Ron Paul is Not ‘Ending’ Student Loans

Ron Paul is Not ‘Ending’ Student Loans There are many headlines out there now stemming from his Meet the Press interview yesterday claiming that Ron Paul wants to end student loans. Well no, in fact, though he abolishes the Department of Education along with four other federal departments, the student loan part is taken out and handled elsewhere.

Everyone recognizes we have major problems with Social Security and Medicare, and yet when anyone attempts to address these problems, they are immediately accused of “ending,” “slashing” or “getting rid of” such programs. Ron Paul is not suggesting this for anyone currently reliant on these programs or for those who will be in the near future. In fact, Paul’s opt-out for Social Security in his budget plan is age 25—not exactly imminent doom for the program or those on it.

The same is true of student loans. To recognize that we are bankrupt and we must have drastic change in this country is not to say that certain programs Americans have come to rely on will be gotten rid of overnight.

Paul is certainly saying no such thing.

But the costs must be addressed—and not simply what the government spends, but the massive debt incurred by those in this country who just want a college education. To be sure, the countless Americans who are now slaves to education-related debt can tell you there are substantial problems with our current system.

Ron Paul simply wants to fix them.

Top Tier: Ron Paul Raises Most In Iowa GOP Campaign Donations Steve Watson 1. Prisonplanet.com October 24, 2011 Presidential candidate Ron Paul has once again proved he is a front runner in the race for the GOP nomination, pulling in the most campaign donations from Iowa residents thus far.

The Congressman has received over $77,000 in contributions from Iowa so far this election cycle, a full $10,000 more than his closet rival Mitt Romney Indeed, the only candidate to have raised more in Iowa is the incumbent President, who has hit almost $200,000 in contributions.

1. Paul sits well ahead of the rest of the GOP field, having raised more than double the contributions of his next closet rival – Michelle Bachmann.

The figures were compiled from Federal Elections Commission data filed in mid-October. The figures represent contributions by individual Iowans totaling more than $200 through the end of September.

So far Iowans have donated a total of $454,000.

Candidates have raised a combined $179 million nationally.

Ron Paul has made a concerted effort to make sure his message has impacted Iowa, taking out a $2 million ad buy and making several campaign stops in the state.

1. In August Paul came a close second in the Iowa GOP straw poll, capturing a commanding 44% of the over 6000 votes cast.

“This is more clear evidence of Dr. Paul’s large and growing base of support in the great state of Iowa,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton.

“Iowans who are sick and tired of the status quo message coming from the establishment candidates in this race are attracted to our campaign’s message of balanced budgets, limited constitutional government, and individual liberty, and we are working to capitalize on that momentum.” Benton added.

The 2012 Iowa Caucuses are scheduled to take place on January 3. The state is traditionally home to the first major electoral event of the nominating process, and thus serve as an important indicator.

On Sunday night the Congressman appeared on Meet The Press to talk about, among other things, his plan to cut big government spending by closing down departments such as the TSA, the Energy Department and the Commerce Department, as well as phasing out federal programs such as student loans: “They’re a trillion dollars in debt; we don’t have any jobs for them; the quality of education has gone down–so it’s a failed program,” Paul said.

“When you run up debt and you print money, costs go up in the areas that the government gets involved in education and medical care and housing…it doesn’t help people.”

Paul also explained that he has been disappointed with the “uselessness” of some of the arguments raised in the GOP debates, noting “The financial system of the world is about to collapse… We’re going to have to get a handle on this–we have to quit worrying about who’s mowing Mitt Romney’s yard,”