Young Americans for Liberty – Ole Miss Chapter

Check out this great rap explaining the pitfalls of Keynesian economics from the Austrian perspective.

So evidently Ron Paul makes an appearance in Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, Bruno. The movie is about a gay Austrian fashion commentator. In the movie, Bruno drops his pants in front of Dr. Paul during an interview. Of course, Dr. Paul very quickly storms off the set.

I’m not sure why Cohen picked Ron Paul. Possibly having to do with Austrian economics (seeing as how Bruno is supposedly Austrian), which Ron Paul thought the interview was going to be about.  But who knows, even though the scene is rather disrespectful and seems to make a mockery of the serious nature of Dr. Paul’s ideals, it might help with exposure. I guess it just depends on what lengths you’re willing to go for publicity.

You can literally hear people laughing at the man predicting our current crisis. The same idiots who criticized him for his prediction then, are now saying nobody predicted it. Don’t believe them!

It is only the Austrian school of economists that predicted the current economic meltdown and has any logical, common-sense plan to get us moving again.

Read his simple, yet far from simplistic article here.

One of my friends on myspace is a very serious Liberty supporter. He recently forwarded me an email that he sent to Congressman Childers (who voted for the recent stimulus). I thought I would share what he wrote.

Congressman Childers, I have read your statements on why you voted on the stimulus package. I’d like to point out that you and many of your colleagues are ignoring the fact that using inflation as a means to prop up government spending is not only irresponsible, it’s also highly unethical. You are forcing people to accept the burden of your actions by further deliberate devaluation of their money. If you are concerned with the well-being of our state, why saddle us with the detrimental effects of inflationary monetary policy? The new administration is repeating the mistakes of Hoover and Roosevelt, and seeking government intervention as a means to alleviate our economic woes. Keep in mind that the crash of 1919 was handled much differently (no government intervention) and the economy was back on track in no time. It was this sort of intervention that prolonged the Great Depression. We are being led into the fire by Keynesian economists, who are just as wrong today, as they were in that time. The economists who truly understand this crisis come from the Austrian school of economic thought (Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, F.A. Hayek). President Obama is not an economist. He gets bad advice from Keynesians and he is repeating the mistakes of the Great Depression. If you care about the well being of Mississippians, please take a few moments to look into the Austrian theory of the business cycle and the wisdom of these economists, before it’s too late. If you discover truth in those writings, you can contact one of your colleagues in the House if you want to learn more– Dr. Ron Paul of Texas.

Ludwig von Mises, the founder of Austrian Economics, was more than just an economist.  His ideal economic system of free markets and minimal government intervention arose from a vision of peace, freedom, and prosperity.  Mises was one of the greatest intellectual proponents of libertarian ideals and maintains a strong following in contemporary academic circles.  Ron Paul is one of the few American politicians to pay homage to Mises, but the vast majority of politicians fail to concern themselves with economic theory altogether.  To learn more about Mises, visit the Mises Institute at mises.org.  Here are some quotes from Mises relating to the codependency of peace and free markets:

“If you want to abolish war, you must eliminate its causes. What is needed is to restrict government activities to the preservation of life, health, and private property, and thereby to safeguard the working of the market. Sovereignty must not be used for inflicting harm on anyone, whether citizen or foreigner.”

“But what is needed for a satisfactory solution of the burning problem of international relations is neither a new office with more committees, secretaries, commissioners, reports, and regulations, nor a new body of armed executioners, but the radical overthrow of mentalities and domestic policies which must result in conflict.”

“The only means to lasting peace is to remove the root causes of war.”

Read the rest of this entry »