Ron Paul

Ron Paul is a free-marketeer. He is willing to let the “market” dictate the hows and whys of America's energy and environmental policy.

But here’s the caveat.

Congressman Dr. Paul wants everyone and every company to work from an even playing field. That means no government subsidies for energy or environmental concerns. (An exception is the promotion of tax credits for the installation of alternative energy systems – specifically solar, wind, and fuel cell technology.)

If a better, more efficient idea comes along, Paul is sure that a fair, free market will pay for its development and distribution.

On Energy, his beef is that government is meddling too much. In the words of the Ron Paul from his website:

“Government regulations, taxes, and corporate subsidies have distorted the energy market, causing some prices to rise above what they would be in the free market, while artificially lowering other prices and discouraging conservation. The costs of energy subsidies are hidden in your tax bill so the government can silently withhold them from your wallet with each paycheck.

As president, I will work to restore a free-market in energy. In particular, I will work with Congress to repeal federal regulations and taxes that impede the development of new energy sources. Such policies give government bureaucrats the power to pick winners and losers, and cause resources to be devoted to those producers with the most political clout rather than to the producers who are best able to meet the needs of consumers. Alternative sources should prove their viability in the free market. Any source that truly is cheaper and cleaner, yet still reliable, will not need government help to develop or sell.

Returning to a free market in energy will encourage conservation as well as the development of new forms of energy. In a free market, conservation occurs naturally when property rights are strictly enforced to prevent pollution and because resources become more costly as they become scarcer.

I have cosponsored legislation designed to encourage the development of alternative energy. H.R. 550 extends the investment tax credit to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, and H.R. 1772 provides tax credits for the installation of wind energy property.
Nuclear energy can also provide the American people with a reliable and environmentally sound alternative. Therefore, I will repeal federal regulations that hinder the development of nuclear energy. However, I will also repeal all federal subsidies and privileges granted the nuclear industry. Nuclear power should prove its worth in the free-market.

Clean, safe, and reliable energy is far too important to leave to the political whims of Washington bureaucrats.”

And on the Environment, Paul is also calling for less government intervention. Again, he takes a market-based approach but with an interesting take on the issue stressing property rights.

Ron Paul states:

“The federal government has proven itself untrustworthy with environmental policy by facilitating polluters, subsidizing logging in the National Forests, and instituting one-size-fits-all approaches that too often discriminate against those they are intended to help.

The key to sound environmental policy is respect for private property rights. The strict enforcement of property rights corrects environmental wrongs while increasing the cost of polluting.

In a free market, no one is allowed to pollute his neighbor's land, air, or water. If your property is being damaged, you have every right to sue the polluter, and government should protect that right. After paying damages, the polluter's production and sale costs rise, making it unprofitable to continue doing business the same way. Currently, preemptive regulations and pay-to-pollute schemes favor those wealthy enough to perform the regulatory tap dance, while those who own the polluted land rarely receive a quick or just resolution to their problems.

In Congress, I have followed a constitutional approach to environmental action:

I consistently vote against using tax dollars to subsidize logging in National Forests.

I am a co-sponsor of legislation designed to encourage the development of alternative and sustainable energy. H.R. 550 extends the investment tax credit to solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, and H.R. 1772 provides tax credits for the installation of wind energy property.

Taxpayers for Common Sense named me a "Treasury Guardian" for my work against environmentally-harmful government spending and corporate welfare.

I am a member of the Congressional Green Scissors Coalition, a bipartisan caucus devoted to ending taxpayer subsidies of projects that harm the environment for the benefit of special interests.

Individuals, businesses, localities, and states must be free to negotiate environmental standards. Those who depend on the land for their health and livelihood have the greatest incentive to be responsible stewards.”

As for gas prices, Ron Paul wrote an article in May 2006 outlining his views. In short, he believes the U.S. should get out of Iraq and stop threatening Iran. Paul pointed out that before we went into Iraq, crude oil was about $30 a barrel. Now, it hovers in the $90 a barrel range and has peaked over $100 a barrel in recent months.

Paul also calls for tighter control of the currency by the Federal Reserve Bank to control inflation.

The article, along with more of Ron Paul’s essays can be found at

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/855/what-congress-can-do-about-soaring-gas-prices/

and his official campaign website is

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/