The Fed Is The Issue Behind The Issues
Presidential hopeful Ron Paul is the only candidate who even talks about it (and makes sense about it!). Most people aren't even aware of it. The most important issue in the 2008 campaign is also the one most likely not to be recognized. It is the issue behind the issues, the issue that will drive the entire campaign. And yet, most discouragingly, it is the most important issue on which most Americans are likely to be ignorant on Election Day 2008.
Instead, we'll be aware of the buzz that the media has told us we need to know. We'll be told that inflation is under control and that all we need is a little more stimulus from the Fed, and that Federal spending is high but not completely out of control. We'll be reassured by the Republican and Democratic nominees (if Ron Paul isn't one of them) that their government can handle whatever comes along, and we'll believe it.
If Romney or McCain or Huckabee is the Republican nominee, we'll hear about how the Republicans are going to restore the economy, but that probably won't be enough to stop the Hillary express from pulling into Union Station in Washington DC. We know that it's the Republicans who have seen the economy go sour under their watch, and we'll remember that. Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, will be talking up her plans to "save" health care and restore a Democratic balance to society. And none of the talk will focus on how the Federal Reserve System continues to separate the rich from the poor. Indeed, everything but the Fed will be blamed.
The dollar will continue to plunge, and the Republicans will (correctly) be held responsible, except that the Democrats are also responsible. But ultimately, it's the Federal Reserve Board that will be responsible, except that publicly they're responsible to no one. That's what makes the dollar's continued destruction the responsibility of both the Republican and Democratic leadership, but it will make no headlines. It will gain no credence among the people. The American people will continue to be ignorant of what is bankrupting them, slowly, inexorably, over time.
Unless the Revolution gets involved, that is.
The Day After Super Duper Tuesday is Decision Day For The Revolution
As we approach Super Duper Tuesday and the awarding of nearly half of all delegates to the candidates, two things are becoming clear regarding the Paul campaign. (1) It will continue regardless of what happens on February 5th, and (2) his chances of winning the nomination will be almost nil if he doesn't win at least a handful of those primaries that day.
Some might say that this article is premature, given that we haven't even reached February 5th. I agree, in the sense that it's not over until it's over, but we also need to be thinking for the long term. Many commentators on this website and elsewhere around the Internet are already calling for the revolution to continue beyond the Paul campaign, and they're right. In fact, it will continue. The question is, what form and what path will it take?
No one knows the answer to that question, and that's why I think it's important to raise the Fed issue now, because the Fed is actually the issue behind all other issues.
If not for the Federal Reserve, the other countries around the world would not feel the sheer power, influence, and strength of the U.S. Government in all its fearsomeness. Yet, this fearsomeness is only as effective as the dollar is. Recent history has shown us over and over again that just because a country is a military superpower doesn't mean it will get its way. The Soviet Union used to be the other super power, but it finally collapsed under its own weight in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Just as America has been unable to effectively leverage its military superiority to win a lasting victory in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, so also the Soviet Union experienced their own Waterloo in Afghanistan. The reason the Soviets failed was partly due to the fact that military power isn't enough, but it was also due even more to the fact that their own economy was crumbling because their currency was so completely undermined by central planning.
Thus the strength of the dollar is what has separated the United States from the Soviet Union. So what happens when that strength is sapped, when it shows that it, too, cannot survive as a fiat currency? That's the question that most Americans will not face in 2008 because they won't even know that it's important. Their trusted media sources won't have told them that it's important.
The problem of the Federal Reserve requires nothing less than a revolution to overcome it. So isn't it handy that there's a revolution already happening!
