Why Ron Paul Matters
November 11th, 2007 by Christopher Flavelle in Bright Lights
NEW YORK–To grasp the essential charm and weirdness of American politics, look no further than this: among the current cast of presidential candidates, the most strident critic of the Iraq war is a Republican. Say what you like about Ron Paul — contrarian (he shunned his party to vote against the Patriot Act), libertarian (he wants to abolish the IRS), even crazy (he wants to return to the gold standard). But he is also raising lots and lots of money. On November 5th, his campaign took in more than $4 million through online donations, a record for the party and a feat his supporters hope to replicate today.
Raising gobs of money online won’t turn Paul into a viable candidate for his party’s nomination. But that’s not the point. People like Ron Paul, and Howard Dean before him, do something that respectable candidates can’t: they challenge their parties’ consensus on the question of what voters want.
In 2003, the Democratic leadership thought that running against the war in Iraq was suicide. Dean proved them wrong, twice: first, by generating a wave of support and publicity with his fervent opposition to the war, and a second time when that message was largely adopted by the eventual nominee, John Kerry.
Ron Paul’s ultimate impact on the tone of the race is hard to predict; many of the themes of his campaign would be hard for other Republicans to get behind. (Except perhaps Mitt Romney, who can apparently get behind anything.) But we can safely predict that as you read this, Paul’s opponents are parsing his campaign, trying to figure out which nerve he touched and how they might do the same. Ideas and positions that weren’t considered politically viable two weeks ago are right now getting a second look — and the Republican Party leadership had nothing to do with it.
This ability to challenge accepted wisdom, by multiplying the capacity of ordinary people to raise money and organize, is the real promise that the Internet brings to politics. Instead of adding to the sway of professional political organizers (like TV before it), the Internet is weakening their ability to dictate which candidates are acceptable and which aren’t. When Dean ended his speeches with the phrase “you have the power,” he didn’t just mean the power to win elections; he meant the power to change politics, by ending the party’s monopoly on setting the terms and parameters of the debate.
In Canada, the Internet has yet to produce its first Howard Dean or Ron Paul. It’s said that political trends, like all trends, take a few years to trickle over the border. In the age of fast and free communication, this explanation seems increasingly shaky. In fact, Canadian campaign advisers tried to copy Dean’s online tactics almost immediately.
It started with Belinda Stronach’s 2004 campaign for leader of the Conservative Party, which held Dean-inspired “House Parties” to raise money — a grassroots tactic that suited the candidate horribly. More recently, and more successfully, Stephane Dion’s Liberal leadership campaign used the Web to reach out to first-time donors, focusing on small donations in another move from the Howard Dean handbook.
Even if mainstream Canadian candidates learn to use the Internet as well as their American counterparts, the real promise of the Web has yet to be grasped: taking common political wisdom and standing it on its head. I want to believe that somebody in Moose Jaw or Truro or Sherbrooke or Scarborough is watching Ron Paul this week — a backbench MPP, or a schoolboard trustee, or somebody who’s never run for office, somebody you and I have never heard of — and thinking up some crazy scheme of their own.
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Posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 9:28 pm. Follow comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comment or trackback.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Returning to the gold standard is not crazy, in fact it is more or less supported by Alan Greenspan:
Asked why we have a Federal Reserve Greenspan recently responded:
Greenspan: “Well the question is a very interesting one. We have at this particular stage a fiat money which is essentially money printed by a government and it’s usually the central bank which is authorized to do so. Some mechanism has got to be in place that restricts the amount of money which is produced, either a gold standard or currency board or something of that nature because unless you do that, all of history suggests that inflation will take hold with very deleterious effects on economic activity. … There are numbers of us, myself included, who strongly believe that we did very well in the 1870-1914 period with an international gold standard”.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
From 9inside the machine:
It is not the politician who drives the support.
It is we who have chosen our leader and support him.
What motivates us?
We have the Freedom to act.
We are at Liberty. uncontrolled by the stifling coercion of any top-down authoritarian.
Ron Paul accepts our Freedom and in this Freedom we revel.
Ron Paul does not encroach upon our Liberty by requiring us to do things we have no desire to do.
