The Triumph of the Bankers
George F. Smith
2011-05-24 23:00
Column by George F. Smith.
Exclusive to STR
In spite of its success in bestowing wealth on some men while funding an unnecessary war, [1] the National Banking System proved unsatisfactory to financial leaders. Even with laws discouraging or restricting redemption, crises still occurred, and banks had to contract and deflate to survive. They were unable to inflate their way out of...
Who Paid for the Civil War?
George F. Smith
2011-05-19 23:00
Column by George F. Smith.
When war broke out in 1861, the federal government was without its own money machine, though that would soon change. As expenses from the war mounted, the U.S. government once again issued Treasury Notes to help finance it. The Act of July 17, 1861 authorized Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to issue notes at 7.30%, a rate chosen to make...
Wildcat Inflation Fighters
George F. Smith
2011-05-15 23:00
Column by George F. Smith
Exclusive to STR
Summary: Though banking and government have had a corrupt relationship throughout history, the Suffolk Bank and Independent Treasury System, both of which were prominent during the “wildcat banking” era of the 19th Century, represent significant efforts at reform.
In his 1994 book, Money Mischief: Episodes in Monetary History,...
The Revolution's Paper Money Legacy
George F. Smith
2009-07-16 15:00
Exclusive to STR
July 17, 2008
After Lexington and Concord, Congress had a war on their hands and needed a way to finance it. The Americans were in large measure tax rebels, so taxation of their own would have to wait. After giving some thought to borrowing, Congress decided instead to call upon their old friend, the printing press.
The Ghost of Dred Scott
George F. Smith
2009-04-12 15:00
'The government gives [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America .' No, no, no, God damn America for treating our citizens as less than human.' [198]
Such were the words of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright as he addressed the congregation of the mostly black Trinity United Church of Christ in southside Chicago on April 13th 2003...
A Juggernaut of Destruction
George F. Smith
2009-02-19 16:00
Exclusive to STR
February 20, 2009
Nature is stingy; the things we need to sustain life above a primitive level are scarce. Fresh tomatoes, iPods, and rotator cuff surgery do not come forth as easily as the air we breathe, and thus man had to discover on his own how to produce or acquire them.
The 'Something' Government Should Do
George F. Smith
2008-10-29 16:00
Exclusive to STR
October 30, 2008
Sometime soon George Bush may want to review Herbert Hoover's 1932 acceptance speech and pluck phrases from it that might calm angry Americans. In rationalizing his interventionism, Hoover said:
Not to Worry, They're on Our Side
George F. Smith
2008-08-24 15:00
Exclusive to STR
August 25, 2008
Less than three months from now either Obama or McCain will be the president-elect. Should we be concerned? Not whatsoever. Here's why:
A government too big to fail
Are You a Deathbed Libertarian?
George F. Smith
2008-08-19 15:00
Exclusive to STR
Recent medical problems have left me wondering what I might write if I were on my deathbed, assuming I still had the ability to put words down. Would I repudiate any of my deepest held convictions, as if they were good for the living but not for the dying? Would I write what I normally write, as if life went on forever? Would I not write a thing, but spend all the time I could...
Jim Rogers' Ultimate Road Trip
George F. Smith
2008-08-05 15:00
Exclusive to STR
August 6, 2008
Anyone who publicly calls for the abolition of the Fed gets my attention. Add to his resume the fact that he rode a motorcycle across China once, circled the planet on the ground twice (the second time with his beautiful bride), ran the New York City marathon three times, and is one of the world's most successful investors as well as a best-selling author, and I'...
A Colonial Radical in King Bernanke's Court
George F. Smith
2008-05-04 15:00
Exclusive to STR
May 5, 2008
Thomas Paine made the case for freedom in 1776, and ten years later made the case for freedom's money, gold and silver. [1] If we had followed his advice on the latter, we would still possess a good measure of the former.
The Sacred Cow of Inflation
George F. Smith
2008-04-15 15:00
Exclusive to STR
April 16, 2008
No one has ever died from inflation directly, yet it constitutes a serious threat to our existence. By 'inflation' I mean a policy of increasing the money supply, the root cause of the booms that inevitably go bust. Using this traditional idea of inflation--which, it should be mentioned, is regarded as contrived by most economists today--in what sense can it be...
Who Does the Fed Serve?
George F. Smith
2008-04-07 15:00
Exclusive to STR
In testimony last week, Ben Bernanke told Ron Paul that the government created the Federal Reserve in 1913 to stop the "periodic financial crises" that erupted in the 19th Century and again in 1907. Bernanke, evidently, was counting on Paul holding the accepted view of the Fed's origins, the one untainted by Wall Street-government conspiracy -- not the view...
