“With the exception only of the period of the gold standard, practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people.”

Nothing new under the Sun.

I agree 100% woth Roxy! We have survived all of these cynics of the past that have been quoted today. I have ultimate confidence that we will survive the cynics of today. In reference to Hayek how did the citizens of the USA become so successful and the nation come to be considered the wealthiest in the world by this constant plunder. Those who think that we have been plundered are smoking something or drinking at a drugged or poisoned trough. (I agree with Roxy's comment but not the five stars for this quote.)

While I have been a student of history for most of my life, I am a newcomer to this site. What delights me most in these early days is the choice of quotes on the same issue spaced across history. The old bromide about history repeating itself is thus presented and proved. Sadly, for most of us, we are duped again and again across the ages. But there is always some group just a few steps ahead of us and they live in mansions, have yachts, and live well. There is upward mobility, just enough to keep the rest of us hoping. So the game goes on and those with the gold continue to make the rules. How close are we to once again having gladiators fighting to the death in arenas to entertain the unruly masses?

Waffler, if clean water is the item that makes you think that slavery, fraud, larceny, and plunder are ok because humanity survives it, give me drugged or poisoned cool-aid and a pipe. The US became the wealthiest nation on earth without the current forms of fraud, larceny, and plunder. Since the implementation of such criminal acts, the US has been in decline. The theocratic socialism that is issuing, what it calls money, is quickly becoming this land's greatest infection of fraud, larceny, and plunder.

I agree with Mike. We are now living in the time of the greatest act of plunder ever conceived by man. How much more they can steal without killing the goose that laid the golden egg remains to be seen .

Comrad Waffler, we can survive "cynics" but will we survive this government. I have hopes since we survived Jimmy Carter. Our current president , with the aid of the usual suspects, wants to solve our problems with more red ink. This may make sense to Comrad Waffler but makes no sense to anyone who can think. It's been tried many times before and always fails.

Much of what we enjoy in the US today isn't real wealth, (the product of or labor), it's debt and economic prestidigitation, and the bill will come due. It is historically accurate that mankind has survived, it has done so despite plunder, not because of it, and while some may be perfectly happy to just survive, some would like to improve our standard of living AND leave the situation better for our progeny. I have a son, so at this point, just leaving the place better for him will have to suffice. That means not leaving trillions of dollars worth of debt for him to pay. This eat drink and be merry, and leave the bill for our kids mentality is the epitome of selfishness and greed.

We're sitting in the restaurant, we've had our dinner, and the waiter has brought the check. Our wallets are open, but we have no cash. We hand our credit card to the waiter and a few moments later he brings it back to us in two pieces. Now what? At the next table is a kindly looking Chinese gentleman who is vaguely familiar. Oh, that's right...we've borrowed money from him before. He won't mind. Get ready to wash some dishes, my friends.

Yes, we have survived DESPITE the repeated thefts of our property, our labors, our savings, our land. Slavery is very prosperous for a nation but not for its people. The American people were the most prosperous when they traded with gold and silver coins as their currency (and as mandated by the US Constitution). The study of money reveals that whenever the power to issue 'money' (usually interest-bearing script with no backing) is not restricted by reserves of gold, silver, tobacco, water, cattle, or any other tangible commodity, economic collapse and war soon follow. It has been the cause of every major war in history. The goal today is to subjugate all the citizens of the Earth to a permanent debt to the banks that we all must pay forever. People like Waffler must profit from such a system because I can see no reason on Earth why the world must be enslaved in order to 'save it.'

No cool-aid left Mike. Waffler drank it all.

There are more billionaires and millionares than ever. I and my girlfriend have two homes, five vehicles, one fith wheel, one cuddy cabin boat are free to travel etcetera. Sorry to bore you with details. What is the talk about plunder? The national government has spent for a number of years more than it has raised. This must change and soon. It is unfair to pass on to others current debts unless they are for absolutey emergency purposes like a defensive war. Bush's war on Irag or for Iraq without paying for it was a scandal etcetera. With all of our yachts, sky scrapers, and billionaires we obviously have no problem of balancing our National Books. Our only problem is politcal will. The Repubs. in Congress now are just posturing for the next election. They now have it made becasue everything can be done without them and they only have to decide whether or not history will find them culpable of sitting on their hands or doing something and thus making a mistake. The Repub Governors are not such cowards as Crist of Florida has shown today. What the quotes of today have shown is that we always have these problems and we alwasys solve them. So buck up Warren get your chin off the floor and buck up!

Fess up, Waffler, what career did you retire from? From what I can gather you were in the accounting/tax business, so you profited from this system of plunder. You frequently defend the debt-money system and federal income taxation/income redistribution schemes. The front-end baby boomers benefited the most from FDR's socialization programs -- the rest of us are paying for these Ponzi schemes now. But the boomers were ripped off several times over the last 30 years -- and now we pay $30K for a car that would have cost $6K in 1970. Retirement funds are disappearing over night, death taxes take the last 50% of everything one has gained in a lifetime, and of course the medical industry will have their go, too, bankrupting millions for 'death care.' Waffler has been a house slave for so long he cannot understand why we don't all just "buck up." Lick the hands that feed you, Waffler, and may your chains set lightly upon you, but we do not count you among our countrymen.

I am so sorry Archer that you have no blessings to be thankful for. It is just a damn pitty, if I were as destitute of blessings and intelligence as you I guess I would be a man without a country also. I want no part of any country you may ever find a home in.

Spare us the attempted misdirection, Waffler. Weren't you indeed a tax collector? You sure sound like it.

There are always two sides to every violation of rights. The violated who has suffered a loss of life, liberty or property will rightfully complain. The violator is never short of rationalizations for his actions. Whatever Waffler did to receive his wealth, it's obvious he was on the side of the violators and not the violated. Buck up. What's that, newspeak for bend over?

I believe that the USA as a whole has been plundered now and we have been for some time now. I completly agree with Hayek on this because it seems as though every thing is being decided for us by the government. How much we make, how much we are paid, and when to pay THEM. Though we humans tend to survive. We have to fight against being plundered because we keep the dream alive.

Hence the US invading any country that wishes to base its currency on the Gold standard, or create their own currency away from the petro-dollar. Libya was on the verge of creating a North African banking system, to be independent of the dollar and we all know what happened. It would be a good thing if the comments on this site could refrain from insults - it really is a sign of immaturity....

A 10 Star quote from a genius.

Unfortunately, the greed & stupidity of the American public reigns supreme as witness who we elect and sustain in governing our system.

How does this all end? My guess is badly.