( * even though they deserve it )
16 October 2022
Fiat currency in general and the Federal Reserve System specifically have fueled a century of inflation, graft, and elective war. Throughout history, governments have found the power to counterfeit almost irresistible, and it inevitably results in both financial and cultural dissipation, usually ending in horrific violence. Sometimes, as in the case of the Soviet Union, the violence is relatively restrained. Nevertheless, after people get cold and hungry enough, they will turn on their masters and destroy them, too often instituting even more predatory regimes.
The united States have followed the same arc, but they have benefited from a couple of advantages. The industrial revolution has conferred such great prosperity, that pernicious inflation has allowed the criminal class to enrich themselves almost unnoticed as the producers also advanced (albeit less than they would have with a more stable currency) and surviving a global war has allowed it to offer its own corrupt currency as the international standard, thereby allowing them to export the symptoms of their larcenous monetary policies.
But “American Exceptionalism” refers, contrary to localist conceit, not to an exemption from the consequences of natural law, but to our unique founding predicated on individual liberty rather than on divine right or ethnic homogeneity. No one escapes natural law, not even superstitious American nationalists.
So the future looks grim. But not certain. Before we follow the paths of Weimar Germany, Zimbabwe, or Venezuela and end up with our own native version of Nazis or Bolsheviks, I’d like to offer a way out.
Early evening in the home of Mr and Mrs America, as the credits begin to roll after the end of their favorite sitcom, the television screen goes black, flickers momentarily, then lights up to show the President seated at his desk in the Oval Office. The soothing voice-over announces, “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.”
“My fellow Americans, I don’t need to tell you that inflation has been eating us alive, especially after the last disastrous administration. And since I neither desire nor expect to be re-elected, I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. There’s no easy way out. But the least hard way, the least destructive way, is a return to Constitutional principles, the same principles that made America the greatest, freest, most prosperous, and most humane nation in the history of the world.
“Since the beginning of our Constitutional Republic, America has never demonetized its currency, but since the institution of the illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional Federal Reserve System, we have steadily and perniciously devalued our currency until today’s so-called Dollar is just a shadow of its former glory.
“Effective immediately, the Mints and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing will cease production of all base metal tokens and Federal Reserve Notes, and the Federal Reserve System will be closed. In five hundred days, about a year and a half from now, all Federal Reserve Notes will be demonetized, and all debased metal tokens masquerading as Lawful Coins minted after 1964, Nickel and Copper Five Cent Pieces minted after 1938, and Copper and Zinc One Cent Pieces minted after 1958 will also be demonetized. Buffalo Nickels, Wheat Cents, Lawful Gold and Silver Coins, United States Notes, Silver Certificates, and Gold Certificates will continue to be honored at face value.
“To reflect the disparity in values between Constitutional Currency and Federal Reserve scrip, government checks will be reduced to one fiftieth of their nominal value, and redeemable in Lawful Coin. During this transition period, existing Federal Reserve branches will be repurposed as redemption centers, and Federal Reserve scrip will be redeemed at the same ratio. As market conditions evolve, this ratio will be adjusted, probably upward, on a weekly basis. To facilitate this transition, any advance tax payments will be accepted in Federal Reserve scrip and will be fully creditable for the life of the taxpayer. If you’ve got a million paper dollars you want to drop on us, you may never have to pay taxes again, and depending on the size of that credit, that surplus may also be applied to your heirs’ future tax bills.
“Many may wonder… Is there enough gold and silver available for this to work? We’ll find out, but in order to smooth this transition, the Mints have been instructed to mint Silver Coins on demand. Show up at a Redemption Center with twenty-four grams of pure silver, and you can walk away with a Silver Dollar or ten Silver Dimes. Furthermore, we are also monetizing certain foreign Silver Coins. For brief example, Canadian Silver Caribou Quarters minted prior to 1967 will be Twenty Silver Cents, Canadian Silver Schooner Dimes minted prior to 1967 will be Eight Silver Cents, and Swiss Silver Francs minted prior to 1968 will be Twenty Silver Cents. For numerous other options, see our schedule of equivalents now posted on-line at Sound-as-a-Dollar dot gov.
“So get out your checkbooks, if you can afford it now, and pay up your taxes for the next few years. Then dig out Grandpa’s cigar box and start spending those old Mercury Dimes into circulation again. Let’s get America back on solid ground. I know this transition will be awkward, but as The Bard reminds us, If ’twere done, ’twere well it were done quickly.
“Thank you, good night, and God Bless the United States of America.”
see also:
Keep Cash Alive – Global Walk Out
meanwhile…
The Currency Buds – 211202
(meter stolen from Jimmy Driftwood)
Long about 1865, the French and the Swiss thought trade was jive!
“We ought to adopt a common currency!”
And so, they organized the Latin League.
The Franc was defined in Silver and Gold,
And the Lire and Peseta jumped in the fold!
They had the goods, and they had the cash,
And the market fired up like a birthday bash!
The currency buds thought trade was keen,
That tariffs were lame and taxes were mean.
If you had silver or you had the gelt,
Then exchange rate trauma was a pain not felt!
In ’73 the USA, thought they’d jump in and join the fray!
“If we make our Dime just a little bit light,
It’ll match up with Half a Franc just right!”
So the Western world had the finest of times,
Hustlin’ their goods ‘cross the border lines!
Reliable money worked as slick as you please,
Then it all blew away in the War Storm’s breeze.
The currency buds thought trade was keen,
That tariffs were lame and taxes were mean.
If you had silver or you had the gelt,
Then exchange rate trauma was a pain not felt!
Fiat scrip’s now here to stay, so hide your silver and gold away.
The currency buds thought trade was keen,
That tariffs were lame and taxes were mean.
If you had silver or you had the gelt,
Then exchange rate trauma was a pain not felt!
(That’s good money…)
Sucker Bucks — 140430 (original meter?)
I pulled into the QuikkStopp™, to check my manifest.
The price I saw for gasoline, well it put me to the test.
The sign said, “Bring your silver. We’ll gladly make a deal.”
For just two silver dollars, a full tank and a good hot meal!
A paper “dollar” don’t go too far
When you try to put gasoline in your car.
Groceries, rent, and an MP3, underwear, and an orange tree,
A six-pack, chips, or a pack of smokes,
These sucker bucks are a sad sad joke!
So they call it Quantitative Easin’, but it’s their skids they’re greasin’.
The banksters keep on squeezin’ while the workers take their beatin’!
We’re just tryin’ to make a livin’ but we’re givin’ up on givin’
Our hopes or votes to more rich parasites.
It’s long past time that we adjust our sights!
If you make from silver or you make it from gold,
If you give it some value a man can hold.
If you give it some weight he can feel in his hand,
Then good’s good enough for a workin’ man.