George F. Smith's Columns
A Colonial Radical in King Bernanke's Court
"During war, countries often resort to counterfeiting their enemies’ currency in an effort to destroy their economy. What should we make of this practice in peacetime, under the protection of our own government, as a means of promoting economic health?" Column by George F. Smith.
"...is Ron Paul’s approach fundamentally flawed or is he trying to move us closer to the libertarian ideal of non-aggression?" Column by George F. Smith.
"Government has no use for a money that’s scarce: it limits its reach. It limits its reach by limiting its ability to inflate." Column by George F. Smith.
"Conscripting kids and rushing them through boot camp, then packing them sardine-style into ships for the voyage overseas, then trucking them to rat-infested trenches, then hauling them out when they’re dead, maimed, diseased, or finished killing -- all of that and much more requires funding that only a central bank, with its surreptitious form of theft, can provide without political repercussions." Column by George F. Smith.
"For at least the last three centuries, economists have had ample evidence that fiat money -- another name for the paper government orders us to use in exchange for real goods and services -- has a short lifespan. It exists because it’s easy to create, and when money is easy to create, it gets created -- for the benefit of some at the expense of the rest of us." Column by George F. Smith.
What's Wrong With the Markets?
"And we’re supposed to believe the gold standard is a barbarous relic." Column by George F. Smith.
"...gold has served as the principal medium of exchange throughout history because its value does not depend on a government fulfilling its promises." Column by George F. Smith.
"Money had been removed from the people and placed in the care of politicians. And political money didn’t require the expense and labor of mining ore. It required only ink and the will to print. Thereafter, there would be no such thing as a scarcity of money." Column by George F. Smith.
Column by George F. Smith.
Whistleblower's Attack on the Fed
"When [Bernanke] says 'thanks to you, we won’t do it again,' he means he’ll follow Friedman’s general advice and try to destroy the dollar at a low and steady rate (which he calls 'inflation targeting'), but if the dollar should threaten to recover in value, he’ll bring in the helicopters and dump money in the laps of preferred investors. The dollar will thus continue on its course to oblivion, but most people won’t notice because it could take years to accomplish, and very importantly, it might postpone an economic collapse." Column by George F. Smith.
STR's Fifth--The First of Many
"Strike The Root's editor has insisted that STR expose the state for what it is, a criminal organization posing as our savior." Column by George F. Smith.
Shays Fought the Revolution's Final Battle
And we lost. Column by George F. Smith.
" If liberty is defined as freedom from force, then the answer is clear: Only the Austrians advocate a coercion-free society. With its call for controlled inflation, the Chicago school gives government an important role and thereby invites abuse." Column by George F. Smith.
What Is the Fed's 'Noble Cause'?
"A central bank like the Fed 'is not a natural product of banking development,' British economist Vera Smith wrote in the 1930s. It works only with the aid of government favors that grant it a monopoly on the issue of what we’re forced to accept as money. Perhaps an economist with the courage of a Cindy Sheehan will confront the Fed chairman and demand to know for what noble purpose we are burdened with a government-created banking cartel that imposes a hidden tax on us in the form of a chronically depreciating currency." Column by George F. Smith.
Crisis Is the Health of the State
" The attitude of turning our worries over to government prevailed, and now, as bodies are collected, we witness federal officials playing their hand, giving us spinning press conferences, bureaucratic stonewalling, a growing military occupation, and a craven Congress writing fat checks without cutting spending, starting with a $50 billion appropriation to FEMA for what President Bush considers the 'heck of a job' it’s doing." Column by George F. Smith.
Grilling the Maestro: Ron Paul Questions Alan Greenspan
"Why, then, would anyone want to inflate the supply of money and thereby lower its price? For the same reason a counterfeiter would: the new money will let him buy things at current prices, without requiring him to earn it first." Column by George F. Smith.
Satire by George F. Smith.
"Counting on most note holders not to demand their gold at the same time is another way of saying the banks are hoping they don’t get caught. Because no one can loan something they don’t have, fractional reserve banking is a gigantic fraud." Column by George F. Smith.
