I went to my local Occupy movement this last weekend with a couple intentions. One was to simply observe and take in the spectacle of the thing and
the other was to sway the opinions of the protesters to my own personal view point. As I expected, the majority of the protesters were focused on
corporations and wanted to see the government do more to protect individuals from corporate power.
I might be wrong, but I think that most people on this site can see how ridiculous that is. The government is ultimately responsible for the policies
which enable corporations, so appealing to the government to fix the mess it has created is probably going to fall on deaf ears. The real issues are
one step further, and I think that a significant amount of people on here and on the streets get it. The real issue is the devaluation of the US
dollar, either intentionally or through stupidity, by the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve and to some extent the people in the government who
have some control over the Federal Reserve (ie. perhaps the president and his economic staff, but certainly not the congress).
If this is controversial to you, I suggest you consider the implications of a private central bank which is not accountable to anyone. There are
numerous documentaries that can help lay this out for you but if forced to make a suggestion I would say check out The American Dream.
After hearing many in Canada complain that the Occupy protest doesn't make sense here I have been forced to agree (though I still think there are many
reasons to protest and I support the Occupy movement entirely). I don't think I will have many argue that Canada's economy has not suffered the same
catastrophe over the last 3 or 4 years as that of the United States. The following links show at least that I am not alone in this thinking.
Why
Canada's recession wasn't as brutal
Ca
nadas great recession wasnt that bad after all: Statistics Canada
My suggestion is that the following two differences are the core reason that the United States is heading to economic disaster while here in Canada we
are coasting along:
1. The Bank of Canada (equivalent to the American Federal Reserve) is owned and operated by the government (it is a Crown corporation).
en.wikipedia.org...
2. There is no restriction on what is considered money, meaning I can trade you my car for your gold or silver.
en.wikipedia.org...
From the link above:
commercial transactions may legally be settled in any manner agreed by the parties involved with the transactions
Which is contrary to American legal tender laws which currently state (from the same link):
United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender
for all debts, public charges, taxes and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.
So, the Federal Reserve has the American people cornered. They make policy decisions which ultimately devalue the US Dollar fiat currency and then
the government tells you that you are forced to deal in US Dollars for all debts. In Canada, the practice of using Bank of Canada notes is almost
universal, but the threat of competition from silver and gold no doubt keep inflation in check. Unfortunately we are not immune from the disastrous
inflation south of the border.
I am offering this information to you to consider as I believe it is clear that these policy differences have made Canada more capable of protecting
it's citizens against the banks and also that these policies are not controversial here. Meanwhile, the only American politician of note that I am
aware of who supports these policies is Ron Paul and he is considered controversial precisely for his stance that the Federal Reserve's monopoly on
currency is to the detriment of all Americans. I think it would benefit all supporters of Ron Paul, as well as his campaign, to acknowledge these
policy differences between the two countries as it would clearly demonstrate that his position is not controversial and has real world examples of
being effective.
Thanks for listening.
edit on 18-10-2011 by Eddy_Jordan because: (no reason given)
edit on
edit on 10/19/2011 by
benevolent tyrant because: mod edit ; attempt to correct bb code