Reassessing the Greenback and Other Alternative Monetary Systems

[dameocrat67]

Really good article on why us treasury notes are preferable to federal reserve notes, and the gold standard, and on public banking instead of fractional reserve banking.


The Greenback was the Dollar, or United States Note, printed by Abraham Lincoln's Treasury to finance the Civil War.

It was a paper dollar, debt free and, therefore, also interest free. It was spent into circulation by the U.S. Treasury department beginning in 1862. Although modified many times through legislation, U.S. Notes were printed until 1971. Even today a minute number of Greenbacks are still in circulation.

Debt-free paper money was the basic design for most early government currencies as usury was heavily frowned upon. The Continental was similar, as was the paper printed by the Chinese Emperors. In this essay we will use the term Greenback to describe this basic model.

The Greenback is both much maligned and much admired. The Libertarians and Austrian Economists are concerned with the inflation that the Greenback brings. They rightly point out that every debt-free government currency has inflated itself into extinction. This is their primary motivation for demanding a gold standard to hedge inflation.............

http://www.activistpost.com/2011/10/reassessing-greenback-and-other.html

The only problem I had with the article is that it does not discuss the hoarding problem that developed under the gold standard, nor does it disguss the benefits of the silver standard, which is beneficial because it holds down inflation like the gold standard, but is not so rare as gold so it doesnt promote hoarding.

There were many populists that supported greenbacks but there were also many populists that supported dual silver/gold backed standard. None of the populsist supported the gold standard or private central bank printed money.

[dameocrat67]

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