Privacy and Personal Liberty

The biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens' personal matters. We must halt the move toward a national ID card system. All states are preparing to issue new driver's licenses embedded with "standard identifier" data - a national ID. A national ID with new tracking technologies, simply translated, means we are heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy. Ron Paul voted against the Real ID Act in March of 2005.

To date, identity theft has been the predominant focus of our privacy issues. Congress created this danger by mandating use of the standard identifier (currently your SSN) in the private sector. For example, banks use SSNs as customer account identifiers because the government requires it.

We must also protect medical privacy. Presently everyone is vulnerable. Under so-called "medical privacy protection" rules, insurance companies and other entities have access to your personal medical information.

Financial privacy? Right now, by depositing $10,000 or more in cash into your local bank account, a federally mandated report will be generated and transmitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the United States Department of the Treasury.