How the Federal Reserve Makes Money
Posted by Orrin Woodward on December 9, 2013
If there is one 30 minute video that every liberty loving citizen should watch it is this one by Michael Maloney. Remarkably, this video breaks down the purposely complex money making process created by the centralized banking system in a simple to understand fashion. Anyone wondering what happened to America’s money needs to watch this video along with reading Murray Rothbard‘s What has Government Done to Our Money? Please let me know what you learned from the video even if you have to watch it a couple of times. LIFE Leadership seeks after truth because one truth will set a person free.
Sincerely,
56 Responses to “How the Federal Reserve Makes Money”
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Michael Mattammal said
While Mike Maloney is absolutely right about the way our monetary system is set up, the way the money is created, and why our debt based monetary system will eventually fail, I think he is fundamentally wrong about a couple key things.
1. What is/isn’t “constitutional money.” He and many others have misinterpreted the constitution via article 1 sections 8&10 with regards to Congress’s ability to “coin” money, and what the STATES rights are as outlined in Article 10. He doesn’t go deep enough into the origins of money and what money truly is and what it does when he refers to gold and silver being real money.
2. He doesn’t give the correct solution. While he correctly identifies the problem, i.e. the DEBT BASED monetary system, he fails to realize that the system is ONLY fundamentally flawed because it is DEBT based. Should the money simply be coined/created and issued into the economy DEBT FREE, then the value would be controlled via the QUANTITY in the system/REAL inflation, and the money WE THE PEOPLE got back, through our government via taxation, could actually be spent and re-invested back into the economy on the things we as society really need, and NOT spent on interest on some fictional debt to some private banking corporation. My grammar sucks right now by the way. My apologies. 🙂
Great video though! I love listening to Mike Maloney amongst others. I encourage you to listen to more Bill Still!
Michael Mattammal said
P.S. I saw this for the first time right when it came out and sat my whole family down over thanksgiving and made them watch this. They are what I like to call the 1% of the population that needs to realize just how rigged the system really is. I got mixed reviews, but for the most part positive. They’re coming around slowly but surely. 🙂
Orrin Woodward said
Michael, I have only watched this video and nothing else have I read nor listened to from Michael Maloney. Specifically, I was looking for a video to explain what Murray Rothbard’s explains in his book What Has Government Done to Our Money and this was the closest I found. 🙂 I will check out Bill Still. thanks, Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
No worries. I was just giving my two cents. I’ve followed global economics very closely the last two years, for one reason being prior military has opened my eyes to a lot of things throughout he world, and I’ve made it my life’s priority to understand how and why things work the way they work in regards to money. It’s a long, sometimes complicated story, but in the end it breaks down to the same old story of people taking advantage of others at the highest levels.
I have listened to much of the material Life has to offer, and it’s very interesting to see the dynamics of what Mike Maloney is talking about in the video, and how it relates to what Life is trying to do with changing the way the country thinks about Life as a whole. In reality it all boils down to money. So going forward since everything boils down to money at some level, in order to really make progress we have to really understand what it is, what it’s true purpose is, and how it serves WE THE POEPLE.
Anyway, enjoy Bill Still! God bless.
Orrin Woodward said
Body, Mind, Spirit are the three areas I work on and economics (money) ties into body and mind. Feeding the body and ensuring the mind is free. 🙂 thanks, Orrin
MIchelle Mielke said
Michael, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to watch Maloney’s 3 episodes that led up to this video. I believe Maloney describes in detail the origins of money and many other details. At face value, I believe Maloney is trying to educate the public, and does a good job through visual effects, helping us to understand the complex world of economics and money supply.
Michael Mattammal said
I have seen all of his videos and have followed him, Ron Paul, Bill Still, and many many others for years now. Mike Maloney talks in detail about the history of money, however, he really doesn’t go back far enough into history. He never addresses what money really is at it’s core in deep enough detail. He mentions key fundamentals that describe it like a store of value, fungibility, etc., but he never talks about what it is. Meaning that he completely glosses over the fact that money is really nothing more than an agreed upon medium of exchange that represents TIME and LABOR. He mentions these things but never makes the connection that it doesn’t matter what backs a currency that matters, all that really matters is who controls the QUANTITY of money in circulation.
The crazy part is his video is so dead on accurate about everything, accept where he identifies the solution. If the problem with the money system is that it’s debt based, then the solution would be to make it NOT debt based. Money could be created and issued out into the economy DEBT FREE and the taxes the government would take in could actually be reinvested back into society. It wouldn’t have to be used to pay interest on some fictional debt which is the money supply.
That doesn’t mean going back to gold and silver as if they are the only “real” forms of money. Gold and silver are nothing more than an agreed upon medium of exchange that inevitably trade time and labor. They’ve just been used for so long throughout human history due to the fact that they last over the ages and keep their value because they don’t deteriorate like all the other things humans have used for money over the eons.
