Posted on 12/01/2008 12:36:26 PM PST by rabscuttle385
As the printing presses for the bailouts run at full speed, those in power are no longer even pretending that the new giveaways will fix our problems. Now that we are used to rewarding failure with taxpayer-funded bailouts, we are being told that this is “just a start,” more funds will inevitably be needed for more industries, and that things would be much worse had we done nothing.
The updated total bailout commitments add up to over $8 trillion now. This translates into a monetary base increase of 75 percent over the last two months. This money does not come from some rainy day fund tucked away in the budget somewhere – it is created from thin air, and devalues every dollar in circulation. Dumping money on an economy, as they have been doing, is not the same as dumping wealth. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect.
One key attribute that gives money value is scarcity. If something that is used as money becomes too plentiful, it loses value. That is how inflation and hyperinflation happens. Giving a central bank the power to create fiat money out of thin air creates the tremendous risk of eventual hyperinflation. Most of the founding fathers did not want a central bank. Having just experienced the hyperinflation of the Continental dollar, they understood the power and the temptations inherent in that type of system. It gives one entity far too much power to control and destabilize the economy.
Our central bankers have had a tremendous amount of hubris over the years, believing that they could actually manage a paper money system in such a way as to replicate the behavior and benefits of a gold standard. In fact, back in 2004 then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told me as much. People talk about toxic assets, but the real toxicity in our economy comes from the neo-alchemy practiced by the Federal Reserve System. Just as alchemists of the past frequently poisoned themselves with the lead or mercury they were trying to turn to gold, today’s bankers are poisoning the economy with accelerated fiat money creation.
Throughout the ages, gold has stood the test of time as a consistently reliable medium of exchange, and has frequently been referred to as “God’s money”, as only God can make more of it. Seeking superhuman power over money in the way alchemists did in ancient times caused society to shun them as charlatans. In much the same way, free people today should be sending the message that this power and control over our money is no longer acceptable.
The irony is that even had the ancient practice of alchemy been successful, and gold was suddenly, magically made abundant, alchemists still would have failed to create real wealth. Creating gold from lead would have cheapened its status to that of rhinestones or cubic zirconia. It is unnatural and dangerous for paper to be considered as precious as a precious metal. Our fiat currency system is crumbling and coming to an end, as all fiat currencies eventually do.
Congress should reject the central bank as a failure for its manipulations of money that have brought our economy to its knees. I am hoping that in the 111th Congress my legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve System gains traction so that the central bank can no longer destroy our money.
L.Ron has no solutions to the current situation either. Just a lot of “I told you so” BS (as if!) and the same goldbuggery cant he’s been spitting for years.
I’m responding with reasoning, not emotion: L.Ron is nuts.
Take your irrational hostility elsewhere, please.
Let’s be clear. You’re being a jerk, by posting ad hominem attacks against the author that have nothing to do with the substance.
It seems your cute poster accurately depicts your character today.
L.Ron?
LOL
I'm not having a discussion with the author, this is not a debate. Your use of the term ad hominem describes YOUR post 23, not any of mine.
My critiques of the cult of L.Ron have met with personal attacks on me....the very definition of ad hominem.
In other words, you have no contribution to make to the conversation so you throw dung at others. What ever happened to you? At one time you had quite a bit to offer us.
Your “critiques” consist of nothing but that picture and other forms of character assassination. Never have. You have YET to make any real, definitive contribution to any thread where Dr. Paul is quoted or commented on.
Buzz off.
BTTT
Have you run out of half-clever insults?
You're such a reliable, non-biased source on the content of my posts...
At one time I had the utmost respect for you. Since this election season, you’ve done a 180 turnabout into someone unrecognizable.
No, I’ve never been biased, unless it were in your favor, until this cycle when you went off the deep end about Dr. Paul. It’s as if you became the RNC shill of shills. So now, AFTER all the hoopla, and you’re STILL doing it, I’m concerned for you. You’re not the Petronski of old.
“Since this election season, you’ve...”= “Since this election season, BEGAN you’ve...”
Ignore the misplaced comma.
Color me decidedly not surprised.
I have no idea who you are, nor do I particularly care.
But your assessment of my opinions is laughably uninformed, since I have been laughing out loud at the the paranoid, vaguely-deranged foibles of goldbuggery since high school in the early eighties.
What’s to apologize for? Holding an opinion you don’t like?
In the early ‘80s I was doing what I had done since 1967, serving proudly (for a change) under Reagan. Protecting your right to grow up and act like a jerk with respect to Dr. Paul. An ad hominem attack is one that’s baseless and without merit. I believe that what I said, good and bad, about you holds up under scrutiny. Sorry if it offends you, but life carries no warranty that we WON’T ever be offended by something... like someone else’s opinion.
You insinuated I was a deranged physical risk to L.Ron. THAT is beyond “baseless and without merit.” It is false and defamatory.
The minute you went ad hominem, I won.
With the abrupt change in your prior behaviors and the consistency of your posting of that pic and all your ugly commentary about Dr. Paul all these months, who’s to say you’re NOT a threat to him? You could have had a brain tumor that caused this bizarre behavior, but without having a professional assessment of you, I could not reconcile the past Petronski with the present one, so I cannot know for sure that, given the obvious animus you have for him, you wouldn’t attempt something if you met him in person. Sorry, but that is, in fact, my honest opinion. I would have hoped it untrue, but of all the Paul-bashers, you are almost the only one left who does that hatchet job on him you’ve been doing all along. Most of the rest will post one snide comment and let it alone.
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