We celebrate our Liberty, forbidden to the supporters of any other candidate.
This shall be the legacy of the campaign for President, Ron Paul.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I really think you’ve missed the point. Ron Paul hasn’t come up with the “secret” to the internet. As he has repeatedly said, “the internet found us”—or as the NYT put it, the buggy is pushing the horse. This support wasn’t orchestrated by Ron Paul’s campaign and they aren’t trying to micro-manage it to death. This is its strength, but how many politicians are willing to relinquish control? His supporters definitely have taken ownership in the campaign–that is why they are spending their own money on radio ads, airplane banners as well as the more mundane flyers.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
“Raising gobs of money online won’t turn Ron Paul into a viable candidate for his party’s nomination.”
Gobs of money won’t have to turn him into a viable candidate, because he already is one. Who else has 67,000 volunteers signed up?
And talking about the gold standard seems less crazy every day, with what the Fed has done to the dollar….
November 11th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
What is the author’s track record of “viable candidate” predictions? I am guessing he doesn’t have one; he is just parroting what he’s read from mainstream media propagandists, who also have no track record of accurate political predictions.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Why does every media article about Ron Paul make a point of stating that he has no chance? The tipping point for this candidate is happening NOW - that’s why it’s becoming so fascinating. The message is extremely appealing and though seemingly “radical” at first, in essence, the libertarian viewpoint is the logical extension of any argument for personal freedom, and Ron Paul is its most articulate and credible spokesperson.
I don;t think there is any comparison between Paul and howard Dean. Call me a “disciple” but the integrity of Paul puts him on the level of a Martin Luther King or Ghandi - truly inspiring to those who take the time to fully explore his position.
Thanks for your article. I myself (a Canadian) have been checking the latest news daily to monitor what I believe to beginning of a historic movement.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Pretty good article :). Though ending the IRS used to be a Republican idea (Huckabee still wants to do it too, but wants to replace it with a sales tax :-\), and going back to the Gold Standard (well, creating a competing currency backed by gold and silver to compete with the Federal Reserve Note) isn’t crazy either, especially considering our dollar crisis. Fiat currency never works, only creates debt and a weak currency.
Also, the media loved Howard Dean and he led in the polls, Ron Paul is an underdog and seems to have more genuine support (as he has been preaching about small government, individual liberty, etc. for 30 years). And you know what they say, underdogs always win!
(Kerry was 7% the day before NH, won it. Clinton and Carter were in single digits, became presidents. Pat Buchanan won NH too.)
November 11th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
The comparison of Dr. Paul to Dr. Dean is disingenuous. Dean still had a traditional, top-down management style of campaign who recruited (and paid) his supporters. Paul, on the other hand, just offered the message & let people jump on his bandwagon. All of the Internet coordination for Paul - from the Meetups, the blogs, the money-bomb fundraisers, and the rallies - Paul had nothing to do with them, all spontaneous grassroot support.
The fact of the matter is, is that the GOP has abandoned it’s core principles and morphed into a lighter version of the Democrat party. People criticize Paul and say he doesn’t recognize the threat of Islam. But what about Bush not fighting a war decisively? What about the borders being wide open? The pampering of terrorists in Gitmo? We need Dr. Paul, I’m afraid he’s truly the last hope for America before it begins its slide into a 3rd-world nation.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Any attempt to copy Ron Paul’s success (or Dean’s before him) onto another candidate is doomed to failure. Ron Paul isn’t reaching out to his supporters, we are reaching in to the Ron Paul campaign.
Case in point: This latest “money bomb”. The campaign didn’t come up with the idea, a single supporter came up with the plan, and some other supporter heard about it, thought it was a great idea, and did it. Everyone else thought it was a great idea and climbed on board.
If it had been focus grouped, it would have been labeled too “gimmicky” or the negative connotations of Guy Fawkes’ day would have been brought up, and the idea would have been abandoned. But the free market (in political ideas) that is the Internet, tried the idea and found it to be very successful.
The first order of business for anyone trying to replicate Dr. Paul’s success is to be adamantly pro-freedom, and then have a 20+ year record of voting that way. You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool someone who has google at their fingertips.
