Have you ever heard that figures don't lie but liars can figure? Most of what passes for "economic commentary" these days is closer to the latter than the former. As long as the "experts" make it all sound complicated the masses can be duped. But it is actually very simple. Our government is fleecing us and using the power of the unconstitutional Federal Reserve to do it. The US money supply is created from debt which didn't exist a moment before it was loaned to the government for the very purpose of creating it. Sound strange? It is. It's not high finance it's highway robbery, and the numbers are staggering. For a very sobering, real-time look at the drainage of our well-being and the erosion of our dollar, check out the following Debt Clock. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves for letting this continue. (Thanks to reader Clyde Keep for sending this along).
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I have contributed many posts on this blog detailing the perplexing operation of the fiat money system propagated by the Federal Reserve System in the United States. Incredibly, president Obama is now proposing even more power to the Fed! I don't agree or endorse everything Congressman Ron Paul says, but his comments in this video concerning this proposed expansion of control for the Fed are clear, candid, and correct. It is extremely important that We the People awaken to the dangersous waters in which we are swirling. Being informed is the first step to righting the ship. Please share this and other posts, as well as those on Orrin Woodward's blog, with anyone you can. The truth can make a difference! -
The following is from American Affairs magazine, January 1946 issue:
". . . given control of a central banking system and an inconvertible currency [a currency not backed by gold], a sovereign national government is finally free of money worries and needs no longer levy taxes for the purpose of providing itself with revenue. All taxation, therefore, should be regarded from the point of view of social and economic consequences."From that same article, Beardsley Ruml, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at that time, wrote:"The . . . purpose of federal taxes is to attain more equality of wealth and of income than would result from economic forces working alone."Then in February 2009, G. Edward Griffin wrote:"The federal government now could operate – even at its current level of spending – without levying any taxes whatsoever."These three quotes taken together are staggering. If they are true, they basically are saying that our government's Federal Reserve System is so effective as to "create" money out of nothing sufficient to cover its enormous spending needs. The Federal Income Tax Code is then superfluous. However, who can imagine the government not taking money it has gotten hundreds of millions of us accustomed to giving? Instead, these tax dollars are for the purpose of class warfare and the redistribution of income – in other words, statist control and socialism in support of our burgeoning welfare state.The more I scratch this itch the more I realize why first Thomas Jefferson and then later Andrew Jackson worked so vehemtly to dismantle the national banks of their eras. Is it even possible for someone to do it a third time?(Below are some images representing the fights Jefferson and Jackson had on their hands as they both struggled, ultimately successfully, to rid the United States of a national banking system. Click on each to enlarge).
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"The best way to destroy the Capitalist System is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens." — Lenin
"[Inflation] is the most unfair of all taxes because it falls most heavily on those who are least able to pay:the small wage earner and those on fixed incomes. It also punishes the thrifty by eroding the value of their savings." — G. Edward Griffin -
For the most part I am against multi-tasking. It demeans any task to which one is attending because it divides one’s full effort. Also, it clutters the mind. In the end, the result of multi-tasking is often shabby work and frazzled nerves.So much for theory. In practice, none of us can help a little multi-tasking in our lives. In many cases, and in contrast to my opening remarks, it can be downright stimulating. What am I talking about? The power of audio education.About fifteen years ago co-author Orrin Woodward turned me on to the power of listening to educational and informational recordings in my car. The habit quickly took root and hasn’t stopped since. I have listened to literally thousands of hours of recordings from many of the greatest minds, achievers, and authors of all time. I have heard mediocre talks and great ones, and in nearly every instance I came away with at least one new nugget of understanding or insight. It has cost me very little for this education, as most tapes (from the early days) and CDs are quite affordable, and in regards to time – it was going to be spent driving anyway. After a while I realized that I could continue listening to the same songs over and over wearing that groove in my brain deeper, or I could be even more entertained and enlightened by hearing new, invigorating information instead. I still play a little music now and then, after all, one can’t starve one’s soul, but I am constantly on the search for a great sermon, speech, talk, or educational recording that will make me a better Christian, leader, father, and citizen.I have heard it said that anything one studies for thirty minutes a day for a year makes one among the most informed on the topic. Three years of such study makes one an expert. If this is true, and I believe there is at least some validity to the spirit of that quote, then we can all significantly increase our expertise in many areas simply by properly converting our ever-growing driving times into educational opportunities. If you are like me, you can make up for a lack of collegiate educational completeness or compensate for formal education ‘narrowness.’ You can use such a program to grow your knowledge, awareness, understanding, and most importantly; yourself!Have you considered the power of a regular habit of audio learning? Do you have a program of training and/or education to keep you moving forward? If so, allow me to salute you, as you are in the minority. If not, please let this article inspire you to do so. I am convinced that once you make audio education a regular part of your driving habits you will never look back (unless, of course, someone is tailgating you).So listen up! -
Debasing currency has long been the craft of governments everywhere. By this method governments expand the money supply for their own immediate use, and thereby drive down the value of the currency in the hands of their constituents. This results in an invisible tax called inflation. This requires no vote or debate and happens quite invisibly. In fact, many people are falsely led to believe that inflation is rising prices. This is the effect of inflation, not inflation itself. Inflation itself is an increase in the money supply without any corresponding increase in value. People are also misled into believing that inflation over time is natural and unavoidable. This is also untrue. I have written of this before, but I can't help quoting Alan Greenspan from an article he wrote in 1966 before he became Chairman of the Federal Reserve. In this very revealing and honest assessment, Greenspan wrote of the consequences of this process of debasing currency:"The abandonment of the gold standard made it possible for the welfare statists to use the banking system as a means to an unlimited expansion of credit . . . In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There is no safe store of value. If there were, the government would have to make its holding illegal, as was done in the case of gold . . . The financial policy of the welfare state requires that there be no way for the owners of wealth to protect themselves.This is the shabby secret of the welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the 'hidden' confiscation of wealth."And don't let the term 'wealth' throw you, should you happen to think it doesn't include you; it does. Inflation affects every person that holds even one penny of currency. Inflation is the planned reduction of spending power of every penny in the hands of anyone and everyone (except the government, that is, who can just 'print' more for itself).Remember: Private property is the enemy of the welfare state. -
Socrates said, "the unexamined life is not worth living." I would modify his famous quote in this way: "the unexamined opinion is not worth repeating." In other words, we should be careful what positions we espouse until we are sure about what we are saying. Many people are quick to speak and slow to think when it should be the opposite, and many is the person trying to sound smart or noble by covering lack of knowledge with passion and anger.Let me give you another thought: the only thing worse than buying into partisan rhetoric is repeating it!The job of a patriotic American is to form his or her own opinion, not swallow whole some pre-programmed, teleprompted spin. We are too bright a people to fall for such duplicity. Each of us needs to dig in and gain our own, adult-level education about our history, government, economics, and public policy. We need to examine the facts as they really are. We need to be thoughtful, inquisitive, and healthily mistrusting. Become informed and run everything through a "spin filter."The biggest thing a bureaucracy fears is an educated populace. Freedom dies in a land of ignorance. So arm yourself with knowledge of the truth and fear no false doctrine. Remember, good wins out in the end. -
Greatness is available.
That simple sentence is so powerful I want to encourage you to read it again and really think about it:Greatness is available.Most people, however, never make the choice or the pursuit. Why? I believe it's because of the fear of rejection.Said another way, and to quote authors Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz, "your fear of hearing the word 'No' is the only thing standing between you and greatness."Now, isn't that an invigorating thought? (And don't you dare say 'no'!) -
For those unfamiliar with the Ludwig von Mises Institute, perhaps this article from adjunct fellow Art Carden will serve as an ample introduction. His essay is extremely clear, with the overall concept that not only do ideas have consequences, but they have a time-delay on their acceptance and implementation. If Carden is correct, we have much to hope for as the result of our ongoing efforts to educate ourselves and others on the truths of economics, leadership, and the principles of freedom. Please read the article carefully and let me know what you think. Of particular note, pay attention to the excerpt from usual-villain John Maynard Keynes, who in this instance shows incredible prescience.(Special thanks to Andrew Woodcox for turning me onto this article).
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