" While the Fed carries on these operations week after week, everyone in the economy is forced to live with the destructive effects of its inflationary policies – a depreciating dollar (now worth about a nickel since the Fed took charge), tinsel booms followed by painful recessions, time spent trying to protect our wealth from Fed plunder, additional pretexts for government intervention in the economy, more money for government wars, more corruption, more political pork (such as the $40 million upcoming inauguration), and a rising cost of living. We also have to live with a chorus of commentators telling us the Fed’s our friend and protector and the economic outlook is by-golly rosy." Column by George F. Smith.
Season's Greetings from the Fed
"Most people view the Fed as our tireless public servant promoting a stable economy and fighting the curse of inflation. The truth is the exact opposite. The Fed is solely responsible for inflation and has caused economic havoc since its inception." Column by George F. Smith.
"In his book, DiLorenzo sometimes points out how a 'strong dose of capitalism' helped a particular economic problem. I contend that a 'strong dose of DiLorenzo' is what we need to set our thinking straight." Column by George F. Smith.
"When England under their George III tried to muscle the American colonies into servitude we threw off our overseas masters and attempted to institute a government with enough checks on its power that we would always be able to say, 'It can’t happen here.' Yet, it has. We now have the debt-ridden, corrupt, wasteful, elitist, special-interest-driven empire that we repudiated in 1776." Column by George F. Smith.
"Being ready to kill is not the same as killing, though. And here’s where our testing gets a little sticky. Phase II calls for splitting you into two groups. We’ll scribble down a dozen or so pious reasons and toss them in a helmet, then pull one to serve as a cause so you’ll feel like the killing you do is more than murder." Column by George F. Smith.
The Fed's Grasping Invisible Hand
Recommended "As a 'stealth tax,' inflation requires no legislation to impose, no agency to collect, and diverts responsibility for damages onto politicians’ favorite whipping boys. It gives government the ability to buy almost anything for nothing, while creating endless problems that serve as a pretext for intervention." Column by George F. Smith.
"Yet, your vote is very important to the government. The more votes it has, the easier it can claim legitimacy. Voting is your way of blessing the institution of government itself." Column by George F. Smith.
"Of course, war and its attendant loss of life, liberty, and wealth are only a few of the many blessings the Fed makes possible. The Fed exists to inflate the money supply, that is, to increase the amount of money in circulation. Imagine what you could do if you could legally print your own money and force others to accept it. The government has. That’s why it created the Fed." Column by George F. Smith.
The Story of the Fed Is a Story of a Crime
"The bottom line is that Congress and the banking cartel have entered into a partnership in which the cartel has the privilege of collecting interest on money which it creates out of nothing . . . . Congress, on the other hand, has access to unlimited funding without having to tell the voters their taxes are being raised through the process of inflation." Column by George F. Smith.
"The president of the country lies and no one seems to care. They don’t even care that he pokes fun at himself about the lies. He and his comrades lied before, during, and after the war, which so far has killed over 600 Americans. Impeach him? Not a chance. He’ll probably get re-elected." Column by George F. Smith.
Slackers, Arise! Support the Anti-Party!
"At the very least, the Anti-Party would get people to think about the coercive nature of the state and how the act of voting sanctions legal aggression. If the party attracts enough members, it would also deny legitimacy to election winners." Column by George F. Smith.
Don't Vote, Not Even for Martha
"Stay home during the primaries. Study monetary theory and American history instead of watching the political conventions. Avoid the polls in November. Don’t give your next masters legitimacy." Column by George F. Smith.
One Madness Engenders the Next
"Since Greenspan took over the Fed in 1987, the monetary base has tripled, while GDP has gone up only 50 percent. The new money has no resources behind it, but it looks like the real thing and is accepted as such. In other words, it’s counterfeit, of value only to early users of the money who transfer wealth to their possession in exchange for nothing." Column by George F. Smith.
"As cons go, withholding ranks as one of the greatest, but it’s not in the same league with central banking. Withholding can’t hide from the fact that it’s a form of plunder. Not so with central banking. It has the reputation of being the backbone of our economy, the engine of our prosperity. Although Alan Greenspan has his critics, few of them charge him for what he is – the head of the state’s monopoly on counterfeiting." Column by George F. Smith.
"Individuals are to the state what cattle are to the slaughterhouse – by moral design. The sacrifice isn’t an unfortunate necessity, it’s an expression of our 'noblest' virtue. If there aren’t enough wars to keep American youth busy, then send them to clean up the parks or police the ghettos – send them anywhere, but make them serve the State." Column by George F. Smith.