Rep. Paul has the best record of pro-freedom votes, bar none. Even a few indiscretions (like some porky-sounding earmark requests) are easily deflected by the fact that Ron Paul voted against the final bill.
I firmly believe that the Internet will undo for politics, what television did: It will eliminate the flip-flopping, focus-grouped, sound-bitten candidate. It has already eliminated the punditocracy’s hold on annointing the “front-runner”. It is about to demolish telephone polling as the gold standard of public opinion measurement. Once (or “if” if you prefer) Ron Paul wins Iowa, and New Hampshire, what will the pundits say about the telephone polls? Hillary and the liberal press will not be able to use telephone polling to shape public opinion in the general election.
Welcome to the Revolution - not televised, but available for download.
Later.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Yeh, that Ron Paul is crazy… who wants sound money?
November 11th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
I think the reason the internet has been so widely used in reference to Paul is because it’s the only place to get info on him - the main stream press has widely ignored him here in the U.S. For example, this week wolf blitzer’s CNN commented on a study showing that in the last 6 months or so Ron Paul’s name has been mentioned around 5,000 times by major media t.v. networks - compared to 95,000 mentions of John McCain’s name. What’s crazy about this is that Ron Paul will most likely place ahead of McCain in the Primaries. This is why the internet has become the refuge for Paul supporters. Thanks for the article.
p.s. I’m a fan of hard currency.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Ron Paul doesn’t have a chance at all to win the presidency. If you want to check out a real candidate with real values, check out Hillary Clinton. You won’t be disappointed.
November 12th, 2007 at 12:30 am
The thing that is different about Ron Paul is this: If you ask any of his supporters what he thinks about a topic and I mean any topic, war, national defense, Social Security, Civil Liberties, school vouchers, medals to honor people, etc., they will be able to state what his positions are. Supporters of ANY other candidate cannot state their positions. Heck, even the candidates, themselves, cannot state a solid position about anything.
After reading Dr. Paul’s political philosophies,I’ve realized how much our “thinking” as a country has been in a very deep rut. He offers a new positive way of looking at the same old problems. He is a visionary and it does take some effort to do enough reading in order to understand how he fits all the pieces of the puzzle together. And the picture he paints looks a lot better than what we have going on now.
A lot of us joke about how our IQ’s are raised just talking to him!
Keep us in your thoughts and wish us well. We are going to need all your help. By the way, the first Ron Paul International Rally is being planned to be held in France on 12/15-12/16. You want to join in?
November 12th, 2007 at 12:37 am
Hillary will be exposed for the campain money stealing, inside trading, savings and loan scandalous, bloodsucking lawyer that she really is.By the way, is she for illegal immigrants or against them?…I know you cant answer that because either can she. Just wait until the democrats really start smearing each others campain. It will be a thing of BEAUTY.
November 12th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Hey “vote for hillary online”, Hillary is a clown of the highest order. She is an authoritarian socialist giving us more of the same. It’s time to vote for freedom and liberty in 2008. This nation needs to return to it’s roots. Let’s make our founding fathers proud. Vote for Ron Paul in 2008!
November 12th, 2007 at 1:30 am
We WILL return to the gold standard. Has any fiat currency ever lasted 36 years before? The dollar shows every sign of collapsing. Certainly there has never been a time when all the worlds’ currencies were backed by nothing but muscle. Other major currencies are inflating their money supply at the rate of 13% per annum or more, just like the US.
We WILL return to the gold standard. The question is whether the country will become an utterly bankrupt third world nation first.
November 12th, 2007 at 1:45 am
“If you want to check out a real candidate with real values, check out Hillary Clinton. You won’t be disappointed.” AHA HA HA HA!!! Damn, you so funny. Hillary? Real values? What ARE you smoking?
That’s the funniest shit I’ve heard in days. Thanks for telling me, I’ll rush right out and vote for Hillary now, you’ve convinced me. NOT.
