Research the concept of fractional reserve banking, and keep in mind the idea behind counterfeiting. Pay special attention to the process behind the creation of a loan, and where the money actually comes from. Also, check out the mathematical possibility of all debt actually being paid off. (Hint: there will ALWAYS be more debt than assets.)
Then, look up legal tender laws which protect the banking monopoly’s fiat currency from competitive forms of money.
Then, study the founding fathers’ views on the Bank of England, and the Coinage Act of 1792. The rarity of gold and silver kept the US government from spending too much and embarking on unsustainable, empire-building ventures, which is what crashed the British Empire.
This thing is a scam that’s been going on for hundreds of years.
If by 'this thing' you mean 'fiat money' then I understand where you're coming from...and if, given that, you mean you disagree with the fed taking us off the gold standard to federal reserve notes instead of silver certificates, then I think I'm close to agreeing that was a bad decision. Could the USA exist as a 'service based' economy on the gold standard? Pretty sure we'd have to become a 'manufacturing based' economy again to 'go back to the good old days', wouldn't we? Does Paul have a way to get there? I get the feeling we'd both agree that a lot of laws MUST be repealed to get there (about 50-60 years of Dem congress laws would be a good start).