Not really.
The way we perceive money is the way the Fed and the Government want us to perceive money. Think about it. The value of your home hasn't changed one bit. Nor has the value of gold, silver, steel, jewelery, milk, or oil. So what has changed? Your money! Your trips to the gas station aren't costing you more, your dollar is worth less and less! Your grocery bill didn't skyrocket because cows suddenly started producing less milk and chickens fewer eggs - it went up because your unit of trade has lost standing. This is not a new phenomenon - it has been steadily occurring since the early 20th century when the Fed was created. Are we to believe that somehow (magic perhaps?) the intrinsic value of an acre of land has increased from $1.25 in 1820 (Reference - www.glorecords.blm.gov/Visitors/PublicLands.asp) to $300 today? That's the low end - good land can go for thousands an acre - and let's not even get into what it costs in a city such as New York! Is the earth in such short supply that it's value has increased more than 300-fold (remember: LOW END!) in the last 200 years? No! It is a lie. A big fat lie designed to keep us (the masses) ignorant and powerless.
Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is the pinnacle of the scheme bestowed upon us by the wealthy elite. While they accumulate more and more assets that hold true value (land, oil, art, precious metals) we plebians are fooled into accumulating pieces of paper with a net worth of ZERO. The dollar is worth nothing - it is simply a unit of exchange used to get things with intrinsic value! Same with the Euro, the Yen, the Yuan, the Ruble and every other fiat currency on the planet.
So how is this not fair? It's difficult to wrap your head around the ramifications of such a setup on a global scale. Let's take it down a notch.
Let's say we have 2 people who trade with one another - one of them provides beef, the other grain. When these two people trade, they exchange an item of worth. Perhaps one pound of beef for 2 pounds of grain. But what if the grain famer has enough beef for the moment, yet the other fellow still needs grain right away? To pass this obstacle the two agree that an IOU will be sufficient. That the grain famer will provide grain in exchange for a note from the rancher stating, "This IOU is good for XXX amount of beef on any date." Ah! Problem solved! But now let's introduce 100 other people into this circle - - all of a sudden no one can keep track of the IOU's from all the different people involved. Some are forged, some are lost - arguments break out all around. Now, let's bring in Mr. Sleaze. Mr. Sleaze shows up one day and claims to have the answer to all of their problems. "A common unit of exchange! One piece of paper will be backed by one pound of beef, thus allowing everyone to gauge the approximate value in relation to what they are trading!" So now the grain famer knows that he should charge one of these notes for every 2 pounds of grain. Still with me? Good - here's where it gets interesting.
After several years pass and the group has become accustomed to the new unit of exchange (we'll call it "The Sucker"), Mr. Sleaze starts to prey on the poor. He offers to loan them some Suckers to buy the things they need with the understanding that they must pay him back or he will take something of value such as their home. Well of course, the poor rarely emerge up from the problems they are mired in, so inevitably Mr. Sleaze finds himself the owner of several new homes. And what price did he pay? The cost of a few pieces of paper that he printed up to supply the loan. He is able to do so because he presumes that no one will actually attempt to redeem these notes for beef from him, they will spend their Suckers elsewhere. The ownership of all of these assets soon places him in a position of authority. With such a profitable business (for this has cost him absolutely nothing...he's doing these people a FAVOR, remember?) and a rise to power, Mr. Sleaze decides to expand by bringing a few people in on the secret. He sends them out to introduce The Sucker to other communities in need. However, these neophytes are not nearly so good at business as he is, and soon there is a steep drop of confidence in The Sucker. The people flock to Mr. Sleaze and demand to redeem their suckers for beef, since that's what they are backed by after all. Sensing the impending collapse of his scheme, Mr. Sleaze uses his authority to declare beef illegal. He then calms the people by giving out virtually interest-free loans. Since the people now have a long history with this form of currency, they are blinded by their greed - "With this new loan I can buy so much land the naked eye won't be able to see the end of it, and all it will cost me is a bag of grain a month for 5 years!" Of course, Mr. Sleaze will have to create new Suckers out of nothing in order to make these loans. This increases the supply of Suckers which in turn causes the people to get into price wars, "I'll pay you TWICE what he's offering! I really need that grain!", thus causing the number of Suckers required for a given item to increase without the value of the item actually increasing. The Sucker has lost value simply due to the number of them in circulation.
So what do we have? We have a crook who provides Suckers for the masses and is paid in real, hard assets in exchange. This is what the Fed and the goverment are doing right now.
We are tricked into believing that by purchasing a $250,000 house with $25,000 down that we own it. We do not. The bank owns the asset and has put you into slavery for the next 30 years trying to pay off the principal and interest which actually amount to closer to $500,000! Do you think the wealthy have to worry about such things? Of course not! So long as the "serfs" do not demand a share of the things that truly have value, the elite can simply ride on the back of the interest payments on the loans they so "generously" provide!
So, as the smartest (and most beautiful) woman I know put it, "What's your point?" It is simply this - - you are being robbed. Slowly but steadily, the value of your money is being eroded whilst the value of the things you need (food, gas, housing) remains constant. Have your wages increased as much percentage-wise as milk and oil have over the last several years? No? Then you are now officially "poorer" than you were then. Your house is not worth more, it is worth exactly the same as when you bought it - the value of the currency has fallen. Inflation today is not because of a shortage of the things you need, but a long-standing Sucker Scheme that robs you of the very things you work so hard for.
What are we to do about it? Reject fiat. Yes, I know - you need some cash, it's just the way the world works right now. But someday the scheme will end, for nothing lasts forever. When that day comes, do you want to be holding gold, silver and land, or a checkbook that says you have 500,000 worthless pieces of paper?
Think about it.
31 March 2005
er@unixgeeks.org
http://er.unixgeeks.org