Secretive Banking Cartels Enslave Us

[Ross]

Secretive Banking Cartels Enslave Us
by Ron Paul

The debt ceiling debate is providing plenty of opportunity for political theater in Washington. Proponents of raising the debt ceiling are throwing around the usual scare tactics and misinformation in order to intimidate opponents into accepting more debt and taxes. It is important to distinguish the truth from the propaganda.

First of all, politicians need to understand that without real change default is inevitable. In fact, default happens every day through monetary policy tricks. Every time the Federal Reserve engages in more quantitative easing and devalues the dollar, it is defaulting on the American people by eroding their purchasing power and inflating their savings away. The dollar has lost nearly 50% of its value against gold since 2008. The Fed claims inflation is 2% or less over the past few years; however economists who compile alternate data show a 9% inflation rate if calculated more traditionally. Alarmingly, the administration is talking about changing the methodology of the CPI calculation yet again to hide the damage of the government's policies. Changing the CPI will also enable the government to avoid giving seniors a COLA (cost of living adjustment) on their social security checks, and raise taxes via the hidden means of "bracket creep." This is a default. Just because it is a default on the people and not the banks and foreign holders of our debt does not mean it doesn't count.


Politicians also need to acknowledge that our debt is unsustainable. For decades our government has been spending and promising far more than it collects in taxes. But the problem is not that the people are not taxed enough. The government has managed to run up $61.6 trillion in unfunded liabilities, which works out to $528,000 per household. A tax policy that would aim to extract even half that amount of money from American families would be unimaginably draconian, and not unlike attempting to squeeze blood from a turnip. This is, unequivocally, a spending problem brought about by a dramatically inflated view of the proper role of government in a free society.


Perhaps the most abhorrent bit of chicanery has been the threat that if a deal is not reached to increase the debt by August 2nd, social security checks may not go out. In reality, the Chief Actuary of Social Security confirmed last week that current Social Security tax receipts are more than enough to cover current outlays. The only reason those checks would not go out would be if the administration decided to spend those designated funds elsewhere. It is very telling that the administration would rather frighten seniors dependent on social security checks than alarm their big banking friends, who have already received $5.3 trillion in bailouts, stimulus and quantitative easing. This instance of trying to blackmail Congress into tax increases by threatening social security demonstrates how scary it is to be completely dependent on government promises and why many young people today would jump at the chance to opt out of Social Security altogether.

We are headed for rough economic times either way, but the longer we put it off, the greater the pain will be when the system implodes. We need to stop adding more programs and entitlements to the problem. We need to stop expensive bombing campaigns against people on the other side of the globe and bring our troops home. We need to stop allowing secretive banking cartels to endlessly enslave us through monetary policy trickery. And we need to drastically rethink government's role in our lives so we can get it out of the way and get back to work.

See the Ron Paul File

July 20, 2011

The Dollar, Gold and the Quality of Money
by Charles Kadlec
Forbes

Recently by Michael Pollaro: The US Government's Fiscal Plight, an Enormous Problem Without a Solution?

Is gold money?

That question, directed to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke by Congressman Ron Paul in last week's hearings before the House Financial Services Committee, strikes terror in the heart of all central bankers.

Bernanke looked stunned and then answered, "No: Gold is an asset."

The rising price of gold reflects global uncertainties, he explained. "The reason that people hold gold is as a protection against what we call tail risks: really, really bad outcomes."

The daily headlines report those potential risks: governments needing bailouts, from Greece to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; the possibility that the euro will splinter; runaway deficit spending in the U.S.


With every headline, it is becoming increasingly apparent how much the governing class has overreached. Those who believe in government are simply running out of other people's money. For example, President Obama's call to reverse the tax break given to owners of corporate jets in his 2009 stimulus bill would supposedly raise $300 million a year in revenue, enough to cover less than two hours of current deficit spending. Even if the Federal government could tax 100% of personal income in excess of $250,000 a year, it would collect little more than half of the revenue needed to balance the budget.


These real world results mock the conventional wisdom that given the power to spend, borrow, tax and print money, elite public servants can manage the economy and protect the average individual against the vicissitudes of life. Instead, government itself has become a source of systemic risk, and a direct threat to our prosperity and liberty.

At the center of this political upheaval is the quality of money itself. "Is gold money?" is a show stopper because it raises the questions: "What is money and what power should government have to manipulate its value?

The answers to these questions reveal how our most basic trust in government has been betrayed.

