The economy is falling, the economy is falling, so sayeth Chicken Little. The talking heads of TV news give us the day’s calamity—crisis, collapse, bailout or failure. The pundits of the financial pages proclaim the details of our collective economic demise, or alternately, tell us how we are about to turn the corner. Hold on: Better times are just ahead if we don’t give up hope and see this through. The soothsayers of the alternative media continue to predict imminent total collapse of the system—with convincing, plausible scenarios that never quite come true.
Are we on the verge of chaos that will turn our world upside down? Can we believe the economic doomsayers that our civilized world is soon to fall apart? What does experience show us? The predictions are always much larger than the actual outcome. What the light of experience can show us is a gradual tightening of the net, evidencing a long-term grand plan. Will these would-be captors of humanity succeed, or can we spring the trap?
Unemployment is now officially at 10.2 percent, based on the often skewed calculations of the government. Can it actually be that low in the real world? One business owner I talked to laughed at such figures because that would mean nine out of ten people would actually be worth hiring, contrary to his experience. Other reports put the real world figure closer to 22 per cent unemployment.
The foreclosure epidemic that popped the bubble and started the banking collapse of last fall hasn’t gone away, nor become that final domino to push over the bankers house of cards, as some predicted. Yes, millions are homeless from foreclosure actions, with millions more homes awaiting judgment, but there is a massive backlog of defaulted mortgages that are simply going nowhere. Worth less than the balance due: can’t sell, can’t keep, can’t rent and too costly to bulldoze and burn, what’s a poor banker to do?
The numbers on the average American’s personal debt are embarrassing. We were once a nation of producers who built wealth by ingenuity, toil and accomplishment. Now we borrow and shop, bringing home boxes of goods made elsewhere. Outsourced, downsized and repackaged, the original model of American success is fading from view.
This new age of the credit-consumer comes from inverted thinking. When we finally grasp the reality that every federal reserve note has been “loaned” into existence and the only thing in a bank account is numbers, not money, a new picture emerges. Every dollar you think you have is actually a negative integer: The entire fiat global economy is a below zero sum! Consider that next time you are asked “will that be credit or debit.”
But we are ever so eager to ride the social engineers rail right out of town, hand out for a bail out on every scale. From food stamps, to credit cards, to mortgages advanced from thin air, to mega-billion stimulus packages, it’s all a below zero sum. Who can we blame for our condition but ourselves?
There is a silver lining to our below zero sum world. The FDIC has now taken control of 100 banks, which “failed.” So many now that the FDIC itself needs a bailout. The “failure” of over one hundred banking institutions begs the question, like the hundredth monkey, if a hundred banks fail, will all the banks start failing too? Imagine that parasitical horde of fictional money lenders gone. With the lenders gone, who will we make payments to? What will we do without debt?
With the trillions of dollar “numbers” infused in the economic system since the bailout era began, we should be facing some serious hyperinflation right now. Where is it? If you double, triple, quadruple or whatever, the money supply, the currency in that economy will correspondingly lose its value and purchasing power. But it hasn’t. Some prices have risen, but we aren’t bringing wheelbarrow loads of cash to buy a shopping cart of groceries. Fortunately, those greedy bankers and corporate executives took most of the bailout funds for themselves. Most of it is tucked away in tidy foreign accounts where it won’t bother us anytime soon.
Some will have us believe that the dollar rug is being pulled out from under us. With failed banks, crashing real estate and construction, a dying car industry, outsourced everything, bankrupt states and an insane Congress and administration pushing unread but voted on laws written by lobbyists for the beneficiaries of the bail-out billions, are we doomed? An engineered process is systematically dismantling our nation to bring us to our knees where we will beg for their next fiat money scheme. Will it be a regional currency—the Amero? After that monetary fiction runs its course, will the economic regions of the world be united under a single currency—a planet of serfs under a global fiat debt system? Can it really go that far, even in our lifetime?
Order out of chaos is the motto of the global elite. However, they can only build their order from limited chaos. The extreme chaos of a total infrastructure failure is beyond their management schemes. They are desperately avoiding a systemic failure. They can own the world as long as we continue our allegiance to their below zero sum economic system. If it fails or we quit using it en mass, their game is over. Then we can begin the above zero transition.
Remember, they are just little men behind the curtain, trying desperately to keep all the munchkins fooled and in line. The flying monkeys of the enforcement agencies have us scared. From time to time the Wicked Witch of the West sends Dorothy and her dog to the dungeon.
