Posted by WhitWT on 01/13/09

Recently the repression of truth in this country has kind of gotten me down. The idea that free markets are to blame for the current state of affairs runs rampant. Trust in the Fed and Bernanke is common place not only in the media, but from a majority of uninformed citizens as well. And belief that government intervention saved us from the great depression when they infact caused it through price/wage controls is being screamed from the rooftops. With all of this inaccurate information being touted as truth, what are we to do when it comes to wringing the true truthiness out of the truth? (Or something along those line, you got me though right?)

I subsribe to the belief that, like politics in general, the strongest movement is that of the grassroots. What do I mean by this? When conversations come up with your family, friends, co-workers, random strangers, etc, revolving around the topic of the economy, flaunt that knowledge filled melon of yours. I know what you are thinking. "But it is a complicated issue. How can I convey this to people who don't know or care about the true truthiness of the causes? Why is he staring at me like that? Is there something in my teeth?"

Yes,it is a complicated issue; but don't assume that other folks won't understand it. When it is walked through step by step, the root causes of this mess are quite simple to explain and understand. Here are some of the simple facts that I recommend expousing:

-The free market in innocent of the current collapse. The Fed has blood on its hands due to artificially lowering interest rates.

-The Fed controls interest rates. When interest rates are low people are less like to save because there is less incentive to do so. They will have a lower rate of return. And people are more likely to borrow because it costs less for them to do so. This goes for banks as well. When it is cheaper for them to borrow money they will make riskier loans. And it is cheaper for citizens to borrow money so they will try to take out even more loans. But who makes it cheaper for banks to borrow money? The Fed. But how? Simple! They make money appear by printing more.

-Our currency is based on faith alone. Since Nixon abolished the gold standard, our money is just paper that can be created at will by the Fed. And because it is based on nothing, the value of it goes down when more is created.

-The government spends money that is taken or printed or borrowed. That is it. That is all that they can do. So when they spend, it can't create growth. I can create inflation, a transfer of wealth, and moe national debt. That is all. And every deficeit in the government will be paid by us, either through taxation or the process of our currency and savings become worth less until it is worthless.

I am not saying that it is an easy viewpoint to get across, the act of erasing lies that have been compounding for years can be quite daunting. But give folks a chance, they will never understand if they are never given the chance. And I have found that the truth is rather contagious. When someone has THE revalation (you know what I am talking about, all of a sudden it all makes sense) they continue the search for truth. And they tell others, and it all grows. So I encourage you to start the dialouge, spread the truth.

Posted 01/13/09 Mike in Virginia Fredericksburg, VA

Great point, Whit. I make it a point to talk to people about these things whenever the conversation gets anywhere close enough to segue into them. We all need to do that.