United Liberty

I was honored to be invited to speak at the Raleigh, North Carolina Tax Day Tea Party Wednesday evening. I’m a poor judge of crowds, but estimates ranged from 2,000 to 7,000 from various sources — the east lawn of the old capitol downtown was completely full.

This event was the perfect opportunity to capture the transpartisan frustration surrounding our economic malaise, and the immense conflicts of interest that drive government efforts at “recovery.”

Chris Martenson recently explained the root of our shared frustrations. America is literally being looted:

Whom do you trust?

It’s an open question that I’ve been pondering for the past several weeks. The markets have been asking this question, as well — despite billions of additional borrowed money to bail out Citibank and protect AIG’s trading partners, we keep sliding to new lows as debt deflation continues.

Our Treasury Secretary, Turbo Tax Tim Geithner, sat in front of the Ways and Means Committee Tuesday to assure our representatives that his actions, and Obama’s budget proposal, are absolutely necessary to restore our economy. His favorite quote when confronted by pointed questions or painful anecdotes from our current crisis was, “That’s exactly why we need to…” [bail out AIG/increase the TARP/create the TALF/embrace a budget that forecasts a $1.75 trillion deficit].

Oh, really?

Obama’s address Tuesday evening contained a fascinating lesson in economics and monetary policy for the American public. Let’s review:

So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.

I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.

Tonight’s New York Times trumpets our new Treasury Secretary’s heroic efforts to restore trust and transparency to our bailout-ridden financial system:

WASHINGTON — The new Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, announced on Tuesday that he would crack down on lobbying to influence the $700 billion financial bailout program by companies that are receiving billions in taxpayer money.

Mr. Geithner, who was confirmed on Monday, also said he would set new limits intended to prevent political interference with decisions about which companies received bailout money.

When we substitute influence peddling for the Rule of Law, the value of Washington lobbyists becomes evident. As today’s Wall Street Journal notes, the return on investment is huge:

General Motors Corp. spent $3.3 million on lobbying in the fourth quarter of 2008, a period that coincides with the government committing $13.4 billion to the ailing auto maker under the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. In all of 2008, GM spent $13.1 million on lobbying, down from $14.3 million in 2007. GM’s reported lobbying expenses for 2008 were only slightly less than combined spending by Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.

Despite a hard-fought campaign, and despite the help of thousands of people across our country, our Congressional campaign in North Carolina’s 4th District suffered a decisive defeat. We received many compliments on our campaign, which featured a well-attended debate at UNC, a brief but focused media campaign (see Your Money at Work, and Your Money at Work Part 2), fifty thousand copies of our United States Constitution, and hundreds of great volunteers across the district engaging voters at the polls. While compliments don’t win elections, I was proud to represent the cause of a Constitutional federal government, and principled government that upholds the rights of individual Americans.