A thousand Totos can rip down the curtain faster than they can find more fabric. Become a Toto.
Old and new silver coinage. The real U.S. dollar on the left used to be a circulating currency of value. The privately minted Liberty Dollar on the right put million$ of silver coinage into circulation until the DOJ/FBI criminals shut them down. Either coin is worth about $20 in below zero sum Fed “dollars” today.
The solution is not going to come from the problem. No bail out, no stimulus will fix any thing. All those below zero sum maneuvers will only exacerbate and prolong the problem. While the audit the fed bill, HR 1207 and S 604 are a laudable effort, where will it take us? Above zero?
Ron Paul has introduced this same legislation for twenty-five years. The bright light of the insanity of our economic times has finally shined upon the dimwits in Congress.
This time, instead of ignoring that kooky old Dr. No, his house bill has enough co-sponsors to override a veto. But even if Barney Frank lets the bill out of “his” committee for a vote and the senate version passes, what then? We may come to know the evil truth, regarding nearly a century of federal reserve economic rule, but can we transition above zero? Will a venal congress cut off the hands, or better yet the head, of their federal reserve masters?
A better question: How will 300 million people, most of whom are clueless as to their below zero sum economic condition, survive, then prosper, when the hand out era of unlimited credit dispersal has ended?
In the meantime, we can individually transition ourselves above zero. Start a small enterprise and help it grow into a success. Learn to barter or trade value for value, not credit for credit.
Show me the deed or “produce the promissory note” has become an effective strategy for many homeowners to beat foreclosure actions. Who really owns the property in foreclosure? In the recent repackaging of mortgage “securities,” the grand rebundling of people’s property into securities packages, many things are amiss.
The original lenders who made real estate loans pledged or otherwise surrendered their interest to major mortgage-holding firms such as Countrywide, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Citibank, Bank of America and others, often without following all the laws, rules and procedures mandated to transfer the right, title and interest in the properties. Typically, the lenders completed the mortgage closing and then pledged their interest to an investment bank, who then transferred it to a succession of trustees who sold the loans pooled in a package and issued shares of mortgage backed securities.
In the rush to convert these loans into large pools of mortgage backed securities, many mortgage firms have violated federal securities laws. When the original lenders didn’t actually transfer the loans, but only pledged them, they are in violation of securities laws and can’t risk an appearance in court to support a challenged foreclosure. When properly challenged, the mortgage backed security holder must prove they are the real debt owner with the legal standing and the right to be the plaintiff. If the loan originators can’t appear in court and the mortgage security holder has no deed or promissory note, judges are reportedly dismissing foreclosure actions.
Attorneys across the land have found a new legal practice area, filing quiet title actions and defending foreclosures. Many foreclosure actions have been delayed for years when there is a broken chain of title. Other homeowners have acquired their property free and clear.
Are you a homeowner who is making payments to a mortgage company that is not your original lender? Is the mortgage company the rightful owner of the debt? You might begin with a forensic loan audit to determine who, if anyone, is the rightful owner of your debt. You may be able to get your property back free and clear.
Ironically, the greed and haste of the financial cartel’s quest to loot America and render her people homeless in foreclosure actions may have a reverse effect. Americans may get their homes free with the banks losing all their below zero sum account “numbers.”
How can we transform the way we do business to a gold, silver or other valuable commodity base without running afoul of legal tender laws? In its simplest definition, “legal tender” is a legally mandated form of payment that must be accepted for the payment of a debt—the key word here is “debt.”
The most current federal statute on the subject (31 U.S.C. § 5103) states in part:
“United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.”
A “Federal Reserve Note,” on its face says, “this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” Are we legally required to accept Federal Reserve Notes? Only when tendered in payment of a debt.
Can we legally refuse to accept Federal Reserve Notes and require payment in gold or silver instead? Yes, if there is no debt obligation to be fulfilled.
When does a transaction become a debt? Timing determines the fact.
Did you perform a service or deliver a product before payment was received? If yes, a debt was created when you and your purchaser agreed to the terms of the transaction and you fulfilled your end of the bargain. The purchaser is now obligated to pay you—a debt—and you are obligated to accept Federal Reserve Notes if the purchaser tenders them to pay that debt.
If you struck your bargain with your customer and received payment in advance, you are the one obligated to deliver—in the actual substance of your product or service. Your customer does not owe you a debt so you are not obligated to accept “legal tender.”