When you or I accept dollars in exchange for providing goods and services, we do so trusting that when we spend those dollars, they will be accepted for an equivalent amount of goods and services. That's how money frees us from a barter economy.

Trust is always an assessment of some future action. Making a grounded assessment requires us to understand who is making the promise, what action they are promising, and whether they are sincere and competent to fulfill their promise.

When an individual, company or government has a good credit rating, we are saying that we trust they will keep their promise to pay off their debts in the future.

So it is with the value of money. Today Bernanke is making the promise effectively to "do his best" to achieve the Fed's dual mandate of achieving maximum employment and stable prices.

[thatsMRSc2u]

Secretive Banking Cartels Enslave Us
by Ron Paul

The debt ceiling debate is providing plenty of opportunity for political theater in Washington. Proponents of raising the debt ceiling are throwing around the usual scare tactics and misinformation in order to intimidate opponents into accepting more debt and taxes. It is important to distinguish the truth from the propaganda.

First of all, politicians need to understand that without real change default is inevitable. In fact, default happens every day through monetary policy tricks. Every time the Federal Reserve engages in more quantitative easing and devalues the dollar, it is defaulting on the American people by eroding their purchasing power and inflating their savings away. The dollar has lost nearly 50% of its value against gold since 2008. The Fed claims inflation is 2% or less over the past few years; however economists who compile alternate data show a 9% inflation rate if calculated more traditionally. Alarmingly, the administration is talking about changing the methodology of the CPI calculation yet again to hide the damage of the government's policies. Changing the CPI will also enable the government to avoid giving seniors a COLA (cost of living adjustment) on their social security checks, and raise taxes via the hidden means of "bracket creep." This is a default. Just because it is a default on the people and not the banks and foreign holders of our debt does not mean it doesn't count.


Politicians also need to acknowledge that our debt is unsustainable. For decades our government has been spending and promising far more than it collects in taxes. But the problem is not that the people are not taxed enough. The government has managed to run up $61.6 trillion in unfunded liabilities, which works out to $528,000 per household. A tax policy that would aim to extract even half that amount of money from American families would be unimaginably draconian, and not unlike attempting to squeeze blood from a turnip. This is, unequivocally, a spending problem brought about by a dramatically inflated view of the proper role of government in a free society.


Perhaps the most abhorrent bit of chicanery has been the threat that if a deal is not reached to increase the debt by August 2nd, social security checks may not go out. In reality, the Chief Actuary of Social Security confirmed last week that current Social Security tax receipts are more than enough to cover current outlays. The only reason those checks would not go out would be if the administration decided to spend those designated funds elsewhere. It is very telling that the administration would rather frighten seniors dependent on social security checks than alarm their big banking friends, who have already received $5.3 trillion in bailouts, stimulus and quantitative easing. This instance of trying to blackmail Congress into tax increases by threatening social security demonstrates how scary it is to be completely dependent on government promises and why many young people today would jump at the chance to opt out of Social Security altogether.

We are headed for rough economic times either way, but the longer we put it off, the greater the pain will be when the system implodes. We need to stop adding more programs and entitlements to the problem. We need to stop expensive bombing campaigns against people on the other side of the globe and bring our troops home. We need to stop allowing secretive banking cartels to endlessly enslave us through monetary policy trickery. And we need to drastically rethink government's role in our lives so we can get it out of the way and get back to work.

FIRST thing you ever posted I agree with......but dont get used to it

[Ross]

FIRST thing you ever posted I agree with......but dont get used to it

You know that can't be true, because you keep coming back for more.

By the way this has been going on for years. Our money is simply a house made of a deck of cards controlled by the super rich and it is just waiting to collapse.
Have a great day.

[thatsMRSc2u]

By the way this has been going on for years. Our money is simply a house made of a deck of cards controlled by the super rich and it is just waiting to collapse.
Have a great day.

uh...........DUH

Hate to break it to you Skippy but you AIN'T the oracle of political enlightenment that you think you are.

[Ross]

uh...........DUH

Hate to break it to you Skippy but you AIN'T the oracle of political enlightenment that you think you are.

I have claimed to be nothing but a crazy old fart, and all I do is ask questions, so where do you get off?
You really seem to have a problem with me and I hope it passes soon.
I'd not like to see you get ulcers from it.
Life is far to short as age will eventually let you know.

TTFN

[thatsMRSc2u]

 

You really seem to have a problem with me and I hope it passes soon.

  nah not really.......just killin a little time readin........like to tweak the noses of condescending people. Not a problem

    You have a nice day now y'hear?