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On the 2020 Campaign Trail, Where’s the Truth on the Economy?

On the 2020 Campaign Trail, Where’s the Truth on the Economy?


Published in Audit the Fed - 4 mins - Mar 18
The Federal Reserve’s bag of tricks is now empty. Politicians, however, always have more lies to tell about the economy. Voters might get a shot at hearing the truth, however, if the Libertarian Party nominates the right candidate. It’s consistently a top priority for voters, even during the high points of this fake recovery from the 2008 recession. The economy is closely tied to other issues like health care and education, with their high costs due to government price controls and red tape. The economy is the essential issue for a candidate to speak on, especially a libertarian one. Only a libertarian can get at the crux of the matter— the Federal Reserve and its vacuous fiat money system causing madness in markets and the wealth stagnation of America’s middle class. Beyond their pocketbooks, voters stand to also gain clarity of mind on so many other crises that fuel the government’s growth in power. Thanks to the Fed’s easy money, U.S. militarism can run wild abroad and at home, well beyond what citizens would naturally put up with under direct taxation. It takes a special communicator to raise the Fed issue and command attention. Only Dr. Ron Paul grew his crowds and audiences on his call to abolish the Federal Reserve, making it a populist campaign theme while educating the youth, referring them to Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, and other heroic economists. In 2020, there is an effort within the Libertarian Party to do that again. Jacob Hornberger, one of six candidates vying for the party’s nomination for president, seems to be leading the primary race in no small part due to his ability to speak on the Fed in an educational and exciting way. Hornberger’s track record goes back decades, founding the Future of Freedom Foundation in 1989. It grew with the Ron Paul Revolution movement, so many libertarian activists see him as something of a rightful heir. “End the Fed and separate money and the state,” reads Hornberger’s campaign website. “The Federal Reserve is nothing more than a socialist central-planning agency.” Like Paul, Hornberger can connect the dots between Fed policy and housing, education, and other issues typically treated as wholly unrelated. This holistic approach contrasts with previous Libertarian Party presidential campaigns that attempted to dilute libertarianism down to “fiscally conservative, socially liberal.” His nomination is no sure thing, however. The way the Libertarian Party decides its nominee is not by primary electoral victories, but rather a direct vote of the party delegates at the national convention. That event takes place the weekend of May 22nd in Austin, Texas. The state contests until then will give a sense of what Libertarian voters support, and so far, Hornberger is leading with about 29 percent of the total vote after winning five of eight elections. Markets are crashing as the Federal Reserve runs out of bubble-blowing tricks. President Donald Trump blames his own pick for Fed chairman for not printing money fast enough, while he also claims to have created the greatest economy ever. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders are also full of lies, pushing essentially the exact same policy as Trump, though with more taxes and bureaucracy. Whoever the Libertarian Party nominates, he won’t be allowed to debate on the same stage as the Republican and Democratic nominees. But the party does have ballot access, and the internet isn’t quite dead yet, so if there is any hope for voters to hear the truth about the economy, the Libertarian Party will be largely responsible for keeping it alive.

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Nick

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