Slashdot Mirror

Are you really so callous that you'd torpedo the whole economy just to punish a few people you don't like?

Being callous has nothing to do with it. The US economy is an unsalvageable wreck. Where is that $700 Billion dollar bailout coming from when the nation is already $10 Trillion in debt? They're going to print it. They're going to rob every hardworking American of their savings via massive inflation and destroy the economy for the sake of a privileged few. It's time we return to a constitutionally mandated gold standard so they cannot rob the poor and give to the rich by printing money again. Since it has been almost 40 years since there was anything resembling legal tender in this country, I suggest we declare a jubilee and start over... that's really the only fair thing left to do. Sure, it will ruin our credit as a nation, but frankly, it's ruined already anyway. Additional reading:

• Depression era laws undone
• Nobody cares if the Fed prints money until it is completely worthless
• What they didn't tell you about the housing market collapse on TV

I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. — Woodrow Wilson, in regards to the creation of the Fed

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. — US Constitution, Article 1, Section 10

Last year Ron Paul introduced the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2007 which would make alternate currencies legal, though not change other aspects of what you can do with currencies (e.g. money laundering would still be illegal).

Few young people realize that until the 1964-1968 time period it was possible to bring your dollars to the government and get precious metal on demand. This gave the dollar real worth. Since that time, the government has found that it can simply make more money out of thin air and spend it on government programs to generate votes. As with any supply and demand equation, when they start running the printing presses to make more dollars, the dollars you have in you bank account become worth less. You're losing money value and the government is gaining money value, but your 'taxes' are low. One can see this in inflation charts which start to skyrocket in the 1970's, relative to decades previous. Interesting note: if we measured inflation today the way we used to back then, our inflation rate would be 11%.

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a graph showing the value of the dollar vs. gold vs. oil. If we look at the start of the decade until now, if we were holding euros instead of dollars, gas would only be about $2.70 at the pump - that extra $1.30 can be viewed as lost power of the dollar. But, the euro is no panacea either - if you compare the price of gas to the price of gold, it's nearly flat. How about $1.20 gas? I actually saw $5 diesel in CT last weekend.

Not surprisingly, the government decided to stop keeping track of 'M3', or the money supply of the dollar recently. Private economists have continued the calculations and it's easy to see why the government doesn't want to talk about it.

So, back to the beginning, the government has taken irresponsible action with the way it manages the value of its currency, and they have laws preventing people from opting out of their mismanagement. Afraid of a little competition, are they? Experience shows that the most likely effect of competing currencies, even ones that mimic the way the government operated in your parents' generation, would be to pressure the government to exercise some restraint. Of course, if this competition is illegal, they'll continue with their outrageous devaluation.

Folks who think a little competition helps to keep markets fair, and monopolies hurt them, would do well to contact their representatives in government about the aforementioned bill.

When the Fed decided to stop printing the M3 report, Ron Paul was the only person who attempted to stop them two years ago. Anyone who cared could see the Fed was going to fuck every single American via inflation, and Ron Paul was the only one on the hill who gave a shit. Inflation is now at the highest it has been in more than three decades. Ron Paul tried to prevent it.

This "interview" is thoroughly disappointing.

To me, if you're picking a candidate based on their words rather than looking at their actions in the legislature, then your vote will be an uninformed one.

The U.S. is suffering inflation. It's not that the cost of metal is increasing, it's that the value of your currency is falling. Fast.

Damn it AC. You make a great point and then you go fuck it up by defining inflation based on an exchange rate! Inflation is being caused by the round-the-clock minting of new money. Simple supply and demand. I'd point you to the M3 report as evidence to that fact, but the US Government stopped printing it and *one* congressman gave a shit. I'll assure you, M3 is the only thing the Fed stopped printing. So stick that in your conspiracy theories and smoke it.

the U.S. inflation rate is currently about 2.5%, which, while not spectacularly good, is not that terrible either.

Quote from this interview:

That's deceptive. The rate of inflation is actually horrendous, especially for low-to-middle-income people, who spend their money on food and fuel, and clothing and medical care. Even if inflation was as low as stated, it's the same type of deception that occurred in the 1920s. They kept saying there's no inflation. Inflation is measured by the increase in the money and credit. The distortions sometimes lead to higher prices, but many times you can't predict where those higher prices will emerge. Sometimes it's in a stock market bubble, sometimes it's in commodities, sometimes it goes into the consumer price index. So inflation emerges in different ways. Meanwhile, the biggest problem is the deception that interest rates are low, which causes people who save, people who invest, people who spend to do things they otherwise wouldn't do.

Interestingly, the Federal Reserve does no longer publish M3 - the interview with Ron Paul might explain why.

I came across an interesting article about the M3 series, the broadest measure of money supply, which is no longer published by the Federal Reserve. Wondering why that is I found this interview with Ron Paul, a Republican who represents the 14th Congressional district of Texas. Very interesting read, indeed. Knowing that Iran has plans to move international oil trade away from the dollar, it seems like:

- the Fed tries to disguise inflation and its sources and to play down the deficit

- the almost inevitable conflict with Iran is an attempt to keep the dollar and US economy from collapsing, which is what would eventually happen if oil business was to be based on the euro as Iran intends to do

- a system of deception, propaganda and "fascist" control (by revoking civil rights and establishing "homeland security legislation") is being put in place (or already is), and the goal is to disguise the facts that the US currency and economy are crumbling, the deficit exploding, inflation pauperizing the low-to-middle-income people, the reputation of the country going down the drain and the people being sacrificed in order to maximize corporate winnings and protect those in power (those are corporations, as well, and as many of you know "corporation" comprises the political powers - Halliburton etc...).

And while this happens, I read "Go USA! U.S.A! We rule! Best country in the world!" posts here on /. This country is so seriously screwed, it almost makes you cry. I really do feel sorry for the people, cause they will one day wake up. Hopefully - you said: probably - not in a fascist country, but I have my doubts.