A Question About "Quantitative Easing"

Ben Bernanke and the boys at the Federal Reserve have been printing an extra 85 billion dollars per month.  All in the name of "stimulus". 

North Korea has been printing a couple of million dollars per month.  In their case, it is called "counterfeiting". 

Both sets of printing press owners, Bernanke's and North Korea's, are churning out bills for themselves and their buddies - the people who get to spend them first. 

But let's assume that "stimulus" of this sort is a good thing. 

Does it matter where the stimulus is printed? 

The Keynesian Trifecta - Theft, Borrowing and Counterfeiting

To hear Washington tell it, if we cut back on the increase, not the total, but the increase of government spending, we're going to go bankrupt, resort to cannibalism, and start listening to disco again.  30 seconds of video here.  Please watch it.  Who does it remind you of? 



Let's break down the Keynesian Logic (sic) here....

Economies rely on spending. 

I spend a lot, and you spend a lot. 

Government takes money from both of us, and spends it.  This makes it look like government spends even more, and is even more vital.  But it's the same amount of money. 

But even if we weren't spending our money instantly, we would have it in a bank.  The bank attracts our savings by paying interest.  The only way they can generate this interest it by loaning it to other people who want to..... spend it. 

Government takes our money by force.  If the only rationale for this theft is to create jobs and help the economy, we could be doing that without their freakin' help.  I want to create jobs in industries that I like, not necessarily in industries that have given The Teleprompter Jesus a shitload of contributions.  Plus, even though I'm a moral leper, I still don't like giving money to an asshole who blows up children with drones.   

Some of the other money pumped into our economy is borrowed from other nations, other individuals, or from ourselves.  Keynesian economists don't worry about this, mostly because they're not the ones who will have to pay it back. 

The other money pumped into our economy is printed at a facility on Blue Mound Road in Fort Worth TX, or at another facility in Washington D.C.  Nothing is backing it.  Not gold, not silver.  It's just paper. 

Taking money by force is bad.  Printing money out of thin air is bad.  Borrowing isn't necessarily bad in some cases, but if you're putting the loan on the credit cards of 5-year-olds, it's bad.   

If the only things keeping our economy afloat are 1) theft 2) borrowing, and 3) counterfeiting, then we need to re-examine everything we think we know about government, economics, and politics. 

The piper is coming, and he's gonna get paid. 

Stop Adjusting For Inflation

Statists and their apologists often claim that government spending isn't out of control if you adjust for inflation. 

Bullshit. 

Inflation is nothing more than government spending without legislation. 

Every penny lost from these 1947 dollars was lost because of government-sponsored inflation.  They printed more and more money.  Flood the market with dollars, and dollars will purchase less and less. 
In an honest accounting system, any record of government spending would include the amount stolen from these dollars. 

Go here to see the source for the chart.  Interesting post. 

Ben Bernanke now has another competitor

This kid has done something illegal that Ben Bernanke is paid to do. 

Hit This Link !!!

Poster came from here. 

Hey, you people occupying Wall Street !! Look at this !!

Can you spot the difference between the genuine and the fake $100 bills?

This is a counterfeit $100 bill. 
Counterfeiters are printing them in China, and they are virtually indistinguishable from the ones that The Fed prints over on Blue Mound Road in Fort Worth. 

The FBI is working with the Secret Service to figure out how to stop these guys.  According to an agent that I met at a wedding, they're magnifying these fake bills to the size of a basketball court, and trying to detect little mistakes that will help distinguish these fakes from the real thing. 
This counterfeit money isn't backed by any commodity (gold, silver, etc.) and it could wreak havoc on our economy. 

This is a genuine $100 bill. 

There is almost no way to distinguish this one from the Chinese counterfeit one.  It isn't backed by any commodity (gold, silver, etc.) and it could wreak havoc on our economy. 

If you take either of these to a bank, you can swap them for 100 pictures of George Washington, or 20 pictures of Abraham Lincoln, or 5 pictures of Andrew Jackson.  The bank will not give you any gold or silver in exchange for them.  They are only worth what people think they're worth. 

Chinese counterfeiters and Ben Bernanke are both paying their bills with worthless paper.  All discussions of the new debt ceiling are fundamentally silly, because we've been paying our debts with worthless paper for about 35 years. 

In the meantime, don't bother looking at your paper money very closely.  All of it is fake. 

