There were over 100 Financial Transactions overseas. He was very prolific. He didnt always get what he wanted. At one point he had shipped over and traded for giant sonar system in 747 cargo jet that went through amsterdam and then tehran. He always bought things for 100. He said at one opinion, im a salesman, ill buy and sell whatever you needs. I dont think it matters. Thank you for coming. Thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] booktv is on facebook. Like us to enter act with booktv guests and viewers, watch videos and get up to date information on events. Facebook. Com booktv. Up next, author, doctor, and former texas congressman, ron paul. The threetime president ial candidate talked about u. S. Foreign and Monetary Policy and at the rising popularity of libertarian ideals them host of internets ron powell channel is the author of several books including, the revolution, a machine face city, and the fed, and the school revolution. Host dr. Ron paul in your book from 2011, liberty defined, 50 essential issues that affect our freedom, you write that socalled moderate politicians who compromise and seek bipartisanship are the most dangerous among the entire crew in washington. Compromise is too often synonymous with selling out but it sounds better. Guest it sure does. Moderation always sounds good and we all want to feel moderate can that were reasonable people. So it does sell in politics. But theres a difference between moderation, where you sacrifice something you believe, and cooperating with somebody else who might have a disagreement but you come together and you build a coalition. For instance issue did quite well with honest, progressive democrats. Dennis kucinich. He did real well with him. We agreed on a lot and disagreed on other few things. Didnt concentrate on the thing wes disagreed on, but the things we agreed on, Civil Liberties and privacy and trade arguments and war and he and i got along very well, and like a ralph nader, i get along quite well with him. But he doesnt have to sacrifice and i dont. But if in the conventional definition of moderation is if i want to be a true freemarket person, what i have to do is give up also free market in order to get some and cooperate with somebody else. So i see giving up on the principle of, say, nonaggression, on Foreign Policy and on the protection of civil liberty, well have a smaller nsa, a little bit of Government Intervention. Well have a little bit of welfarism. And well have the president fight little wars, not big wars. Thats why its so dangerous because you endorse the principle hundred , and i think that is wrong so you find other people where you can come together and build coalitions and thats where the answer will be found to the stalemate in washington. Host when you see whats going on right now, the house, the senate, the president , and they all want to Work Together. But nothing seems to be getting done. Guest im not sure they want to Work Together. Because they Work Together matter of fact, both parties agree on the big issues. They dont have any disagreement. But they dont want to Work Together if theyre looking for power. Power is a real struggle. People want to get power and take care of their friends so thats a very real issue. So, i think the problem in washington right now is that its more difficult to continue to spend. Okay, conservatives like to spend on some military industrial project that probably totally unnecessary. Democrats want to spend on some welfare program, conservatives dont like. When we were very wealthy, in the debt wasnt outrageous, and we didnt have the problem wes have where we see bankruptcies of cities and towns and states. It was endless. That has ended and theyre not admitting that the country is bankrupt so, therefore, theyre justifying over a pie that keeps some rinking and shrinking, and this is the real problem. On the big issues, the parties come together, on going to war, let the president s do it. On nsa, they both like nsa. On irs, yes, they argue politically about the irs. Neither party is going to get rid of the irs like id like to do. But the very big issues, very much together. When it comes to Civil Liberties like nsa, were the republicans any better than the democrats . No. They got along together on this, and this is why i think that they we wont admit that, not only is the financially bankrupt but our Foreign Policy is bankrupt, too, because American People are sick and tired of it, and all you have to do is look at the last ten years. Look at afghanistan, the results in iraq and the mess were crating in ukraine. On and on. The American People know it and theyre saying, why dont we come symptom yet both parties want to keep all that intervention going. Host and back to liberty defined. The ethos of washington is that the job of the elected politician is to serve the company that employs them, and that company is government. They are told they should serve the system or get another job. Very few new politicians can reject this logic and rationale. Guest ive helped a lot of individuals get into congress as being an inculp bent you have a little ability to help. For the most part most of them didnt do well after and after they got there. Some have done essentially well in recent years. But i always said that. Then a member arrives, gave one story at home, got the support of conservative libertarians, limited government, and all of a sudden they get in the atmosphere, have to get on this committee, and the big pressure is in washington to get ahead, you got to go long and have to be a team player. Thats the ultimate argument they use. Are you going to be a team player . Sacrifice your principles. Sacrifice everything you promised back at home because you have to be a team player. And besides, you could get kicked off your committee, which has happened. You can get kicked off your committee. And also theyll say, well strike the money from your district deliberateliful just lineitem veto your district, which