Mayer Amschel Rothschild Quotes
Give me the power to issue a nation’s money; then I do not care who makes the laws.
See {583710} for his grandchild’s variation.
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, 1744-1812, German Banker & founder of the Rothschild family banking empire, Frequent statement articulating the importance of the currency of a nation
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
See {617208} his grandfather’s related statement.
The last sentence echoes a quotation of Napoleon. See {630664} .
At the time any private bank could issue their own money. Private sector bankers thought it outrageous that the Congress should consider trampling on their rights to issue money. The solution that was finally adopted some years later was to use the Federal Reserve Board to control the money supply. It is independent of the Congress and the President but members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Our system, like no other system, is a compromise where neither the Government or the Private Sector controls the American money supply.
The alternative would have been for the colonies to borrow English money at high interest rates and use that. Or use money from private banks (which occurred later.) Many conservatives are today a little shocked that some of the American Colonies just printed money with no backing but it worked—at least at the local level. A Boston Bank for example, would take a large commission for a Bostonian to convert Pennsylvania money into Massachusetts money. So it was not a very good system for trade between colonies and International trade. But English money was used for that. The colonists pragmatically got the “best of both worlds” and paid as little interest as they needed to. This system is essentially what we use today on a national scale with no gold or silver backing of the money.
The legislation creating the Federal Reserve Board was then being debated. A few days later it passed despite reservations from Lodge and others. The powers relegated to the Federal Reserve Board have been debated ever since.
- Born: February 23, 1744
- Died: September 19, 1812
- Nationality: German
- Profession: Banker & Financier
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, was a German Jewish banker and the founder of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Referred to as a "founding father of international finance," Rothschild was ranked seventh on the Forbes magazine list of "The Twenty Most Influential Businessmen of All Time" in 2005.