The Continued Growth of a Revolution
What Paulites are learning is that their revolution is big, but it's not big enough yet to win an election, and the powers that be will do almost anything to keep it from winning. There is a great deal of education of America that has to take place before enough Americans will join it. There's no doubt that dissatisfaction has spread across the country, but Americans are loathe to join a revolution unless they have reason to believe that it actually embodies the solutions they need. And so far the majority hasn't shown a willingness to join the Paul revolution in large enough numbers. They're just not sure about it yet. Their media keep telling them that Paul is a kook and a racist, and that his supporters are just a bunch of angry white supremacists (none of which is true). The Paulites haven't succeeded in getting most of them to read up on Ron Paul and on what he stands for. They haven't succeeded in getting enough Americans to educate themselves.
This means that if the revolution hopes to succeed, it must become the educators. The revolution must become the teachers. The revolution must become the media.
So why do I think that the revolution's main message should be the Federal Reserve? The Fed is the lynchpin that holds every other major issue together. Just look at the list of major issues that are directly influenced by the Federal Reserve System:
Those are the big five in any election year, and 2008 will be no different. Many Paulites will want to throw in immigration and border issues as a major issue, and yet even that one is clearly dollar driven.
So what happens when every single issue is effectively driven by an organization (the Federal Reserve) which effectively answers to nobody but the hidden banking masters and which gets no "credit" (every pun intended) as being a major cause behind those problems? I'm not saying that the politicians aren't responsible for the boondoggles behind all those issues. Clearly they are. I'm saying that it's the Federal Reserve that continues to give the politicians' crazy solutions to those problems credence. It's the dollar's hegemony over the decades that has made all the big spending "solutions" work.
Now The Dollar Is Crashing
So what happens when the dollar is no longer there to help sweep the worst consequences of big government under the rug?
I believe we are closing in on a great crossroads in American history. For the first time, we will have to face the consequences of having given so much power to the Federal government backed by its central bankers nearly 100 years ago, with the founding of the Federal Reserve System and the creation of the IRS (both in the same year: 1913). The power to tax is the power to destroy, but as Karl Marx pointed out in his Communist Manifesto, "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws." Marx was wrong about so many things, but he was absolutely right when he recognized the importance of central banking to the success of Big Government.
[Correction: as some readers have pointed out below, that quote is actually atributable to Mayer Amschel Rothschild. I had picked up the wrong attribution at Wikiquote. However, the actual Marx quote from that same page is just as appropriate in many ways: "Money plays the largest part in determining the course of history."]
Most people don't think of central bankers as being communists, and yet they clearly share thinking in common with Marxists. When J.P. Morgan and his banking friends put the whole Federal Reserve central banking system together, they did it knowing that it would allow the major banking families to effectively run the country from behind the scenes, in the service of their own interests. Why be the politicians, when you can own the politicians? Every great wealthy family knows that you don't run things by doing it all yourself. Instead, you set things up so that your minions do the running for you, while you go enjoy yourself at the country club. Politicians were merely another set of employees to be hired, and the Federal Reserve System has enabled them to do just that...hire their political employees, without even having to do any job interviews.
It hasn't always worked out as well as Morgan and his cronies originally planned, but the wealth that has accrued to the bankers over the years has met and even exceeded all their hopes and expectations, at the expense of the rest of America and the world.
And still, most of America is ignorant of how important a role the Fed plays in its most valued political issues...not to mention the negative role it plays in undermining the finances of the other 95% of us who aren't wealthy enough to hire people to do all our work for us while we spend our days at the country club.
It Won't Be Easy, But It Can Be Done
Teaching America about how bad the Fed is for America will be a huge challenge, but I believe it's a challenge that Paulites can meet. The ability to produce massive amounts of YouTube videos, reader comments on news websites, letters to the editor, sign waving, literature handouts, etc. proves that Paulites are up to the task.
Further, it means that Paulites themselves are going to need to become even more educated about the Fed so that they can more effectively explain it to their families, friends, and neighbors. But again, this is something Paulites have been doing all along. It can be done.
"Hard Money" Must Become The Battle Cry
All issues must be reduced to sound bytes at some point in order to gain acceptance by the American masses. This is the great problem with politics, and it must be faced where the Federal Reserve issue is concerned. Fortunately, "Hard Money" is a ready made catch phrase. The revolution should play up Hard Money and make it the focus of every issue it addresses as we move into the post-Super Duper Tuesday phase of the revolution's development.
