Perhaps Jim's summary is a bit too short. Ron Paul, and libertarians more
generally, claim that central banks AS SUCH are the problem -- at least
that is what I understand of them. Jim proposes to me (off list) that the
Fed needs to be democratized, which would seem to imply that the existence
of a central bank is acceptable, but not the manner in which the one in the
U.S. is run.
Jim's idea is interesting. This political position -- against Ron Paul --
would to restrain from attacking the Fed insofar as it is a central bank
but instead in regard to its being run undemocratically. The political
advantage to this argument is that folks could understand such an argument
while Ron Paul encourages fear of anarchy, collapse of the $20 note in your
wallet, and the economy as a whole.
One thing that I have learned in this discussion is that the fact that
since some of the interest earnings of the Fed are turned over to the
government, an overriding importance attached to the Fed earning interest
may be somewhat called into question, but of course not entirely.
The think my deepest problem is that I have never truly understood money.
Thus, I don't really understand gold as money or a $20 Fed piece of paper
as money. I believe Joan Robinson once said something like "we all use
money, but what is it?"
Paul Z.
P.S. Doug, I accept your apology.
************************************************************************
(Vol.23) THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF 9-11-2001 "a benchmark in 9/11 research"
video summary from Snowshoe Films at http://snowshoefilms.com
(Vol.24) TRANSITIONS IN LATIN AMERICA AND IN POLAND AND SYRIA
********************* http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka
From: Jim Devine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Libertarians on the Central Banks
from a side-discussion with Paul [Zarembka, not Ron]:
I wrote:
> The Fed should be subject to democratic control. Paul is against
> democracy, as far as I can tell, favoring market control instead.
Paul summarizes: "the issue is not central banking as such but how it is
run".
