Debt is money; Money is debt!

The Web of Debt

(The Shocking Truth About Our Money System And We Can Break Free)

Ellen Hodgson Brown, JD.

I grew up confused. On one hand, I was told to live within my means, to balance my income to my expenditure and to ensure that there is always something for savings. Being in debt was frowned upon. On the other hand, on the other side of my family, living on credit was a way of life. Nothing wrong to borrow, they would say. Even nations take huge loans.

In the modern world, it seems that one is deemed to be rich by his assets but the properties are leveraged by debts. In other words, he is only as rich as much as he can pay the interest on his debt. Money begets money and the poor get poorer. The divide between the haves and the have nots becomes more apparent as the days go by. One small hiccup in this set-up and the house of cards comes down crumbling.

 Nations that have secured high amounts of loans apparently have a higher credit rating on their credibility. Even our former premier was gung-ho in announcing that credit rating was so good that we can go on borrowing and borrowing; he did not talk about paying back!

That is what the world has come to. It is deeply intertwined in a web of debt. Money was initially utilised in change for goods, services and creativity when barter exchange proved problematic. It was working fine until international trade and imperialism came to the picture. Paper money used to be redeemable for gold, hence its value was the value placed by the people on the amount of gold it was backed with. 

The British Colonial masters decided on the value of money as the King printed it, deciding on its inherent value. The American colonies started printing their own money, which irked the British and that eventually led to the American Revolution. The Boston Tea Party and American Independence were all about money and taxes.

Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to control the value of money. In ancient times, tally sticks were used as a way to record money borrowed. Later, gold and silver were used to fix its value. Banks in past actually cheated by circulating more paper money than the gold they had to back them. Basically, the political game was who gets to control this issuance of money. Problems started creeping in when bankers started owning gold. They fixed the value of gold. Speculators who trade gold encourage transborder movements of this precious metal which then devalues the currency of a country. Its buying power then declines.

By the end of the 19th century, there was a call to take charge of the supply of money in the country. Bankers were usurping all the nation's wealth and were keeping the hard working general public in poverty. There were calls to clip the wings of these giant conglomerates. Unfortunately, things only got worse in 1913 with the establishment of the Federal Reserve Act.  The issuance of currency became the responsibility of a select group of bankers whose sole purpose of existence is not national interest but the profit of its shareholders. These bankers, with their tentacles of bankers across the Atlantic, were profiteers who had no qualms in profiting from both sides of the warring factions. In fact, war is essential for their existence as it generates income. 

The Federal Reserve is not quite 'federal' in its role. It is owned by an exclusive club whose activity is anybody's guess. Neither do they have any 'reserves' to save the nation from catastrophes. Its President decides the direction of the monetary system of the nation.

Over generations, the unholy unions of unscrupulous businesses and corrupt politicians have been balanced by the nationalistic spirit and the desire to do the right thing. Traditionally, printing of money has been viewed as dangerous which could lead to inflation. In practice, however, many US Presidents have shown that judicious issuance of Greenback has saved the nation from collapse. Lincoln did it to pay debt and win the Civil War. 

As it stands now, the world lives on credit. The Federal Reserve prints fiat money with nothing backing its value. They do not need to do it as the US dollar is backed no longer by gold or silver but by a piece of paper printed by them. Fractional banking, venture (vulture) capitalism, currency attack, off-shore banking, derivatives trading have brought populations to its knees. Nations' currencies are devalued and interests need to be paid in US Dollars. If they default, more loans are given. Citizens are taxed to pay for this.  People are enslaved through compound interests. They have to resort to double incomes and find means to tighten their belt further.

One of the founding fathers of the USA, John Adams, said that there are two ways to conquer a nation. One is through the sword and the other is through debt. This second option seems to be the modus operandi of the Cabal these days. The unholy union of political leaders and bankers spells danger to the country but resistance is just futile. A socialist minded, people-centric troublemaker leader would just be replaced easily. There is enough wealth to satisfy the needs of the people but not its greed. There is always another person anytime ready to sell his soul to the hydra-headed monster.

Traditional economics suggest that the market forces will balance up the supply and demand conundrum. Modern economists, however, posit that the state needs to meddle to put things straight. In the post 1929-depression period, timely intervention by Roosevelt through infrastructure development and de-pegging of the dollar.

Conventional teaching tells us, from the experiences of Japanese Banana Notes, the post-WW1 Weimar Republic and Sokarno's Indonesia, that printing of money can bring about hyperinflation. There are instances too of countries who temporarily solved their monetary woes through this manner. It makes perfect sense for the state to print money for services. Instead of raising prices, it would increase productivity especially when employment opportunities are available.

The web of debt is made up of petrol, bonds, bankers and corrupt politicians. They create enticing Ponzi schemes to lure promising leaders of the rich nations to loans and investment plans. They would also rush to open up their currency markets to enable speculated manipulations. These countries, in time to come, would be strapped of cash. These same vultures will send their own agents via IMF and World Bank to further impoverish them with one-sided recovery packages to get the debtors to sink further into the quicksand of helplessness.

The author, through the 500 over pages of the book, highlights how the monetary mafia creates havoc in many countries around the world. She also discusses how many nations, including Dr Mahathir of Malaysia, have come up with ways to reduce the dependence on using US Dollars in international trade. One of the suggestions includes fixing currencies to particular 'basket of commodities'.

Word of appreciation to Prof Dr Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera





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