Ron Paul Speaks: Being Debt-Free is True Freedom

On Stuart Varney’s show, former Congressman Ron Paul discussed why people are turning to other currencies such as gold and Bitcoin.

Gold has traditionally been the safe haven for investors, but the cryptocurrency Bitcoin has recently become one of the hottest topics of discussion in monetary affairs.

When asked if Bitcoin is the next gold, Paul expressed his doubts about this claim.

The former Congressman responded, “I think that [bitcoin] should be made available. [Bitcoin’s] history is short-term, so you don’t know. Gold has a longer history, like 4-, 5-, 6,000 years. People have depended on it to maintain wealth.”

One important thing that Paul notes is that monetary freedom is a major concern for people who are serious about protecting their wealth.

As an avid student of history, Paul used the example of the Great Depression to illustrate his point:

In the Depression, people thought that gold might be a good thing to hold, so the government took it away from them … made it illegal.

Although Paul conceded that Americans do enjoy more financial freedom when compared to other countries, he said that there are still some areas that need work.

Paul declared, “There still is respect for property, but there is way too much government intervention” in America.

The former congressman’s main concern is surrounding America’s accumulating debt problem.  He believes that U.S. prosperity is mostly dependent on debt.

“Here, we’re living in a system where you can endlessly print money, take interest rates below zero, and then borrow money … somebody has to pay,” Paul stated. “So when you’re very much in debt, you’re really not free.”

In his view, true freedom is achieved by being debt-free.

A monetary system with sound money would put both governments and individuals on a more fiscally sane path.