We've Shot Ourselves In The Foot Eleven Times Over
"The "powers-that-be" will not relinquish power, authority, wealth or perks voluntarily. They have "made a mess of it" but accountability is..."
by Gary Christenson of The Deviant Investor
Serious problems affect Americans. Problems first, solutions at the end!
We did what to ourselves? Our representatives, senators, and Presidents, supposedly acting on our behalf, voted for and created what history has shown are huge monetary and fiscal mistakes.
Some will disagree, but consider this partial list:
1 - Central banking and The Federal Reserve Act: Enough money was spread around Washington D.C. to purchase the passage of this self-serving banking monstrosity. It was signed into law by President Wilson over a century ago.
David Stockman has a clear assessment and firm opinions regarding the danger and destructiveness of the Central Bank. His statement is:
"Folks, these people aren't totally stupid. They have amassed extraordinary power and plenary dominance over the nation's $19 trillion capitalist economy only by assiduously cultivating the mother of all Big Lies. Namely, the myth that private capitalism is dangerously unstable and possessed of an economic death wish for periodic cyclical collapses, which can be forestalled only by the deft interventions of the central bank.
"That's self-serving malarkey, of course. Every recession of the modern Keynesian era has been caused by the Federal Reserve, and most especially the calamity of 2008-2009. And the "recovery" from that one, as well as those stretching back to the 1950s, was owing to the inherent regenerative powers of the free market, not the interest rate and credit supply machinations of the Fed.
"So what we really have is a case of the monetary Wizard of Oz. There is nothing behind the Eccles Building curtain except a posse of essentially incompetent economic kibitzers who spend 90% of the time slamming the same old "buy" key on the Fed's digital printing press, while falsely claiming credit for the inherent growth propensity of private capitalism."
2 - Fiat Currencies: When the currency is backed by nothing it will become worthless. Voltaire recognized this fact centuries ago when he said, "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value - zero."
Dollar bills (paper and digital) are "Notes" - DEBTS of the Federal Reserve. They are not money, but are merely an "IOU" issued by the Fed. We are legally required to use these "IOUs" for taxes and commerce.
3 - Fractional Reserve Banking: Allowing commercial banks to loan dollars into existence creates rising prices and much mischief. The Treasury will not condone individuals counterfeiting Federal Reserve Notes, but they allow commercial banks to do the equivalent.
4 - Too Big To Fail: They have created the myth that certain banks are too large and must not be allowed to fail. The Fed and large banks promoted this self-serving nonsense.
5 - Regulatory Capture: Create an agency to oversee banks (pharmaceutical companies, military contractors, securities sales etc.) and staff the agency with "tainted" members from the same industry.
Example: The SEC did not discover the Madoff scam even after receiving detailed analysis from Harry Markpolous showing how to prove the Ponzi scheme. Madoff confessed and the SEC was late to the game.
6 - Derivatives: They are profitable for banks at the expense of the economy. Failed derivatives nearly killed the economy in 2008. A larger disaster is coming.
7 - Banks Own and Strongly Influence Politicians and the Media: No discussion needed.
8 - We Live In a Credit Based World: Banks skim a piece off most transactions. Has "financializing" everything improved the lives of the citizens? What happens if credit dries up - again - as it did in 2008? Will existing bank loans be called, will ATM's cease functioning, will world trade crash?
9 - War on Cash: Banks demand maximum control, which means they want our assets, liabilities and transactions digitized inside their world. If all assets are "banked," the only escape is cash - UNLESS CASH IS OUTLAWED. Once assets are "banked" then banks can confiscate assets via negative interest rates, transaction fees, and monthly charges.
10 - Central Banks Lowered Interest Rates to Near Zero: Rates went negative in Europe. Your "high interest" checking account probably pays less than 0.05% interest. Savers, insurance companies, and pension plans have been damaged by low interest rates, but those low rates benefitted bank profits.
11 - U.S. Government Deficit Spending: The Treasury borrows every month, spends more than its revenues, increases debt, and pretends all is well. The "debt ceiling" is a joke. Read 38,000 Tons of Poison.
George Carlin: "It's a big club and you ain't in it."
SOLUTIONS:
If you aren't a member of the political and financial elite, you're not in "The Club." All is not lost, but non-members must protect themselves. We should admit:
Fiat currencies are corrupt. The dollar has been devalued by about 98% in the century since the Fed was created. Because debt and spending will accelerate in the next decade, the rate of devaluation will increase.The financial system has failed to meet the needs of the bottom 95%. According to official and flawed data, CPI adjusted wages have been stagnant or have declined since President Nixon severed the dollar from gold in 1971. The reality is worse because this data is produced by the agency that calculates the flawed cost of living statistics.The global economy is overwhelmed by debt - over $230 trillion. The U.S. economy is in debt over $60 trillion. Official U.S. government debt exceeds $20 trillion. This debt will be repaid in devalued dollars - or it will default. The (failed) solution to an excessive debt problem has been - and will continue to be - MORE DEBT!The "powers-that-be" will not relinquish power, authority, wealth or perks voluntarily. They have "made a mess of it" but accountability is no longer relevant. The Fed does NOT have your back....Given the above, protect yourself!
It is time to exchange digital and paper assets into real assets - silver, gold, land, fine art, apartment buildings - whatever will retain value as the stock, bond and currencies bubbles implode. Even Greenspan warns about the bond and stock bubbles.
WHAT STOCK BUBBLE?
Bullion dealers can help convert digital assets into real assets. My first choice is silver, not Netflix, not Amazon, not the NASDAQ 100, and not bonds. Do your own due diligence, but protect your savings and retirement with hard assets.