Should Government Protect You from Yourself? In the last Republican Presidential debate, an interesting question was posed, with an even more interesting answer, and it all surrounded the issue of Government intervention in your health. The question was not about healthcare, but had more to do with health as a lifestyle, including the topics of diet and fitness. The question was on whether Government should have a place in deciding what is right for the health of the majority of citizens or not. And the particular answer I am focusing on is the one by Congressmen and Presidential candidate Ron Paul. You can see this question and answer starting at the 9 minutes and 10 seconds mark: Ron Paul-Government is trying to Protect You from Yourself, Q/A 9:10 Ron Paul-50 Issues that Affect Our Freedom None of the controversy around the issue is exaggerated, and I would even argue that it’s not getting enough coverage. Government is swiftly realizing how beneficial control over our health can be. New Government positions means more lobbying money, and more corporate/Government decisions on what direction your health heads in (more power). This of course means the market (you, me, everyone else) is losing power, [...]
government intervention
Government Food Subsidies Undermine Your Health and Liberty
Government food subsidies, or government agricultural subsidies, are payments to farmers and agricultural businesses by the taxpayers in efforts to control food prices and food supply. [Note: You can hear Representative Ron Paul on subsidies here: Ron Paul subsidies are just payments to big corporations] These subsidies allegedly protect from surpluses in food supply, which could be damaging to prices and those earning from those surpluses. They also used to allegedly protect the consumers against radical increases in crop and food prices. These policies remain in effect, despite claims that the US pays more for crops than others and has been for quite some time. What really happens is that a small percentage of large farms or businesses receive the majority of the percentage of subsidies, although they don’t need it, and act in disregard over the fact that subsidies have now reached about a quarter of a trillion dollars within the last 10 years. These farmers are promised minimum crop prices and annual payments, allowing them to collect money that is not needed, and artificially controlling the prices and availability of certain crops and foods. Of course, there is little mention of the damage this does to small farmers, or the [...]
