Centralized Money Has ‘Never Been Good’ – US Congressman
US Congressman Tom Emmer caught the attention of many crypto fans when he stated that centralized monetary systems have “never been good, no matter where it’s been tried.”
Tom Emmer. Source: Twitter/@MNFarmBureau
In a podcast, hosted by co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, Anthony Pompliano, and published yesterday, the Republican congressman from Minnesota warned repeatedly of the dangers of centralized control over money. Among other things, he offered examples such as how China’s government can control popular mobile wallets in the country, as well as Facebook’s Libra project, which he thought was a “great concept,” except for the fact that “somebody’s gotta be in control.”
Citing the famous Austrian economist F.A. Hayek’s classic The Road to Serfdom, Emmer further said that in all centralized monetary systems, someone has to be the one(s) that decide how money is allocated:
“[…] that works out pretty good if you’re the one that’s in that group or is that guy. But after a while, if you’re not in the group, if you’re not the one making the decisions on the allocation, this thing only ends one way. And it has never been good, no matter where it’s been tried,” the congressman said.
And when asked about the current state of the US monetary system, Emmer, who is also a member of the bi-partisan and crypto-friendly group of congressmen known as the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, said that he believes the government “has spent way too much money” in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. He also pointed out that “1 trillion dollars is still sitting out there” with various state treasuries, without yet having been deployed into the economy.
“I don’t know why we’re so arrogant as to why we can’t be the Soviet Union or the Weimar Republic,” the congressman warned.
Further in the interview, Pompliano reminded the congressman of his earlier statement with regards to the recent Twitter hack, when Emmer tweeted that that “Bitcoin isn’t the problem. Centralized control is.”
“It wasn’t bitcoin that caused the problem, Twitter did,” the outspoken congressman once again reiterated, while adding that many of his colleagues in Congress, unfortunately, don’t quite understand this.
However, Emmer also said that “I hope that the traditional fiat currency survives, I hope that we never get completely rid of a tangible form of exchange.”
“Bitcoin and blockchain is not going away. It’s going to continue to become more and more important, and it’s going to advance,” the congressman concluded by saying.
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Watch the entire interview with Congressman Tom Emmer on the Pomp Podcast below:
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Learn more:
US Founding Fathers Would Make Bitcoin Primary Legal Tender
Imagine Separation of Money and State: 6 Crypto Experts Weigh In
Bitcoin Mass Adoption Would Benefit and Harm Current Economy
