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PAUL-MARTIN FOSS (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CARL MENGER CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF MONEY AND BANKING (DEPUTY LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR, REP. MASSIE’S OFFICE AT TIME OF PHOTO)
WHAT ISSUES ARE YOU WORKING ON THAT AFFECT YOUNG PEOPLE AND WHY SHOULD THEY CARE? Monetary policy is the issue I work on that affects young people the most. Your ability to live a comfortable retirement is based largely on your ability to save and accumulate wealth starting in your 20s. The low interest rate environment the Federal Reserve has brought about has created incredible disincentives to saving and investment among young people. Traditional saving at a bank will actually lose you purchasing power due to negative real interest rates (rate of inflation is higher than the nominal interest rate you receive on your savings deposits) so we have an entire generation of young people spending money and living the good life, but they’re not going to be able to continue that indefinitely. WHY HAS POLITICS BECOME SO ADVERSARIAL? Because so many people see it as a game, a contest. Too many Hill folks are just up here to “make the other side look bad” rather than accomplishing anything substantive or acting out of principle. MOTTO/QUOTE YOU LIVE BY? “Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it.” — Virgil. It was Ludwig von Mises’ motto, and it’s particularly relevant to me as a Hill staffer because there’s so
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much pressure to soften our positions or go along to get along. FAVORITE CHARITY/CAUSE? The Catholic Church. I’m a faithful Catholic and give most of my donations to my parish or to other Catholic organizations. WHAT IS THE MOST PRESSING WORLD PROBLEM TODAY? The increasing centralization of power within the state. There’s pretty much no sector of anyone’s life today that the government isn’t already involved in or doesn’t want to get involved in. We’re the frog in the boiling pot and most people don’t even realize it because they’re more interested in pursuing a comfortable life than anything else. Just look at how little reaction there has been to Edward Snowden’s revelations. The NSA is going to continue to vacuum up huge amounts of personal data because they think it won’t ever affect them. Once it does affect them, though, it’ll be too late to change anything. WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY? Zerohedge, LewRockwell.com, and AR15.com. WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES? My primary hobby is brewing beer. I’ve been a home brewer for nearly five years.
WA S H I N G T O N L I F E
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