happened to me. So its a vicious game they play in order for you to toe the line, and most people cave to a large degree, but i would say theres a couple dozen right now doing a pretty good job of not jumping in and being part of the system. Host who are some. Guest im not going toes because i might forget somebody. But theres certainly individual is have helped in the past, and it wont be hard to find out. When theres a vote of 400 of us 400 to 5, look at the five votes. Or if theres two, quite a few votes Dennis Kucinich and i would be the only two individuals voting against some needless intervention, someplace where theyre getting ready to start another war. You can find out who the people are that will stick to it and wont kowtow and do exactly as the leadership tells you. There was one time an individual was voting sort of with the rebels, you know. We were trying to change things, and there would be four, five, six of us, and he was voting with us and then all of a sudden his voting pattern changed. I asked him you used to vote with me on this. Why arent you doing this . He said, im in leadership now. He was appointed to something, you know, like in a whip team or Something Like that. He says, im part of the leadership. So he becomes leaderless. He himself leads nothing. He becomes a follower by joining leadership. Host did you ever get offered anything . Guest i dont think so. Host was it uncomfortable to be you in the Republican Caucus . Guest no. Actually, on a social personal basis, i probably have deceived myself a little bit because i always thought it was fine because there was not the hostility, nobody argued and but they left me alone. The knew they werent going to change my views. They didnt come and say, do this, do this, do this, we need you, we need you. It was just, he has his mind made up. We know ahead the lobbyists never bothered me. So leadership knew where i stood, but they loved to have me when i was agreeing because they knew it was based on a firm principle, the constitution, and they were delighted to have me on their side under those circumstances. Host this is from your book in 1991 the ron paul funny book. This is 1991. And heres what you write the Cashless Society is the irss dream. Total knowledge of and control over the finances of every single american. Guest were still moving in that direction. Not a lot of people use cash anymore. A lot of it is out of convenience and people get sucked into this. And i have to admit that when i see it i used to worry about somebody in front of the line that was going to use a credit card. Today you can pay with a credit card faster than you can pay with cash. They fumble around with the cash and getting change, and they slip that card you dont even have to sign. Under 50. So tempting. But its also a record. Its a record that is kept. The government knows what happens. They know where you go. But its also financial information, government has this information, and its connected to the big the companies that collect information, but theres a commercial value to this, too. But governments i had a debate in the 80s with another person who firmly believed in it. His whole motivation was we can raise more money for the government. Of course thats not my goal mitch goal in life is to have a government defend individual liberty, not to have more money. This is one rope why i have an argument with the supplyside efforts who are pretty good on most issues, taxes and things. They argue low tax rate, its fine. But their argument is, if your lower the rate, business will pick up and the government gets more money. Thats fine. Lower the rates, business picks up. But reduce the taxes because we dont want to be the vehicle to raise more taxes. That shouldnt be the reason were in washington. It should be there to protect liberty and not to manage peoples lives and not to manage the economy. Host since you Left Congress last year, what are you doing . Guest a few things. I continue to write. I have a ron paul channel that i work on almost every day. I send a report into the ron paul channel this morning. So, i have a home school program. Of course i get some help on that. Im not one thats going to design each individual program. Its a ron paul curriculum, so i work with that. And of Course Campaign for liberty is still very, very active and thats a action group, and its the group that was able to mobilize a lot of individuals to get the fed bill passed in the house a couple times, and now the American People, 80 of the American People, agree not with me on getting rid of the fed, but they agree with me that the American People deserve to know who the fed is and who they bail out and who the special interests are. Im pretty active, and i still go to college campuses, which i really like. I work with Young Americans for liberty, who have campus organizations, and spoke with the Young Americans for liberty last night, and i have to admit i enjoy that a whole lot. Host youre most recent book is on education, school revolution, a new answer to our broken education system. I want to read a little bit from that in the Leadership Training Program ive been developing i emphasize the following skills. First, the ability to think critically. Second, the willingness to act responsibly. Taking full responsibility for your own action. Third. Propecktive leader needs to in the to the basics of communications, and this certainly involves writing. Also involves public speaking. Fourth, is a system of exercises that help a person develop real competence. Competence is important for step five. Self confidence. One who is not selfconfident about what he believes in or about his ability to improve his life. In terms of what he believes in, will have a difficult time persuading others. And sixth is integrity there can be no successful leadership if there is no followership and there will not be followership in the libertarian sense if the followers do not trust the honesty of the leader. Guest i think the last one of all