Since the late 1990s, the term "NESARA" has come up in both patriot and new age circles as the ultimate solution to America’s financial woes. At last, many people were given hope that there were lightworkers secretly working within our own government that would rescue us from the satanic clutches of an out-of-control military-industrial complex. In fact, NESARA is an acronym for the "National Economic Stabilization And Recovery Act," an economic reform proposal drafted by Dr. Harvey Barnard. This proposal was promptly hijacked by a few con-artists seizing an opportunity to prey on the ignorant and their monies. Their co-opted version is the NESARA most people have come to know.

In the late 1980s Dr. Barnard developed his NESARA legislative proposal for monetary and fiscal policy reform in order to double the standard of living for every American within one generation. In 1996 he printed 1,000 copies of Draining the Swamp, which contained his NESARA proposal, and sent them to members of Congress and others, believing the proposal would pass quickly on its merits. It included replacing the income tax with a national sales tax, abolishing compound interest on secured loans and returning to a bimetallic currency.

Based on a theory that debt is the number one economic factor inhibiting the growth of the economy and compound interest the number one "moral evil" and reason for debt, Dr. Barnard made several attempts to draw political attention to the problems he saw in the U.S. economy.

The proposals were never introduced by Congress, although the Treasury Department acknowledged them and Congressman Ron Paul once commented on them. In 1999 Dr. Bernard released the proposal to the public domain and published it on the internet at his website at www.nesara.org. In 2001 he established the NESARA Institute, a non-profit educational organization that maintains the website.

Shortly afterwards, people began to latch on and promote a radically different version of NESARA. This alternate version maintained that NESARA was enacted into law secretly during the Clinton administration, and that there are "White Knights" working tirelessly behind the political scenes to bring forth this secret monetary reform act.

An Internet entity known as "Dove of Oneness" began posting stories about NESARA in on-line forums. "Dove" has been identified as Shaini Goodwin, a former student of The Ramtha School Of Enlightenment. According to Goodwin’s web site, www.nesara.us, the NESARA bill was secretly passed in March, 2000, as the National Economic Security and Reformation Act. It included cancelling all personal debts, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, declaring world peace, and requiring "constitutionally acceptable NESARA" candidates. Goodwin asserts that the new law was to be announced in 2001, but a gag order was issued by the Supreme Court, under penalty of death. Goodwin also purports that Bush orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Iraq War as distractions from NESARA.

Wikipedia claims the altered NESARA was designed primarily to provide an income to Goodwin and others. Investigators found Goodwin’s NESARA plan began in connection with Omega Trust, a fraudulent investment scheme whose creator, Clyde Hood, was on trial at the time. According to Goodwin, Omega Trust investors would receive their returns after NESARA was announced. Goodwin repeatedly predicted that the NESARA announcement would occur in the very near future, and frequently asked supporters to donate money and frequent flyer miles so she could travel around the world to secretly meet with high-level government officials about getting NESARA announced.

Supporter Jennifer Lee published "Dove’s" NESARA status reports almost daily on her now defunct website and discussed a host of other-worldly and "interdimensional" beings helping behind the scenes to get NESARA announced. According to quatloos.com, towards the end of her message, Jennifer would spin a sob story about not being able to pay the rent, or her phone bill, or her electric bill; or she asked for money to "help" somebody else out.

Scams and fraud

"Dove" and others, from time to time, directed their adherents to purchase units in one or another of their "Prosperity Programs." Despite the now proven fraudulent nature of these scams, NESARA promoters claim that these programs will eventually pay out millions of dollars for every $100 sent when the "true NESARA law" is finally announced.

These scam artists attached themselves to any popular financial theory floating on the Internet. When the $27.5 trillion Leo Wanta caper was publicized in 2003, NESARA theorists claimed that this money was soon to be given to the American public after NESARA was announced. Once again, it never came to fruition.

One supporter, Sheldan Nidle, ties the imminent NESARA announcement to his years-old prophesy of an imminent UFO invasion by benevolent aliens (see paoweb.com).

Other NESARA supporters, such as Ashtarontheroad.com, agree that otherworldly beings are working to get NESARA announced. These include a "channeled spirit" called "Hatonn" and another called "Sananda" (claiming to be Jesus) along with "Saint Germain," a deity borrowed from the "I AM Movement" and the "Church Universal and Triumphant," which has come down from heaven to physically meet with heads of banks and world leaders regarding the NESARA announcement. Benevolent aliens are also frequently mentioned, one of which is "Ashtar," pictured on the website as an angelic looking blonde.

All these groups predict the arrest of Bush, Cheney, et al, so that the "Prosperity Programs" and NESARA can finally come into fruition. Then came emails promoting Barack Obama as Bush’s antithesis, with total disregard to his cabinet choices selected from the Monsanto-Goldman Sachs-Citigroup-Bilderberg-Military Industrial corporatocracy (see American Free Press 12-22-08).

On December 23, 2008, the Ashtar group posted a notice on a citizen based website, www.change.us, not to be confused with Obama’s www.change.gov. The notice reads:

Dr. Barnard became aware of Goodwin’s description of NESARA before his death in 2005. He denied that NESARA had been enacted into law or even assigned a tracking number, and condemned Goodwin’s allegations. Goodwin countered, claiming the NESARA Institute was a disinformation front for the Bush family and other nefarious "New World Order" organizations, and says Dr. Barnard’s NESARA is merely a ploy to distract people from knowing the "true" NESARA.

The entire proposal and comparisons with the Monetary Reform Act and the proposals of G. Edward Griffin, can be found at Dr. Barnard’s site which also states, "A couple of mouse clicks will dispel rumors [that the bill is actually law]."

Dr. Barnard’s NESARA would abolish the Federal Reserve System and replace it with a new Treasury Reserve System with a mandate of maintaining a stable currency of gold and silver coins and gold and silver certificates. With debt-free currency, there would be no debt being created that is owed to private entities. The Income Tax would be eliminated, taxing consumption instead with a sales tax of 14 percent. Many items would be exempt, such as government mandated expenses like licenses and permits; essentials like food, medical expenses, housing, livestock, insurance, labor; and anything that is non-profit in nature.

Though Dr. Barnard’s NESARA was a noble attempt to bring monetary reform to the U.S. before it was too late, it advocated transferring control of the "currency" from the private banks of the Fed to control by Congress, which hasn’t shown itself to be any more fiscally responsible than the Fed. Constitutionally, Congress is only authorized to coin money, not set reserve requirements, which the proposed bill allots to them.

To his credit, Dr. Barnard sought to jumpstart a grass roots movement of people who want to heal America by investing their time to read, copy and reproduce, support or denounce, amend or create their own version of his Act, and introduce it to Congress as part of a nationwide public outreach and monetary education effort.  Instead, the disinformation campaign emanating from The Dove, et. al, has reduced the credibility of Dr. Barnard’s efforts to nil.

Dr. Barnard believed that no meaningful social reform is possible without a fair and equitable monetary system for all people, not just the politically privileged. While the NESARA Institute understands the emotional and psychological reasons why people support the co-opted versions of NESARA, "a life of social liberty begins first and foremost with self-responsibility." Dr. Bernard’s NESARA, however flawed it might be, is based upon facts and research which he advanced with noble intentions.