You pull up to Bob’s Silver Dollar Drive In. The owner has a novel business approach that is becoming ever popular as people learn to appreciate substance. Only vintage coin is accepted—lawful or “junk” silver coin.
Hamburgers 25¢. Hot dogs, a dime. Double super deluxe 50¢. Small shake 10¢. Large shake 20¢. Large fries 20¢. Place your order, pay in advance with silver and wait for your meal. Starting wage for teenagers, 75¢ an hour, real money.
Same business model as any modern fast food joint where you already pay in advance. Real American food. Real money with inflation proof prices. Honest pay for honest work. No obligation to accept Fed notes.
Consider the time and place monetary mechanics of another “pay in advance” transaction—the grocery store. You enter the store and get a cart. You shop and fill the cart with your desired goodies. At this point everything still belongs to the store. You proceed to the checkout and place their groceries that you have chosen on their counter. The store’s checkout person inventories the potential purchase, ringing it up on the register, while placing their groceries in their bag. The checkout person offers you a total price for their groceries, you accept the offer by paying it, and then you take the groceries that are now yours. The “pay in advance” transaction is now complete. A perfect opportunity for commerce without “legal tender.”
The store, as a matter of principle and policy, does not accept those intrinsically worthless Federal Reserve Notes at their checkout counters. Like many supermarkets there is a small bank branch office near the entrance. Only this is not like a conventional bank. It’s a currency exchange center. Those dreaded FRNs can be exchanged for the acceptable, in-store-currency. It may be generally recognizable gold or silver coins. It might be some form of community currency. It could be a proprietary store token, maybe even of silver and used throughout the community. Or, dare I say it, the “bank” could be a Liberty Dollar redemption center where Fed notes are converted to Liberty Dollars which then enter directly into commerce.
Payment in advance precludes a debt obligation, which precludes the obligation to accept “legal tender.”
In your fledgling new enterprise to transition towards above zero sum living in a post federal reserve world, you can refuse fed notes and require payment in real money. Let your customer know your terms, why, and get your payment in advance. As a side benefit, you will educate your customers about the facts and fiction of money and inspire them to do the same.
Need an idea for an enterprise? Rob Gray, in Farmers Branch, Texas has a good one: The Ag Trading Post (Ag, as in the elemental symbol for silver). This fledgling enterprise won’t accept green “cash” or credit cards. Their website says, “We believe paper ‘money’ is debt, and debt is slavery.” A vending machine dispenses silver so they don’t have to actually touch the dreaded FRNs.
Rob claims there are 600 merchants in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area accepting silver and other currencies. The Ag Trading Post is trying to be a bridge between fiat currency and real money. They promise to reverse the trend of outsourcing and importing by filling their store with “products we’re proud to use in our own homes; sturdy wares from producers that mirror our own mission and values. We require 95% of our offerings to be manufactured within the USA, with a strong focus on local production. We provide goods and services to the public as well as our growing network of local merchants and service providers that barter using AOCS Approved Silver medallions as a private voluntary medium of exchange.”
Their Grand Opening is Saturday, December 12, 2009, from 6pm to 9pm, but they are presently open weekdays. Their “Barter Hour Radio Show” will soon broadcast online from their website. Visit Agtradingpost.com to learn more.
Keep your eyes on this one. It’s a business model that you can follow, creating above zero prosperity in your area.
Having a hard time finding merchants that will take real coin money? Tired of supporting banks that loot everyone in a game of negative numbers? Try this with merchants that deserve your support:
Bring some gold or silver coinage to the merchant and ask to create a positive account with them. Put it in their hands and let them feel it. Explain that you want to start a positive account. You want to deposit this wealth in advance in a private account with them. Explain that each time that you replenish your account with another deposit you will agree together on a value in dollar “numbers,” at the time of the deposit, based on the day’s spot price (you might agree to some small percentage over spot value for “in hand” gold or silver). Then you can make in house purchases using their existing price structure. Your positive account would be like a merchant account, except the purchase would be subtracted from your positive account instead of added to a credit billing.
You support a merchant, most likely a local proprietor, not a big box corporation and you find an outlet for your real wealth that may not be very spendable presently. The merchant might then pay employees or suppliers with your gold or silver, initiating the chain of a positive economy.
We are our own solution. We can move above the below zero sum economy. Then, the faster it falls down around us, the better off we’ll be.