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The Biggest Heists in History

adventured 6y ago
edit: downvotes like printing presses go brrrrrrrrrrrr, have at it friends, it's not like you can rebut what I said FDR's 1933 violent statist gold heist is the greatest single theft of tangible wealth in modern history, nothing else compares in such a short span of time. Steal the gold at gunpoint, pay in junk fiat, promptly turn around and massively debase said junk paper to demonstrate just how worthless it really is. Gold prices 1932: $20.67 -> 1934: $32.32 1971: $44.60 -> 1974: $183.77 2001: $256 -> 2011 $1,912 Those all represent epic, rapid collapses in the US standard of living caused singularly by the Federal Government's various idiotic actions (Smoot–Hawley, Vietnam, Iraq). The golden rule of the ruling classes everywhere: if you really screw up big, you can always steal from the population by debasing their magic paper (oh hey look, Bitcoin is up at $17,800 and gold is at $1,880 - that value implosion you can hear beginning again is another round of down for the US standard of living courtesy of profligate government spending we can't afford, all monetized by the Fed). How about that Bitcoin Confiscation Act of 2033? A real shock. Nobody could have seen that one coming.
- majormajor 6y ago
  It's hard to compare the three examples you give because of the different time ranges for each, but the 50% change between 32 and 34 certainly looks a lot smaller than the 71->74 and 01->11 changes... but you point at '33 as the "single greatest" event?
  - Uhhrrr 6y ago
    Presumably because '33 is when most of the gold was forcibly reclaimed.
  - fpig 6y ago
    He refers to '33 as the greatest event because of what happened in that year - people and companies were forced to turn in their gold to the government at a price set by the government. Soon after, they increased the gold price and inflated the money supply.
  - rixed 6y ago
    Out of topic, but if I could change anything to HN, I would make it so that no post that's not spam or insulting is ever suppressed with no explanation, like happened to the one above.
    - aww_dang 6y ago
      I find it curious how this entire line of thought is verboten at HN. It is understandable that this is tangential to the original topic. However, equivalent comments from a marxist or cultural marxist perspective are allowed. There's a fair argument against undue political commentary. However the standard is unequally applied. Blatantly toxic "check your privilege" comments are a dime a dozen. Questioning the premises of a Vox (or similar) article is problematic. Mises.org submissions are shadowbanned. This is just the bias of the site. We have to take it or leave it.
    - PhantomGremlin 6y ago
      It's not really "suppressed", it's just slightly less convenient to view. It only takes one extra click to read. I assume that you're aware of the HN setting that allows you to see dead posts. I assume that you're aware that clicking on the time of a downvoted post makes it completely visible. However, once a post is flagged or dead or the user is banned, it's not possible to reply to a post. That's certainly by design and I doubt that HN mods will ever change that. As for understanding the overall zeitgeist of HN, keep the following in mind, I stole it from somewhere but don't remember where. It's the best explanation that I've found: HN is open minded about intellectual inquiry as long as that inquiry doesn't challenge anything an average Californian already believes
- arminiusreturns 6y ago
  It's worth noting the Fed's owned gold certificates are held at what, $42? Things that make you go hmmmm....
simonw 6y ago
Brian Grubb writes an annual review of the year's best heists, and his review for 2017 was by far my favourite: https://uproxx.com/viral/best-heists-of-2017/ https://uproxx.com/viral/best-heists-of-2017/

edit: downvotes like printing presses go brrrrrrrrrrrr, have at it friends, it's not like you can rebut what I said FDR's 1933 violent statist gold heist is the greatest single theft of tangible wealth in modern history, nothing else compares in such a short span of time. Steal the gold at gunpoint, pay in junk fiat, promptly turn around and massively debase said junk paper to demonstrate just how worthless it really is. Gold prices 1932: $20.67 -> 1934: $32.32 1971: $44.60 -> 1974: $183.77 2001: $256 -> 2011 $1,912 Those all represent epic, rapid collapses in the US standard of living caused singularly by the Federal Government's various idiotic actions (Smoot–Hawley, Vietnam, Iraq). The golden rule of the ruling classes everywhere: if you really screw up big, you can always steal from the population by debasing their magic paper (oh hey look, Bitcoin is up at $17,800 and gold is at $1,880 - that value implosion you can hear beginning again is another round of down for the US standard of living courtesy of profligate government spending we can't afford, all monetized by the Fed). How about that Bitcoin Confiscation Act of 2033? A real shock. Nobody could have seen that one coming.

majormajor 6y ago
It's hard to compare the three examples you give because of the different time ranges for each, but the 50% change between 32 and 34 certainly looks a lot smaller than the 71->74 and 01->11 changes... but you point at '33 as the "single greatest" event?
- Uhhrrr 6y ago
  Presumably because '33 is when most of the gold was forcibly reclaimed.
- fpig 6y ago
  He refers to '33 as the greatest event because of what happened in that year - people and companies were forced to turn in their gold to the government at a price set by the government. Soon after, they increased the gold price and inflated the money supply.
- rixed 6y ago
  Out of topic, but if I could change anything to HN, I would make it so that no post that's not spam or insulting is ever suppressed with no explanation, like happened to the one above.
  - aww_dang 6y ago
    I find it curious how this entire line of thought is verboten at HN. It is understandable that this is tangential to the original topic. However, equivalent comments from a marxist or cultural marxist perspective are allowed. There's a fair argument against undue political commentary. However the standard is unequally applied. Blatantly toxic "check your privilege" comments are a dime a dozen. Questioning the premises of a Vox (or similar) article is problematic. Mises.org submissions are shadowbanned. This is just the bias of the site. We have to take it or leave it.
  - PhantomGremlin 6y ago
    It's not really "suppressed", it's just slightly less convenient to view. It only takes one extra click to read. I assume that you're aware of the HN setting that allows you to see dead posts. I assume that you're aware that clicking on the time of a downvoted post makes it completely visible. However, once a post is flagged or dead or the user is banned, it's not possible to reply to a post. That's certainly by design and I doubt that HN mods will ever change that. As for understanding the overall zeitgeist of HN, keep the following in mind, I stole it from somewhere but don't remember where. It's the best explanation that I've found: HN is open minded about intellectual inquiry as long as that inquiry doesn't challenge anything an average Californian already believes
arminiusreturns 6y ago
It's worth noting the Fed's owned gold certificates are held at what, $42? Things that make you go hmmmm....

simonw 6y ago

Brian Grubb writes an annual review of the year's best heists, and his review for 2017 was by far my favourite: https://uproxx.com/viral/best-heists-of-2017/ https://uproxx.com/viral/best-heists-of-2017/