Green Money

Reflecting on the November 2008 Global Financial Crisis made me research the origins of the US monetary and financial system and the uncovered facts, were to state the least: utmost illuminating!

The US Dollar, a.k.a. "Greenback" were IOUs (I Owe yoU) empowered by the Constitution to the Government of the day by the people, to issue payments for goods and services rendered.

There is not a need to borrow money with or without usury and then pay for goods and services rendered to the people through the Government, because the Government is precisely the people and it does not make sense to pay usury to private bankers when the Government is empowered by Law (the Constitution) to print legal tender money.

When Abraham Lincoln is President, he paid for goods and services rendered to the Government by printed Greenbacks and the Greenbacks were then used by the people who received them to buy other goods and services for other people and through this, money is circulated into the economy and the economy expanded.

These were "fiat" money, that is money issued in faith, without the backing of any gold, precious metal or even borrowings.

While the primary fear of fiat money is its continuous store of value and public acceptability, its integrity is not so much its intrinsic but confidence value.

In times past, tokens ranging from stones to corrie shells and even common table salt (that is where the term 'salary' originated) were used as money.

Usury burdens the borrower and it makes no sense that the Government, who is the collective "people" should indebt the people through borrowed money to finance projects that are needed by the people, when the Government is empowered by Law to manufacture as much money as they need to govern the people.

Borrowing from private bankers to finance Government projects for the benefit of the people will only enrich the private bankers at the expense of the people, burdening them with higher taxes to pay off the usury charged by the private banking entrepreneurs.

Printing money to pay for goods and services rendered to the people under the Government auspices, per se, will not drive up inflation, provided there are idling resources waiting for capital to stimulate their sustainable exploitation.

What drives inflation is when too much money is chasing after too few goods and services.

If the economy is undergoing recession because there is not enough money around, either because people do not have the money and/or or too cautious to spend, it is time for the Government to prime the pump by printing money and spending on projects that will benefit the people.

Only Governments have the right to print money and this power can be used for good or evil.

If deployed for good, the printing of money, unbacked by gold or even borrowings is not only benign; but necessary and beneficial.

The last thing the people want is an economy with not enough money when money could merely be printed by the Government with the backing of gold or the Government indebt the people with borrowings from private bankers to spend for the benefit of the people.

I say, plagiarizing Oliver Cromwell, "Melt down all the misconceptions and circulate all the needed printed dollars into the Economy"!

Contemplations On the Mandatory Death Sentence

"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind", Mahatma Gandhi famously said.

Perhaps, it is because we are spiritually blind that we endorse the reciprocity of sin disguised as deterrent punishment.

Is it logical to chop off the hand of a convicted thief who stole because he needs food to survive and condemn him to seek no other avenues of making a living but to risk his other remaining hand in order to put food into his mouth?

As Mencius puts it, all human beings endeavor to do good, but distractions are a plenty and the onus is on the strong to bear the weak.

Alas, there are few keepers around today, especially brother's keepers.

Let us work towards a more compassionate cultured society.

Progress in civilization had actually digress humanity towards monstrosity.

Let there be Love, Peace and Hope among us, especially at these trying times when almost every known systems seem to be broken!

May 2010 be a better year.