WILL POWER REPORT: THE INVISIBLE HAND

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Nothing but the truth!
 
By Will Power
 
 
July 11, 2011 (San Diego)--Capitalism, which is based on the classical economic model of Adam Smith, has morphed into a form of State Socialism, whereby the profits of private corporations are guaranteed by the Full Faith and Credit of the US taxpayers.  This has resulted in a huge national debt of $11 trillion and counting.
 
 
What's worse, the separation of the US Fed and the US Congress means the financial rules have been fixed.  The game is rigged in the favor of Big Banks and Brokers.
 
 
According to Adam Smith, an invisible hand was supposed to control the economy, spreading the profits out to workers and investors alike.  That was true until the rich began to dominate the US Congress, which has allowed the rich to fix both tax structure and supervision of stock trading that favors the richest 1% of US citizens. The invisible hand was now picking the pocket of the poor.           
 
 
The lack of control of the US Congress over the banking industry has always caused boom-and-bust cyclical trading. This is why Jefferson and Jackson were both opposed to a National Bank. Here is what Jefferson said about the national debt:
             
“..I believe there is not a man scarcely in the United States not sacredly determined to pay it. The Republican Party (Modern Democrats) wishes it could be paid tomorrow. The fiscal party (Federalists) wish the debt to be perpetual because they find in it the engine for corrupting the legislature. Banks stand of a very different ground, as is those institutions are unauthorized by the Constitution and are subject to shocks..”
    
So in 2011 we are subjected to a perfect proof of Jefferson's fears.  A political party is using the national debt as a club to ram  a partisan economic policy down the throats of the public.  A perpetual national debt is a tool for corrupt legislators to hide their corruption in a hurricane of bad contracts and bribes.. The natural fear taxpayers have of owing money is being used in perverse manner to force bad tax policy and deregulation of corporations into federal fiscal policy. These policies will increase the national debt and further increase the power of the rich to tax and spend. Meanwhile, the burden of paying for federal programs will fall on the working poor.
 
Will Power is a retired history teacher and creative writing instructor. The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of East County Magazine.

 


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Comments

Mr. Power notes, "A political

Mr. Power notes, "A political party is using the national debt as a club to ram a partisan economic policy down the throats of the public." Unfortunately, the state and fate of our economy is often boiled down using this type of demagoguery. In order for our nation solve its economic woes we will all need to get off the partisan playground and sit down at the grown-ups' table. Part of that process will be realizing that blame for our current economic woes cannot be pinned to a single economic class, one political party, or even one administration.

With the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, Congress delegated its power to coin Money to a private bank (the famous phrase is 'The Federal Reserve is no more Federal than Federal Express'). Despite numerous elections since 1913 that have brought both major political parties to power, the Federal Reserve has continued to expand its role in the central planning of the U.S. economy and has also taken to lending money to foreign banks. 'We the People' have also allowed our currency (once backed by gold and silver) to transform into a fiat currency that is not backed by anything of intrinsic value. In fact, it would be more accurate to call the bills in one's wallet Federal Reserve notes than it would be to call them Dollars. And, each time more of these notes are printed the ones we already have in our wallets and bank accounts become worth less and less. This leads to price inflation.

Thomas Jefferson warned:

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -- Thomas Jefferson -- The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill, (1809)

It is not the "...lack of control of the US Congress over the banking industry that has always caused boom-and-bust cyclical trading," as Mr. Power asserts. Further central planning and prohibitions on the free market by Congress are not the answer. The answer lies in the abolition of the Federal Reserve, a return to sound money and a free market economy, and the American people keeping government within its Constitutional limits.

It is also not the invisible hand that is picking anyone's pocket. It is the iron fist of a despotic government that is taxing some for the benefit of others be it corporate welfare, "entitlements", or the warfare state.

t is imperative that those of us who value liberty to educate ourselves on how to return to a free market. Some resources for my fellow East County residents who are interested in that journey:



The American Dream Movie

http://youtu.be/a6OQzH07u0U



The Foundation for Economic Education

http://www.fee.org/



The Ludwig Von Mises Institute

http://www.mises.org/