An Emergency Program of Monetary Reform for the United States

[Apollia]

I found some very interesting articles today about monetary reform.

An Emergency Program of Monetary Reform for the United States by Richard C. Cook

Monetary Reform and How a National Monetary System Should Work by Richard C. Cook

Like many people, I have been plagued with financial problems. I used to think they were simply my own shameful problem and my own fault - which is true to an extent - but, as I've learned more about such issues as the banking system, taxation, child support, etc., it seems to me that the root causes of my financial problems go way beyond my own personal ineptitude or that of my family, and beyond any personal misfortunes that have befallen us.

In fact, I think a lot of the problems of the world at large can be chalked up to the debt-based monetary system (which apparently isn't unique to the USA), where many people are pressured by their circumstances into going into lifelong indentured servitude just to get basics such as a place to live, education, health care, etc.

The above articles are so insightful it really cheers me up quite a bit. They also suggest some solutions, like the government directly spending money into circulation debt-free, instead of money being created by banks loaning it out and making people pay it back with interest.

Any comments, or other ideas on what might be some good monetary reforms for the United States (or elsewhere)?

[Dave Kaminski]

Originally Posted by thatArticle

Note that all the banks of the Western world are ultimately private institutions owned by the world’s super-rich. The international banking structure is operated by and on behalf of the world’s monetary elite primarily for their own profit.

I'm so surprised that a lot of people either a.) don't know this or b.) know it and don't care. It's shocking to see how many slaves willingly submit.

We need a change in action, a change in collective thought. No mere administrative change will be what we're looking for - we all need to be participants in the administration and we need to come together as a planet to work with our resources because unless everyone has a say (india, africa, south america, asia) people will be getting cheated.

[escapee]

The above articles are so insightful it really cheers me up quite a bit. They also suggest some solutions, like the government directly spending money into circulation debt-free, instead of money being created by banks loaning it out and making people pay it back with interest.

Under such system, hyper centralization (Dictatorship and socialism ) of government and inflation will still be a potential problem for us to face. If you do not trust the bankers for controlling the money supply of the economy, you shouldn't trust the government officials as well because they are both human being. I believe what the world needs is a monetary system that is freed from government and bank's control - gold standard as suggested by Ron Paul. A combination of sound monetary system and free market will bring human civilization to new height.

Hong Kong free market
Economy of Hong Kong - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Economy of Hong Kong is said to be the most economically free in the world. It has often been cited by economists such as Milton Friedman and the Cato Institute as an example of the benefits of laissez-faire capitalism. While the government, both under British and Chinese rule, has occasionally intervened in the economy, the free market policy of positive non-interventionism espoused by former financial secretary John James Cowperthwaite still largely drives economic policy today. It has ranked as the world's freest economy in the Index of Economic Freedom for 14 consecutive years, since the inception of the index in 1995[1][2]. It also places first in the Economic Freedom of the World Report.

[escapee]

Ron Paul golden solution nobody cares ....

Yale Daily News - Zink Plan’s return to gold standard will save U.S.

This is where currency printing enters the equation. Every dollar that we print tends to reduce the value of every other dollar currently in circulation. Hence, the more money we print, the less our debt is actually worth. Why, one might ask, don’t we simply print out $9.16 trillion, and then use it to pay off our creditors?

The answer, of course, is that this would destroy our economy. It happened in Germany in 1922-1923, when the government printed enormous sums of money to pay off its World War I debt, resulting in inflation so severe that it became more cost-effective for Germans to burn their paper money than buy firewood with it, per USAgold.com. Yet it’s also well known that within a few years of this collapse, Germany had completely revitalized its economy and refashioned itself into a major industrial power.

What was Germany’s secret to stopping the inflation? Ron Paul knows — it was gold! When the Germans introduced a new gold-backed currency, their economy suddenly stabilized. Here, then, is the Zink Plan:

First, the U.S. will borrow an enormous sum of money from foreign creditors, and use that money to buy an equally enormous quantity of gold. Immediately afterwards, the Federal Reserve will issue trillions upon trillions of dollars, causing our currency to almost completely devalue. Once this has happened, we can pay back all of our debts with our nearly worthless currency.

We could then introduce a new gold-backed currency (let’s call it the “dhollar,” silent “h”). We’ll mandate that everyone holding U.S. dollars redeem their currency for the “dhollar,” completely reversing the progress of inflation and revitalizing our economy.

[Dan.Linehan]

A psychic told me that President Obama will institute a new, credit based monetary system.

Just saying.

[escapee]

Peter Schiff talks about dollar .