A Long Time Ago in Boston - Part III: The Final Crisis Before War
"At a large meeting on December 16, people in the Boston area learned of Hutchinson’s injunction disallowing the Dartmouth to sail home. Angry speeches were made, and after a signal from Adams, a disciplined group of Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians rushed to Griffin’s Wharf and methodically dumped the tea from all three ships into the Boston harbor." Column by George F. Smith.
A Long Time Ago in Boston - Part II: The British Send in Troops
"Insults were exchanged, then the citizens starting hurling chunks of ice at the soldiers. Someone shouted 'Fire!' and a ragged volley of gunshots cracked the night air. The crowd panicked and broke up. Four men lay dead on the ground, with others staggering or crawling off wounded. Adams later called it the Boston Massacre." Column by George F. Smith.
A Long Time Ago in Boston - Part I: The Rise of Otis and Adams
"It’s hard to imagine the United States existing without James Otis and Samuel Adams. It was Otis, in fact, who got the Revolution underway in a marathon courtroom speech in 1761. But it was Adams who carried his contemporaries home, the man perfectly suited to lead a revolt." Column by George F. Smith.
States Watch Prosperity as Their Prey
"Markets produce jobs, wealth, and rising standards of living. Governments undercut market processes; they produce nothing. Most government today is organized crime elevated to a position of social respectability. Heavy taxation, along with central bank inflation, provides the sweetener that attracts the flies to politics." Column by George F. Smith.
A Firebrand Scorches Colonial Virginia
George F. Smith on Patrick Henry's humble beginnings.
The Roots of Thomas Paine's Radicalism
"The rebellious colonies probably appealed to Paine, who no doubt was ready to revolt himself against a thoroughly corrupt state. Perhaps he imagined America as a land of White Hall Inns where freedom lovers were uniting a nation against tyranny." Column by George F. Smith.
Spitting on Our Founders' Graves
"Government is too big, bureaucratic, and turf-conscious to protect us. We’ve seen it fail too many times, most shockingly on Black Tuesday. If we’re truly interested in security and honoring the 9-11 dead, we need to bring it back under constitutional control – or get rid of it altogether and have the market provide its vital functions." Column by George F. Smith.
"As long as we tolerate any government at all, the state has no business promoting any religion. Nor should the state be involved with education. If enough people want schools to include a particular slant on history, Christian or otherwise, the market will fill the need. The free market lets us choose; the state chooses for us." Column by George F. Smith.
Hannity Picks on a Real Fighter
"Verny Kuglin represents the brightest hope we’ve had in a long time to 'awaken liberty from its long slumber.' Hannity accuses her of doing something 'sneaky' and 'cute.' How 'sneaky' is it to pour over ponderous and confusing tax codes and research court cases for years, then decide to step out alone and risk losing everything, including the next 30 years of your life, by not paying income taxes? I call that uncommon valor of the highest order. The only sneak in this issue is the government, and it’s anything but cute." Column by George F. Smith. Even if you had a legal obligation to pay tax, you do not have a moral obligation to do so, and that trumps everything else.
The Day Liberty Rose From a Long Slumber
"Americans once defended their liberties with acts of violence directed at the offending source, the British government. The Crown got a strong dose of it on the fourteenth of August, 1765." Column by George F. Smith.
Your Money or Your Life: Why We Must Abolish the Income Tax
"There’s nothing like crisis to expand state power, and there’s no crisis like war. Thus, it is no surprise that an income tax was first proposed during the War of 1812, and then not one, but six income tax bills passed during Lincoln’s war." Column by George F. Smith. Thoreau wrote, "When I meet a government which says to me, 'Your money or your life,' why should I be in haste to give it my money?"
"Paine’s
reply was Rights of Man, which eventually earned him an absentia
conviction of seditious libel in England. Though parts of it delve into
welfare and social security proposals, there is much in it that
libertarians can treasure." Column by George F. Smith.
"For years, the colonists celebrated August 14 as 'a happy day, on which liberty arose from a long slumber.' Will today’s Americans someday celebrate a rebirth of liberty? Our colonists killed the Stamp Tax. Are we up to doing away with the income tax?" Column by George F. Smith.