I challenge all Paulites to give thought to how to implement Hard Money as the new battle cry of the revolution.
©2008 Walt Thiessen, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Sunday, January 20, 2008
Last modified: Sunday, January 20, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of Walt Thiessen only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Walt Thiessen is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Sat
Date: 2008-01-20 05:42:05
If you want to know about the Federal Reserve watch this video and encourage every one you know to watch it to.Email as many of friends and family and put the link in there and ask them to watch it, and then tell them to email their friends and family to.
If we all do this we can wake up as many people as possible and save our world.
All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. If we all do above which will take less than 5 minutes we may be able to stop this evil, all it takes are few good men.
America Freedom to Fascismhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5355374476580235299
Kind Regards
Posted By: badmedia
Date: 2008-01-20 05:50:04
Here's how I explain the federal reserve in simple terms.
Lets say there is a total of $100 in the world. You have $10. You have 10% of the nations wealth.
There are a total of 20 apples in the world you can buy. Each apple based on the amount of supply, to the amount of currency comes out to be worth $5 each(good apples lol).
Since you have 10% of the wealth, you can also buy 2 apples, which is 10% of the apples. Pretty simple economics here.
Now, throw in the federal reserve. The federal reserve creates another $100. Now there is $200 in circulation. Without them having taken any money from you, you have now lost 50% of your wealth in value. Instead of having 10% of the wealth, you now have only 5%. Since there is $200 in circulation, but only 20 apples, each apple is now worth $10, so the price of apples goes up. As you only had $10 to start with, you can now only buy 1 apple, when before you could buy 2. Inflation of course.
On the flip side, the fed and it's wealth just stole half of everyone's wealth. With the $100 created, whoever gets that has enough money to buy 10 apples. And they didn't do anything other than print up the money to do so. Even worse, it's not announced when this is done, so it takes the market awhile to catch up. So when this money is issued, they actually get to buy the apples for $5, and thus they can basically buy up the entire market. Obviously this is all simplified for educational purposes.
Income tax goes to pay interest on this, which takes even more away from the Americans. Basically this is done to help keep the value of the dollar up, since the money you pay in is taken back out of circulation. So in reality, not only do they take half the value when they create the money, they will take $4 of your $10 as well for taxes.
This is done under the excuse of services for the people, but it's about like taking $100 from someone, giving them back $20 and telling them you are doing them a favor.
Most people mention the 96% the dollar has lost in value, but since money is just a representation of energy, it's really just a constant grab of resources of the American people. Or as some people call it, economic slavery.
As Ben Franklin said, a man in debt is but a slave. What do you suppose that makes a nation in debt, with an economy based on debt? Is there any wonder so many of the founding fathers were against a central bank and wanted sound money?
Posted By: Sat
Date: 2008-01-20 06:10:56
The link in my post above does not work for some reason just copy and past the URL in your browser.America Freedom to Fascism
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5355374476580235299
Kind Regards
Posted By: Chad_Underdonk
Date: 2008-01-20 06:40:09
Okay boys and girls, here's a new thriller for ya. Dubya is talking about giving us all a nice healthy "save the economy & love your government" check for a few hundred dollars each. This money will almost surely not come out of anyone else's budget, and since it is at the behest of Ben Bernanke you can bet that Dubya will gladly take out a new loan "in our behalf" to pay us that money to stimulate the economy.
So in essence, we will be devaluing our money to give ourselves a check. I dunno about you, but as far as I know there is only one peaceful way to stop this kind of monkeying with the economy. As a point of fact I didn't have the money before they printed it, so I'm no worse off...other than the devluation of the rest of my resources, so I've decided that I will give whatever I get to the Ron Paul Revolution. I will either give it directly, or use it to buy supplies to inform people what is really going on. I find it semi-amusing that the same money they are going to "counterfit" to give us is the same money I will use to try to stop them from"counterfeiting" more.
