The Des Moines Tea Party

By HON. HOWARD BUFFETT

U. S. Congressman from Nebraska

Reprinted from The Commercial and

Financial Chronicle 5/6/48

Congressman Buffett stresses relation between

money and freedom and contends without a

redeemable currency, individual's freedom to

sustain himself or move his property is

dependent on goodwill of politicians. Says

paper money systems generally collapse and

result in economic chaos. Points out gold

standard would restrict government spending

and give people greater power over public

purse. Holds present is propitious time to

restore gold standard.

Is there a connection between Human Freedom and A

Gold Redeemable Money? At first glance 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

printing 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 difficult 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.

ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: http://www.fame.org/PDF/buffet3.pdf