YouTube - Peter Schiff CrashProof

YouTube - Peter Schiff CrashProof pt. 2

YouTube - Peter Schiff CrashProof pt. 3

[Apollia]

Dave Kaminski wrote:

I'm so surprised that a lot of people either a.) don't know this or b.) know it and don't care. It's shocking to see how many slaves willingly submit.

Definitely.

We need a change in action, a change in collective thought. No mere administrative change will be what we're looking for - we all need to be participants in the administration and we need to come together as a planet to work with our resources because unless everyone has a say (india, africa, south america, asia) people will be getting cheated.

Yes, probably true, I think.


escapee wrote:

Under such system, hyper centralization (Dictatorship and socialism ) of government and inflation will still be a potential problem for us to face. If you do not trust the bankers for controlling the money supply of the economy, you shouldn't trust the government officials as well because they are both human being.

I agree with that too.

Regarding inflation - I like Ron Paul's idea about permitting competition in currency as a way to discourage those in charge of minting money from debasing the currency through inflation: Statement Introducing the Free Competition in Currency Act

I believe what the world needs is a monetary system that is freed from government and bank's control - gold standard as suggested by Ron Paul.

Yes, I think it's definitely worth a try.

I think it would be great if a wide variety of different things were tried, even all at the same time, by many different currency creators (whether government or private).

The following is just one of doubtless many possible ideas, but, I think maybe it is really possible for a virtual currency backed by nothing to work. The economy of the virtual world Second Life, with the virtual currency of Linden $ (L$), seems to work quite well.

Inflation is seemingly controlled through having L$ "sinks" - charging for certain services people want and need, like classified ads, and image/animation/sound uploads, and taking the L$ paid for them out of circulation. Second Life Economic Statistics

Unless I'm mistaken, the exchange rate of Second Life seems generally very stable - every time I check it, it's around about L$265 per $1 USD.

The only problem is, the exchange rate seems to keep apace with the U.S. dollar, so the inflation of the dollar is affecting the L$ as well. But probably a virtual currency could be created that doesn't do that.

A combination of sound monetary system and free market will bring human civilization to new height.

I agree.

Thanks for all the links! I'll take a closer look at them later sometime...


Dan.Linehan wrote:

A psychic told me that President Obama will institute a new, credit based monetary system.

Just saying.

Really? What psychic? And what did he/she mean by "credit based"?

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Apollia

Really? What psychic? And what did he/she mean by "credit based"?

He had a vision of everything that would happen when Obama gets elected. A new, credit based monetary system was part of it.

It would basically be a credit based system that people could opt into, and get paid credits based on results. Actual skills and measurable output will count for much more than they do now within our current system.

For example, right now, government programmers are doing basically nothing, but still getting paid six figures. That represents capital being directly stolen from all the citizens who don't have government jobs.

I am currently at a government contract as a contractor. When you get on-site it is impossible to believe anything can be as bad as people say - but it is worse in many cases. Here is what I have observed and speaking with other people more familiar with government contracts this is the norm. Imagine the worst of Dilbert and you are just touching the surface.

- The head of IT has been in government for 27+ years. She is the one making purchasing decisions and setting strategic direction. She does not own a computer or have an external email address. She does not buy on-line, and she has the web monitor set so tight you can forget about using the Internet. No IM. No webmail. Then to ensure you cannot possibly reach the outside, no non-government equipment permitted in the building without a specific exception. This will be your organizational leader as the rule - not the exception.

- Change is glacial. Two weeks I did nothing because they could not allocate a machine for me to access the network, until I had a badge. To get the machine, a form needed to be signed by my boss, his boss, her boss, and his boss. My boss walked it around, and was told that was inappropriate, and it still took 4 hours. Then it went to the help desk who took 9 business days to process and deliver the equipment. Deliver in this case meant coming to my desk and providing a user id and password to a machine sitting there. To install software requires you to have an exception form filed. Another round of 4 signatures in my department, one from security, one from the helpdesk and one from a person who no one can explain except they need to sign the exception form - six days. Complain or bother anyone about a request and it will disappear. Petty is an understatement.

- It is true that no one gets fired. But worse, making decisions is career limiting. The solution is to ensure you never do anything of risk. What you want is to be tied into a project you can claim some responsibility with, if it goes well, and disavow any relationship if it fails.

- No _one_ makes any decisions because there is safety in numbers - very large numbers. All decisions are by committee and expect it to take weeks. They spent 12 weeks, with a minimum of six people in nearly 20 meetings discussing a database key. One key. It is an extreme example but that it can happen says it all.

