I think the Founding Fathers and especially Thomas Jefferson would love bitcoin

[vanchau]

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered....I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."  - Thomas Jefferson

The bitcoin movement could/will usurp the central banks thereby giving the power back to the people, where it belongs.

Why comparisons about bitcoin to tulips or other assets bubbles is so missing the point of bitcoin.

[1715581406]

1715581406

[1715581406]

1715581406

[kireinaha]

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered."  - Thomas Jefferson

The bitcoin movement could/will usurp the central banks thereby giving the power back to the people, where it belongs.

Why comparisons about bitcoin to tulips or other assets bubbles is so missing the point of bitcoin.

Makes sense, Thomas Jefferson was notoriously bad with money, afterall. The guy spent the equivalent of $120,000 on wine alone during his term as president. He once ordered 382 bottles in a single month. Not exactly a master of finances.

The executor of Jefferson's estate was left with the modern equivalent of $1 to 2 million in debt, and most of the estate was sold off to pay it off.

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_16688_historys-6-greatest-examples-financial-fail.html

Unfortunately, I don't think this quote was truly ever uttered by Jefferson. Its history is spurious, at best.

Further Reading:
http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/private-banks-quotation

[anu]

Unfortunately, I don't think this quote was truly ever uttered by Jefferson. Its history is spurious, at best.

Indeed. There seem to be a lot of fake quotes from the founding fathers floating around. One needs to be careful with them.

But yes, I agree, had Bitcoin existed at the time, section 1.10 may read "gold, silver and Bitcoin". But that was a different time - the word constitutionalist was not a synonym for terrorist.

[YoYa]

You know who else would have loved bitcoin....Hitler. Stalin too. I asked Khan, but he's more in to the rape and pillage thing.

[anu]

You know who else would have loved bitcoin....Hitler. Stalin too. I asked Khan, but he's more in to the rape and pillage thing.

I don't know this. I know that they loved to micro manage everyone's life. Therefore they would have loved Visa, Paypal and all sort of other e-money where the government has complete knowledge who is buying what for which price, and where, in real time. And where the government has to "help" with each TX so if you buy things they don't like, they can choose not to help you.

The cashless society with proprietary e-money will also allow them to impose new taxes, such as VAT on purchases abroad and it will allow them to drive taxes to levels that will drive the tears in your eyes. Because you can't escape to cash any more.

I can see why Hitler and Stalin like the way our governtments are going. I can't see why they'd love Bitcoin

[YoYa]

You weren't meant to take me seriously

Who knows, in the right context BTC could represent anything from oppression via its permanent record to freedom for the reasons you listed.

The whole founding fathers thing is cheesy tho, like an overused trope, anyone can take an object/concept/whatever and say it suits their ideology....but that imo is just meh.

[Bitcoinpro]

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered....I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."  - Thomas Jefferson

The bitcoin movement could/will usurp the central banks thereby giving the power back to the people, where it belongs.

Why comparisons about bitcoin to tulips or other assets bubbles is so missing the point of bitcoin.

[vanchau]

Whether or not Jefferson actually said that, I do think the warning is consistent in what he and the other Founders were trying to say in regards to the dangers of centralized banking.  Ultimately I think it comes down whether you believe in a peer to peer world or centralized authority.  I think the founders knew that some centralized authority was needed (minimal government), but mostly we should just govern ourselves.

To me, Bitcoin is so much more than just an asset bubble or currency or store of value, it is an idea: the idea that we can decide what is money and how we can conduct transactions amongst each other.   We don't need nor want the state to police things for us.  We the people could have a money system that actually isn't designed to fuck over We the people (like the current fiat implementation)

[Hawker]

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered....I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."  - Thomas Jefferson

The bitcoin movement could/will usurp the central banks thereby giving the power back to the people, where it belongs.

Why comparisons about bitcoin to tulips or other assets bubbles is so missing the point of bitcoin.

By an odd coincidence, Jefferson's own children suffered this fate.  Of course it was after he sold them....

[GigaCoin]

the constitution is one of the greatest piece of political & social document ever written in human history, it's what paved the way to America's prosperity and progress. Regardless of the flaws of the founding fathers, they were a very intelligent bunch who truly believed in liberty and freedom.

it's too bad these days it's labeled by the media as an outdated piece of garbage.