Huckabee Sounding A Little Like Ron Paul
WINDHAM, N.H. -- Speaking to a packed gymnasium Sunday, Mike Huckabee sounded off on how politicians in Washington, D.C. had spent beyond their public mandate. He then threw in a line about money printing that could have come out of Ron Paul's mouth.
"We sent them there to cut spending, and they didn't do it. They've spent more money than has ever been spent. Guess where that money is coming from. Your pocket," Huckabee said.
"Just remember this, when government says we're giving you things, remember before the government can give you something, the government has to take it from you first. And the handling charge is extraordinary."
"We need to say no to government spending when it's wrecking our grandchildren's futures. Nine trilllion dollars worth of debt on your credit card that somebody transferred to the next several generations. That's irresponsible. And what's their answer? Spend more. Print more, spend more."
Interestingly, Huckabee's words sound like an issues statement on fellow candidate Ron Paul's campaign website. It's not plagiarism, but their points are quite similar: "Today, too many politicians and lobbyists are spending America into ruin. We are nine trillion dollars in debt as a nation. Our mounting government debt endangers the financial future of our children and grandchildren. If we don't cut spending now, higher taxes and economic disaster will be in their future — and yours. In addition, the Federal Reserve, our central bank, fosters runaway debt by increasing the money supply — making each dollar in your pocket worth less."
At the Jan. 5 GOP debate, Ron Paul said "We run up the deficits. We tax. We borrow. We borrow from the Chinese. We can't borrow enough. Then what do we do? We print the money."
Paul has consistently accused the government of feeding inflation by printing more money to pay debt.
Huckabee didn't venture into the subject of inflation today, but rather continued on to revisit his own record as governor. He noted that as governor he had balanced the budget every year, transforming a budget with a $200 million deficit into an $850 million surplus when he left office.
"That's how it's supposed to work. Not to leave debt to your children, but leave things in better shape, not worse," Huckabee said.