Is Ron Paul crazy?

Is he crazy?

"I'd like to get rid of the IRS, I'd like to get rid of the Income Tax... abolish it."

Many republicans hate "big government"... (really they just hate government and regulation and accountability of any sort) but how often to we get to really see what would happen if we took good ol' Uncle Sam away?

Taxation, for the sake of taxation, is not good. Nor is spending for the sake of spending. What is considered prudent is a justifiable taxation to cover the appropriate spending in the country that will lead to maximized well-being of the economy. Jobs need to be created and inflation needs to be kept to a minimum.

Do people like Ron Paul have the answer? Here he is on Meet The Press with Tim Russert.

• Tim Russert: "What would happen to all those lost revenues? How would we fund our government?"
• Ron Paul: "We have to cut spending. We can't get rid of the Income Tax if we don't get rid of some spending. ... if we got rid of the Income Tax today, we'd have about as much revenue as had ton years ago, and the size of government wasn't all that bad ten years ago. And there's sources of revenue other than the income tax. You have tariff, excise taxes, highway fees, user fees, there's still a lot of money [coming in] but the real problem is spending. But, we lived a long time in this country without an income tax, up until 1913 we didn't have it."
• Russert: "But if you eliminate the Income Tax, do you know how much lost revenue that would be?"
• Ron Paul: "... um, a lot.. but uhh..."
• Russert: "Over a trillion dollars."
• Ron Paul: "... um, uh, that's good, I mean, but, we could save hundreds of millions of dollars if we had a sensible foreign policy. If you're going to be the Policeman of the World, you need that. "

Ron Paul has some good points, but he, along with many other Conservatives, seem to forget that Government has some responsibilities towards the people of the United States.

Let us ask, “What are the responsibilities of government?”

We can answer this question by first looking at the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution to determine the obligations of government.

The Declaration of Independence in 1776 provided the following foundation for the right of government to exist:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed....

The Declaration of Independence goes on to say that the new government would lay its foundation:

…on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

From this document it is clear that the Founding Fathers of our country saw government as an essential vehicle for citizens to

• achieve justice,
• obtain security,
• and to pursue happiness.

After winning the War of Independence our Founding Fathers gathered again in 1787 to write the Constitution for our new government. Their philosophy and role of this new government is stated in the first paragraph, i.e. the preamble, of the Constitution of the United States :

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The specific responsibilities of the government of the United States are important enough, and misunderstood enough, to warrant repeating:

• Form a more perfect union.
• Establish justice.
• Insure domestic tranquility.
• Provide for the common defense.
• Promote the general welfare.
• Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

In determining if government is functioning in a responsible manner, we need merely compare current actions with those ideals and standards stated in these two historic documents.

An excerpt from the body of the Constitution might also be of assistance in determining whether government is acting is a responsible manner in specific situations.

Article I Section 8 states:

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes…to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States … (and)
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States…

From both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution it is clear that the federal government has an obligation to do what it can to promote the general welfare of citizens, and to assure that future generations will inherit a nation that provides justice, liberty, and the protection of the general welfare. It is clear that Congress can levy taxes and regulate interstate commerce in order to fulfill these obligations.

Is government, our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution something that can be dismissed so flippantly that we are to consider putting an extremist into the White House?