The problem isn't money. Money is merely a symbol of value, to ease commerce. The problem is we live under a system of debt, where all money is loaned to us at interest. Interest money which is never created.

The fed is able to print up money and give it to the select people they want. The businesses they want to succeed get the loans, while the ones they don't want to succeed are not given such loans.

We live under a system of economic slavery. It's been a problem since the times of Jesus. The only time Jesus ever got violent was in the markets against the moneychangers. The fed is the moneychangers of today.

If the amount of money was only issued in proportion to the amount of trade being done, as a way of easing trade, then it is a blessing. It is neither inflated or deflated. If the economy grows, then the amount of money in circulation is to increase in direct porportion to that growth. The newly created money - which is not a loan and does not come at interest, is then used to provide basic services for people, instead of them having to pay taxes.

Here's a rough explanation of the how the federal reserve system works.

Lets say you have $100 in the world. Of that $100, you personally own $10. This means you own 10% of the entire worlds wealth. Now to keep it simply, lets say that the only thing you can buy are apples. There are 10 apples in the entire world that can be bought. Supply and demand dictates that each apple is worth $10. Simple economics. That means you have enough purchasing power to buy 1 apple.

Enter the federal reserve. The federal reserve decides it wants to add another $100 in circulation. So now there is $200 in circulation. You have $10 still, but now you only have 5% of the wealth. Supply and demand says that each apple is now worth $20 each. You can only buy half an apple now. Half of your wealth was stolen from you without them touching your pocket.

This is a constant transfer of wealth from the poor people, to the rich who get these loans. This is the scam of the money changers.

Not to mention they loaned that money out, at interest. So not only do the fed banks get back the $100, they also get back the interest money. Interest money which is never created. So where does it come from? It has to come from the original wealth.

Now the fed claims they do what I orignally laid out. But that is the lie. Because if they did that, we wouldn't have all this inflation, and it wouldn't be created at interest.

Blaming money isn't going to solve the problem. They don't even actually care about the money itself. What they care about is using the money they create to support their agenda. To give them more power over things.

Most Americans don't even realize the theft because as I said before - you do not lose money. You kept your $10 the entire time. What was robbed is your purchasing power. And of course, rather than realizing the inflation, the people will blame the places that raise the prices in accordance to the inflation. Like the oil companies and such. Not to defend the oil companies, but the price of oil is really just increasing with the inflation. As those executives know and understand whats going on, so they make sure they get theirs. Meanwhile the companies that do not increase their prices eventully go under because their purchasing power has gone, and they can't afford to keep going. And if they raise their prices, then they lose customers. They don't have the benefit the oil companies do where people are dependent on their product.

The place where the Human mind can attain something it has neglected as its gift, the concept of peace and unconditional love.

Firstly, great post badmedia. Your reply should be added to every ATS thread concerning the economic crisis. It's very informative.

Originally posted by badmedia
Blaming money isn't going to solve the problem.

That wasn't the point of this thread, of my OP. I'm not blaming money and I understand that money itself is not evil, but rather the abuse of money is. What I was trying to get across is that reliance on money, under a central authority will always carry the potential for enslavement. Yes, the Federal Reserve should be abolished and interest on money created ended, but if we put an end to our individual reliance on money, we can never be in danger of the kind of control we are currently subject to.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
Where are we free to live in nature? It is all either privately or federally owned. It seems to be more difficult than it should be. Maybe it is easier than I imagine it, but I have built it up as another example of how trapped we really are.

Good point. I often think the same way. Two things here:
- We are told that lawfully we cannot escape civilsation. But in a practical context, there are a number of places any of us could escape to and live. They're growing smaller, but they're there.
- When I say 'nature', I don't just mean a geographical relocation. I mean spiritual connection, music, companionship and theoretical appreciation of nature. The PTB might be able to control what we can and can't buy, where we can and cannot go or drive within a city and what community services we are eligible for, but it cannot control the more esoteric aspects of our existence - the things which cannot be compartmentalised and barcoded; our connection to the spiritual, natural world. In retrospect I didn't express this at all in the OP.

[edit on 1/10/2008 by Cythraul]

i guess i appear to be the only one that likes our system. i don't think of myself as a "slave to the dollar". people in the past have had it much tougher then us, but in different ways. i worked the system to my advantage by putting aside a little money each month in various accounts. and yes this meant at one point, i had about 60 thousand in cash just sitting in my bedroom, because i had freaked out about runs on the bank. this "system" of ours CAN be played, you just have to pay attention, do some research, and keep your eye on your money. learn to adjust quickly to prevailing circumstances and be a tightass with yourself as far as spending money on descretionary items (fun stuff). i'm pretty much sitting out this "crisis" unscathed. i'm not rich...but i sleep real well at night. tradeoffs are a neccessary part of life, i have never owned a SUV, always bought 1 or 2 year old cars that had good gas milage and were comfortable. my wife and i saved up 20% for a down payment on a house 20 years ago, and paid off the house in 15 years. and after all those years of scrimping, we are living a comfortable life, but are far from being rich.

A place where we dont value fragile items (money) over the really important things such as unconditional love and peace.