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Joined: 2009-08-30
Columns on STR: 71
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Name: 
George F. Smith
Sex: 
Male
Country: 
United States

Short bio:

 
George F. Smith is the author of The Flight of The Barbarous Relic, a novel about a renegade Fed chairman.  Visit his website.    

 

RECENT COMMENTS BY George F. Smith

Columns by George F. Smith

The Exit on the Road to Tyranny?
10
George F. Smith 2013-07-02 08:51
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR One of my favorite quotes from the quotable Thomas Paine is a mere footnote in his treatise, Rights of Man, Part Second, in which he wrote: It is scarcely possible to touch on any subject, that will not suggest an allusion to some corruption in governments. Paine was referring to “the splendor of the throne,” which he said “is no...
Snowden vs. Bernanke
0
George F. Smith 2013-06-24 08:03
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR From the regime’s viewpoint only, who is the greatest threat, Edward Snowden or Ben Bernanke? The government’s defenders would likely turn their backs on the question, but they ought to look closely at it.  Here’s their take: Snowden has broken the law and exposed sensitive government snooping operations.  At the very least,...
The 'Case' Against Thomas Paine
9
George F. Smith 2013-06-12 08:20
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR Thomas Paine died on the overcast morning of June 8, 1809, in New York City.  Libertarians have long savored his unabashed attacks on government and the many evils of paper money, and the fact that he not only ignited the drive for American independence but kept it alive during its darkest moments.  He played an important role in history, both...
The Pope Joins the Chorus in Blaming Free Markets
0
George F. Smith 2013-06-03 08:39
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR On Thursday, May 16 Pope Francis delivered a short speech on economics and finance, blaming the “cult of money” for the millions of people suffering in poverty.  He addressed the New Non-Resident Ambassadors to the Holy See, calling for “financial reform along ethical lines.” He describes the problem thusly: "While...
Who Are the Revolutionaries in a Free Market Revolution?
10
George F. Smith 2012-11-05 01:00
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR On the dedication page of Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto, we find these words: "To my supporters:  I have never been more humbled and honored than by your selfless devotion to freedom and the Constitution." The modifier “selfless” is intended as a moral tribute. Imagine instead if he had written “selfish...
Measure 2's Measure of Common Sense
0
George F. Smith 2012-06-08 00:00
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR Measure 2 is a proposal to amend the North Dakota constitution to eliminate property taxes.  According to polls, most people oppose Measure 2 because it would require legislators to replace lost revenues from other sources.  K-12 school funding would be heavily impacted.  A vote on June 12, 2012 will decide its fate. Measure 2...
The Triumph of the Bankers
6.33333
George F. Smith 2011-05-25 00:00
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?
9.6
George F. Smith 2011-05-20 00:00
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
9
George F. Smith 2011-05-16 00:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2009-07-16 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2009-04-12 16:00
'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
10
George F. Smith 2009-02-19 17:00
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.
Bailout!
0
George F. Smith 2008-12-14 17:00
Exclusive to STR December 15, 2008
When Is a Voter Truly Sovereign?
0
George F. Smith 2008-11-03 17:00
Exclusive to STR November 4, 2008
The 'Something' Government Should Do
0
George F. Smith 2008-10-29 17:00
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:
Why Shed Blood for Democracy?
0
George F. Smith 2008-09-01 16:00
Exclusive to STR September 2, 2008
Not to Worry, They're on Our Side
0
George F. Smith 2008-08-24 16:00
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?
0
George F. Smith 2008-08-19 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2008-08-05 16:00
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'...
Government's Perennial Enemy
0
George F. Smith 2008-06-29 16:00
Exclusive to STR June 30, 2008
A Colonial Radical in King Bernanke's Court
0
George F. Smith 2008-05-04 16:00
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.
Ron Paul's Revolution
0
George F. Smith 2008-04-27 16:00
Exclusive to STR April 28, 2008
The Sacred Cow of Inflation
0
George F. Smith 2008-04-15 16:00
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?
0
George F. Smith 2008-04-07 16:00
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...
Bernanke and the Holy Grail
0
George F. Smith 2008-03-19 17:00
Exclusive to STR March 20, 2008
What's Wrong With the Markets?
0
George F. Smith 2008-03-04 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2007-11-14 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2007-08-26 16:00
