--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Money, first and foremost, is a medium of…" description: "\"Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. Government control of the money supply is censorshi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/l-neil-smith-3636_amendments_money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of_104658.png" --- # Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication… ![“Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. Government control of the money supply is censorship, a violation of the First Amendment. Inflation is a lie.” quote by L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/l-neil-smith-3636_amendments_money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of_104658.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/l-neil-smith-3636_amendments_money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of_104658.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f1/l-neil-smith-3636_amendments_money-first-and-foremost-is-a-medium-of_104658.png) > “Money, first and foremost, is a medium of communication, conveying the information we call 'price'. Government control of the money supply is censorship, a violation of the First Amendment. Inflation is a lie.” [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Money functions as a signaling system for value; controlling its supply equates to limiting speech, which the author likens to censorship. **In simple terms:** Money is a language of price; restricting it silences expression. Key Takeaway Monetary control can suppress informational freedom. Themes economics free speech government inflation Mood critical skeptical Type political commentary When to use this quote - policy debates on central banking - cryptocurrency adoption Key Concepts monetary theory constitutional rights Practical Applications - advocacy for monetary transparency - educational campaigns on inflation Questions to Reflect On - Can price signals be truly free without regulation? - What are the limits of equating money with speech? A Different Perspective The analogy oversimplifies complex economic mechanisms and legal definitions of speech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amendments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendments/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Control Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-money-390739/) [Conveying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conveying/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [First amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-amendment/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-control/) [Inflation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inflation/) [Inflation Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inflation-lie-1259533/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mediums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mediums/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Supply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-supply-1259534/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Price Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/price-government-1259535/) [Violation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violation/) ## Related quotes > [When you give government the power to control the money supply, it grows like a tumor until it extinguishes society itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/when-you-give-government-the-power-to-control-the-money-supply-it/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [I'm much more confident with crypto than with banks or fiat currency because I can actually control it, and the money supply is transparent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-voorhees/i-m-much-more-confident-with-crypto-than-with-banks-or-fiat-currency/) [Erik Voorhees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-voorhees/) > [If an economy in the doldrums could drift indefinitely, the price of government inaction might be graver by far than the consequences of bold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/if-an-economy-in-the-doldrums-could-drift-indefinitely-the-price-of/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [Any politico who's afraid of his constituents being armed, should be. 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The interest rate is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/when-they-so-called-target-the-interest-rate-what-they-re-doing-is/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [If government manages to establish paper tickets or bank credit as money, as equivalent to gold grams or ounces, then the government, as dominant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/if-government-manages-to-establish-paper-tickets-or-bank-credit-as/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [Simply put, the direct power over the money supply is the indirect power over the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/simply-put-the-direct-power-over-the-money-supply-is-the-indirect/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [By tying minimum wage to money supply, the poor's income would rise and fall with the rise and fall in money supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-keiser/by-tying-minimum-wage-to-money-supply-the-poor-s-income-would-rise/) [Max Keiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-keiser/) > [We shall take whatever action is necessary to contain the growth of the money supply. 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