— George Washington; in a letter to Jabez Bowen, Rhode Island, Jan. 9, 1787George Mason from Virginia told the delegates he had a “mortal hatred to paper money.” Previously he had written to George Washington: “They may pass a law to issue paper money, but twenty laws will not make the people receive it. Paper money is founded upon fraud and knavery.”
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandThen, as now, those who suffered the most from fiat money were those who held the most trust in government. In 1777 these were mostly the Whigs, for it was they who patriotically held paper money and, as a result, lost their livelihoods and their life savings. The Tories, on the other hand, mistrusting both government and its paper money, passed the bills as quickly as possible in trade for real assets, especially gold. Consequently, as a group, they weathered the storm fairly well. But they often were derided by their less prudent neighbors as “Torie speculators,” “hoarders,” and even “traitors.”
All of this was painfully fresh in the memories of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention and, as the opening session convened in Philadelphia in 1787, there were angry mobs in the streets threatening the legislators. Looting was rampant. Businesses were bankrupt. Drunkenness and lawlessness were everywhere to be seen. The fruit of fiat money had ripened, and the delegates did not enjoy its taste.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandThe dictionary, therefore, needs a new definition. Usury: The charging of any interest on a loan of fiat money.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandWhen money is created out of nothing, the true interest rate is not 8% or 9% or even 22%, it is infinity.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandNo bank can stay in business for very long with a zero reserve. The only way to make people accept such a worthless currency is by government force. That's what legal-tender laws are all about. The transition from fraction-reserve money to fiat money, therefore, requires the participation of government through a mechanism which is called a central bank.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandA nation that resorts to the use of fiat money has doomed itself to economic hardship and political disunity.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandFiat money is the means by which governments obtain instant purchasing power without taxation.
— G. Edward Griffin; The Creature From Jekyll IslandThus, when governments issue fiat money, they always declare it to be legal tender under pain of fine or imprisonment. The only way a government can exchange its worthless paper money for tangible goods and services is to give its citizens no choice.
The Presidency is not an entry level job.
Name the last American President who was neither a Vice President, Governor, Senator or high ranking military officer and hero.
This is why Donald Trump and Hermain Cain will not be President, just like Pat Buchanan, Ralph Nader, Ross Perot, Alan Keyes, Pat Robertson, Rudy Guilliani, and I’m sure many others who fancied the job but did not possess the minimum qualifications never got the job.
The American People have an innate collective wisdom. Yes, we still screw up sometimes and elect idiots like Obama, but that still doesn’t mean we’ll elect someone without qualifications. In fact I think it will raise the bar on minimum qualifications, not lower them, for 2012.
Candidates like Pawlenty, Romney, Daniels, Barbor and Palin have the minimum qualifications. Hermain Cain does not. I’m surprised he’s not smart enough to get that, but it’s his time and money, the American people will be happy to school him.
sfl