A Guru's Advice to a Presidential Hopeful
"And lastly, your greatest reward -- the military’s glowing performance will raise the esteem for government in general. If you can pound the stuffing out of some hapless Third Worlders, the sky’s the limit -- you can do anything. The economy’s lagging? Send in the Marines, ha-ha. A war winner can do no wrong." Column by George F. Smith.
"He had more brains than books; more sense than education; more courage than politeness; more strength than polish. He had no veneration for old mistakes -- no admiration for ancient lies....He saw...hypocrisy at the altar, venality on the bench, tyranny on the throne; and with a splendid courage he espoused the cause of the weak against the strong, of the enslaved many against the titled few." Column by George F. Smith.
What Killed the Four Horsemen?
"With a new Court and printing press money to fund a compassionate government, the people received countless benefits, except for another world war, a succession of lesser wars, unfathomable debt, devalued currency, deplorable education, and so on. The new Court blessed the Social Security Act. The new Court said the National Labor Relations Act was just fine. In fact, the new Court said just about anything the government did was fine. The government was no longer restrained by archaic laws. The people had won." Column by George F. Smith.
Schools Get Dunce for Self-Esteem
"We need to wake up to the fact that no one can give us self-esteem. The responsibility for sustaining it lies with each of us alone. If we fail to understand this principle, we tend to look for self-esteem where it can't be found, as many school teachers are doing." Column by George F. Smith.
"Of course, with a major war underway, everything government proposed was wrapped in the flag. In testimony before the House, Treasury officials said paying more taxes was nothing compared to the sacrifices our military personnel were making. To insulate their position, pols called proposed tax increases a 'defense tax' or a 'war tax' or a 'victory tax.'" Column by George F. Smith.
"And so the 214th amendment was passed, liberating people from the temptation of choice in what they wore. Like all Beltway legislation it was a victory for Equality and Freedom." Column by George F. Smith.
Failure Writes Pamphlet, Changes American History
"The British paid dearly for firing Paine as an excise tax officer; the decision cost them their American colonies. We pay a hefty price when we neglect Common Sense; it was the call that turned a rebellion into a revolution." Column by George F. Smith.
"Imagine the beaming pride our servants in D.C. would feel if they gazed upon a sea of marching patriots cheering and waving their draft cards in one hand, the flag in the other, begging to be sacrificed. If that doesn't get your heart pumping red, white, and blue it ought to at least be pumping red." An excellent column by George F. Smith, who has his tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
"And what followed in the wake of these 'explanations'? An intensified commitment to religious faith and the state. Where does history teach us that this is the path to prosperity and peace? If there's blood in the news, religion or the state is usually behind it." Column by George F. Smith.
Come to the State as a Child and Be Saved
"Like a successful religion, the state has secured a firm foundation in our lives. It forbids questioning of fundamentals and instead offers a child-like explanation of why things go wrong when it gets involved. All is well in the U.S. of A. Come to it as a child and show your faith by believing, and believers will be saved." An outstanding column by George F. Smith.
Christmas Day, 1776: 'Victory or Death'
"On Christmas Day, 1776, a few Americans gave us the first installment of a gift we have all but lost." Column by George F. Smith.
Step One in Fighting the State
"Now that America has lost much of its hard-won freedom, we find ourselves drowning in a culture that long ago abandoned any talk of individual rights or liberty. The term 'patriot' has done an about-face and now stands for support of the state, rather than dedication to a principle. The patriots who founded this country would today be in the crosshairs of Ashcroft's agents." Column by George F. Smith.
"And perhaps Paine might have submitted his resume to [Congress]. And what could Congress infer from Paine's resume about his potential as a revolutionary pamphleteer? Nothing. But they would try. Here's what might have happened:" Column by George F. Smith.
Freedom Is for Fighters: Just Say NO to the State
"Every tyranny has a need for propaganda to keep the slaves rowing with minimal defiance. How do you get Americans, with their history of rebellion against oppressive government, to wave their flags at every government pronouncement? You force them into government schools." Column by George F. Smith.
Suing Corporate America to Save the World
"We no longer have to worry about freedom and personal responsibility. With Corporate America emerging as the great villain, we can save the world. The culprit will take the blame while putting us in Fat City." Column by George F. Smith.
"Our military and intelligence forces trained, assisted, and defended bin Laden and Hussein when they were fighting regimes we opposed. If we're serious about ending states that sponsor terrorism, a fundamental policy change in the U.S. is long overdue." Column by George F. Smith.