What's Wrong With the Markets?
George F. Smith
2008-03-04 16:00
Exclusive to STR
March 5, 2008
'The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States , provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.' ~ Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
'WAR IS PEACE FREEDOM IS SLAVERY IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH' ~ 1984 quote hidden in Apple's February keyboard update
Gold, Ron Paul and Prosperity
George F. Smith
2007-11-14 16:00
Exclusive to STR
November 15, 2007
Candidate Ron Paul understands inflation as the creation of money out of thin air. While this view depicts a disturbing state of affairs and has a distinguished history, it is not in the least popular. For one thing, it tends to incriminate the money creators.
If inflation is defined as price increases, by coincidence the guilt falls on those who raise...
The State Drops Its Mask
George F. Smith
2007-08-26 15:00
Exclusive to STR
August 27, 2007
'So things aren't quite adding up the way they used to, huh? Some of your myths are a little shaky these days.'
'My myths? They're not'"
STR's Fifth--The First of Many
George F. Smith
2006-08-11 15:00
Exclusive to STR
On IMDb.com, the movie "V for Vendetta" has an average viewer rating of 8.2 out of a possible 10, based on 55,397 votes. With V now available on DVD, more people will see it and a rating increase will likely follow, making it one of the most popular movies of all time among IMDb voters. The local Blockbuster where I tried to buy a copy was sold out, their stock having been...
Crop Seeding in America
George F. Smith
2006-02-14 16:00
Exclusive to STR
September 25, 2008
Everything possible is done to prevent the fraud of the monetary system from being exposed to the masses who suffer from it. ~ Rep. Ron Paul, TX, before the U.S. House of Representatives, February 15, 2006
What Is the Fed's 'Noble Cause'?
George F. Smith
2005-09-13 15:00
Federal Reserve officials periodically drone about their monetary policies targeting the federal funds rate, which is the interest rate banks charge one another for overnight loans. 'Changes in the federal funds rate trigger a chain of events,' the Fed's web site says, affecting other interest rates, employment, output, and the prices of goods and services. Oh, yes ' rate changes also affect...
Crisis Is the Health of the State
George F. Smith
2005-09-12 15:00
Katrina had been well known to scientists and emergency professionals long before it made landfall in New Orleans. Far from being a storm that was 'breathtaking in its surprise,' as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff described it [1], Katrina was virtually scripted in a five-part New Orleans Times-Picayune article in 2002.
The Greenspan Greenback
George F. Smith
2005-02-28 16:00
In an effort to silence forever those pesky cranks who call themselves monetary libertarians, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan has announced a new do-it-yourself dollar. Appropriately called the Greenspan Greenback, the new one-dollar specimen sports Chairman Greenspan's likeness not merely once, as with good 'ol George, but 12 times. 'Critics of the Fed's very...
Greenspan and Banker Alchemy
George F. Smith
2005-02-13 16:00
In 1966, Alan Greenspan published an essay called 'Gold and Economic Freedom,' certain words from which have been reverberating throughout libertarian circles since he started working for the government.
Inflation, the Insidious WMD
George F. Smith
2005-01-18 16:00
In a speech delivered recently at a Mises Institute conference on 'The Trouble With Taxation,' Lew Rockwell told his audience about how Alabama governor Bob Riley tried to con taxpayers into handing over more money. Not only did Riley try to get voters to approve the largest tax increase in state history, his proposed bill would have changed the state constitution to make it easier to fleece...
Season"s Greetings from the Fed
George F. Smith
2004-12-28 16:00
In 1903, a lawyer in Germany took out an insurance policy and made payments on it faithfully. When the policy came due in 20 years, he cashed it in and bought a single loaf of bread with the proceeds. [1] He was fortunate. If he had waited a few days longer, the money he received would have bought no more than a few crumbs. Germany had been on the usual fractional reserve...
A Strong Dose of DiLorenzo
George F. Smith
2004-12-01 16:00
Given what passes for economic understanding today and the disastrous policies we're forced to endure, you might think economic decision-making consisted of a coin toss with a two-headed penny. Every problem is the market's fault and government's responsibility to fix. The root cause is always too much freedom ' the solution, therefore, is to have less of it.
In this picture, government is like...
It Has Happened Here
George F. Smith
2004-11-01 16:00
The problem for the liberty-loving individual is chronically the same, no matter what the date: how to keep the big foot of government off the backs of our necks. Libertarians such as Carla Howell and Michael Cloud argue that small government is beautiful. Vote for Libertarian Party candidates, and they will chop leviathan down to a tiny fraction of its size. We can certainly...
