G. Edward Griffin at The Daily Bell

A very good Sunday interview at the Daily Bell.  G. Edward Griffin, best known for his wonderfully thorough and eye-opening book “The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve,” touches on many subjects during the interview.  I highlight a few here:

GEG: [The elite are] cold and objective and if they have to take a step backward they will, if they have to take two steps backward they will, as long as they stay in power and stay in control, knowing that sooner or later they'll have an opportunity to move forward again and gain all the lost ground and gain new ground.

BM: I have written on the past on this – I think they will take as many steps back as necessary in order to maintain the people’s faith in regulatory democracy – including defaulting on government debt (in a controlled manner, as uncontrolled defaults are certain) if necessary.  The possibilities offered by Bagus in his recent post at Mises are as good a list as any.

GEG: We all know that Obama has a kill switch [for the internet], for example. All he has to do is say, "We have a national emergency. Somebody's attacked us. They're going to blow up Cincinnati" or something like that – and maybe they will blow up Cincinnati just to provide an excuse. Then they'll throw the kill switch and there goes the Internet.

BM: Commerce – including the commerce of the politically connected – is too dependent on the internet for such a blunt solution.  Other options might be attempted in order to control the free-flow of dialogue, but not a kill switch.

GEG: …any government that issues fiat currency and depends upon that for its national livelihood cannot stand by and watch something like bitcoin become the primary channel of commerce. They just can't do it and they won't do it. They'll resort to whatever tools they have at their disposal to stop it.

BM: This has been my primary objection to the bitcoin high priests when they parade the possibility of anonymity from the government and the possibility to circumvent / eliminate central banking.

GEG: The idea of state-run banks is an example of people coming up with the wrong solution because they're not clear on the principles behind the problem. Why do we have to always turn to government for things like this? Whatever happened to the private sector, to appreciation for free-enterprise capitalism? That was the answer. I don't know why people always have to turn to the government. I guess it's because of government schools.

BM: All of the concerns regarding central banks being public or private, run at the state level or federal level, etc., miss the point.  They only exist because a government authority grants them monopoly.  There is no government solution to this.  Only private, and only through market competition.

In summary, a great Sunday interview; well worth the read.