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'"
Whistleblower's Attack on the Fed
0
George F. Smith 2006-08-29 16:00
Whistleblower's Attack on the Fed by George F. Smith Exclusive to STR August 30, 2006
STR's Fifth--The First of Many
0
George F. Smith 2006-08-11 16:00
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...
The Root of Financial Panics
0
George F. Smith 2006-06-28 16:00
Exclusive to STR September 10, 2007
Crop Seeding in America
0
George F. Smith 2006-02-14 17:00
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
Have Fiat Money, Will Inflate
0
George F. Smith 2005-09-19 16:00
Exclusive to STR
What Is the Fed's 'Noble Cause'?
0
George F. Smith 2005-09-13 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2005-09-12 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2005-02-28 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2005-02-13 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2005-01-18 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-12-28 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-12-01 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-11-01 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-10-18 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-09-28 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-08-16 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-08-04 16:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-06-13 16:00
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?
0
George F. Smith 2004-04-07 16:00
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!
0
George F. Smith 2004-02-16 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-02-09 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2004-01-14 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2003-12-22 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2003-12-14 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2003-12-10 17:00
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
0
George F. Smith 2003-12-09 17:00
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.
A Long Time Ago in Boston: Part I
0
George F. Smith 2003-12-08 17:00
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. The fiery Otis wavered in his convictions and eventually deteriorated mentally so much he was retired to a farm...
States Watch Prosperity as Their Prey
0
George F. Smith 2003-11-05 17:00
"Invention is continually exercised to furnish new pretenses for revenue and taxation. [Government] watches prosperity as its prey, and permits none to escape without a tribute." ~ Thomas Paine, Rights of Man State governments, searching desperately for more pockets to pick because of 'revenue shortfalls,' are casting a predatory eye at the internet. Not e-commerce...
A Firebrand Scorches Colonial Virginia
0
George F. Smith 2003-10-29 17:00
Our founders often spoke in political extremes. They outraged the privileged and became the voice for the people. Their well-bred opponents cried 'treason!' at their words, sending their popularity soaring. They even had the audacity to call themselves 'patriots.' The man of 'Give me liberty or give me death!' fame was once lost among the obscure. Like Thomas Paine and...
The Roots of Thomas Paine's Radicalism
0
George F. Smith 2003-10-27 17:00
Before the publication of Common Sense on January 10, 1776, many colonists regarded the king as above public reproach, even after he removed the colonies from England's protection by declaring them in a state of revolt. The fighting with Britain had been widely seen as a family quarrel, and it's doubtful we would have declared our independence as soon as we did ' if at all. But Paine's pamphlet...
Spitting on Our Founders' Graves
0
George F. Smith 2003-09-11 16:00
In her article, 'Spitting on their graves,' Michelle Malkin tells us how politicians and their friends will be at their hypocritical best on Sept. 11. [1] Although she fails to mention the media's role as accomplices, she sketches the melodrama of promises and patriotism we can expect to see on the day 'The Nation Remembers,' as Fox News might label it. But then, she asks,...
History Remembered
0
George F. Smith 2003-09-03 16:00
With the church ' state issue making headlines again, I wasn't surprised to receive an essay from a friend reminding me of the nation's Christian roots. The anonymous composition, History Forgotten, resides on dozens of web sites and is hitting the inboxes of concerned Christians. [1] It says that without Christianity there would be no America, and revisionists are to blame for hiding this fact.
Hannity Picks on a Real Fighter
0
George F. Smith 2003-08-21 16:00
'Pay up! Why don't you pay up?' the Republican half of Hannity & Colmes barked at his guest, Verny Kuglin. He turned to her attorney, Larry Becraft. 'Why don't you make her pay up?' [1] Hannity was agitated. This uppity lady, 58, who's been a FedEx pilot for almost 18 years, had dared to ask the IRS what law required her to pay the personal income tax. She had written...
The Day Liberty Rose From a Long Slumber
0
George F. Smith 2003-08-13 16:00