Congress Runs the Gauntlet
George F. Smith
2004-10-18 15:00
A major crisis occurred the other day, but government officials pounced on the problem and brought it to an end. In resolving the difficulty, government added no new powers, kept our freedom intact, and took no more of our money. In sharp contrast to the preceding is the world we live in. As usual, politicians and their hacks are kicking around a number of...
The Fed's Grasping Invisible Hand
George F. Smith
2004-09-28 15:00
As Adam Smith explains, the free market brings its wonders to the world by virtue of an invisible hand. Individuals cooperating under the international division of labor and seeking generally to satisfy their own wants end up promoting the general welfare, often without intending to or without realizing it.
Not to be outdone, government too has developed a systemic hand that...
Think Outside the Booth
George F. Smith
2004-08-16 15:00
Government is holding an election this fall and expects us to participate. One of the major party candidates will win and government expansion will continue unabated. Some people will vote their conscience by voting for a third-party candidate. Their man has no hope of winning, but they believe it's better than voting for a Republicrat or not voting at all.
Voting for the...
Myths of the Money Machine
George F. Smith
2004-08-04 15:00
So many wars to fight, so much welfare to dish out. Life is difficult for those who rule us. How are they going to pay for it all and still command our respect? Trying to remake the world with taxes alone won't do it ' there's always the chance, however slim, that Americans would protest. Politicians thus need a way of getting more money without actually taking it from us. Impossible as it...
The Story of the Fed Is a Story of a Crime
George F. Smith
2004-06-13 15:00
The magnitude by which [the reality of the Federal Reserve] deviates from the accepted myth,' writes G. Edward Griffin, 'is so great that, for most people, it simply is beyond credibility.' But as he makes abundantly clear in his landmark book, The Creature From Jekyll Island, now in its fourth edition, the case against the Fed is overwhelming. [1] Creature, as Griffin...
Where"s the Outrage?
George F. Smith
2004-04-07 15:00
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. There is no outrage because this is what we expect from government. Budgets in the...
Slackers, Arise! Support the Anti-Party!
George F. Smith
2004-02-16 16:00
People concerned about the growth of government start developing migraines around this time of year. They feel compelled, somehow, to scrutinize the candidates up until Election Day so they can put their votes where they will do the least harm. They tell themselves voting is how responsible people act in a democratic republic, even if it's a lost cause. With all the candidates promising great...
Don't Vote, Not Even for Martha
George F. Smith
2004-02-09 16:00
There would be something satisfying seeing a President Stewart making life hell for her tormentors, but it doesn't justify voting for her. Nothing justifies voting for her -- or for anyone. Government should be abolished and its liberty-defending functions provided by a free market.
Sound crazy? How could it be any worse than what we have?
Is it necessary, really, to point out that government...
One Madness Engenders the Next
George F. Smith
2004-01-14 16:00
The dictionary defines reckoning as 'a time to account for or be punished for wrongs.' And according to Bonner and Wiggin, Americans have got it coming. We've been living gluttonously on debt ' personal, corporate, and government ' subsidized by the kindness of foreigners who take their truckloads of dollars and invest them in American assets. One cannot live forever on debt. Foreigners will...
State Cons
George F. Smith
2003-12-22 16:00
The State continually fails and destroys, yet it persists. You say, 'Of course it persists ' it has the guns.' True, but it's not like we're standing around with our hands up, nor is that what the State wants us to do. Its destructive interventions notwithstanding, it wants us to create as much wealth as possible so it will have an ample source of plunder. How it goes about...
Libertarians and the S Words
George F. Smith
2003-12-14 16:00
Libertarians rail about government ' 'Look how it has failed. Look how it robs and murders' ' but they miss an important point. Lay bare government's intentions and they're as pure as silk, according to conventional morality. It's okay to blow up Iraqi children as long as we force-feed their parents neocon democracy. Government means well, dammit. What can libertarians say about what they...
A Long Time Ago in Boston: Part III
George F. Smith
2003-12-10 16:00
The thrill of governing Boston was wearing on Thomas Hutchinson. Adams had been right, he concluded; two regiments had been enough to provoke Boston but not enough to control it. Hutchinson wrote to Lord Hillsborough that the town needed a heavy dose of military rule and someone more influential than he to run it. Boston, he thought, was as mad now as it was when it hanged Quakers and witches...
A Long Time Ago in Boston: Part II
George F. Smith
2003-12-09 16:00
In response to his articles and his public harangues, James Otis' enemies began penning essays accusing him of being a chameleon who championed man's rights while professing loyalty to the king. They also accused him of being a hot-tempered bully who would try to knock down any man who disagreed with him.
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