Re: Greenspan Supports Gold Standard

Robert Sturgeon wrote:
On Mon, 21 May 2007 12:51:56 +0000 (UTC),
EskWIRED@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

In misc.survivalism, strabo <strabo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

In it, Greenspan discusses "the specific role of gold in a free society," as well as the importance of a tangible monetary "standard."
"If men did not have some commodity of objective value which was generally acceptable as money, they would have to resort to primitive barter or be forced to live on self-sufficient farms and forego the inestimable advantages of specialization," he wrote.
Interesting that the author leads off with a quote which states an incorrect assertion. Right now we do not have a commodity of objective value which is generaly acceptable as money. However, we neither resort to primitive barter, nor do we live on self-sufficient farms. He is just plain wrong here, or else he's misquoted, or quoted so far out of context that the quoted text appears to be just plain wrong.

Perhaps he was referring to the conditions which preceded
the adoption of commodity money. The progression has been:
1. direct (or "primitive") barter; 2. commodity money; 3.
the substitution of fiat money for commodity money; 4. the
over-issuance of fiat money sufficient to destroy its
utility as money. (We in the U.S. are somewhere between 3.
and 4.) There is no indication (SFAIK) that people used
fiat money BEFORE we used commodity money.

In any case, Greenspan seems to be one of the worst
hypocrites of all time.


I thought you'd find it interesting.

I saw a bearded Greenspan in a black turtleneck sweater testify before
Congress back in the good ole days. He was an outspoken libertarian,
monetary critic and a gold bug.

When he was later hired to head the Fed it certainly seemed odd
however, his steely assertions and wry humor in annual committee
reports were decidedly toned down but in keeping with his earlier
persona.

Apparently he decided to play the game by his rules.

>
--
Robert Sturgeon
Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency.
http://www.vistech.net/users/rsturge/

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