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phbura

User Profile Image phbura
Member since : Jun-03-2009 (Verified)
0 Ideas, 6 Comments, 7 Votes

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phbura 9 months ago
Jerehough: I am no fan of the Fed; see my first post in this thread. I didn't rant, but I hope you get the idea.

Our money supply has grown by about 25 times since 1913, and the value of the dollar is about 1/25 what it was at that time, thanks to the machinations of the Fed. As most of the growth in the money supply was by Federal borrowing, we are saddled with a monstrous debt on which we pay hundreds of billions of dollars per year in interest.

Of course, if this money had been issued by the Treasury rather than the Fed, we would not have the debt and would be much better off. However, we would still have the inflation, which is a hidden form of taxation. Creation of money = inflation. Fiat currency, and hence Keynesian economics, do not work IMO. Whenever the US has strayed from gold and silver, the market has adjusted the value of the dollar accordingly.

I am not a gold bug, and in fact don't own any. My only concern is that government not be given any power to "create money" because this is a fiction. All they can create is inflation, a dishonest form of taxation. Accordingly, I support our returning to a monetary standard that worked very well for many years. The monetary crises that led to the abandonment of the gold standard were mere ripples compared to what is shaping up at this time.

How to resolve our present status of having been hoodwinked for a century is a huge nightmare. I am willing to entertain any solution that makes sense, including nationalizing the assets of the FRB system and its owners (the repeal provisions of the Federal Reserve Act be damned), or taking our lumps and either monetizing or repudiating the debt.

With regard to banking generally and how we should operate if we ever emerge from this mess, the act of creating money via bookkeeping entry is legalized fraud, IMO.

I believe that you and I are a lot closer on these matters than you think.

Zauberer44: You made some great points about money being mainly a medium of exchange. That is the key to government's proper role in the system, of regulating the medium as a more or less impartial referee, not manipulating it for its own benefit.
phbura 9 months ago
History has proven that Keynesian economics has been nothing but a trap, having driven the value of a dollar towards zero. Therefore, we should heed our Constitution and get the federal government out of the business of money creation, either directly or by proxy through the Federal Reserve.

The market (inflation) has discounted the dollar just as though it were in fact based on gold and silver. M3 and the CPI track as though they were based on the same data. Let's be honest with ourselves and get back onto a hard-money system.
phbura 9 months ago
Although I voted for the measure, I do not entirely agree on the methodology. I would prefer that the Federal Reserve Act be repealed, and that the Treasury issue currency based on gold and silver. What the bankers do with it is their business.

Borrowing from the Federal Reserve has resulted in nothing but inflation. The value of our money supply has been devalued by 95% and we have nothing to show for it but debt. How to resolve the debt issue is open to debate, but I suggest either monetizing it, or repudiating it.

Here's a novel suggestion: have gold and silver woven into the paper from which currency is made.
phbura 9 months ago
I am concerned about creating special privileges for whistleblowers that may result in unintended consequences such as granting undeserved immunity from charges for perjury or extortion.

I would have to know more about how federal departments operate in order to provide positive recommendations, but that is my immediate reaction.
phbura 9 months ago
I personally think that recreational marijuana use is unwise, along with a plethora of other habits and practices. However, I do not think that it's the right of the federal government to protect us from ourselves, and would like to see them get out of the business of legislating against issues of a moral nature altogether, leaving that to the states.

Even by the letter of existing law, marijuana is NOT legitimately a Schedule I substance. For me, it's a slam-dunk.
phbura 9 months ago
This should apply to any bill, really. Someone earlier mentioned the Patriot Act, a classic example of quick wrong thinking that is now a national albatross.

The wheels of government move exceedingly slowly, once a decision has been made, however rapidly arrived at. I'm not criticizing, this is just how it is because of the massive machinery involved. There is ALWAYS time to add a few days to the process.