Here’s a friendly hint, bud: don’t waste your time trying to convince Ron Paul supporters to vote for Hillary, we’ve already taken the red pill. We’re unplugged from the Matrix. Go peddle your crack whore elsewhere.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:06 am
Ron Paul is undoubtedly in the “top tier”…
http://www.truthalert.net/Republican%20Presidential%20Candidate%20Rankings.htm
November 12th, 2007 at 3:31 am
Ron Paul sticks to the issues and speaks to the hearts of all Freedom Loving Americas!
Ron Paul’s support come from a race and religion (and non religion).
Ron Paul is the real thing and he will win the hearts of all Americans who listen to him.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:38 am
I’m an aussie standing for the Australian senate this November 24. I’m a hard currency advocate. I’m a Ron Paul fan. The Internet changes the rules and gives the truth wings. Freedom is on the march.
November 12th, 2007 at 3:48 am
Paul does not want to return to the gold standard. He just wants to make gold and silver legal tender. The market would decide the ratio of paper to gold. The Fed would continue to manufacture fiat money.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Unfortunately it took segregationist Governor Wallace to reveal the truth that “there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between” Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats willingly went along with the War in Iraq, suspension of Habeas Corpus, detaining protesters, banning books like “America Deceived’ from Amazon, stealing private lands (Kelo decision), warrant-less wiretapping and refusing to investigate 9/11 properly. They are both guilty of treason.
Support Dr. Ron Paul and save this great nation.
Last link (before Google Books bends to gov’t Will and drops the title):
http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?&isbn=0-595-38523-0
November 12th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Ron Paul has supporters from all walks of life. That is the beauty of his campaign and philosophy. Live and Let Live. That is one reason that groups such as the “Christian Right”, the Neocons, Socialist and the Eastern Establishment abhor him is that they want power centralized in Washington for their purposes. Ron Paul is campaigning to return the federal government to its constitutional limits and to decentralize power back to the states, communities and individuals.
Ron Paul’s campaign, as opposed to any others, truly represents the peoples side in the struggle that has been ongoing since Jefferson and Hamilton battled over the role of the federal government. What are witness to is not liberal/conservative or left/right struggle, but a struggle to determine whether divisive issues are decided at a national level or at a state and local level. To understand a little history on this struggle read Bernie Quiqley’s essay which address it very succinctly. http://quigleyblog.blogspot.com/
My blog at lifebelowi10.blogspot.com
November 12th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Dr. Paul proposes freedom. What is wrong with that?
We have given up control over much of our lives to one form of government or another.
Government takes more than 50% of our income in the form of taxes. Government controls our health care system. Government educates our children. Through welfare, Government transfers wealth from those that can produce wealth to those who won’t. Government sends our military into the Middle East, causing resentment and anger and ultimately terrorism and 9/11.
The reason we organize ourselves into a society (family, clan, village, city, province, country) is to make our lives better.
Do Americans and Canadians actually believe that their governments are making their lives better? At some point in history this was true. The problem is that we have given up too much control over our lives to our governments.
Dr. Paul is showing our neighbours to the south that they don’t have to accept the status quo and that America can reclaim it’s past greatness by looking to the constitution.
As a Canadian, I can only hope that Dr. Paul wins the GOP nomination and ultimately the presidency.
Hopefully, some common sense would rub off onto us.
November 12th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
The gold standard is not “crazy”. Perhaps you do not understand what it is but that does not make “crazy” nor are those hard money advocates who promote it. We had some form of the currency being tied to gold until Nixon. The idea that money can continue to be printed out of thin air with no backing and little consideration for the consquences to future generations sounds more crazy to me.
November 13th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Canadians can only hope for a return of a man such as Ron Paul to the presidency. We have gone so far down the path to serfdom, that I fear we cannot return to freedom. We spend a large part of the year working for a government that enslave us, and reduces the capital with which to improve our lives and those of our neighbors. To add insult to injury the government taxes our thrift, and robs what is left
by the hidden tax of inflation.
We need Ron Paul, more than he needs us. We need the return to classical true liberalism, as espouse by the Austrian Economist.
I fear that not many Canadians, and slightly more Americans still believe in personal responsibility and the freedom derived from it.
Educate yourselves, and let us fight back. A small vocal, passionate minority can redress the errors of the last 90 years.