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. A Boston mob took to the streets that day to protest the coming Stamp Act, which would force colonists to pay taxes on most legal and commercial transactions. Britain claimed it needed...
Your Money or Your Life: Why We Must Abolish the Income Tax
0
George F. Smith 2003-08-06 16:00
James Madison reminds us in Federalist No. 10 that natural differences in people lead to differences in the kinds and amount of property they will acquire. These differences create factions, presenting a challenge to a government founded on liberty. A strong faction could overpower a pure democracy. But a republic, in which representatives of the people serve as caretakers of their rights,...
Thomas Paine on War and Taxes
0
George F. Smith 2003-07-02 16:00
On January 10, 1776 Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the pamphlet that turned a revolt into a revolution. Only six months later the Virginia delegation to the Continental Congress proposed that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states -- an idea that had only a few quiet advocates before Paine spoke out. Common Sense earned Paine a worldwide...
If This Be Treason...'
0
George F. Smith 2003-06-25 16:00
After England announced its infamous Stamp Tax in 1765, most Americans seethed quietly and waited for the inevitable, much like taxpayers today would react. But rebellious Britons had overcome a similar oppression two years earlier, and it served as an inspiration. A permanent standing army In 1763, following England's victory in the French...
A Guru's Advice to a Presidential Hopeful
0
George F. Smith 2003-06-09 16:00
So, you want to run for president of the United States. Good for you. As your political guru, I need to cover a few things with you. First, you're a multimillionaire, right? You're a billionaire? That's even better. And of course you're either a Republican or Democrat. You haven't decided yet? Let me suggest flipping a coin. Your strategy during the campaign is to smile...
Thomas Paine, Revolutionary
0
George F. Smith 2003-05-19 16:00
In the summer of 1774, Thomas Paine arrived in London out of work and out of sorts. Recently dismissed as an officer in the excise tax corps, Paine had petitioned Parliament the previous winter hoping to secure a wage increase for himself and his fellow excisemen. The stuffed shirts ignored him. When he returned to his home town of Lewes , his supervisor, wishing to get rid of a troublemaker,...
What Killed the Four Horsemen?
0
George F. Smith 2003-02-24 17:00
Once upon a time, in the first half of the 1800s, we had something called a free economy. It was not fully free, only nearly so. But freedom brings little glory to the politicians, so they decided to get more involved. In return for favors, they gave taxpayer loot to their friends to build railroads. During the latter part of the 19th century, the economy thrived but so did corruption. The...
Schools Get Dunce for Self-Esteem
0
George F. Smith 2003-02-10 17:00
Last year a California school banned the game of tag because it created a self-esteem issue. Someone had to be "it," and that someone was a victim. Schools might not teach anything and students might not have any fun, but no one would get their feelings hurt -- assuming we rule out all the disappointed kids willing to risk it and play the game anyway. A junior high school...
A Juggernaut of Destruction
10
George F. Smith 2009-02-19 17:00
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.
Who Are the Revolutionaries in a Free Market Revolution?
10
George F. Smith 2012-11-05 01:00
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR On the dedication page of Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto, we find these words: "To my supporters:  I have never been more humbled and honored than by your selfless devotion to freedom and the Constitution." The modifier “selfless” is intended as a moral tribute. Imagine instead if he had written “selfish...
The Exit on the Road to Tyranny?
10
George F. Smith 2013-07-02 08:51
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR One of my favorite quotes from the quotable Thomas Paine is a mere footnote in his treatise, Rights of Man, Part Second, in which he wrote: It is scarcely possible to touch on any subject, that will not suggest an allusion to some corruption in governments. Paine was referring to “the splendor of the throne,” which he said “is no...
Who Paid for the Civil War?
9.6
George F. Smith 2011-05-20 00:00
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
9
George F. Smith 2011-05-16 00:00
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 'Case' Against Thomas Paine
9
George F. Smith 2013-06-12 08:20
Column by George F. Smith. Exclusive to STR Thomas Paine died on the overcast morning of June 8, 1809, in New York City.  Libertarians have long savored his unabashed attacks on government and the many evils of paper money, and the fact that he not only ignited the drive for American independence but kept it alive during its darkest moments.  He played an important role in history, both...
The Triumph of the Bankers
6.33333
George F. Smith 2011-05-25 00:00
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...