support of legislation to honor and care for World War II-era Filipino veterans, please click here.

 

As a first basic step, those wanting to join the active “Veterans for Ron Paul” nationwide coalition should visit the official web page by clicking here.  Prospective members should also send an email to hq.coalitions@ronpaul2012.com, writing the coalition name in the subject line.

Ron Paul Issues Statement on CBO Debt Report

“The debt should be priority number one”

 

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – 2012 Presidential candidate Ron Paul released the following statement regarding the latest Congressional Budget Office report on the nation’s debt issues. See comments below.

 

“For the fourth year in a row, our federal budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion according to a new report by the Congressional Budget Office. In the report, the CBO tells us that the federal budget ‘remains out of balance throughout the decade’ and that the accumulation of debt, and the inevitable rise in interest rates will continue to increase the cost of financing that debt, digging us deeper into this hole.

 

“This news is the latest in an ongoing problem that I have tried to bring attention to my entire career. And now it seems more people are listening, but the Washington insiders who are supposed to be stewards of the budget are, if anything, only paying lip-service to the idea of getting this very real crisis under control.

 

“The debt should be priority number one, for everybody. It is for me.

 

“It should be a scandal that I am the only presidential candidate who is offering real solutions to our fiscal mess. My ‘Plan to Restore America’ cuts $1 trillion dollars in spending immediately and gets our economy on the way to much needed reform. But my proposal is rarely reported on by the elite media, and rarely even mentioned by my opponents or those who claim to be concerned about the financial health of our nation.

 

“Back in 2010, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen said that our debt is the greatest threat to our national security. And since he’s said that, things have not improved one bit. I firmly believe in a strong national defense, and I realize that if we do not take decisive action to deal with this debt crisis, we will not have much of a nation left to defend. That is why I offered my plan as a starting point to move toward solving this issue.

 

“There are some who believe we can simply tax ourselves out of this predicament, I disagree. It has been often repeated that Washington does not have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. So, it doesn’t matter how much we raise taxes, if we do not cure our disease of overspending we will not end the vicious cycle of borrowing and printing well beyond our means.

 

“America is the greatest nation on earth, we have had the largest middle class, the greatest wealth, and greatest number of success stories the world has ever seen. But now we see our middle class shrinking, our wealth diminished, kids are graduating from college with no real job prospects, and we have become the world’s biggest debtor nation.

 

"So what I propose under a Paul presidency, is a path back to prosperity, back to a vibrant middle class, more success stories, greater wealth and opportunity for every American willing to do the work it takes to achieve. I plan to restore America to what it once was, and what it can still be.”

Ron Paul Responds To Obama’s State Of The Union Speech

“Tonight, President Obama once again showed that he does not represent the fundamental change this country needs.”

LAKE JACKSON, Texas – See below for 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul’s response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

“Tonight, President Obama once again showed that he does not represent the fundamental change this country needs. Instead of offering solutions to the problems our country faces, the President was intent on delivering a campaign speech, further dealing in the typical Washington political gamesmanship that has gotten us exactly nowhere close to improving the lives of the American people.

“In a speech where much of the rhetoric was devoted to job creation, it was strange that President Obama would brag about his job-destroying national health care plan, Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank bill, which, contrary to the President’s claims, guarantees future taxpayer bailouts of large institutions. Unfortunately, President Obama’s ‘job creation’ policies amount to little more than continuing to allow government bureaucrats to pick winners and losers, which is a recipe for continued economic stagnation.

“President Obama claims to want an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. Yet he remains committed to the same old system of debt, deficits, bailouts, and cronyism that created our economic problems. The President speaks of giving us energy independence from unstable nations, yet he refuses to allow the type of development needed to achieve this goal, while at the same time his administration hands out favors to the politically connected – those given to the likes of Solyndra, who fail to produce jobs or energy but succeed in ripping off the taxpayers.

“Of course, President Obama refuses to even mention the role the Federal Reserve plays in creating an economic system where some are denied a fair shot or even to support my efforts at bringing transparency to the Federal Reserve. Also not mentioned by President Obama is the very crucial need for reining in spending and balancing the federal budget. What is called by some ‘the greatest threat to our national security’ seems not to be of great importance to this President, although I, like many Americans, believe it to be cause for immediate measures, like the $1 trillion in spending cuts that would take place in my first year as President under my Plan to Restore America.

“In the area of foreign policy and civil liberties, President Obama’s rhetoric may be different, but the substance of his polices – as shown by his administration’s defense of the TSA’s treatment of my son, Senator Rand Paul, is hardly ‘change we can believe in.’ No wonder more and more Americans, especially young people, are rejecting the phony alternatives of Obama and establishment Republicans and embracing my campaign to Restore America Now.”