- If you take any type of leadership position and do anything that employees do not like - they submit a grievance. Why? Because while one is pending, they cannot do anything to you, include request work, or deny automatic or scheduled promotions in grade. A 25 year developer? here has had a grievance on her various leaders, continuously for over 12 years. She is proud of it. "They don't tell me what to do!"

- Write off leaving government. You can always leave right? Wrong. Would you hire someone from an environment that fosters the behavior above? With very few exceptions, spend more than a year or two as a "gov-e" and you can kiss the private sector good bye. Who would want this behavior and if it took you more than a year to figure out you should quit, that says volumes.

Unless you want to do what you are being hired to do for the next 20 years, with 2.5% annual increases in pay, bosses who make no decisions and run the same technology for decades - run away.

The point of the credit based system will be to throw credits at workers in society who are actually productive, people who represent just the opposites of the descriptions listed above.

[Apollia]

Originally Posted by Dan.Linehan

He had a vision of everything that would happen when Obama gets elected.

My favorite candidate is Ron Paul, and I really hope he wins, but my feeling (though I don't consider myself a psychic, despite a few weird experiences here and there) is that Obama is probably going to win.

I don't consider Obama the best candidate but at least he's not the worst, in my opinion.

A new, credit based monetary system was part of it.

It would basically be a credit based system that people could opt into, and get paid credits based on results. Actual skills and measurable output will count for much more than they do now within our current system.

Hmm, sounds good.

For example, right now, government programmers are doing basically nothing, but still getting paid six figures.

This represents capital being stolen from all the citizens who do not have government jobs.

Terrible! I had no idea things were that bad.

The point of the credit based system will be to throw credits at workers in society who are actually productive, people who represent just the opposites of the descriptions listed above.

Cool.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[Dave Kaminski]

Dan, I don't understand why you're excited about Obama. He's a member of the same pack of wolves...

Originally Posted by G Edward Griffin

Deliberately creat problems, and then offer only those solutions which reslt in the expansion of government. Create conditions so frightful at home and abroad that the abandonment of personal liberties and national sovereignty will appear as a reasonable price for a return to domestic tranquility and world peace.

Whatever this credit system is, I can almost guarantee that the only person who will benefit from it is Uncle Sam.

[Dan.Linehan]

Originally Posted by Dave Kaminski

Dan, I don't understand why you're excited about Obama. He's a member of the same pack of wolves...

Read The Audacity of Hope. I think you'll realize how different he really is.

He is just a very smart, normal guy who worked really hard to get himself into an extraordinary position.

[Dave Kaminski]

"The nature of psychological compulsion is such that those who act under constraint remain under the impression that they are acting of their own initiative"
-Aldous Huxley

I guess we'll just have to wait and see, anyways. It would take a lot for me to believe in a president - if you're president, you're playing in a losing game. Government, or "the control of the mind," especially in its democratic form, is largely a game of deceit.

[Dan.Linehan]

Don't wait and see -- read the book.

[schola]

His assessment is sound but his solutions aren't. More government regulation is what allowed bankers to stack the cards in their favor in the first place.

No resource that is "publicly" owned is ever truly owned by the people. It is controlled by those who have influence on the government. And no one has more influence on the government than people with a lot of money.

[Brutha]

For example, right now, government programmers are doing basically nothing, but still getting paid six figures. That represents capital being directly stolen from all the citizens who don't have government jobs.

Actually changing the way that burocrats work is extremly difficult.

Especially as a democrat you can't simply ignore the unions either that would run amok if you make government workers fireable or pay those people (who produce no results) less than they are getting at the moment.
You probably would also get problems with the judicial system if you take something away from the government workers who produce no results (after all those people have contracts).

Even I'm not that optimistic to think that Obama could substancially change that system, especially in the short run.

[Still Growing]

The problem we have is one of MISEDUCATION.

Our schools, universities, news, companies we work for and the gov't has all be infiltrated by those profiting off our stupidity.

The system itself cannot be changed if people don't even know how the system works.

Simple things like campaign finance reform are critical in taking the special interests out of policy making. This one little movement is so critical that its at the very core. Our two party system is also a source of corruption. Its easy to control events when you have only two parties.

I am a capitalist but I can clearly see that a few monopolistic type capitalists have infiltrated our gov't.

[Brutha]

Simple things like campaign finance reform are critical in taking the special interests out of policy making. This one little movement is so critical that its at the very core.

Yes, campain finance is extremly important. I thing that Change Congress — Home is a good grassrots movement in that direction.

Our two party system is also a source of corruption. Its easy to control events when you have only two parties.

Are you for changing from majority voting to another system?