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178 Comments
- Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -10/+68This video needs to be seen. Fractional Reserve Banking is fundamentally fraudulent, and is the root of many of our economic woes, but as serious as it is, this issue is hardly understood by the public at large. This issue is more important now than ever, especially with an election year coming up.
Ron Paul is the only candidate that seems to understand monetary policy. Ignorance of the issue will destroy our economy; it is for our own survival sake that we must elect someone who understands how important sound monetary policy is. All the other candidates don't appear to know the first thing about the matter.
The issue isn't as simple as the gold standard. (The video concludes that the gold standard isn't really viable at this point in time, which I agree with. Ron Paul's position may differ, but in any case, Ron Paul is more correct than not.) I urge all to watch the video; I can't do it justice here.
See also the video link titled "Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve" here:
http://www.fdrs.org/banking_history.html
It gives a concise and accurate description of the history and problems fundamental to fractional reserve banking. - Chris_F, on 12/04/2007, -3/+28Watched the first hour, but I'm tired, so I'll leave the rest for later. Even though it's long and looks like it's from the late 90's the information is very good and still 100% relative to our situation today. I'd suggest watching this. Hopefully we will put a stop to the Federal Reserve and fractional-reserve banking, which I think should be a crime and those people who exploit millions of people for their own monetary gain should be arrested.
- internjack, on 12/04/2007, -14/+37Ron Paul knows what to do. This Doctor knows Best!
- critthinker, on 12/04/2007, -2/+19The MAJOR reason the establishment HATES Ron Paul is not his anti-war views ,but opposition to that "legalized" counterfitting operation called the Federal Reserve!
http://www.fdrs.org/invisible_government.html
http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/fract/
These PRIVATE banks can write the US government an IUO notes in the bank's name, that are not are backed by precious metals or any other COLLATERAL that could be repossed in need be, and the US government then gives them billions of dollars worth of bills of any denomination at the $20.61 per 1000 bills that it costs to print them, and the PRIVATE banks can then loan that money to other banks and collect interest on that money!
Q: Why can't you and I open a PRIVATE bank and get in on such a sweet deal?
A: Because you and I do not belong to these families!
The Rothchilds
Lazard Freres (Eugene Mayer)
Israel Sieff
Kuhn Loeb Company
Warburg Company
Lehman Brothers
Goldman Sachs
The Rockefeller family and J.P. Morgan interests
Q: What other citizens in the world would let such and INSANE idea continue?
A: NONE, because the citizens in other countries are not STUPID as ours to allow such a "scam" to happen and would riot in the streets and force, the government to use a PUBLIC central bank to introduce bills in the system or make those PRIVATE banks put up something of value as COLLATERAL rather than letting them make money from "thin air"!
The following two sections from the Federal Reserve ACT PROVE the above statements are TRUE:
Section 16.2. Application for Notes by Federal Reserve Banks
Any Federal Reserve bank may make application to the local Federal Reserve agent for such amount of the Federal Reserve notes hereinbefore provided for as it may require. Such application shall be accompanied with a tender to the local Federal Reserve agent of collateral in amount equal to the sum of the Federal Reserve notes thus applied for and issued pursuant to such application. The collateral security thus offered shall be notes, drafts, bills of exchange, or acceptances acquired under section 10A, 10B, 13, or 13A of this Act, or bills of exchange endorsed by a member bank of any Federal Reserve district and purchased under the provisions of section 14 of this Act, or bankers' acceptances purchased under the provisions of said section 14, or gold certificates, or Special Drawing Right certificates, or any obligations which are direct obligations of, or are fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States or any agency thereof, or assets that Federal Reserve banks may purchase or hold under section 14 of this Act or any other asset of a Federal reserve bank. In no event shall such collateral security be less than the amount of Federal Reserve notes applied for. The Federal Reserve agent shall each day notify the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of all issues and withdrawals of Federal Reserve notes to and by the Federal Reserve bank to which he is accredited. The said Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may at any time call upon a Federal Reserve bank for additional security to protect the Federal Reserve notes issued to it. Collateral shall not be required for Federal Reserve notes which are held in the vaults of, or are otherwise held by or on behalf of, Federal Reserve banks.
Section.16.16. Expenses
The expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out these provisions, including the cost of the certificates or receipts issued for deposits received, and all expenses incident to the handling of such deposits shall be paid by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and included in its assessments against the several Federal reserve banks.
Now that you KNOW, what are you gonna do about it? - ldiamond, on 12/04/2007, -4/+18Ron Paul does not want to go back to the gold standard.
1. He would like to abolish the illegally created, unconstitutional, private Federal Reserve Banking System. This would take control away from the bankers and is the most important action we must take. 1) The Federal Government through the Treasury should be in control of money supply NOT private banks. 2) The Federal Government should not be paying interest to a private bank.
