RICHMOND — The gasoline prices are nearly double what they were a year ago because the value of the U.S. dollar is shrinking, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told a join meeting of the Richmond and Berea chambers of commerce Friday.

“Gasoline is not more scarce than it was a year ago,” he said. “The value of your dollar is shrinking because your government runs up a massive debt and then prints money to pay it.”

Working-class people, the elderly on fixed incomes and new graduates entering the work force need to realize, “Big government is not your friend,” the senator said.

“When they say, ‘We’re going to give you this. It’s free.' It’s not free. They’re destroying the dollar,” he said. “This year you’ll pay four bucks for a gallon of gas. Next year you’ll pay five.”

About 40 percent of every dollar the federal government spends is borrowed, Paul continued. That is about $4 billion a day and adds up to more than $1 trillion a year.

“This is unsustainable,” Paul said.

America is close to having half of its people receiving a government check, he said, and that promises to induce an economic crisis such as Europe is experiencing.

Greece is “ahead” of the U.S., Paul said, because more than 60 percent of its people receive a government check to which they feel entitled and refuse to give up.

Lottery winners can continue to receive food stamps because 35 states issue them based only on income, not assets, he said. About 89,000 dead people received federal economic stimulus checks, because the government is unable to verify who is eligible.

While he is all for national defense and believes it to be the federal government’s primary responsibility, Paul said the Pentagon budget has never been audited because it is too big.

As an example, he cited a Defense Department admission that it cannot account for $100 billion.

“That doesn’t mean (the money) was stolen or wasted, but they can’t account for it,” he said. “Every agency should be audited.”

However, efficiency alone will not balance the federal budget, said the senator who was elected in 2010.

“The problem is that government is too big and too distant from its people.”

Lottery winners would not be receiving welfare if the programs were controlled locally, Paul said.

And, the problem is not simply with individuals who receive government funds.

“Some of the richest corporations get subsidized loans,” he said.

Solyndra, the California solar-panel manufacturer that famously went bankrupt, got a $500 million federal loan, the senator said.

“Who owned Solyndra? George Kaiser, the 20th richest man in the world. Who approved that loan? The husband of his lawyer,” Paul said. “Is that not unseemly?"

In all, about $8 billion in federal energy loans have gone to friends of President Obama, Paul said, although the senator may never have uttered the presidents name during his remarks.

Most references were to “the president” or “this administration.”

“This administration has said on several occasions they don’t like fossil fuels,” Paul said.

“I don’t think it’s the job of an administration to decide which forms of energy we have. They’ve decided that solar panels and wind mills are the way we should go,” Paul said. “But, those (sources) are about 50 times more expensive (than fossil fuels).”

The president also has said he wants to “bankrupt coal,” according to Paul.

“The problem is, if you do that very precipitously, your lights are going to start dimming because 50 percent of the electricity generated in the United States is (generated) from coal.”

In Kentucky, 90 percent of the electricity is generated with coal, and many companies were attracted to Kentucky by low electricity costs, the senator added.

To get the national economy “booming again,” the Environmental Protection Agency “needs to get out our face,” and, “We need to get away from the politics of envy,” he said.

Instead of raising taxes on the rich, their taxes should be lowered so they can hire more people, Paul said.

He favors a 17 percent “flat tax” on both corporations and individuals without deductions.

“The president is going around the country saying the rich don’t pay their fair share in taxes,” the senator said. “But, it’s a lie. The rich pay the vast majority of taxes. The top 10 percent of wage earners, those who make more than $200,000 a year, pay 70 percent of the income tax. The top 50 percent pay 96 percent of the income tax. The bottom 50 percent don’t pay income tax. The rich pay their fair share and then some.”

Paul said he voted to impose economic sanctions on Iran, because if that nation acquires nuclear weapons, “it would destabilize the Middle East.”

However, he is against going to war with Iran.

“I want to be a loud voice for caution and not irrationally going to war,” he said.

He promises to offer an amendment to the next sanctions bill stating that nothing in it should be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of force.

“We’ve been involved in two decade-long wars, and we don’t need another war now,” Paul said to a round of applause.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.