Thomas A. Edison: Issue Bonds
on Monday, November 16, 2020Thomas A. Edison Money Quote saying that the country should be able to print currency and not only bonds. Thomas A. Edison said:
“It is absurd to say our country can issue bonds and cannot issue currency. Both are promises to pay, but one fattens the usurer and the other helps the people” — Thomas A. Edison
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In this quote, Thomas Edison is contrasting bonds and currency issued by a country. Bonds are debt instruments where the government borrows money from lenders (“usurers”) and pays interest, which Edison says “fattens” or enriches those lenders.
However, he argues that for a nation to directly issue its own currency through mechanisms like the printing of paper money does not burden taxpayers with interest payments and instead “helps the people” by stimulating the broader economy.
Edison’s view is that since governments can legitimately take on debt by issuing bonds, they should also have the power to directly fund activities by producing currency rather than being entirely reliant on borrowing from private sources. He questions why one financial tool is seen as acceptable while the other is not, when both essentially represent promises to pay by the issuing authority.