But again, GREAT VIDEO!
Orrin Woodward said
Michael, I believe the Austrian like Gold and Silver only because it ensure NO ONE manipulates as their is only so much quantity and the cost of mining to increase the supply is much more difficult than placing more zero’s on a computer. Basically it protects mankind from the exploiters are like the people my granddad used to say about using figures – Figures don’t like, but liars sure can figure. 🙂 thanks, Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
Orrin,
Gold and silver have been manipulated throughout history. They are not immune to manipulation. A dirty little secret that Austrians don’t really talk about very often. Also, because the average person in today’s society would never walk around with actual gold and silver to conduct transactions in, eventually you would have to adopt a paper receipt form of currency where the paper represented the gold which was somewhere else. But we all know how that turned out. Bottom line really is that even gold and silver aren’t immune to manipulation, they are scarce, and they are simply one form of medium of exchange that people can use to transfer their time and labor, but not the only ones.
If you want to know what the money of the future is, you should start looking into crypto currencies. As things degrade around the world via the debt based currencies and US dollar, more and more people will naturally turn to alternatives. In the short term and potentially long term, the crypto currencies will be what people flock to outside the US. Even gold and silver will benefit. EIther way, people will look for new forms of mediums to exchange, those that are decentralized and immune from manipulation and government control as much as possible. Mike Maloney and the Austrians are right, they just aren’t right enough. GREAT VIDEO THOUGH!!
God Bless!
Orrin Woodward said
Michael, read Larry Sechrest’s book on Free Banking and the competition and return of gold certificates for gold on demand would force banks to have gold or go bankrupt just like all businesses are forced to have gold or go bankrupt. A real demand deposit on gold from truly competitive banks would force banks to keep nearly if not actually 100% return. This is what the banks from each country were forced to do – return gold when international banks returned money – and this kept inflation flat from the Spanish gold/silver find until 1913. I just studied the data and I will see if I can find it online to link to. The point is instead of having just nations compete, have banks compete across every locality, state, and nation, using gold to ensure no one is faking certificates and the fiat paper hoax is over! I doubt if the world leaders have the courage to do such a thing, but it is impossible for the State to manipulate actual gold unless they have discovered how to make gold cheaper than it is to mine it. 🙂 Great discussion, now its time for me to get back to my research. thanks, Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
Orrin,
Thanks for the reply. I’d first like to clarify something that many people seem to misinterpret. The word FIAT by definition means by government decree, or Let it be so. So in other words, and this is going to blow some Austrian Economists minds, but ALL money whether it be gold backed, paper, tally sticks, commodities based, or whatever, is by definition FIAT if the government decrees it as money. And keep in mind the WE THE PEOPLE ARE the government. So let me recap. If we the people through our elected officials i.e. the government, decide that gold , silver, FRNs, or whatever IS money to be used as a medium of exchange then it is ALL considered FIAT by definition. At least in the context of what the word originally meant. Unfortunately there has been this misinterpretation of the word that has transformed the definition into something other than its original definition.
Here is what I’d like for you to consider, and this is the deepest question/point that I can ask/make about the discussion of money. WHAT IS MONEY?? Money can be ANYTHING. It can be grass, it can be gold, it can be silver, it can be wood, it can be oil, it can be diamonds, it can be whatever WE agree on it being. The point is that it doesn’t matter what the money is in its physical representation. As long as we all understand what it represents. Meaning that when everything is all said and done, when everything is broken down to its most fundamental unit of measure, money is simply some THING that exchanges a person’s time and labor for someone else’s time and labor somewhere down the line.
Think about what slavery is at its most fundamental root. Whether it be slavery by chains and whips or debt slavery, slavery is nothing more than the imposed control over a person’s time and labor throughout their lives. The most precious commodity a person has on the planet during the small amount of time in this life, is TIME itself, because one day we will all die. My time in the military taught me that harsh reality at an early age compared to when most truly contemplate death. Once we all figure out WHAT money is and the purpose it serves, we can break the thousands year old imposed bondage of slavery that the upper echelons of humanity have put on us, over and over again, by understanding that our TIME and LABOR are what give the money we use value.
Gold and silver have traditionally been valued the most because think about the kind of TIME and LABOR it takes to find it, mine it, refine it, and distribute it. Humans were right to value it for all these thousands of years, but with the advent of modern technology we can now begin to truly understand, together as a species, that it doesn’t matter WHAT we use as money, as long as WE responsibly control the QUANTITY that circulates. THAT is how we control the value of it.
I will leave it there for now and would like to make you a deal. I will read the book that you referenced, if you watch Bill Still’s documentary THE MONEY MASTERS. You can find it on youtube. Enjoy Orrin, and GREAT talk!
