I'm a foreigner living here...but from my pov....american politics = americas biggest problem/threat

and scare tactics ftw

Lol China is a threat?

How about the fact the government keeps printing huge amounts of money (which causes inflation) to pay for the huge debt they've racked up by spending around $1 trillion/year more than they make? I think this is a bigger threat to America's economy than China is.

Please elect Ron Paul so he can fix the US economy.

p.s. China is soooooo stupid for raising/having a minimum wage. If the US got rid of minimum wage, or at the very least lowered it back to around $5 you would see unemployment virtually disappear. 

Anyone that doesn't think China is a tremendous security threat is delusional.

this, and Romney if he becomes president.

The money is borrowed, not printed. A lot of it is from China, though not all or even a majority. Only a third of debt is held by other nations.

Ron Paul will do no such thing. Ron Paul will turn the economy into a deregulated mess, and to boot, will withdraw from NATO and the UN. He'll add a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, which will render the government completely unable to meet its bills without enormous tax rises, which he will never propose. Social Security is directly funded by payroll tax, so that can hardly be axed. Medicare is basically the same. He makes a lot of noise about cutting defence, but even though that is an enormous $800 billion, more savings need to be made. He'll get rid of EPA and the FDA so that the air can become filled with pollution and food can contain poisonous chemicals and disease. Consumers do not have the inclination or time to check, in detail, everything they purchase. How on earth does the average person know a safe level of cell phone radiation? Yes, private companies could do that. But if the government is as corrupt as it is, how corrupt would a for-profit organisation be?

On top of that, he's not socially liberal at all. He is in favour of banning gay marriage nationwide (the Defence of Marriage Act sees to that) and wants to remove the federal legalisation of abortion (which he can't even do because that's outside his jurisdiction, but he's never going to be elected; he doesn't have to make promises he can keep). He doesn't believe in evolution. He's really just your average Republican, except that he wants to legalise cannabis (which suddenly makes him the Messiah) and has even more inane views on how to run the economy.

As for removing minimum wage, that might get rid of unemployment, yes, but it would also mean that several million people would be earning some $4 per hour, not nearly enough to survive in a country like America. America's minimum wage is comparatively VERY low.

In short, Ron Paul has too high an opinion of people and of the forces of the free market and seems to associate the very idea of government with corruption and inefficiency. Yes, government is usually corrupt and inefficient. No, that doesn't mean it should be effectively abolished.

Before you call me out for being a socialist or what have you, I am a right-wing libertarian by any reasonable standard. Ron Paul just takes it way too far, and the scary thing is that most of the people who support him have no idea of the crackpot ideas he has.

WTF crackpot ideas? How is stopping the government from meddling in every aspect of society and business a crackpot idea?

I agree with some of what you said, like I'm not in favour of getting rid of the FDA or EPA but a lot of government shit needs to go. 

Personally I'm in favour of a negative income tax. So yeah some people would only be earning $4/hour but if we had a negative income tax they would be aided a set amount anually by the governent so they are helped out without removing the incentive to still keep working at that $4/hour job. 

And could you please find a link to say he would ban gay marriage? I know he's personally against gay marriage (he's religious) but I've heard him say countless times his personal views won't cloud his judgement when it comes to issues like this, abortion, etc. 

Social security is a Ponzi scheme so I really hope he would get rid of that shit. When it was first put into practice in the 1930's (or was it 20's, can't remember) the life expectancy of Americans was 61...lol this is funny because social insurance kicks in at age 65. Right from the get go it was just another tax grab. This BS needs to go.

I've also heard nothin about him wanting to leave the UN, again if you could link that I'd appreciate it. But I don't see anything wrong with that really. Plus his policy of "just walk out [of Iraq/middle east]" is perfection. "Nation building" is just stupid. 

Sorry my post is lacking facts and shit but I'm just about to leave for a class, I'll post a better response after class. 

Why are your op#s such a mess, can you not even be bothered to cut out the crap that doesn't need to be there 0_o

I'm taking History and Russian Studies. Nothing to do with economics or anything, I'm just interested in politics and the economy. 

Yeah I'm with you on social security. They should just stop it now, but give everyone their money back on it who has already paid into it. I also read that from social security the average American gets 75 cents back from every dollar they pay into the program, lol. Americans would be better off without that 6.25% Social security tax on each paycheque, and they can put it into something that actually makes them money like an RRSP or some other investment. 

That's one of the reasons I have such a problem with Social Security, it was started with such underhanded purposes.  The government knew most weren't expected to live to 65, so that was just extra money for them to blow.  And those that did make it to 65 didn't live much longer beyond that, so they definitely didn't get anywhere near what they put in.  Unfortunately for the government, people started living healthier, longer lives.  So now, they don't have all that extra money to spend how they want cause now they have to pay it out.

@ OP

I think the US's own spending habits are going to ruin us quicker than China ever could.  Besides, once we stop spending like we have a bottomless pit of money and get our economy back on track, we can pay them back and owe them nothing.

Ha Ha Ha. But it would see grinding poverty rise. But what the hell, ideological purity uber alles!