You cannot accept gold as payment. You must accept Ben Bernanke's worthless paper.

From Sovereign Man:

The United States Department of Justice delivered a very clear and unfortunate message on Friday:

“Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country.”

These remarks were released by the US Attorney’s office in the western district of North Carolina following the conviction of one Bernard von NotHaus, the creator of the ill-fated Liberty Dollar.

As you likely recall from a few years ago, Liberty Dollars were privately minted gold and silver rounds. Paper certificates, akin to warehouse receipts were also issued, effectively giving the bearer a right to claim a certain amount of gold or silver at the group’s warehouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

This is traditionally how the system of money used to function– precious metals would be stored in private, secure storage facilities, and paper certificates were issued as a medium of exchange that entitled the bearer to redeem metal from the vault. Liberty Dollars represented a return to that system.

Clearly, the Justice Department feels otherwise… instead viewing these silver rounds as an attempt by terrorists to undermine the US dollar.

Hit the link to read the rest of Sovereign Man's post.  It's worth the trip. 

Anyway, back during the previous Great Depression, FDR decided that he didn't want gold to compete with his valueless paper money.  Here's Wikipedia on the infamous Executive Order 6102:

Executive Order 6102 required U.S. citizens to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, all but a small amount of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates owned by them to the Federal Reserve, in exchange for $20.67 per troy ounce. Under the Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, as amended on March 9, 1933, violation of the order was punishable by fine up to $10,000 ($167,700 if adjusted for inflation as of 2010) or up to ten years in prison, or both. Most citizens who owned large amounts of gold had it transferred to countries such as Switzerland. 

Order 6102 specifically exempted "customary use in industry, profession or art"—a provision that covered artists, jewelers, dentists, and sign makers among others. The order further permitted any person to own up to $100 in gold coins ($1,677 if adjusted for inflation as of 2010; a face value equivalent to 5 troy ounces (160 g) of Gold valued at about $6200 as of 2010). The same paragraph also exempted "gold coins having recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins." This protected gold coin collections from legal seizure and likely melting.

The price of gold from the Treasury for international transactions was thereafter raised to $35 an ounce ($587 in 2010 dollars). The resulting profit that the government realized funded the Exchange Stabilization Fund established by the Gold Reserve Act in 1934.

So what? 

Well, if people are ever allowed to swap real honest-to-god silver and gold coins in exchange for goods and services, it won't be long before people refuse to do business with Bernanke Bucks.  There is a relatively limited supply of gold and silver.  Bernanke's capacity to print $20.00 bills is unlimited.  If you ever wrap your mind around why counterfeiting is illegal, and why debtor governments love inflation, then you'll understand why our government doesn't want a currency competitor. 

If I agree to accept a gold nugget as payment for goods and services, it's nobody's business but mine.  If I agree to accept Mickey Mantle baseball cards, ditto.  I'm making the choice.  As long as nobody mis-represents the nuggets or the cards, government has no business getting involved. 

But if people continue to accept worthless paper from Bernanke's printing press?  Well, somebody ought to be a good neighbor and suggest some alternatives.  I'm just sayin'.....

The picture of Bernanke's Printing Press came from here. 

End The Fed Rally - Dallas Texas, April 25 2009

I went to the Dallas "End The Fed" rally in Downtown Dallas this afternoon.
The biggest surprise was my friend John Jay Myers, who is running for Dallas City Council. (Here he is sounding off at an earlier meeting, objecting to Dallas building a half -billion dollar hotel.)


I already knew John to be a very smart man, but had no idea he could work a crowd like he did this afternoon. As soon as the YouTube of this event goes up, I'll post it here. Plus, I'll put up other pictures as quickly as people send them to me.

Here's a hypothetical question that I spent a lot of time pondering while listening to other speakers and waving my Tarrant County Libertarian sign in front of The Temple Of Baal.

Assume someone is a counterfeiter, and a very good one. No one can tell the difference between this counterfeiter's product and the paper money rolling off the presses at the Fort Worth Bureau Of Engraving And Printing. Let's assume that there is no difference other than point of origin.

Why is it illegal for the counterfeiter to print and spend his homemade money? Who is harmed by it? As long as it can't be distinguished from the genuine article and is still accepted by merchants, doesn't it serve the same purpose?

Couldn't you even say that it stimulates the economy?