The state no longer faces meaningful constraints on its power or its spending.  Under the gold standard, any increase in government power or spending was plainly visible.  Gold couldn’t simply be created at will.  It had to be earned through trade or labor.  Any government that sought more money had to openly tax its citizens, a process that was clear and often resisted.  Under a paper money system, the game has changed. The theft is no longer visible, but its effects are everywhere.

With paper money, the state doesn’t need to take from you directly. Instead, they print new money, diluting the value of what you already have.  This invisible tax—called inflation—allows them to quietly rob you while most people remain unaware of how they’re being plundered.  Prices rise, wages stagnate, and savings lose their value.  The true definition of inflation isn’t rising prices, it’s the increase in the money supply.  Rising prices are merely a symptom of this hidden theft.

When new money is created, it doesn’t enter the economy evenly.  Those closest to the source—the government, large corporations, and politically connected entities—get the new money first, before prices have risen.  They benefit from this freshly printed wealth, while everyone else pays the price.  By the time the money circulates to you, it’s already lost much of its value, and prices have risen.  This isn’t just inflation—it’s redistribution.  It’s no different from an invisible tax, with your savings and retirement accounts silently drained to fund the state’s ever-growing ambitions.

Control over the money supply is the linchpin of the state’s power.  Taxes are unpopular and visible, sparking resistance.  Inflation is stealthy, allowing the state to grow unchecked.  Under a gold standard, this power was limited.  Gold couldn’t be conjured out of thin air.  Paper money removes that restraint entirely.  Now, anything the state desires—a new war, a bloated welfare program, a bailout for its cronies—can be paid for by printing more paper.

Gold must be earned, mined, or received as a gift.  The state, unable to produce anything of value, can only acquire gold through taxation or confiscation.  But paper money?  It’s created with the flick of a pen or the stroke of a keyboard.  To free itself from the limits of gold, the state instituted the greatest scam in human history.  They abandoned gold, replacing it with paper, and granted themselves the power to counterfeit without consequence.  This limitless ability to print money has turned the state into a behemoth, unchecked and unstoppable.

At the heart of this system lies the central bank, the state’s most powerful tool for control.  Though portrayed as an independent institution, the central bank is nothing of the sort.  It wouldn’t exist without the state, and its primary purpose is to serve the state’s interests.  Its so-called independence is a myth, perpetuated to give the illusion of neutrality.  In reality, the central bank is deeply political, working hand-in-hand with the government to expand its power and fund its ambitions.

The central bank enables the state to do what no private citizen or business could ever legally do: counterfeit money.  This power to print without limits has transformed the state into an unaccountable leviathan.  It’s not just theft, it’s tyranny.  The illusion of paper money has allowed the state to bypass the natural checks and balances of a gold standard, robbing you of your wealth and your freedom in the process.

This is the silent theft. This is the greatest swindle ever.

Reference

Murray Rothbard; Economic Controversies