The money is going to get printed, one way or another. The dollar is out of control, in that regard. Aside from waiting for the collapse to happen, I believe libertarians can work to make sure the current government can’t strengthen itself while causing the collapse.

It can go one of two ways: the dollar-based economy collapses and the current political class takes authoritarian power in response or we have a chance to shape a new government in the ashes of the one we know failed us. Personally, while the latter is risker, it offers a much better possible return.

You’re right, we won’t have a repeat of the Shay’s Rebellion. I brought it up mainly because it was that event that prompted Hamilton, Madison and their fellow plotters to betray the American Revolution by engineering the imposition of the United States Constitution.

However, it will inevitably lead to some sort of economic collapse – and I fear the crisis will conclude with an even more authoritarian government imposed upon us.

I’m not seeing the parallels here. I’m no expert on Shays’ Rebellion, but from reading the Wikipedia entry on it, I see a few things:

The debt after the Revolution was expected to be repaid in gold/silver, which made it nearly impossible for the farmers to repay with their inflated scrip. Alternatively, the American debt owed nationally and to foreigners is denominated in dollars, which the Fed’s printing will actually make it easier to repay.

The Rebellion was a tax revolt, which if you assume is the endgame of this scenario, is likely whether the Fed prints money and distributes it directly to taxpayers or prints money and distributes it as a “bailout”. I think we can both agree that, while neither of us like it, the Fed is going to print money. What we’re discussing is the “least bad” way for them to do so.

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When it’s all said and done, the question we have is whether America will take the tough medicine or whether they’ll try to paper their way out of this. I think we know what modern America thinks of tough medicine.

So if the Fed is going to paper their way out of this, I’d rather they let me keep what I earn while they inflate rather than inflate and give it to their pet projects.

Good luck with that.

Yes, but an arbitrary distribution of monetary supply inflation is going to happen one way or another given the leadership in Washington. The realistic question for libertarians is not how to prevent it entirely, but rather how to allow it to happen while handicapping the growth of government as much as possible.

In the end, the three month tax holiday plan described is nothing more than an arbitary distribution of monetary supply inflation.

Regards, Don