Peace, Freedom and Prosperity,
November 13th, 2007 at 12:16 am
President Paul. That sounds nice. Oh, btw, he has more than a chance, is going to win it all.
He’s catchin’ on.
November 13th, 2007 at 1:29 am
I don’t ever want to hear another economist or political hack talk about the inflexibility of the gold standard. It’s only inflexible in the sense that when they spend too much money the consequences are swift and cannot be hidden. I prefer corruption, stupidity and arrogance to be called out in front of God and everybody.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:06 am
I am a Democrat who switched parties to vote for Ron Paul. I will never be polled or counted as a “real” supporter but you can bet I will be voting on a “real” ballot for him. I never donated a dime to a candidate before and I give Ron Paul all I can.
I am on a fixed income. I need Dr. Paul. If another big government person comes into office I will be in the poor house. Literally. This country’s money is a mess and only Ron Paul sees that. I find it a sad state of affairs that the one thing that will help the most people - returning to sound money and ending the enormous amount of inflation we are experiencing and preventing Congress from attacking the world willy nilly is the one thing that you make fun of him for. Do you not know what fiat money does? It destroys the economy takes the money from the middle and lower classes and transfers it to the rich.
Huckabee’s plan of that awful fair tax would make it impossible for me to purchase a thing in this country and would destroy businesses and send us into the deepest depression ever seen, but not one of the people writing about him or his policies is bright enough to see that. In fact, most of them think it is crazy to return to sound money.
Ron Paul just makes sense. He is the only man running who cares more about the people and how he can help them than how much power he can grab as President. In fact, he wants to LIMIT the power of the government. Sadly, here, most people are not taught economics and they have no idea that most of the things they beg the government for are the things that are causing them to drown.
Every one of my friends is also over 40 and they are all Democrats that will be voting for Ron Paul. No other man has a chance of beating Mrs. Clinton. Don’t these idiots get it? We are tired of paying through the nose for a war we don’t want any part of!
My cost of living has gone up 175% this year. Don’t give me that bull about 2% inflation. I know how much they are printing. You all know that food and fuel are not counted in the CPI, right? If they did, the number would be too high. Without Ron Paul, get ready for the next great depression.
November 13th, 2007 at 4:21 am
How is it crazy to want to stop inflation? Greenspan said in a recent interview that inflation will be the biggest long-term economic crisis for the United States. He advocates going to a ‘Hard Asset’ standard too.
Paul isn’t strictly for a Gold standard. He believes that the dollar should be based on hard assets. This seems crazy because economics are foreign to most people. But the dollar was based on gold for many years. The ‘crazy’ idea is to print fiat money. The cost of two market bubbles, a drawn-out foreign war, corporate welfare, a Social Security system based on IOUs that the government wrote to itself means that we’ve got real economic troubles on the horizon.
Trust me, they’ll be talking a lot more about going to the gold standard when average americans can’t feed their kids. And they sure as hell won’t be talking about the caribou in ANWR. You have a choice to deal with it now on your terms, or later when you’re desparate. But if you care about the things that *seem* like issues today, you had better vote for someone who will keep our economy together. That’s Ron Paul.
G
November 13th, 2007 at 4:22 am
We need a Ron Paul in Canadian politics.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:14 am
Why is it that people think some type of monetary gold standard is crazy? Is printing money out of thin air sane? Is thinking this newly printed money will carry the same value over time sane? Do we not care about people’s savings and retirement funds anymore? And why do these pundits keep saying he has no chance? Jimmy Carter was polling 2% at one point and went on to win it all. Analyzing what his campaign has done to get funds is near pointless. It’s not his campaign and it’s not even Ron Paul we really care about. It’s his message, a message of liberty, of limited government, no empires, and following the constitution. You’re right that raising money won’t make him a viable candidate…because he already is one. He became viable during his introduction to a Fox news debate months ago; he was became viable when he said: “I’m Ron Paul and I’m the defender of the constitution.”
November 13th, 2007 at 9:29 am
To VoteForHillaryOnline (comment 12) — We HAVE checked out Hillary Clinton — and the other candidates, as well — and we ARE disappointed in them. Very, very disappointed.
