Greenspan v. Greenspan

Gold and Economic Freedom by Alan Greenspan

A good read for anyone interested in monetary policy in the United States (an interest which we should all have).  Greenspan, 1966, attacking fiat currency in defense of the gold standard.  In the mid-nineties while Greenspan was chairman of the Fed, Ron Paul once asked him to autograph a copy of the article and asked him if he wanted to write a disclaimer.  Greenspan privately replied he still stood by it.  One wonders why he didn't act on that belief, sparing us the malinvestment and recession which we are currently enduring.

Of any area which the American citizen should be well-versed regarding their government, I firmly believe the sphere of monetary policy is the most important.  If a government possesses the ability to manipulate currency at their very whim, the damage that can (and will) be done to our economy is catastrophic.  As I've demonstrated in my recent master's thesis (under the paper and projects section of the site), inflationary monetary policy not only can destroy an economy, but can also drive a state toward war.  Every American should understand what inflation is, what the federal reserve does, and why our current system is economically harmful and a redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich.

For a sound preliminary discussion, take a look at Ron Paul's money chapter in his Revolution: A Manifesto (an excellent book for the beginner on an assortment of topics).  For further reading, definately take a look at the work of Murray Rothbard, as well as Ron Paul and Lewis Lehrman's The Case for Gold.