Fresh off of endorsing Representative Thomas Massie’s call for House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Louisiana, to step down from leadership “or face a vote, forcing him out,” Kentucky Senator Rand Paul made a visit to Hopkinsville and west Kentucky Monday — sharing his thoughts on the Senate and the House.
His comments foreshadowed a bill signed into law by President Joe Biden Wednesday, approving financial assistance to American partners in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Paul urged that the biggest threat to the country is debt, with $1.5 trillion borrowed, and with a Republican House, a Democrat Senate and a Democrat president, “spending goes on and on, and no one stops it.”
According to Paul, more than $100 billion is going out to other countries, and both sides want to increase spending for different purposes: Republicans for military, Democrats for welfare.
What needs to happen, Paul said, is a “reverse compromise,” in which “a little haircut of everything” reduces national spending over a five-year period to balance the budget.
Paul warned that Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security are getting “closer and closer” of being out of money and bankrupt, but ways to fix the concerns through measures “people won’t like.”
Paul also took a broad shot at the younger generation and their perceived notions of replacing capitalism with socialism.
Frustrations aside, however, Paul said that America needs to continue its strong trade patterns with the world — particularly in agriculture, and particularly with China, where fear and hysteria might push away possible dealing with southeast Asia.
Paul’s comments also came two days before U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joined Dana Perino for an appearance on Fox News “America’s Newsroom,” in which he noted the $61 billion of aid to Ukraine accounted for only 0.2% of the annual U.S. gross domestic product — calling it “not a lot of money for us, but a very significant step for them.”