MMR: You Want Change from the Government? Well, here's real change...

4 years ago, soon to be President Barack Obama ran on a platform of “change we can believe in.” He promised that things would change, and that he would be the man to make it happen. In the 4 years since the misguided people of this country elected him to office, I’m not sue we’ve seen much change. At all. Unemployment hasn’t changed much (if anything its gotten worse). The debt has changed…for the worse. The government has gotten bigger, and the lives of Americans haven’t changed at all…or have gotten worse. Amazing.

The main problem, of course, was that while Obama was preaching “change,” he never, once, actually told us the specifics of what he would want to change. It was all just platitudes and liberal/socialist ideals. I mean, it got him elected, so maybe it was the right thing to run on…but he’s clearly failed to live up to anything he said on the campaign trail, and has failed the American people.

So, we’re coming up on a new election cycle, and Republicans are trying to decide who will be the man to challenge Obama next fall. The front runner opposite Mitt Romney seems to change quite frequently. No one seems to really be able to decide which direction they want to go. So, let me throw this out there…there is only one candidate who actually would change things in Washington and shake up our bloated government to the core. Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman…they all want to change small things, chip away at but a tiny fraction of our debt, and keep the well oiled political machine moving on the same as it always has.

And then there’s Ron Paul.

If people really want change…well, Paul seems determined to give it to them. Dr. Paul today released his budget plan for when he is President. And, well, let’s just say that it is definitely a departure from “business as usual” in Washington.

From CBS News:

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul on Monday unveiled a plan to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget within one year by eliminating a handful of federal departments, including the Energy and Education departments.

Paul's plan would shape the federal government to fit the Texas Republican's small-government, federalist views, slashing remaining department budgets, immediately ending all war spending, eliminating programs viewed as unnecessary, sending control over programs like Medicaid to the states, scrapping significant regulations and cutting taxes.

An executive summary of Paul's plan calls it "bold but achievable" by embracing "the bully pulpit of the presidency" and "the power of the Veto."

Along with the Departments of Energy and Education, Paul also proposes eliminating the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, and Interior. Paul would also abolish the Transportation Security Administration, leaving security at airports and other transportation systems up to the private sector.

Paul's plan would set the budget for most other departments at 2006 levels, which for some agencies would mean eliminating certain programs. For instance, Paul says he would cut all funding for the Justice Department's "Community Oriented Policing Services" (COPS) program, which provides grants to state and local law enforcement agencies to hire and train officers.

Paul also proposes reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent, slashing congressional pay and bringing down the president's salary to $39,336 -- "approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker," his campaign says.

Like most other Republicans, Paul wants to lower the corporate tax rate (he proposes to 15 percent), extend the Bush-era tax cuts and end taxes on capital gains and dividends.

He would repeal President Obama's health care overhaul, as well as his Wall Street regulatory overhaul and conduct a full audit of the Federal Reserve.

Under Paul's plan, states would simply receive block grants for Medicaid, food stamps, the State Children's Health Insurance Program and other welfare programs.

When it comes to Medicare, Social Security, and veterans' benefits, Paul says he his plan "honors" the commitment the nation has to seniors and veterans, but it allows young workers to opt out of those programs.

"Ron Paul's plan is the only one that seriously addresses the economic and budgetary problems our nation faces," Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign chairman and a co-author of the plan, said in a statement. "It's the only plan offered by a presidential candidate that actually balances the budget and begins to pay down the debt."

Yes, this is extreme. But maybe our government has gotten too bloated for its own good. Obviously this plan will scare many people off from voting for Ron Paul. It’s his views on how to change the federal government that both make his followers so devoted to him, and make him unelectable in general. It’s extreme, it’s outside the box, and change scares people. However, it’s definitely refreshing to see a plan that isn’t the same old tinkering that we are used to getting from candidates’ “big policy announcements.” Ron Paul is serious about changing the government and getting spending under control. He will balance the budget. He will give power back to the states. The question, of course, is whether people are actually willing to make the sacrifices necessary to get our country out of debt. Recent history says no...