Série "Vamos tentar fazer um doutoramento em teoria constitucional"

Ron Paul: "The Constitution and Money

The Constitution allows for a silver or gold standard, prohibits paper money,and does not authorize a central bank. Congress is explicitly given power to coinmoney in Article 1, Section A, but no similar power was given to print fiat money.The low respect for constitutionally guaranteed individual tights is precisely the same reason we asa nation have totally ignored the admonitions anddirectives of the Founding Fathers regarding money.The debates at the Constitutional Convention clearly indicate a rejection ofthe proposal to "emit bills of credit" (irredeemable paper money). Even without the Convention's specific vote rejecting paper money, a specific authorization is required if paper money is to be issued, since the Tenth Amendment prevents Congress fromassuming power to create money and credit out of thin air as it does today. In Article 1, Section 10, the Constitution explicitly prohibits states fromemitting bills of credit and directs all states to use only gold and silver coins as legaltender in the payment of debts.The low respect for constitutionally guaranteed individual rights is precisely the same reason we as a nation have totally ignored the admonitionsand directives of the Founding Fathers regarding money.(...)

Chief justice Salmon Chase in one of the legal tender cases said:

Most unquestionably there is no legal tender and there can be no legal tender in this country under the authority of this government of anyother but gold and silver, either the coinage of our mints or foreign coins at rates regulated by Congress. This is a constitutional principle perfectly plain and of the very highest importance. The states areprohibited from making anything but gold and silver a tender inpayments of debt, and although no such expressed prohibition toCongress, as yet Congress has no power granted to it in this respect butto coin money and regulate the value of foreign coin. Congresshas no power to substitute paper or anything else for a coin as a tenderin payment of debts and in discharge of contracts."

Nota: Agora, Ron Paul tem esta opinião sobre a questão constitucional e justifica-a. Se aparecer não sei quem a ter outra opinião, fixe para ele. Eu adopto um princípio que acho infalível nos debates sobre Constituições. É sempre muito fácil "interpretar" as Constituições com complexidades e nuances Straussianas (que estabeleceu o princípio dos significados escondidos e até da noble lie) para demonstrar que esta onde diz X na verdade significa Y. Roosevelt conseguiu-o fazer num ápice. E quando não conseguiu ameaçou aumentar o número de Juizes do Supremo para o dobro. Depois foi a capitulação e o resto é história.

Nota2: Para qualquer liberal clássico o que lhe interessará verdadeiramente é aquilo que foi demonstrado pela Escola Austriaca, além do óbvio efeito em que os Estados perdem a capacidade de monetizar a dívida pública, ou seja, os déficits.