If you don't hear from me again after they start issuing checks it will be becaue my wife skinned me alive (because she isn't fully convinced about Dr. Paul yet). Realistically though any heartache I get from not personally spending the newly minted money stolen from all of us will be nothing compared to the blood, sweat, and tears of the patriots that have stood against tyranny on our behalf before.
Vote for Paul with your hearts, your minds, your enthusiasm, your sweat, and your wallets. If we can reach enough people we can take back our stolen country.
Posted By: Edie Calhoun
Date: 2008-01-20 08:28:44
Great article!
I don't think many politicians understand this issue or any economic issues at all. They make promises to all interest groups without a thought as to where the money will come from. They seem to feel that America has an endless pot of gold (I wish!) at the end of some imaginary rainbow that will allow this to continue.
They talk about "fixing", "revamping", tweaking and twiddling with Social Security. I never planned on having SS myself. I figured that it would be gone by my retirement. Of course, I am forced to pay into the scheme regardless, money I would have rather saved or invested elsewhere.
For the second time in my working life I have been robbed of my assets by a "bust" created by collusion between the Federal Reserve and Wall Street. My direct savings are losing value by the minute as the dollar plunges. I am sweating now hoping that maybe there will be some sort of retirement for me at all.
Americans will never be able to stand up and take responsibility for themselves as long as the Federal Reserve exists. No matter how one tries to save we can all be wiped out almost overnight through no action of our own. If an individual does something stupid and destroys their own wealth that is one thing. But to have faceless, nameless bankers picking our pockets is an outrage.
As long as there is a Federal Reserve we will have to keep Social Security. As people get older they reach a point where they cannot recover from the endless banditry of the Federal Reserve. They are wealthy one day and much poorer the next with the booms and busts.
America has a huge group of baby boomers poised to retire. Many have been decimated by this latest Fed/Wall Street scam. I would find some of these people and ask them to share their stories about how they have lost wealth.
Then I would show how the wealth has been transferred to others at Wall Street firms in the forms of huge bonuses for the CEOs who are rewarded for doing a bad job.
The Federal Reserve acts as a huge wealth redistribution scam. The divide between "haves" and "have nots" is growing. With some firm examples I believe that any American could be tutored in what is happening. It is simply robbery that cannot be prosecuted.
I have to go to work now to try to re-earn what was once mine and has been stolen from me. I am worth a lot less than I was a year ago. I cannot get ahead of these bust cycles. Like the Energizer bunny, they keep coming and coming and coming.......
Posted By: tim
Date: 2008-01-20 08:42:25
great article. Nixon getting us completely off the gold standard is why Dr. Paul got into politics. Why should it not be the focus of his political life and leadership. "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws" that was rothchild......maybe marx repeated it but quote is generally given to rothchild
Posted By: Mark Leclerc
Date: 2008-01-20 10:18:54
Thank you for this article~ you are DEADLY CORRECT, sir!
For more excellent links for info about money, debt and the Fed see www.dollardaze.org T
The article "America's hidden war against the central banks" is a great summary of our country's struggle and eventual loss of this battle. Also, find the link down the left side "Dark side of the lookinglass" explaining how Wall St. is controlled through the same groups tied to the bank cartels.
Consiracies cannot survive once the majority is informed! We will win this fight because they only have ignorance and propaganda in defense. The only question is whether this will end through education or bloodshed.
Posted By: Len Cumbow
Date: 2008-01-20 10:21:20
Albert Einstein said, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." Discussion of the Federal Reserve system is case in point. We can make simple pronouncements about the gold standard and monetary policy. We can demand that the Fed be abolished. We can quote facts and figures about trade imbalances, the national debt and interest rates. We can point fingers at politicians, internationl bankers and corporate moguls.
