When Money Dies
Part 3
In the hundreds of cases, when the money in use becomes worthless, it is ALWAYS government that debases, and eventually kills it altogether. There is not a single case in recorded history, of a paper currency that did not inflate, and become worthless. In 100% of the historical records, all paper currencies have gone down the greased slope to worthlessness. The grease, as well as the slope, have ALWAYS been created by government, and politicians. Why and how?
Why; is because once a man or woman gets into political office, or high in the government hierarchy, the glory and adulation always gets the best of them in two ways: (1) They feel as if they can help their constituents, which is rarely true. (2) They like it so much, that they want to stay in that office, and the prime way to do it, is to hand out unearned things to the voters. How; is by spending more than comes in through taxes, and simply increasing the money supply, via the press. Givernment is actually the correct name for government, when the inflation and press-runs begin. Spend, spend, spend, is the way it works, in a sing-song melody, that is as old as the printing press.
Eventually, the citizenry forgets how to care for themselves, depends on givernment for everything, and givernment grows and grows, like Topsy. The more it grows, the more oppressive, domineering, and intrusive it becomes. Familiar? When the tax level becomes so oppressive, that the citizens balk; the presses run faster, and the end is in sight. It is said there are 57 million Americans who don't file 1040's. I am not one of them, are you? ( www.joyfoundation.com , www.givemeliberty.org ) Maybe we should join! As I stated in a previous column, the taxes paid by Americans, are so many, and buried, that the income tax is only part of the levies imposed on us hapless dupes. We vote for the Democrats, Republicans, or whatever, but the result is always the same. More "programs" (I hate that word) for the "needy," "poor," "aged," "sick," "disadvantaged," "black," "fat," or whatever. I'll never forget my utter shock, when I found out that Tricky Dicky had inaugurated the food stamp program back in the 70's. You mean the givernment is going to buy food? Yup! Now, of course, the givernment buys fuel, food, medical, prescriptions, operations, transportation, legal aid, rent, housing, fertilizer, and hundreds of other things, plus pays farmers not to grow. The givernment sends foreign aid, and soldiers all around the world, complete with checkbooks, airplanes, guns, and support, so as to spread the word of how wonderful America has become with all the freebies.
"What you tax, you get less of, and what you subsidize, you get more of"…not invented by me…I don't think…but maybe. Who is taxed? The productive sector, which long ago has reached "ZPG," (zero population growth). Who is subsidized? The weak, lazy, infirm, untalented, stupid, worthless sector, which seems to do little else than copulate like barnyard animals, and reproduce, reproduce, reproduce; dropping an endless glut of organisms like themselves on the rest of us to support. America is lost, because of having tens of millions of worthless scum, littering the major cities, and destroying everything they touch. The worthless and stupid will, in every civilization that calls itself "democratic," vote for the politician that promises the most largess from the public treasury, thereby bankrupting itself. "Democracy," is touted as being so wonderful, except for the fact that when illiterates, stoops, boobs, and nincompoops are allowed to vote, and even encouraged to do so, the ultimate demise of that nation, and death of its money, is assured. When I think of all the liberal professors implanting their twisted, liberal crud into the brains and actions of formerly innocent college students, I become lachrymose.
The dollar is worth maybe 2% of a hundred years ago. There was no inflation in American history, until Woodrow Wilson, and Col. House cleverly got us into WW I, just months before it was over. Even then, it wasn't too bad, until FDR got us into WWII, which devalued the dollar almost exactly 50% in 4 years. Other Presidents, without the permission of Congress, have gotten us into Korea, Viet Nam, and a host of other skirmishes, which cost us lives and dollar death. "Blackhawk Down," is a current film, which is a good illustration of a foreign involvement piled on top of military stupidity. It doesn't help with racism, either. Is Africa worth the effort?
The politicians always want to expand their base and self-aggrandizement, both of these cause the presses to roll incessantly, and the dollar to die. Were we made safe by having troops in Muslim lands? Are the 36,000 soldiers in Korea making friends with anyone, or making for peaceful relations? Are soldiers on Okinawa helping anything? Are soldiers anywhere, but perhaps where they should be, but aren't, on the US-Mexican border, helping anything other than increasing the military budget? Are we beloved around the world, or are we making a nuisance of ourselves, and bankrupting the currency? I just do not think any soldiers belong outside the United States. Protect us at home. There are two mighty oceans that keep us apart from the woes of the rest of the world.
