Why Are Maine Politicians Upset About Dark Play Money?

There’s a lot of concern among Democrats and Independent U.S. Senator Angus King about “dark money.” Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Shenna Bellows even notes dark money “undermines our democracy.”

While money is certainly influential in politics and it buys victories on both sides of the fence, the most serious concern is not this “dark money” issue.

It’s the legitimacy of the money itself.

Once upon a time in America, money was backed in precious metals. This may seem like an obsolete concept, but it is actually a logical one. Why? Because without some sort of backing to keep the value in check, the risk of runaway printing enters play.

Quantitative Easing is an issue that surprisingly doesn’t concern politicians like it should. The Federal Reserve injects more fresh Notes into circulation and helps stimulate the economy, right?

So what’s the problem?

In the short term, spending may have been sparked because there are individuals who have new bills in hand who can spend it. The problem is that in the long term, these bills will grow the pool of money in circulation. This devalues the currency, resulting in a rise in prices.

Before Bellows and other Democrats indicate the solution is another increase in the minimum wage, think about the reality of the situation. If a company has an increase in operating costs, what is forcing them to pay their employees more money going to do on top of that?

Drop hours, effectively nullifying the attempt to put more money in the pockets of working Mainers.

This only grows the unemployment line in the long run.

Do the wages of the middle class rise to accommodate the rise in prices? That is the million federally counterfeited paper note question.

And if you guessed “No”, you are correct. In fact, those wages might drop or hours may decrease. This is the result of companies having to make up for the increase in operating costs due to a market readjusting to the devalued dollar.

Bonus question: Who generally receives these fresh notes, which generally enter the market in the form of a bailout?

Not the middle class, who will be hurting most from the rise in prices as their wages remain the same or drop.

So where is Senator Angus King’s push for reining in the Federal Reserve? Don’t bet on it, as he’s already taken a position opposed to tackling the issue. This issue was discussed in a previous Undercover Porcupine article titled “Angus King Opposes Federal Reserve Audit.

To be fair, expecting anything in the form of principles to take flight in the U.S. Senate chamber is a pipe dream. So please don’t bet your federally counterfeited paper notes on it.

The question still remains though: why is there a lack of outrage in Congress regarding the Federal Reserve and the damage done to the dollar over many years?

Chris Dixon

About Chris Dixon

Chris Dixon is a libertarian-leaning writer and managing editor for The Liberty Conservative. In addition to his political writing, he also covers baseball for Cleat Geeks and enjoys writing on a number of other topics ranging on Medium.