The problem is that while all of these things are important and part of the puzzle, most people talk about them without an understanding of the big picture. This results in a cacophany of liberatian sound bites that only confuses the audience that we must reach.
In the process of trying to make things simple, we make them too simple. This results in an argument without clarity and persuasiveness. This is not to say that the money issue cannot be understood by the average person, but it's not exactly trivial. A seventh grader can get it, but not a fourth grader. And nobody can get it without a little mental effort. Most things worth understanding take some effort. But once that effort has been made, all the other pieces easily fall into place. Everything becomes clear.
We cannot educate people sufficiently unless we understand the issue at a fundamental level. Most of us think we do, but we don't. Even if we do, learning is hard work on the part of the learner. And I'm still learning. At best we can guide people to the needed understanding. But in the end, each person must actually exert some mental effort. We can't do it for them.
The very first thing that people must understand is what money is and isn't. Until the concept of money is second nature, the rest of the money-related issues cannot be understood. Without true understanding, we're just blindfolded kids swinging at pinatas.
To that end, I generally point people Rothbard's "What Has Government Done to Our Money?". I send them this: "Please listen to this audio book for the quintessential exposition on the subject of money: http://www.mises.org/media.aspx?action=category&ID=92 or read it at http://www.mises.org/money.asp."
Where people go from there is up to them.
Len Cumbow
Posted By: Ray of hope
Date: 2008-01-20 10:21:49
Your quote about who controls the money and who writes the nations law is not Marx quote, but one made by Banker A. Rothchild, FYI.
Posted By: Jim_NYC
Date: 2008-01-20 11:27:45
May I suggest "Get Hard" as our rallying cry?
The double entendre will spur conversation.
Posted By: the statist
Date: 2008-01-20 13:08:41
Why? So he can watch his campaign go down in flames? Most American voters don't care about this issue and see it as a kook theory that has no evidence of impacting thier lives whatsoever. I swear you guys have a good hearts, but you just don't know how to play politics. I swear, this is like watching a toy poodle taking on a Great Dane. I guess that you guys do know this, or you lie to yourself and tell yourself that you are the "silent" majority.
Posted By: Web Smith
Date: 2008-01-20 13:12:59
The problem is that the control by the FRB is embedded a little too deeply for people to want to believe it or consider it as a possibility. When you try to talk to people about it, they hear what you're telling them as some kind of fringe conspiracy theory. You are asking them to buy into something that is opposed to the mainstream reality that they grew up with and live every day.
As you look into the FRB and the control that they plan and exert over us, you have to ask yourself questions and be able to logically link things together. Why is the media so biased against Ron Paul? As it turns out, a Rothschild and Rupert Murdoch are on the Fox News board. The Rothschilds are major share holders of the FRB and the Crown. Ron's desire to get rid of the FRB is a threat to their existance. Rupert is a Clinton supporter. Chairman of the Board of Time Warner is Richard Parsons. Richard is the grandson of a former grounds keeper on the Rockefeller estate. He worked for Nelson when Nelson was governor and Vice President under Ford. Richard's office is in Rockefeller Center. The Rockefellers are also major share holders of the FRB and the Crown. Ron's stance on the FRB threatens the Rockefellers. There is no 1+1=2. There is only 1+1 logically equals 2.
Being able to take these logical steps leads you to a broader range of understanding. How was Giuliani able to become mayor of NYC and implement poilicies that most New Yorkers are opposed to when the strong majority of New Yorkers didn't want Giuliani in the first place? Richard Parsons met and befriended Giuliani when Giuliani worked for Deputy Attorney General McNulty. Giuliani becomes mayor. Richard Parsons is expected to be the next mayor. 1+1 logically equals 2.
