I didn’t mean the Ministry would steal Muggle gold and put it in the Ministry fund. I meant some Minister, or Head Auror, or other well-connected person, would steal it for himself (plus bribes to the guards to look the other way).
And yes, I totally believe that Muggle ministers would do that if they could, and in fact have done so many times in Muggle history.
I didn’t mean the Ministry would steal Muggle gold and put it in the Ministry fund. I meant some Minister, or Head Auror, or other well-connected person, would steal it for himself (plus bribes to the guards to look the other way).
Oh, right. Yeah, that’s a bit more plausible, I have to admit.
And yet … still very hard. Unless you’re already really really rich? I guess?
And yes, I totally believe that Muggle ministers would do that if they could, and in fact have done so many times in Muggle history.
It used to be that governments would debase their coinage whenever they needed money. Today, of course, we’re all taught that constant inflation is good for us.
Which, while admittedly very annoying to those poor suckers who already possess money, is rather different to launching a strike team to physically empty bank vaults.
Everyone does what they can. There have been many incidencts when Muggle governments expropriated privately owned gold (or other riches). They wouldn’t do it to themselves, of course, so the central bank vaults remained safe.
But the point is, only the arbiters of ultimate power (or their clients) can be truly rich; if anyone else is richer than they are, they will tend to take the riches by force. In the HP-verse, wizards have the ultimate power.
Except wizards don’t view themselves as the “arbiters of ultimate power” over the Muggles. Statute of Secrecy.
Now Voldemort, I admit, would probably have done something like this once he took power. Or Grindelwald. But neither of them won, so… manifestly, no wizard has successfully seized power to rule over the Muggles (except maybe waay back and it got covered up) because the SoS is still a thing.
I didn’t mean the Ministry would steal Muggle gold and put it in the Ministry fund. I meant some Minister, or Head Auror, or other well-connected person, would steal it for himself (plus bribes to the guards to look the other way).
And yes, I totally believe that Muggle ministers would do that if they could, and in fact have done so many times in Muggle history.
Oh, right. Yeah, that’s a bit more plausible, I have to admit.
And yet … still very hard. Unless you’re already really really rich? I guess?
Well, maybe via war...
Nope, sometimes the government just steals everyone’s gold.
That … doesn’t seem like a great example.
It used to be that governments would debase their coinage whenever they needed money. Today, of course, we’re all taught that constant inflation is good for us.
Which, while admittedly very annoying to those poor suckers who already possess money, is rather different to launching a strike team to physically empty bank vaults.
Everyone does what they can. There have been many incidencts when Muggle governments expropriated privately owned gold (or other riches). They wouldn’t do it to themselves, of course, so the central bank vaults remained safe.
But the point is, only the arbiters of ultimate power (or their clients) can be truly rich; if anyone else is richer than they are, they will tend to take the riches by force. In the HP-verse, wizards have the ultimate power.
Except wizards don’t view themselves as the “arbiters of ultimate power” over the Muggles. Statute of Secrecy.
Now Voldemort, I admit, would probably have done something like this once he took power. Or Grindelwald. But neither of them won, so… manifestly, no wizard has successfully seized power to rule over the Muggles (except maybe waay back and it got covered up) because the SoS is still a thing.