Ep. 209: 'Is money speech?' with Robert Breedlove
There is a recurring debate in the free speech community regarding whether money is speech.
Bitcoin-focused entrepreneur, writer, and philosopher Robert Breedlove joins us today to help resolve the debate. Describing money as “the language of human action,” Robert makes the case that money, like the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is information and should be free from government regulation and manipulation. During this longer-than-usual episode, Robert and Nico discuss everything from Keynesian economics and 3D-printed firearms to the Chinese Communist Party.
Robert is the host of the popular podcast, “The ‘What is Money?’ Show,” which dives into the nature of money by asking guests one simple question: What is money? In 2020, he co-authored the book, “Thank God for Bitcoin: The Creation, Corruption and Redemption of Money.”
Timestamps
0:00 Introduction
3:56 Robert’s background
19:21 What is Austrian economics?
24:23 Is money speech?
44:48 Can money express irrational things?
51:59 Is access to perfect information always a good thing?
1:05:17 Bitcoin and anonymity
1:14:58 Prediction markets
1:18:14 Theories of information/the marketplace of ideas
1:31:49 Is code speech?
1:39:59 Is economic freedom more fundamental than freedom of speech?
1:49:13 Regulating bitcoin
1:55:16 Bitcoin ETFs
1:57:03 Rapid-fire Bitcoin questions
2:03:15 Does more access to information make the world a better place?
2:06:53 Outro
Show Notes
“The Creature from Jekyll Island” by G Edward Griffin
“The Bitcoin Standard” by Saifedean Ammous
“The Use of Knowledge in Society” by Friedrich Hayek
“The Logic of Scientific Discovery” by Karl Popper
“Areopagitica” by John Milton
 | A guest post by
|
Thank you for bringing up this important topic. Is money speech? No. Spending money is speech. Contributing money to a political campaign is speech. Trading labor or goods for money is speech.
Here’s a good book about that talks about First Amendment rights and money.
https://www.amazon.com/Unfree-Speech-Campaign-Finance-Reform/dp/0691113696
At a time when campaign finance reform is widely viewed as synonymous with cleaning up Washington and promoting political equality, Bradley Smith, a nationally recognized expert on campaign finance reform, argues that all restriction on campaign giving should be eliminated. In Unfree Speech, he presents a bold, convincing argument for the repeal of laws that regulate political spending and contributions, contending that they violate the right to free speech and ultimately diminish citizens' power.
Smith demonstrates that these laws, which often force ordinary people making modest contributions of cash or labor to register with the Federal Election Commission or various state agencies, fail to accomplish their stated objectives. In fact, they have worked to entrench incumbents in office, deaden campaign discourse, burden grassroots political activity with needless regulation, and distance Americans from an increasingly professional, detached political class. Rather than attempting to plug "loopholes" in campaign finance law or instituting taxpayer-financed campaigns, Smith proposes a return to core First Amendment values of free speech and an unfettered right to engage in political activity.
Smith finds that campaign contributions have little corrupting effect on the legislature and shows that an unrestrained system of contributions and spending actually enhances equality. More money, not less, is needed in the political system, Smith concludes. Unfree Speech draws upon constitutional law and historical research to explain why campaign finance regulation is doomed and to illustrate the potentially drastic costs of efforts to make it succeed. Whatever one thinks about the impact of money on electoral politics, no one should take a final stand without reading Smith's controversial and important arguments.
Let’s talk more about the First Amendment. Here are two of my contributions.
https://scottgibb.substack.com/p/religion-education-and-identity
https://scottgibb.substack.com/p/the-wisdom-of-the-first-amendment