Ron Paul Rips Fed, US Libyan Intervention

Rep. Ron Paul stayed true to his criticisms of the Federal Reserve and military intervention in Libya on “Fox News Sunday.” He warned that these government initiatives will backfire, reports Politico.

The Texas Republican and presidential candidate insisted that the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates low is a major policy blunder.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the low interest rates will be in place through 2013, which Paul said amounts to a mere bailout for those who otherwise should go bankrupt.

“Let the people who have lived beyond their means, let them go bankrupt. Let the liquidation occur,” he said. “We want our hands off.”

Paul expressed concern that low interest rates would have the additional consequence of encouraging government spending at a time when he believes Congress should be slashing expenditures and working tirelessly to reduce the deficit.

The presidential hopeful asserted that foreign intervention in particular had overwhelmed the U.S. government’s financial situation.

Turning to recent U.S. and NATO intervention in Libya, Paul said the U.S. government should not “pretend” that it can simply hand-pick who governs foreign nations.

“We have no idea what’s going to come out of Libya. I’m very skeptical,” Paul said. “But maybe it’ll be a miracle and everybody will be wonderful and they’ll have western democracy and everybody will . . . Please, what I’m predicting is that’s not going to happen. Because we’ve already said troops are needed now to maintain order. Nobody even knows who the rebels represent. And there’s good evidence that the al-Qaida is there.”

Paul pointed to his presidential campaign’s lead in donations from active-duty troops as evidence that the military supports his position.

By intervening in the Libyan crisis, the United States “may be delivering al-Qaida another prize,” Paul suggested.