Welcome to Rand Paul Says The Darndest Things: ’90s Edition.
In the late 1990s, Paul — then a simple ophthalmologist and president of Kentucky Taxpayers United — appeared on several episodes “Kentucky Tonight,” a roundtable-style show on public television. He talked about the elderly dying at the hands of Medicare rationing; the need to privatize Social Security, which he called “a Ponzi scheme;” and the rights of the government to invest in racist companies.
We at TPM watched all five hours of footage, courtesy of KET, and compressed them into three minutes: The best of retro Rand Paul.
Some other gems to watch for: Paul advocates scrapping the tax code, compares Medicare to the fall of the Soviet Union and explains private retirement accounts. It could work, he says — just look at the Chilean laborer who saved almost $1 million for retirement.
Watch:
For more vintage Paul, check out Evan McMorris-Santoro’s piece from June.
Video produced by Rachel Slajda.
Additional reporting by Justin Elliott.