Pusillanimous politicians are constantly increasing the size and scope of government. Is this accomplishing anything, other than increasing the population of the worthless, and murdering the currency? Is our lack of neutrality, the cause of the World Trade Center outrage? I say yes. Why is the dollar dying? It is dying for the same reason that all paper money is dying, and that is because Stott's law is irrefutable, and that is "The more of anything there is, the less they will be worth," and that is dollars, francs, rubles, pounds, and pesos, et al. Gresham propounded another irrefutable law 400 years ago, that states, "Bad money drives good money out of the market." Both prove the point. The dollar is the trade vehicle used in the world for a lot of basics, such as oil and gold. But all paper monies are dying together. A horse race has a winner, but all horses arrive at the finish line eventually. The dollar may arrive at the finish line of finished last, but it will get there, and it is possible that its decline is already increasing rapidly, due to Enron and a few others like it, such as Global Crossing, which just bit the dust. Global Crossing is the 4th largest bankruptcy in American History, other than, of course the 98% decline and virtual death of the dollar. We are all stockholders in the buck, which is rapidly becoming worthless, and we can't sell them fast enough. This is another way of saying do not save in dollars. Are there a dozen Enrons out there, waiting to collapse?
Knowledgeable people say Enron is but the tip of the iceberg. Goldman-Sachs, Citicorp, JP Morgan, etc. all suffered huge losses with the Argentina and Enron bankruptcies, and new ones surface daily. If others float up like slime on a stagnant pool, and the hundred trillion dollars in derivatives possessed by these outfits become intolerable losses, the US dollar could collapse almost overnight. IT'S ONLY INKED ENTRIES IN BOOKS. IT IS ONLY PAPER WITH NOTHING TO BACK IT. IT IS ONLY PAPER STOCKS THAT MAY HAVE NOTHING IN BACK OF THEM…PAPER, PAPER, PAPER! Yet virtually everyone saves their surplus assets in paper things! How sad. The book "Patriots" by John Wesley, Rawles, in the very first chapter, shows how the whole paper empire of the dollar could collapse virtually overnight, and he wrote it long before Argentina, Enron, and Global Crossing. The masses will say "rubbish," and the smarties will get the living hell out of paper, and into something tangible. I deal in gold and silver, which happens to have no property taxes, utility bills, maintenance, or insurance requirements, and has been recognized as actual, real money for thousands of years.
How does money die? By being proliferated to death. Who does it? Government, consisting of the bureaucrats, and politicians. Why? Because of an inert human desire to seem important, and a love of fame, rank, and luxury. Are all politicians that way? No, but when they become the majority, the sane, smart ones are always outvoted, and the nation and currency eventually collapses. Is this common in "democracies?" Always. Don't some politicians vote largess from the public treasury for honest reasons? Yes, but they are in error, and as a result, the money and whole nation dies. I am in favor of private, voluntary charity, but not forced charity from government, which is what taxes and inflation are. I happen to remember Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, when they were wonderful! This was before welfare and handouts to the worthless, which only increased their numbers, and took the cities and money with them. How long before the whole thing goes the way of the World Trade Centers? I have no idea, but the eventual, end result, is certain. What will replace paper money? Undoubtedly silver and gold, and even platinum, which are compact, beautiful, non-rusting, universally recognized wealth. Barter also, will replace paper money, but that is difficult over long distances. Anything tangible can replace paper money, and undoubtedly will, via barter.
The Barter Theatre, in Abingdon Virginia, continued to operate during the depression, and got its name from just that. Farmers wanted entertainment, and had no money. They did have eggs, chickens, lettuce, and other things they raised, and which were in over-supply. They traded their produce for admissions, and the name Barter Theatre was born. Everybody ate. I went there a few years ago, and saw a marvelous show. It's far easier to barter with a silver dime, or one ounce silver Eagle, than a dozen eggs, but either will do. Got eggs? PROTECT YOURSELF, because no piece of paper will. Watch for the next headlines of huge bankruptcies, and further death throes of the dollar.