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Ron Paul: What's happening is, there's transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class to the wealthy. This comes about because of the monetary system that we have. When you inflate a currency or destroy a currency, the middle class gets wiped out. So the people who get to use the money first which is created by the Federal Reserve system benefit. So the money gravitates to the banks and to Wall Street. That's why you have more billionaires than ever before. Today, this country is in the middle of a recession for a lot of people... As long as we live beyond our means we are destined to live beneath our means. And we have lived beyond our means because we are financing a foreign policy that is so extravagant and beyond what we can control, as well as the spending here at home. And we're depending on the creation of money out of thin air, which is nothing more than debasement of the currency. It's counterfeit... So, if you want a healthy economy, you have to study monetary theory and figure out why it is that we're suffering. And everybody doesn't suffer equally, or this wouldn't be so bad. It's always the poor people -- those who are on retired incomes -- that suffer the most. But the politicians and those who get to use the money first, like the military industrial complex, they make a lot of money and they benefit from it. John McCain: Everybody is paying taxes and wealth creates wealth. And the fact is that I would commend to your reading, Ron, 'Wealth of Nations,' because that's what this is all about. A vibrant economy creates wealth. People pay taxes. Revenues are at an all time high.

Ron Paul#64

PolicyEconomicsInflationMonetary policyWealth

About this quote

What does it mean?
Paul explains that monetary inflation transfers wealth to banks and the wealthy, harming the middle class and creating recessionary pressures.
In plain terms
Inflation benefits banks and the rich while hurting ordinary people.
What can you take from it?
Control money creation to protect the middle class.

Where it applies

  • central banking
  • fiscal crises
  • wealth distribution

Putting it to work

  • limit Fed money creation
  • reform monetary system

Questions to consider

  • What are the trade‑offs of limiting money supply?
  • Can other policies offset inflation’s effects?

Another view

Simplifies complex macroeconomic dynamics to a single cause.

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