
December 12, 2020
Ron Paul on Bitcoin, Liberty & Freedom in Money | Stephan Livera Podcast
Check out The Stephan Livera Podcast Episode Page & Show Notes
Key Takeaways
- “There are tax collectors out there that want to know exactly what people are doing with alternative currencies” – Ron Paul
- Exchanges collect information, so be vigilant, and expect IRS surveillance on monetary activities
- “For me, the perfect system is freedom of choice, then you and I can decide exactly what we should use as our monetary system, but today that’s not here” – Ron Paul
- An individual’s mistake only affects them, but mistakes by the Federal Reserve affect the entire population and culminate in business cycles busts and booms
- Opposing opinions are fine as long as no violence is involved. However, if we start to enforce currencies or opinions or vaccines, then it becomes dangerous
- On growing Bitcoin’s user base, “Do your best to understand it and explain it and if it’s worth anything they will find you” – Ron Paul
- Movements occur by leadership, and 8% of the supercharged leaders are enough to influence others and ultimately the crowds
- People react quickly when the government applies a lot of regulations, this usually manifests in the thriving of black markets
- Market corrections serve to liquidate runaway debt and fix malinvestments; printing the debt away only delays the inevitable and prolongs the pain
- The government should learn from the 1921 depression, rather than replicating that of the 1930s
Intro
- Ron Paul (@ronpaul) is a libertarian, a former congressman and presidential candidate, and host of The Ron Paul Liberty Report
- Host: Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera)
Financial Surveillance and Control
- While a lot of people trust and trade Bitcoin, the government can still attempt to confiscate it
- The larger Bitcoin and crypto grow, the more you have to be aware of government actions to protect its monetary system
- Similar to how the growth of private and homeschooling can elicit government action to protect public schooling
- The larger Bitcoin and crypto grow, the more you have to be aware of government actions to protect its monetary system
- “There are tax collectors out there too that want to know exactly what people are doing with alternative currencies” – Ron Paul
- Keep in mind, exchanges collect information, so be vigilant, and expect IRS surveillance on monetary activities
- “I don’t even believe in the IRS”, but they are not ignorant
- Facing problems is what incentivizes the development of security measures
Personal Liberty
- “For me, the perfect system is freedom of choice, then you and I can decide exactly what we should use as our monetary system, but today that’s not here” – Ron Paul
- Cryptocurrencies push people to think about their freedom of choice, and they fix the unlimited expansion of fiat currencies
- People are free to make their choices because mistakes only hurt them
- On the other hand, mistakes by the Federal Reserve are painful for the entire population and culminates in the busts and booms of business cycles
- “Make it [crypto] legal and let people make their decisions” – Ron Paul
- Gold ownership was outlawed from 1932 to 1975 under Executive Order 6102, similar actions aren’t inconceivable
Libertarian Interest in Bitcoin
- Individuals get involved with Bitcoin for different motivations, whether it may be to try new technology, adopt superior money, or to get rich
- “I don’t think you can get everybody to agree on exactly why we have crypto and how it works” – Ron Paul
- Human action is an individual thing, and individuals should have the flexibility to freely choose cryptocurrencies
- Opposing opinions are fine as long as no violence is involved
- However, if we start to enforce currencies or opinions or vaccines, then it becomes dangerous
Growing Bitcoin’s User Base
- In a nutshell, “Do your best to understand it and explain it and if it’s worth anything they will find you” – Ron Paul
- There will always be a remnant who demand sound money, appeal to them, and use them to popularize the issue
- Movements occur by leadership, and 8% of the supercharged leaders are enough to influence others and ultimately the crowds
- Bitcoin’s performance remains impressive despite all the predictions on its fate, but it still needs more time
- Keep in mind, we are still talking about cryptos in dollar value
Big Governments
- The only purpose of a government is to protect your liberty and rights, but this is long-lost
- The hypocrisy of lawmakers passing regulations that they don’t adhere to is the greatest incentive for people to wake up
- For instance, “Instead of prohibiting counterfeiting, they [government] become the biggest counterfeiters” – Ron Paul
- That’s the source of problems like big state, wars, and the runaway welfare system
- For instance, “Instead of prohibiting counterfeiting, they [government] become the biggest counterfeiters” – Ron Paul
- People react quickly when the government applies a lot of regulations, this usually manifests in the thriving of black markets
Future Outlook
- Market corrections serve to liquidate runaway debt and fix malinvestments. Instead, governments attempt to print the debt away and debase the currency
- This only delays the inevitable and prolongs the pain
- “The next few years, even if they got more sensible about the lockdown, we still have liquidations” – Ron Paul
- Keep in mind, The bubble was already out of proportions before coronavirus hit
- The government can either prolong the depression similar to the 1930s or they can let it end quickly like the depression of 1921
- Unfortunately, there is no way politicians will back up on spending
- It’s impossible to predict the time of the crash, what’s important is what you will replace it with