The 108th Congress should:
- Return to constitutionally-defined money and banking
Pull a quarter out of your pocket. Note the orange ring around the edge. This is copper. Prior to 1965 coins like dimes and quarters were made out of silver. Today they are nickel-coated copper, not silver. Even pennies have been "debased." According to the U.S. Mint,
The [pre-]1982 copper cent weighs 3.11 grams and is 95% copper and 5% zinc. The current copper-zinc cent weighs 2.5 grams and is 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper.
Who do you think profits from the substitution of less-expensive copper for silver and cheaper zinc for copper? Answer: not you.
And if you think there are profits to be made by debasing coins, think about how much can be made with paper money and the government printing presses! Then consider that most of our money is nothing more than electronic blips in the bank's computers.
And whenever the government and its friends create new money, it makes each dollar you have worth less.
"Debasement of the currency" has always been understood to be immoral, the strategy of an unethical and imperialistic government. Our nation's monetary system is immoral to the core.
We need Honest Money. We need Just Weights and Justice. We do not need a government-imposed "Gold Standard," however.
next: The Limits of Monetary Policy
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