"And why would another assembly of men approve a constitution and bill of rights that limited the power of the rulers, if these men were bigots, as Farrakhan charges? If you're going to subjugate others, you want the sanction of legitimacy--you want legal control of the police, courts, military, and especially the press. Abolitionists were seething, and under the Constitution they could continue their crusade--and did." Column by George F. Smith.
"The Posse Comitatus discussion is a sham, a sideshow intended to deceive the public into believing we have statesmen in office who respect the rule of law. Whether Posse Comitatus gets changed is immaterial. The commander-in-chief has the unconstitutional but uncontested power to issue executive orders, which makes him a one-man legislative body. All he needs is the right crisis, and the Posse Comitatus or any other law can mean whatever he dictates." Column by George F. Smith.
Branden on Self-Responsibility and Laissez Faire
Self-responsibility is the foundation of laissez faire, as Nathaniel Branden argues. Column by George F. Smith.
The Two Political Labels That Count
"As Ludwig von Mises observed over a half-century ago, we have essentially two choices in politics, and need only two labels: freedom or slavery, laissez faire or dictatorship." Column by George F. Smith.
A Memo to Practical Politicians
"Unfortunately, in the early years of our democracy, certain recalcitrants prevented the government from operating the way it should. They fostered dangerous notions of the U.S. as a republic with a limited government and something called states rights. Then in 1860, a Martyr came along and saved us, and we've been on the path of righteous freedom ever since." Column by George Smith.
The Birth of Legal Counterfeiting
The Fed was invented to fund Big Government through inflation. Column by George Smith.
"Under government-controlled fiat money, after nearly a century of war, waste, wealth-theft, and welfare, with many families now needing two incomes to live decently, the dollar today is almost worthless." Column by George Smith.
"As Frederic Bastiat pointed out, protectionists want to do to their country during peacetime what they try to do to their enemies during war--close its borders to imports." Column by George Smith.
"We live today with Lincoln's legacy....Lincoln created an absolute central government that has spread like cancer, with an insatiable appetite for our money." Column by George Smith.
Bill Gates needs help. His Encarta.com encyclopedia entry for capitalism is self-indicting. Column by George Smith.
Does dishonesty become less flagrant the more widespread it is? A Kansas school board thought so, and now a whole town is paying the price. Column by George Smith.
Four years ago at the Academy Awards, Titanic won 11 Oscars. Though the film is realistic in important respects, writer/director James Cameron relied on cliched thinking about wealth to tell his story. As someone known for challenging accepted wisdom, who's made a fortune in a highly competitive industry, he could have done better. Column by George Smith.
Posting the Ten Commandments in Congress is unconstitutional, but it does raise thoughts about an appropriate moral tribute to our lawmakers. Column by George Smith.
The Public Be Damned: Altruism Feeds on Freedom
Altruism is the morality by which the state takes our lives. Column by George Smith.
The Man Who Could Have Been King
George Smith's salute to George Washington.
Why Stop Signs In D.C. Need Ten Sides
George Smith looks at how the government inverted the meaning of the Tenth Amendment. Also read Spooner on the Constitution.
Liberty's Latest Cure: Campaign Finance Reform
Column by George Smith.
George Smith offers this guide for all demagogues seeking or attempting to preserve political power.
In his latest tirade, Pat Buchanan smears atheism to promote state-supported Christianity. Column by George Smith.
What happens when FED fails to protect you. Column by George Smith.
If the Constitution wanted Congress to conscript, it wouldn't have a Bill of Rights. Column by George Smith.
We've allowed our rights to be eroded, in the name of "higher" ideals. If we don't reclaim our heritage, we'll lose the source of our greatness and well-being. Column by George Smith.
Modern Moralists Condemn Terrorism
But don't ask them why. Column by George F. Smith.
The right attitude and a new label can change April 15th forever. Column by George F. Smith.
Snub the Tyrants and Grow Your Own
Tomato gardening may be the best way to start a revolution. It allows you to savor the great taste of your crop while experiencing a nearly-forgotten pleasure: independence. Column by George F. Smith, who sounds like a modern-day Thoreau.
The history of philosophy offers significant clues about why 9-11 is an infamous date. Column by new Root Striker George F. Smith.