2. Interest rates should not be established by a private bank nor should a private bank be permitted to print as much fiat paper money as it likes. Inflation is a man made phenomena. It doesn't have to exist.
3. Ron Paul want's to legalize gold a means of money. Gold is money. Fiat paper currency is not real money. He wants to legalized financial instruments such as the Gold Bond.
4. He would like to have a competing currency that is backed by gold, similar to the Liberty Dollar.
5. Ideally, our currency would be tied to gold in a fixed or narrowly floating range. - odigity, on 12/04/2007, -3/+17It's not just about "conspiracy theories". Part of the reason this continues to go on is because most of the members of congress simply do not understand anything about monetary policy, and so don't realize anything is wrong or don't care to pay attention. (Ron Paul being an obvious exception.)
- Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -3/+16I back Ron Paul, but I don't think a full gold standard is the answer. The reason is, the control of the money supply would instantly fall into the hands of those who control the gold reserves. Back in the days when money was backed by precious metals, the gold-standardists opposed the monetization of silver, because silver was more plentiful, and because it would break their monopoly on the money supply. I can't go into all the details here, but the video does. (It's over 3 hours long for a reason, but every minute of it is worth watching.)
Between the 100% gold standard advocated by Ron Paul and all the MIeses institute folks, and the solution proposed in the video, which is still a fiat-money system, but not in the control of private bankers, and without the inflationary layers set up by the Fed between itself and commercial banks (See the video entitled "money, banking, and the federal reserve" link here: http://www.fdrs.org/banking_history.html ), the solution proposed in the video is likely to be more sound. There are a few inaccuracies in the "Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve" video that are covered in the documentary posted in this digg submission. (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560 ... )
Ron Paul is right to oppose the Federal Reserve system, but if he attempts to go onto a 100% gold backed monetary system, what he'll find is a sharply contracted money supply. As I see it, the only viable way to do this is for him to carry out what the video suggests. The transition could be disastrous if done wrong, but I still support Ron Paul because compared to all the other candidates, he's a step in the right direction.
The documentary is over 3 hours long, but it is worth watching all the way through. I urge all to watch it. - NoTiG, on 12/04/2007, -7/+19What is amazing is that banks charge interest as their service... you go to get a loan, they create the money from nothing.. charge you interest.. and you have to pay this interest back that, with even with inflation considered... it can be twice the principal they loaned out. And all they did was alter an electronic ledger for this "service" . There is no more clever way to enslave someone than economically like the banks have.
Nice video but the solution is interest free loans http://teslam.net/me.htm - richmomz, on 12/04/2007, -2/+13Fractional Reserve Banking = Legalized Ponzi Scheme
- looselips, on 12/04/2007, -1/+11It was moved. The media page: http://mises.org/media.aspx
now shows the file at: http://mises.org:88/Fed - Chris_F, on 12/04/2007, -4/+14Watch the video to see why a gold standard hasn't worked in the past and why it will do nothing to solve our problems today. Our problem isn't that we use paper money that's not backed by gold, it's that our government borrows money from the Federal Reserve which is a non-government corporation who's only interest is their own gain. They control our dollar and they will break it as well if we don't do anything to stop them.
- omegaredIX, on 12/04/2007, -4/+14Three hours, damn. Very long watch here I come. Looks like its worth it though.
- Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -2/+11You obviously haven't watched the documentary. The documentary is not advocating a gold standard as the only alternative to fractional reserve banking.
- fonebone2, on 12/04/2007, -3/+11Spoken like someone who fails to understand the first principles of banking, which have been known for centuries if not millenia. Their "service" is assuming the risk that you won't be able to pay back the money you borrowed - a risk which, considering the current state of our economy, is quite substantial.
- themoop78, on 12/04/2007, -4/+12This is the most important video I have ever watched. Governments aren't controlled by the people, they are bought by the international bankers. And politicians that don't concede to these bankers are taken out.
There is no such thing as history as we know it, because history has been dictated by a small group of elitests whose only goal in this world is to perpetuate greed and to rob the world blind.
We were all sold down the river decades ago. It's about time we start waking up to this fact. Please take the time to watch the whole video. I was once blind, but now I see. - facelogic, on 12/04/2007, -6/+12three+ hours... Does anyone have the cliff's?
- ScornedPatriot, on 12/04/2007, -1/+7@Berkana
Damn broke digg replies.