those the last one is probably the most important because you dont accomplish anything else unless there is integrity. But the program is designed to be selfmotivating. You have to want to do it. The parents dont have 0 to sit and do this. Theres a lot of selfeducation. They got a their own pace. Theyre encouraged to talk to other students. And theres a lot of writing to do. Basis, and its a building of confidence, but overall, theres a lot of homeschool programs available. A lot of them are very, very good. Mine is probably6 g6v unique and somewhat difference because up front i say what were really motivated to do is teach them about liberty, teach them about the freedom philosophy, and so if theres a homeschooling group over here that is religiously oriented, theres nothing wrong with that at all. Mine isnt that way. It teaches about religious history, but it doesnt it isnt religiously oriented. And i want to preserve a society where everybody has freedom to enter into it. So the different home schooling groups would be legal. So its understanding what free market is all about. Obviously on our economic courses, youre not going to learn about socialist economics or keynesian economics and not going to learn about why paper money is superior to gold money. These kind of things. So its very up front about teaching a whole system of values. Host welcome to booktv on cspan2. 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors every weekend. This is our in depth program. Every month we invite an author to talk about his or her book. This month is former congressman and medical doctor, ron paul, threetime president ial candidate as well. Were going to put the numbers up on the screen. Host finally, an email. The book tv cspan. Org will bin taking those calls in a minute. Heres some of dr. Pauls books inch 1987, freedom under siege came out. The u. S. Constitution after 200 years. 1991, the ron paul money book. A Foreign Policy of freedom, peace, commerce, and honest friendship came out in 07. Pillars of prosperity, 08. The revolution, manifesto, came out in 08. End the fed, township. 2009, liberty defined. 2011, and his most recent, the school revolution, a new answer for our broken education system. Just came out last year. Dr. Paul when do you and how jii you write . Guest its pretty primitive. I dont know whether i want to tell everybody. When i was in high school i could type very well. Then i got spoiled by my wife ands who did all my typing. I got sloppy, so im very slow d . Zcair computer. But im speeding up. So, most of this was done writing out long hand, dictating, and then correcting it. Im much better with a computer now. I have a program where i can dictate into the computer and then do my corrections, and i do more Creative Work at the computer. So im learning better. But a lot of it was very, very tedious, to write it out and have somebody type it up and then keep editing that. I dont brag. I dont want to teach it. It wont be taught that inny my home schooling. Theyll know how to type and use a computer much better than i did. Host this email from nathan kelly, and he ooh emails would you agree the best form of government is none at all, or put another way, the only legitimate form of governance is individual govern attendance. Guest im glad he put the last sentence on. You also want government, who should be the government. The Perfect World, if with were all perfect people, there would only be selfgovernment. And our responsibility would be to ourselves and thats what my goal is to always move in that direction. Today, to be a participant in the debate and say that tomorrow were going to get rid of every single government. Well, if one person does and it nobody else, thats not going to work. I think were moving to the age where governments are much less important, and i think we should. I think that people are realizing that governments mess up. I think the 20th century was such a horrible century, were waking up to the fact that you cant trust government. You cant trust them to run the economy. You cant trust them to run the Monetary System. You cant trust them to run Foreign Policy. Its a total disaster. So, i think the least amount of government is the best. I do not call myself an an nark kyes an narkist, but to have the goal of selfselfgovernorrance is a very good goal and if you cant have that, as close to home as possible, and thats a natural tendency to have individual and family government, local community government, and if you had a free society, we probably wouldnt have lot more than that. You wouldnt have to and i our founders intended that to be, but when they went wrote the constitution and i think they planted some seeds there that have grown to the point where, if the constitution had worked perfectly, we wouldnt have this monster over here in washington. It wouldnt exist. But all of the regulations and details and taxation and abuse of the rules and the president writing laws, and bashing the congress for not speeding up, ill write an executive order and all this. That wouldnt be true. That is the trend that we have to reverse. Im optimistic to think were changing the views of a new generation. The millenials are looking at this and theyre seeing what theyre inheriting. I think they see a mess, and i think theyre very open to the views of saying, yes, the biggest problem we have is way too much government, too much centralized government, and the more selfresponsibility and selfgoverning we have, the better. Host so, when you see whats going on, on the border in your home state of texas right now, what is the solution . Guest its all government created. So you want to correct the government mistake. Its a mess. Under our constitution, our federal government has some responsibilities. But its a result our borders are a result of the welfare state. Welfare at home teaches people not to work. Then we have a need for workers. And people are being punished in Central America and mexico because of their bad Economic Syst