By now, all of this sounds like some kind of fictional mystery novel when it is the actually reality that the owners of the FRB manipulate every day . In the unlikely event that you are still onboard this logical train, you might ask what is behind Bloomberg's sudden interest in running for President as an indpendent. Richard Parsons worked on Bloomberg's transition team as he took office. Giuliani is blowing it and the Rockefellers have had to distance themselves as Rudy has become more decadent, blatant, and shifted his loyalties to other investment bankers. Rudy is now rich and would rather stay in Florida and party than run for President. Bloomberg could be a warning or simply a tool to be used to influence the process. What ever the case, Bloomberg did not decide to do this on his own. He was told to. 1+1 logically equals 2.
The man who introduced this thought to me years ago is a retired 80 year old military officer who's fierce patriotism can not be questioned. He is a little right of right but he is still capable of intelligent thought. The only reason that I gave this idea of control by the FRB any thought is because I respect him and have known him for so long. I know that he is not a conspiracy nut.
In order to make the FRB a major campaign issue, someone who is repected and well known would have to come forward. It would take someone with the presence to overcome the ideas of fringe loonies and conspiracy theory nuts that are being portrayed by the media.
For right now, the message should be that Ron's ideas are not new. They are the ideas that made this country great. All of Ron's ideas worked before and, in fact, they worked much better than the ideas currently in use.
Posted By: Dave
Date: 2008-01-21 08:10:43
The Money Masters
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936
The gold standard created widespread poverty when it was first instituted in the 1800s. It's great for those who control the gold, bad for Joe Average. The IMF/World Bank international bankers now control the lion's share. If you think things are getting bad now, just let someone put us back on the gold standard. Gold has had little to nothing to do with the Fed printing money for a long time. They increase it and contract it at their whim, creating bubbles and destroying them, speading wealth and taking it away.
Posted By: Suidae
Date: 2008-01-22 10:26:12
One imortant introduction that everyone should watch is Paul Grignon's 47-minute animated "Debt as Money"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279
This lays out how the system came about and how it works.
Knowing what I know, I cannot help but wonder how Ron Paul's idea to go back to a gold standard could possibly help.
Money is just an item used in trade for other items; it is barter. It is useful because it is ubiquitous and because it cannot be couterfeited. That is, everybody recognizes that it is easy to trade and that nobody can just print more of it, effectively stealing from everyone else.
Precious metals have historically been useful as money because they are difficult to counterfeit and widely recognized and accepted.
I have objections to money backed by assets like gold because such money does not meet the currency needs of the modern world.
First, asset backed currency can be manipulated by organizations with lots of power. This is why banks have historically favored a gold standard, it is easy to control. See the many videos referenced in this thread for examples of how and when this has been done.
Second, the supply of precious metals is limited and grows only slowly. This means that when an economy grows quickly the quantity of money cannot also grow quickly to supply the necessary liquidity. This causes many problems including shortages of cash (this was one of the problems during the great depression, no one had money because there wasn't enough in circulation (thanks to the Fed)).
Third, if money is based on more than one metal then there is a constantly changing exchange rate between them. For example, silver is an industrial metal that is consumed in many manufacturing processes. It's value changes depending on supply and demand. These fluctuations cause uncertanty and complicate the managment of the money supply.
Fourth, we do not need the anti-counterfeiting properties of precious metals, we have developed other means of protecting the issuance of currency.
The biggest problem with our money is the fact that it is debt-based, a condition created by the practice of fractional reserve banking and that necessitates eternal and accelerating growth, one of the factors that contributes to our rampant consumerism and the mindless and distructive extraction of non-renewable natural resources. Gold and silver backed money /would not change this/. Fractional reserve practices have been around for hundreds of years and were used to manipulate the United States Dollar long before it was taken off of the gold standard.
Just the elimination of the practice of fractional reserve banking would go a long way toward fixing our monetary issues. Only the federal government should have the power to create new money, never a bank. In order for the government to have the ability to effectively create money, the currency should be fiat, there is no need for the government to hold large reserves of metals, when it needs to create money to address specific economic conditions, it may do so simply by issuing it (as coin, paper or electronically, and in accordance with sound economic engineering practice).