Human Freedom Rests on Gold Redeemable Money
By HON. HOWARD BUFFETT
,
U. S. Congressman from Nebraska
Reprinted from
The Commercial and Financial Chronicle
, May 6, 1948
Is there a connection between Human Freedom and A Gold Redeemable Money? At first g
lance it would
seem that money belongs to the world of economics and human freedom to the political sphere. But
when you recall that one of the first moves by Lenin, Mussolini and Hitler was to outlaw individual
ownership of gold, you begin to sense that
there may be some connection between money, redeemable in
gold, and the rare prize known as human liberty.
Also, when you find that Lenin declared and demonstrated that a sure way to overturn the existing social
order and bring about communism was by prin
ting press paper money, then again you are impressed with
the possibility of a relationship between a gold
-
backed money and human freedom.
In that case then certainly you and I as Americans should know the connection. We must find it even if
money is a d
ifficult and tricky subject. I suppose that if most people were asked for their views on money
the almost universal answer would be that they didn
’
t have enough of it.
In a free country the monetary unit rests upon a fixed foundation of gold or gold and
silver independent of
the ruling politicians. Our dollar was that kind of money before 1933. Under that system paper currency
is redeemable for a certain weight of gold, at the free option and choice of the holder of paper money.
Redemption Right Insure
s Stability
That redemption right gives money a large degree of stability. The owner of such gold redeemable
currency has economic independence. He can move around either within or without his country because
his money holdings have accepted value anywh
ere.
For example, I hold here what is called a $20 gold piece. Before 1933, if you possessed paper money you
could exchange it at your option for gold coin. This gold coin had a recognizable and definite value all
over the world. It does so today. In
most countries of the world this gold piece, if you have enough of
them, will give you much independence. But today the ownership of such gold pieces as money in this
country, Russia, and all divers other places is outlawed.
The subject of a Hitler or a
Stalin is a serf by the mere fact that his money can be called in and depreciated
at the whim of his rulers. That actually happened in Russia a few months ago, when the Russian people,
holding cash, had to turn it in
--
10 old rubles and receive back one
new ruble.
I hold here a small packet of this second kind of money
--
printing press paper money
--
technically known
as fiat money because its value is arbitrarily fixed by rulers or statute. The amount of this money in
numerals is very large. This lit
tle packet amounts to CNC $680,000. It cost me $5 at regular exchange
rates. I understand I got clipped on the deal. I could have gotten $2
-
1
⁄
2 million if I had purchased in the
black market. But you can readily see that this Chinese money, which is a fine grade of paper money, gives
the individual who owns it no independence, because it has no redemptive value.
Under such conditions the indi
vidual citizen is deprived of freedom of movement. He is prevented from
laying away purchasing power for the future. He becomes dependent upon the goodwill of the politicians
for his daily bread. Unless he lives on land that will sustain him, freedom fo
r him does not exist.
You have heard a lot of oratory on inflation from politicians in both parties. Actually that oratory and the
inflation maneuvering around here are mostly sly efforts designed to lay the blame on the other party
’
s
doorstep. All our
politicians regularly announce their intention to stop inflation. I believe I can show that
until they move to restore your right to own gold that talk is hogwash.