Ron Paul would like to see Gold and Silver back alternative currencies competing with the dollar, he just did an interview about this. That way the Fed can't continue to cut interest rates for their corporate interests causing the dollar to lose value robbing the American public of their savings value. Currency like the Liberty Dollar (that the FBI just raided and shut down). That way the dollar competes on the open market, like we already compete with the Euro, if the Feds do something drastic and the dollar falls in value people can shift earnings to a competing currency. It would be nothing but good for the system to break the monopoly currently held by the Fed. - cybrguy, on 12/05/2007, -2/+8An exellent quote from the video at 46:50
"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and the coprorations which grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
-- Thomas Jefferson - bobbybobington, on 12/04/2007, -2/+8Monetary policy is complex, don't naively believe anything you hear. Learn the counterarguments the pros and cons of both sides before you make up your mind.
- fonebone2, on 12/04/2007, -2/+8"People will always pay back if they are under contract."
WHAT?!?! People can't pay back their loans if they don't have any ***** money! Are you claiming that no one has ever defaulted on a loan? What do you think happened to the subprime mortgage market? Weren't those people "under contract?" Sheesh. - Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -1/+7It is a result of a conspiracy. See the documentary, about the Jekyll Island meeting between the bankers that prepared the way for the establishment of the Federal reserve.
Okay, so you don't like the term "conspiracy". Fine. It was a result of a secret meeting of special interests trying to manipulate the laws to secure their interests at the expense of others. In other words, a conspiracy. - hardcrocodile, on 12/04/2007, -2/+7I know you shouldn't quote Wikipedia for information, but it's written so well:
"A small but vocal group of people advocate for a return to the gold standard (the elimination of the dollar's fiat currency status and even of the Federal Reserve Bank). Their argument is basically that monetary policy is fraught with risk and these risks will result in drastic harm to the populace should monetary policy fail.
Most economists disagree with returning to a gold standard. They argue that doing so would drastically limit the money supply, and throw away 100 years of advancement in monetary policy. The sometimes complex financial transactions that make big business (especially international business) easier and safer would be much more difficult if not impossible. Moreover, shifting risk to different people/companies that specialize in monitoring and using risk can turn any financial risk into a known dollar amount and therefore make business predictable and more profitable for everyone involved."
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monetary_policy) - dracostimpy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5How can a goldbug like myself possibly refute such a fine argument as that? The gravitas you added with "thus" really cements the certitude with which you make your statement. I find your toilet-paper-as-money ideas fascinating, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
- Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -0/+5Here is a shorter video exposing the problems of fractional reserve banking, but there are some crucial inaccuracies: http://mises.org:88/Fed
They point out the problems with inflation of colonial/continental script, but didn't tell about the time when that system worked, before abuses ruined it. They also misrepresented Abraham Lincoln's "Greenback" financing of the civil war, by not telling about how it succeeded, and how the bankers tried to kill it.
The Ludwig von Mieses school of thought is anti-Federal Reserve for the right reasons, but proposes a gold standard and no central bank, which has some serious problems, covered in the long documentary "Money Masters". The 3 hour long video I submitted suggests another approach. See this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Money_Masters#Mon ... - Richandler, on 12/04/2007, -4/+9Most people know nothing about money at all. This maybe painfully long but it is worth watching and learning about money.
- Richandler, on 12/04/2007, -1/+6It was created by a vote of 3 congressmen....
- VitriolAndAngst, on 12/04/2007, -1/+6I notice all those links and clear-cut logic you put into that Rebuttal that starts off talking about "simpletons."
Nice drive-by on the facts -- but do you have a point? - demiurgency, on 12/04/2007, -3/+8it's worth watching in it's entirety. i watched it just last week.
- ZenFountain, on 12/04/2007, -3/+8Good luck to the average worker wanting a mortgage loan without the evil fractional reserve banking system.
- elvisB, on 12/09/2007, -0/+4A few elite banking families are enslaving humanity with a fiat system that generates money out of thin air. National debt is mathematically impossible to pay off, it's true. What's gonna happen when a planet full of people realize a tiny elite have ripped them off in the most profound way possible?
- seks03, on 12/06/2007, -0/+4this is a great movie, it opens your eyes to what is going on around us.
- dracostimpy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4The Constitution says gold OR silver can be coined as money, so Ron Paul is not advocating a 100% gold-standard.
In fact, I'm sure he'd support an amendment to include palladium, platinum, copper, land and heads of cattle as currency too, because the essential point of precious metals as currency is that they have actual utilitarian value just as do cows or land. Precious metals have been settled on as money by societies throughout history simply because coins are easier to carry in your pocket than diapers or heads of cattle.
Paper money is worthless for the same reason grains of sand are worthless; there's no limit to how much you can create. COULD paper money work? Certainly... All you have to do is find leaders who will print ONLY the exact amount of money to offset the labor output, not a cent more or less, and then you'll have a 100% stable dollar. Until the Flying Spaghetti Monster comes down from heaven to rule the world, however, there's not a single entity I would possibly trust to accurately handle that; certainly not the Fed and their bungling fartknockers.
