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“A deceitful balance is an
abomination before the Lord: and a just weight is His will.”
(Proverbs
11: 1)
This past Monday, September 15th AD 2008, the feast of the
Seven Sorrows (Dolors!) of our Lady, may well go down in history as “Black
Monday”—unless, the American people reflect on what made the financial
events of that week take place and demand that they never happen again—if they
do not, there will be Blacker and Blacker Mondays to come. The
presidential candidates whom we are allowed to hear in the mainstream media, and
the media's own “talking heads,” all bluster about raising or lowering
taxes, tighter regulation, greater government oversight, investigative
commissions, “one time” bailouts, and other similar “remedies” aimed at
treating the symptoms of our financial disaster, but completely ignoring its
causes. Politicians tend to treat symptoms with popular, vote-getting
remedies—rarely do they investigate the causes of the symptoms, particularly
if the cure might be unpopular. Don't expect them to even mention subjects like “sound money,”
“fractional reserve banking” “the Federal Reserve,” “deficit spending,”
“off budget debt” or “the Constitution.” Perhaps they are
ignorant, perhaps they complicit, or perhaps they are in fear—the bottom line
is that the actual causes of “Black
Monday” and all of its associated catastrophes will not be part of the
mainstream discussion—and not being widely discussed, they will not be
remedied.
Here follows a list of things about which Americans must
demand sound answers in the days and weeks ahead:
-
How can
we return to sound money? Currently, the money of the United
States is based on debt, rather than on any tangible asset. There
is no gold or silver backing the dollar. New money corresponds not
to any increase in wealth, but to an increase in debt. New “money”
is either spent into existence by the federal government, created out of
nothing by the Federal Reserve in exchange for public debt; or spent
into existence by the public, created out of nothing by the banks in
exchange for private debt. “Money” that is created from nothing is
not taken seriously by those at whose bidding it is created. The
mentality rapidly develops that we can bail out of any sized financial
crisis by just creating enough “money.”
The debasement of the nation's “money” by creating it out of nothing and
spending it into existence steals from everyone holding
dollars. Savings, pensions, bonds, and other fixed incomes all become
worth less. Wages and investments may increase, but rarely if ever
grow as rapidly as the dollar is debased—and when they do grow, they are
subject to larger taxes.
-
How can
we get uniform accounting for both government and business? Most,
if not all, of the entities at the heart of the financial trouble have
engaged in highly questionable accounting procedures. Many were
caught, paid a fine, and continued business as usual. The old accounting
tradition of “debits on the left, credits on the right” seems to have
gotten lost in the shuffle. One
firm, Enron, was caught classifying an item as a liability for tax
purposes, and as an asset for its investors; another, WorldCom, claiming
its expenses as assets; Fannie
reporting earnings only when they would result in senior
executive bonuses, and Freddie
doing the same. Forbes Corporate
Scandal Sheet is must reading! What about the agencies
who rate the quality of bonds? Remember that New York State Governor
who went down in flames with a call girl—do you know what he had been investigating?
Now, just guess who the biggest
offender is! And we have it on the authority of a Federal
Reserve President. Why does the government not
follow the same rules as industry?
No, I am not looking for more government regulation—but only that the
rules of accounting be uniformly, fairly, and universally be enforced—corporate
executives and government bureaucrats who violate them should face jail time
for serious violations.
And if the government is going to regulate or audit American firms, it is
reprehensible for politicians to accept campaign contributions from those
over which they have oversight. See
who received contributions from Fannie and Freddie!
-
How soon
can we expect a return to constitutional government? The United States Constitution is written in
language every high school graduate ought to be able to read, at least with a
dictionary to look up the few uncommon words like “bill
of attainder,”
“marque,” “militia,”
or legal terms like “ex
post facto,” and “habeas
corpus.” The Constitution is explicit as to what powers
are given to the federal government, and what powers are retained by the States or
individual people. Any question about this limited delegation was put to
rest by the Tenth
Amendment, in the Bill of Rights. The Constitution also provides a
method by which the delegation of powers may be amended,
which has indeed taken place a few times. To spend money for things or
programs not within the scope of the delegated powers is theft—theft on a
grand scale, which is in no way legitimized by the fact that it is the
government doing the stealing.
Federal
programs in violation of the United States Constitution represent the
entirety of the “off-the-books national debt” and a significant portion
of the “on-the-books debt.” What do Social
Security and Medicare cost? What does an undeclared war
cost? (Maybe ###
?)
What about our military presence in countries around the
world? And
are we acknowledging the liability to care for those who return maimed in
mind or body or both? What does an undeclared “war on drugs”
cost?
Conversely, what is the economic cost of not guarding our
borders? the military/security cost? What did the
nationalization of Fannie and Freddie add to the debt? It is becoming
difficult to keep track of the bailouts and their expected
costs—wouldn't want to “double dip” a few hundred billion, or
ignore anything either—and is it realistic to expect a government program
to come in “on cost”?
It is the
duty of Congress “to coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of
foreign coin, and .... To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the
securities and current coin of the United States.” “No state shall ...
make anything but gold
and silver coin a tender in payment of debts....” There is no
provision for the establishment of a central bank (the Federal Reserve), none
for the bank's creation of “money”
based on “faith,” and none to allow for the “fractional reserve
banking” in which the same “faith-based money” is loaned to five or ten
customers simultaneously. The inflation of the currency in return for
federal debt debases our money, steals buying power from everyone holding US
dollars, constitutes a hidden and unlegislated tax, and causes economic
instability. Under Section
19 of the Mint Act of 1792, debasement of the money of the United States was
(is?) punishable by death. It is precisely the Fed's ability to create
money from nothing and the irresponsibility of Congress and the Executive which
has saddled our nation with a many‑Trillion Dollar debt.
How can we possibly rationalize the taking of public office with an oath to “preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” or to “support
and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies,
foreign and domestic” with repeated campaign promises to violate that same
Constitution? with an inaugural address promising more of the
same? Can one come morally and lawfully to public office by perjuring
himself?
in XTO,
Fr. Brusca
Send him mail
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