Rand Paul DEMANDS a Debate Between The Bitcoin Standard Author and a Popular Economist

Kentucky’s best is challenging the controversial author to a debate with economist Paul Krugman

Rand Paul is taking the author of The Bitcoin Standard to task. The Kentucky Senator is demanding a public “intellectual cage match” between the author, Saifedean Ammous and economist Paul Krugman.

Ammous, a professor, author, and economist is famous for his enthusiastic support for cryptocurrency including bitcoin.

To Decentralize or not Decentralize: That is the Question

Ammous is pushing for a decentralized alternative to central banking that takes the form of bitcoin. Though Ammous’ bitcoin book was published six years ago, it is still widely discussed in classrooms, campaign offices, and beyond. The book has been published in nearly 40 languages.

Ammous is also the author of a 2021 book titled, The Fiat Standard: The Debt Slavery Alternative to Human Civilization. These two books alone make it quite clear that Ammous wants to “end the fed” with the destruction of fiat money.

The harsh truth is American currency is no longer backed by gold. The gold standard was abandoned more than half a century ago in favor of fiat currency. The fiat approach is essentially fake money constituting numbers on a screen.

The primary value of our currency is no longer rooted in connection with precious metals. Rather, the value of the United States dollar is social, meaning people agree it has value.

Paul Calls for Ammous Vs. Krugman

Ammous, a professor who teaches Bitcoin economics and Austrian economics courses through an online platform, is a bit of a maverick. If Ammous has his way, we’ll permanently eliminate the centralized body that is the federal reserve in favor of an all-digital currency rooted in the blockchain.

Paul wants Ammous to engage in intellectual debate with economist Paul Krugman. Krugman has touted the merits of the Keynesian economics approach. The Keynesian model stems from the famous British economist John Maynard Keynes.

Keynesian economics is characterized by centralized, top-down economic planning. As an example, if there is no work to be done, the government might pay people to dig ditches, replace street signs, or do just about anything else.

Though there might eventually be a need for a universal basic income, the Keynesian approach is flawed in that it concentrates power in the hands of the few. Krugman and other Keynesian economists are borderline totalitarians as they insist an overarching government-constructed plan is necessary.

Rand Paul questions whether a bureaucratic cabal should shape our economic future.

Paul Wants You to Know About Krugman’s Poor Track Record

Rewind back to early 2000 and Krugman insisted the economy was booming. The NASDAQ imploded soon thereafter. Krugman failed to predict the dot com bubble, ultimately steering investors toward ruin.

“I’m not sure that the current value of the NASDAQ is justified, but I’m not sure that it isn’t.” – Krugman prior to the dot com bubble burst

In contrast, Senator Paul had been warning about the market’s overvaluation for several years. Paul is on record stating that economists like Krugman were discussing symptoms as opposed to the underlying cause. All of Paul’s dot com economic warnings and predictions proved accurate.

As Ammous noted, the cause of overvaluation, inflation, and other economic woes is almost always over-centralization. That over-centralization takes the form of the Federal Reserve. The Fed has printed too much money, deviating from the gold standard that gave our currency meaningful value.

What Keynesian economists get wrong is that capital investment doesn’t mean much if it isn’t backed by savings. Making the money machine go “brrrrr” stimulates the economy yet it also causes inflation.

Ammous and Paul argue the Fed created credit out of thin air.

It is excessive money printing that is the underlying problem. Therefore, printing even more money is not the solution.

The only solid argument in favor of additional inflation is that it is a means of gradually shrinking the national debt. The printing of money leads to inflation, making today’s dollars worth less and ultimately making the national debt shrink across posterity.

The Relationship Between Bitcoin and Inflation

If Paul’s desired debate were to occur, Krugman might argue bitcoin is partially the cause of inflation. Bitcoin can be converted to United States dollars, meaning it is a means of creating additional money without central oversight.

Those who hold the entirety of their savings and investments in United States dollars without cryptocurrency are essentially being penalized. That penalty takes the form of bitcoin-caused inflation.

In response, Ammous would argue that such inflation is necessary. Bitcoin proponents insist the cryptocurrency will eventually replace the dollar altogether. Therefore, bitcoin-caused inflation is merely a bump in the road toward the final destination: a new digital blockchain-based currency minus the fiat element.

Is Bitcoin the Future of American Currency?

Bitcoin is a value store and also a form of currency. As it currently stands, our laws state it is illegal to use a currency other than the United States dollar. Bitcoin has been and likely will continue to be used to pay for items. El Salvador has gone as far as converting its currency to bitcoin.

Plenty of American lawmakers own bitcoin, meaning it probably won’t be deemed an illegal currency. As Ammous points out, the best aspect of bitcoin is that it is finite, meaning it eliminates the potential for inflation.

The government cannot simply print more bitcoin currency as it is non-tangible and capped at a specific quantity. Once the entirety of bitcoin is “mined”, no more can be created.

It appears that Ammous is correct when prognosticating a future in which bitcoin powers the economy. Backed by a secure blockchain, bitcoin appears to be a digital and futuristic currency that might eventually replace the dollar altogether.