Given that we cannot possibly trust any human being with that kind of control as has been proven every time it's ever been attempted, we have NO better option than to use commodities with real intrinsic value as money. If you don't like gold or silver, that's fine; just tell me what's easier to use as money instead of PMs that has true utilitarian value. - CanIGetAWitness, on 12/04/2007, -2/+6Yes, over 3 hours, but very, very engrossing.
If you want to shorten it up, watch the first 10 minutes then skip to about the 1 hour point. One doesn't need to start with the Roman days, but you will def want to pick it up after the dark ages.
It will be like a good book that you can't put down. - Berkana, on 12/06/2007, -0/+4No, but he is the only one who is serious about monetary reform; if he does anything, it will bring the problems to light so the real solution can be discussed. The rest of the candidates don't even appear to know how the system works.
- Richandler, on 12/04/2007, -1/+5So the tax dollars we pay for the 9 trillion dollars of debt we have isn't borrowed money?
- ObscureProtect, on 01/10/2008, -0/+4I bet the rich elites who control this country are scared to death of Ron Paul. I'm sure they're tossing and turning at night hoping Ron Paul, who's said he would get rid of the Federal reserve, will not become the president; probably hatching up plans to make him invisible to the public.
- six30pm, on 12/05/2007, -1/+5Ron Paul supports an asset backed currency. Under such a system a dollar is worth a dollar of whatever asset is used. In other words no fractional reserve banking. I suspect his preference for gold as that asset stems from his adherence to the constitution (Article 1 section 9).
"They" hate him not because he wants to abolish the fed, they know he wont have the power to do so. They hate him because he will end the enormously lucrative borrowing needed to fund the war by ending the war. - xTRUMANx, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4This video just depresses the ***** out of me. I just hope someone somewhere takes action. Being from a country with no stable gov't doesn't help one's chances of doing anything.
- leolll, on 12/04/2007, -3/+7"This is only surprising and worrisome to simpletons." Oh, you mean people like Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, etc.
- alvinrod, on 12/05/2007, -2/+5No one's advocating a gold standard. It's a possible solution, but as the video points out, not necessarily a good one. However, keeping a horribly broken system is not a good idea in the slightest.
- Berkana, on 12/05/2007, -1/+4It is precisely the fact that "money isn't free" that makes fractional reserve banking so dangerous. The bank makes money up as if it were free to finance things the government doesn't want to raise taxes for (such as the war in Iraq, which has cost us more than $500 billion dollars, while Bush cut taxes disproportionately for the rich), but the ones who end up paying the price is us citizens who find our dollars depreciating through inflation, because as you said, money isn't free. The cost shows up somewhere.
- ldiamond, on 12/04/2007, -2/+5If you only have an hour, watch Fiat Empire.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5232639329 ... - richmomz, on 12/04/2007, -3/+6Here's the short-short version: Fractional Reserve Banking = Legalized Ponzi Scheme.
Now go watch the full video and learn something. - Richandler, on 12/04/2007, -1/+4Which only proves you wrong.
- PeppermintPig, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3So what are the benefits?
- Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -2/+5It obviously has a bias. There is no such thing as true neutrality, but that doesn't mean the documentary isn't honest, and it does represent a perspective on the history of money and monetary policy too long obscured and hidden from the public due to the biases of the banking interests and those who benefit from it.
Is it biased? No kidding. But it is honest enough to be worth watching. - Berkana, on 12/04/2007, -1/+4The problem is more than just fractional reserve banking, though that's the biggest part of it. The second factor that makes it so bad is that the Fed INDEBTS THE GOVERNMENT because it is not part of the government; it is privately run, as if something above the government can hold it in debt and monopolize our money supply. Yet that's exactly what's happened, and the way it came to be this way is covered in the documentary.
- PeppermintPig, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Conspiracy has gotten a bad reputation, but it's accurately applied.
The autonomy of the individual is in jeopardy, whether by a private bank, or a government official seeking to restrain our economic prosperity. - PeppermintPig, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3It's a good video, but not entirely accurate. The one drawback is that it assumes government is always there to do good so long as it acts to oppose the bankers. How did it become a monopoly in the first place? Government. Politicians, good or bad, often cede their authority in ignorance.
After watching this video, you may become a greater fan of Jackson, and even more confused about Lincoln. - COinOR, on 12/04/2007, -0/+3"...politicians don't know anything about economics..." agreed, but only because we elected them (maybe because the general public doesn't know anything about economics). it's a vicious cycle...
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