To the author of the article — Only Ron Paul has the sense to talk about sound money. For decades he has talked about the devaluing dollar. He has been correct. How is being correct about something “crazy?” Ron Paul refers not just to history, wherein every empire which ever existed has debased its currency to support its boondoggle empire, but also to economics, where he is an expert in the Austrian school of free market economics espoused by Ludwig von Mises and Freidrich Hayek. (Please read “The Road to Serfdom,” by Hayek.)
I do not see how allowing a competing currency backed by gold or silver, as Ron Paul proposes, is in any way a bad idea. Competition is always a good thing. If people choose to do business using pieces of paper “backed” by a printing press instead of currency that is backed by precious metal, they can do so. I think you would find that the fiat currency would be quickly abandoned — by all of us “crazy” Americans.
Only Ron Paul is willing to discuss the folly that is the insane war on drugs — which is actually a war on civil liberties and which creates a black market which funds the very terrorists that the candidates who support the war on drugs claim to be fighting. The prohibition on medical marijuana and industrial grade hemp (which even Canadians can grow!), are especially egregious.
Government can only give away what it first takes away. Ron Paul’s plan to eliminate the income tax is very pro-growth and has the moral high ground. It is, after all, OUR money. Every government program is a parasite on the productive economy. We can eliminate the income tax by cutting spending to levels of the year 2000. We would save billions of dollars on compliance costs (to say nothing of stress.) Canada benefits from having the strongest economy in the world next door to it. The economic growth in America would spill into Canada.
I am tired of hearing the media repeat, like a drum beat, attempting to create a self-fulfilling prophecy, that Ron Paul cannot win. History shows that many candidates who are polling low before Iowa and New Hampshire DO win. How quickly they forget. (Or how CONVENIENTLY they forget.) The polls are meaningless because they ask respondents whether they are likely voters. The vast majority of respondents say “Yes,” but we know from experience that only a fraction of those people actually vote. So, intensity of support becomes more important and Ron Paul clearly has far more intensity of support than any other candidate. Ron Paul’s supporters WILL vote.
He is also the only candidate who can outflank the Democrats on the war issue and the health care issue, as he is a doctor. The Democrats know this. The Republicans who think that Rudy Giuliani can beat Hillary Clinton are delusional. Giuliani is unlikely to even deliver New York state in a head-to-head competition between himself and Carpetbagger Clinton. How could he possibly defeat her if he can’t win his own state?
Ron Paul is the most sensible candidate running. Our military personnel seem to agree. They send him more donations than any other candidate in any party.
Peace, Prosperity, Freedom. Ron Paul in 2008. The ONLY rational choice.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Advocating the gold standard is a crazy political idea because most people don’t understand the reasoning for it, but as a policy standard it is just as sound as can be.
Those who want a fiat currency suggest that there isn’t enough gold in the world to support a large economy, but 99% of the world’s wealth isn’t held in fiat currency either! It is in fiat-currency-denominated assets, obligations, and other instruments. Money is only used in the course of purchases and other transactions where it speedily is converted into other transactions to support other transactions.
Inflation is like a regressive tax that mostly harms the poor. Inflation is the product of having fiat money. Progressives everywhere should re-examine their support for fiat money and central banks.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Most people don’t understand the reasoning for the gold standard?
Gold is scarce, that is, the supply is generally limited. If you want more gold, you have to work hard for it, you can’t easily just make more. If you could easily just make more, then gold would be worthless.
You CAN easily just print more paper money; so paper money is worthless. If you back a paper money with gold, then that paper money will be worth the same as gold.
I don’t think it’s because they don’t understand. It’s because they don’t KNOW!
November 14th, 2007 at 12:40 am
If Ron Paul is crazy for advocating gold as currency, so is Alan Greenspan:
“In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold. If everyone decided, for example, to convert all his bank deposits to silver or copper or any other good, and thereafter declined to accept checks as payment for goods, bank deposits would lose their purchasing power and government-created bank credit would be worthless as a claim on goods. The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.
This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists’ tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists’ antagonism toward the gold standard.”
http://www.constitution.org/mon/greenspan_gold.htm