Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said Americans should “be very wary of central planning” of the economy while discussing the unrest in Sri Lanka during a Tuesday Fox News appearance.
“My understanding is that rice production is down 50%,” Paul told “Jesse Watters Primetime” host Jesse Watters. “The last time we tried this, they called it the great famine in China under Mao. So, central planning is not a good idea.” (RELATED: ‘What The Green New Deal Looks Like’: Tucker Hammers AOC Over Sri Lanka Collapse)
The president and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka resigned in the wake of protests over food shortages and inflation. Some experts claim that the economic crisis was caused by the embrace of Environmental, Social and (Corporate) Governance standards, including a decision to ban the use of chemical fertilizer in April 2021.
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Paul warned that such bans that devastate agriculture could come to the United States.
“In our government there is a very popular herbicide, weed killer, that we’ve used since 1960, and the government is talking about essentially trying to eliminate it,” Paul said.
“Most humans I know are not involved with photosynthesis in their bodies, so the thing is, this is for plants, not for animals, and, yet, government is talking about banning it or eliminating it or reducing the ability to use it,” Paul said.
A spokeswoman for Sen. Paul referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to a post on Twitter that linked to a report from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity.
A government-created famine reminiscent of Mao. Climate fanaticism is dangerous.
“Sri Lanka…issued an overnight ban on all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides in a drive to promote “organic agriculture.”https://t.co/Co8eJYWHx9
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 12, 2022
“A government-created famine reminiscent of Mao,” Paul said. “Climate fanaticism is dangerous.”
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