Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul says he’s not endorsing any of the presidential candidates on any of their positions. Paul, who dropped out of the GOP presidential race just over a month ago, held a town hall meeting at Eastern Kentucky University Friday.
“No, I’m going to stay out of it,” he said. “I’ve sort of said my piece. I was very clear on what I thought were strong suits, weak suits of all of them. But I think in the end, the republican nominee will be a lot better than the democratic nominee.”
Paul says some of Kentucky’s poorest counties have unemployment rates double the national average. He supports establishing economic development zones in in those areas. “I would take the corporate income tax to five percent, the federal income tax,” Paul explained. “I would take the personal income tax to five percent. I would lower the payroll tax on the employer and the employee and I’d do that for 10 years.”
Paul says cutting taxes could generate between $60-$100 million for disadvantaged counties, but he adds that would necessitate more tough funding decisions.
When it comes to overall budget decisions on Capitol Hill, the Bowling Green physician says most lawmakers don’t want to break from tradition. “People believe that nothing’s possible,” said Paul. “They believe that the only thing that is possible is what we’ve always done, what we did yesterday and the day before, and people at home don’t believe that at all. So, there’s a real disconnect. They think ‘people at home would get mad at me if I balance the budget,’ and it’s the opposite.”
The GOP congressman said he’s proud of Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin for trying to fix the state’s fiscal issues.?
