19 October 2006

Which is the real scam?

The American Liberty Dollar is an alternative currency backed by gold and silver and issued by NORFED, a private organization.  It's a practical protest of the inflationary practices of the Federal Reserve System, which have reduced the effective value of the dollar (which is backed only by the power of Congress to tax the crap out of us) vastly since 1913.  Inflation isn't inevitable—Lincoln paid about the same for a loaf of bread as Washington did—it's basically a hidden form of taxation that fuels federal spending and bilks private citizens, punishing savers more than spenders.

Last month government officials announced that using the Liberty Dollar is a crime.  I have the impression that NORFED was prepared for this kind of announcement, as their response was quick and clear.  Essentially, the government (at least ostensibly) was only concerned with Liberty Dollars being passed off as official, legal tender money.  But a legal tender currency is simply one that cannot be refused in payment of a debt, and Liberty Dollars have never been claimed as legal tender; in fact, NORFED has been careful to point out that they're intended for use only in voluntary barter.  Using them cannot be made illegal any more than trading baseball cards can be made illegal.  So, while the Liberty Dollar (along with the concept of legal tender) is still widely misunderstood, the government's announcement has given it valuable publicity it would never have got otherwise.

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