The Moral Issues of Money - Gabriel M. Mueller - Mises Daily

The Moral Issues of Money - Gabriel M. Mueller - Mises Daily: "This is what James is warning against. 'Your gold and silver are corroded,' he writes. James's logic is this: Corrosion of gold and silver is the result of impurities, impurities are the evidence of debasement, and debasement is the practice of fraud and stealing. Therefore, James says, do not debase your money in order to pay your workers or to purchase their goods, because to do so is to commit fraud and theft against them.

Today, we don't have to worry about rich people — that is, our employers — debasing our gold and silver, because we're not paid in gold and silver anymore. No, we face a much greater concern — the government controls our money. In fact, the government controls our money in the same way our dishonest king did: it creates money out of thin air and it debases our money every time it does so."

"Why are we not talking about the ethics — the right or the wrong — of money production in America? If James condemned the business owner that debased the wages of workers, why are we not condemning a government that exploits the money of its citizens? And which violation is greater? At least the cheated worker can move onto a new employer to preserve his/her wealth and dignity. How is the citizen ever able to escape the injustice of his or her government?"