What about Ron?

Does Ron Paul deserve more respect?

After Ron Paul lost to Michele Bachmann in the Ames Straw Poll by less than one percent, you would have thought he would be featured in more news stories, but thinking and reality are two different things when it comes to politics.

It is hard to fault the media for not having more stories about Ron Paul, because Ron Paul is the only consistent candidate running for president. People now where he stands on the issues. He would pull American soldiers out of foreign countries. He won't beat the war drum when it comes to Iran. He doesn't like the Federal Reserve printing so much money. He wants to get rid of income taxes. He believes government and insurance companies make health care unaffordable. There isn't much about Ron Paul that the media hasn't reported already.  

However, his Republican opponents lack the convictions of Mr. Paul. Imagine if Michele Bachmann didn't have an interesting husband with a homophobic background. She probably wouldn't get much press, either.

Mitt Romney is good at raising lots of money, and has the support of his party. Mr. Romney is acting like he already won the Republican nomination and spends most of his time attacking President Obama, while not having any plans different from what mainstream Republicans want.

Don't forget Mitt Romney is Mormon. Religion is an important subject during election time, but never that important after the election. His religious beliefs shouldn't matter, but they do, and that makes for good news stories.

Newt Gingrich has the advantage of working for Fox News, has two ex-wives, is a "devout" Catholic, and started his campaign by bashing Paul Ryan's plan to privatize Medicare. He tried to retract any comments he made about Paul Ryan's plan but the damage was already done. Newt does the kind of crazy stuff that makes for good news stories. 

Sarah Palin isn't running for president, not yet, but she sure likes to be around cameras. She also likes to dress for the part, too. It just seems like their isn't anything she won't do to get on camera. Put her family on cable television, why not, if it helps her get elected president. Her comments and other tactics makes for good news stories.

Donald Trump thought about running for president, but for some good reason he decided not to run for president. He still gets attention because he is Donald Trump. He is rich and doesn't like president, so that makes for good news stories.

Rick Perry, Governor Good Hair, sounds like Ron Paul. Perry is governor of the state of Texas, like George Bush once was. Perry likes to bash the president. Perry likes to flaunt his religious beliefs for his own political gains. His tactics makes for good news stories.

The media might get bashed for not mentioning Ron Paul, but why should they. Ron Paul  is so consistent that there isn't much for them to report. Sure, people at Fox News look bad for not talking about Ron Paul, because he is a Republican, but they are the "Fair and Balanced" network. Fox News doesn't have an agenda when it comes to Ron Paul.

When Cuts Hurt

What will it cost to go to college in the next couple years? Does it matter? College students can take out student loans. I wonder what kind of debt future college students will face when they graduate from college? Will they be forced to live with their parents or even be able to find a job?

Why so many questions about the future?

The last couple weeks the news coverage concerned the debt ceiling. "Oh, the debt ceiling is too high," cried Chicken Little(The part played by the Tea Party).

It is amazing how the debt ceiling debacle distracted Americans from the real issue of figuring ways to improve the economy. Unemployment is still too high, and too many homeowners owe more on their house than it is worth, and these issues aren't getting enough news coverage.

What are some ways we could improve the economy? We could increase government spending. But will it work?

Let us take a stroll down memory lane, or maybe just open a history book, if you aren't old enough to remember points in American history that involved increased government spending to improve the economy, but you need to ignore those annoying Republicans yelling 'Socialist.' Who wants to listen to those hypocrites talk about smaller government, anyway, when the truth is that their god, Ronald Reagan grew the federal government like it was a genetically modified crop from Monsanto.

But, what does history teach us about cutting government spending during a tough economic period? Well, Roosevelt tried that in 1937 when he cut government spending and added the Social Security tax, but he did so because he believed the economy was doing better. It is hard to say that a lot of politicians feel the economy is well enough for cuts in federal spending, but they do like their phony baloney jobs and cutting spending seems like great Newspeak.

But what about the point I wanted to make about college students and increased debt? Could this be holding back the economy? A student in debt can't buy a lot of things that might help improve the economy.

According to Studentdoc.com, about 50% of recent college graduates have at least $10,000 in student loans. Then you add the $4,100 in credit card debt that the average college senior has on top of the student loans, well, it doesn't make it easy for students to do much but give their paychecks to the banks that begrudgingly gave them loans and shinny credit cards.

The rising cost of a college education doesn't seem to concern Washington right now. But, imagine a world, yes, touchy-feely thing to do, but just imagine a world were college students don't graduate with so much debt. Imagine what they could do to get this economy going.

I know that college students bear some of the blame for taking out loans and using their credit cards, and I can't put all the blame on politicians for the high cost of a college education.

However, I can put the blame of politicians for not heeding the warnings of 1937.