Mike
Orrin Woodward said
Mike, I don’t believe we are disagreeing much here. I agree with your definition of money. In fact, I don’t believe government created money at all. Society created money and it is explained rather we how it did in both Mises – Human Action and Rothbard – Mystery of Banking. Since government didn’t create money, it shouldn’t be making fiat money today and only does so to profit at society’s expense. The reason society picked gold/silver for money is because it was simple to move around, divide into smaller units, in demand, and is fungible. Therefore society created money and used gold/silver so in a modern society, these paper notes must only be representation of these notes; otherwise it is fiat and fraudulent. Money was beaver pelt, tobacco, etc, anything that can represent the time and labor expended to acquire it. My fear (and the Austrians) is that anytime money has been allowed to be created by humans without a limited physical resource to represent this Time and Labor, the creating entity created extra for themselves so they could have a free lunch. In other words, if men were angels then we could use computer digits for money or anything else, and since everyone would be honest, no one would inflate the money supply for their inflationary gain. However, since this isn’t the case, having a physical money ensure that the manipulators will run into the cost of mining gold and silver and cannot just create money out of thin air like today’s elites do. I like a ton of what the monetarist teach, but I know human nature too well to trust anyone including myself with the unlimited power that is created when you allow anyone to create money. If you are saying there is a method through using computers that will take away mankind’s ability to manipulate (Remember figures don’t lie but liars sure can figure) 🙂 then I would like to read that proposal. Currently, I believe any method man can create to build digital money can be manipulated by fallen man to benefit at others expense. Bastiat’s Law is so real and I haven’t seen any technology that stops this. In reality, most technology allows Bastiat’s Law to thrive faster. I really have enjoyed your thoughts Mike and I will check out Still’s work. If there is a book that describes how making money can check Bastiat’s Law, please refer it to me. Much appreciated! Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
Orrin,
I think you are right, we are not disagreeing much on the issue. I’m simply trying to point out that the root cause or solution to the problem is the taking back control over the QUANTITY of money, however we do that. It has been given to private individuals who have bought our politicians. Here are my solutions to the problems we face. These are structural and would eventually solve all of our problems. IMHO of course.
1. End Fractional Reserve Banking
2. Amend the Constitution specifically Article 1 Section 8 where it says “To coin” and rephrase it “To create.” Since that is what the phrase meant in the context of those days.
3. Reinstate Glass Steagall
4. Amend the Constitution and set term limits for Congress to a single 6 year term. (this can be debated as far as duration, but bottom line there needs to be term limits.)
5. Amend the Constitution to eliminate government’s ability to borrow money and put the public into debt. If we didn’t borrow money first the government could tax us and use the SAVINGS/INCOME to reinvest into society. Kind of like a responsible household would do.
6. Campaign Finance Reform where the amount any one individual can contribute to a politician or campaign is limited to say $10,000.00. CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE.
7. Bring back the draft
8. Get rid of the outdated electoral college
9. Eliminate political parties from the ballot box, and open debates up into a 4 round elimination process across the country. (This one is debatable but it would be way more fun and fair to watch as candidates slugged it out like an NCAA Tournament style of election process)
10. Teach US citizens how to survive off the land, within their communities, with self sustainable ways of feeding themselves like aquapoincs etc.
I know I know. GOOD LUCK right!? It’s been a pleasure Orrin!
Mark Pruitt said
Orrin,
I had a strong feeling I would be seeing this coming down on one of your blogs. Your assessment is right on! This is by far the most accurate and understandable depiction of our monetary system. There are a total of seven, 30 minute films in this training series by Mr. Maloney which are just as important and effective.
My biggest takeaway is to build a business of entrepreneurs who are recognized and rewarded monetarily for their effectiveness at bringing this type of information to the masses.
Hmmmmmm. Hey I believe that would be the LIFE Leadership business!!!
God Bless you Orrin!
Mark Pruitt
Thank you
Chi Nwoke said
Orrin, This video is amazing! My only question is why do we not have people revolting? Thank you LIFE Leadership for leading people to the truth! Thanks also to Michael Maloney!
Keith wytinck said
Man this is an awesome video series. It’s been a little while since I’ve seen episode four. First learned item is what I appear to have in the bank really isn’t so. Maybe 10 percent is actually there when push comes to shove. Second learned item is that any talk of government paying of down debt is useless when the system has been designed to consistently increase the debt pile. If the actually did start to pay it down, the entire system would be brought to its knees. This also means as individuals we get to choose to participate in this or change it. Pay off our debts sooner than later to stop the craziness and to protect future generations.
Pam said
Eye opening. Thanks for posting.
Olivier Jean-Baptiste said
Hi Orrin
I am grateful for your commitment to share the truth.
Just one latin phrase that I have learn to memorize.May it to serves us all as a motto in this fight for truth and freedom.
“Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito”
Thanks,
Olivier
David M. Thomas said
My wife and I just watched this video in its entirety and came away with feelings of frustration, anger, and motivation — motivation to share and teach these concepts to everyone that will listen. We have hope that we can change our nation’s course and save the prosperity of future generations. We refuse to do nothing on our watch. As more learn the truth, we can make a change and make a difference!
David & Catherine Thomas
Drexel Hill, PA
Richard Kroll Jr. said
Thank you for sharing this video Orrin! It helps me understand so MUCH of the “why”s behind what the state does. Can’t wait for more blogs!! And your next book!!!
Antonio Rosselli said
HI …
I HAVE NOT WATCHED THE VIDEO …
STILL I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER AN INPUT …
I BELIEVE THAT @ ONE POINT IT WILL BE NICE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE ALL PART OF A VERY BIG TEAM … I BELIEVE THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS VERY IMPORTANT … BUT I BELIEVE THAT THE CHASE OF MONEY FOR THE SAKE OF SELF-PLEASURE IS MAYBE WRONG …
I BELIEVE THAT SERVING EACH OTHERS IS VERY IMPORTANT … BUT THE GLUE THAT KEEPS US TOGETHER IS HIGHER THAN OURSELVES …
SO IF THE LIONS WILL REALLY LEAD THE SHEEP THE GOVERNMENT WILL ACT IN A SERVING STYLE …
HISTORY, ESPECIALLY RECENT WORLD HISTORY, HAS SHOWED US THAT SOME WORLD LEADERS ACT AS BULLY WHEN IN POWER … BUT WHEN POWER IS TAKEN AWAY THE BEHAVIOR CHANGES RAPIDLY … AND THE GREAT BULLY BECOMES A WEAK, SCARED PERSON … SAME WITH THE PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT …
ACCORDING TO MY RECORD AND LIMITED KNOWLEDGE OF HISTORY GREAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE WORLD BY COMMON PEOPLE WITH A STRONG PURPOSE AND LIMITED FUNDS …
BUT EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO THEIR OPINION …
I AM GLAD TO BE PART OF THE LIFE TEAM …
TY
Ramon Palacios said
Orrin,
This video is amazing and shows exactly what is wrong with our system. Unfortunately, it stops at the national level, for good reason, and doesn’t show the repurcuasions if this system worldwide (i.e.-the IMF, the World Bank, etc.) and how this system if debt is pushed onto developing nations who, like many American families are crippled by the debt.
Ultimately, I think what’s is necessary is what you and Chris distinguish in your economics 101 cd. What most mislabel as capitalism is really corporatism. And the corporations that benefit from this system are not going to relinquish this control of the monetary system without a fight. They even got the government to bail them out.
My question to you is, based on your study, are we merely in the beginning stages of the collapse, within this current recession?
Michael said
Hello Orrin,
This is the simplest overview of what is occurring today. My background is in the mutual servicing industry. Our 401k etc are just another way the government has redirect our dollars into a legal gambling system the i.e. “stock market and bond market”. What people do not realize is that when they invest into mutual funds, ETFs or Hedge Funds, these institutions are buying many of the government issued debts and we are propping up the current system. Money Market/Bonds Funds are large purchaser of these governments debts. This is a nasty cycle. I no longer invest in my 401k. I personally think it is a bad investment. Many are investing into these vehicles and their returns are less than the interest they are being charge on their personal debt. I have chosen to invest in myself.
David Fidler said
Robert Kiyosaki discusses this very well in his book “Cash Flow Quadrant” IRA’s, 401k’s etc. are ways of shorting the uneducated.
Danny Michael said
Orrin,
Excellent video and it presents the very complex currency system in easy to understand terms. What I thought of while watching was a shell game or a ponzi scheme. It is sad that our system of currency and banking are built on an idea that is really a no win game for average people. That is where our job comes in to educate people to the dangers of this. Thank you for sharing this and it was great to see you in Atlanta this weekend.
Maura Galliani, Sons of Liberty South said
Great balls of fire, Orrin … through this video I learned that things with our economic system are worse than I previously imagined — it shed light on the truth in a concise, practical way. I now have another motivation to build a business and spread the truth through LIFE Leadership. By the way, I also got on the Ludwig Von Mises Institute site and discovered that the meaning of the Latin phrase “Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito.” [posted by Oliver Jean-Baptiste] is “Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.” Thank you as always for your passion and quest to spread the truth … God bless you! 🙂
Jevan Elenbaas said
Why oh why did I have to watch this video before going to bed! My mind reels from all the connections this information brings! From the reasons why the government is ever accumulating debt and why the United States cannot compete in the global job market(we have built ourselves up over the rest of the world on a mountain of debt!)!! It is the reason why people in other nations can afford to be paid so much less than the hard workers of our own great nation, but if the central bank system is allowed to continue on, eventually this fiat money will also inflate the other systems of the world and they will catch up to us at the cost of the well being of this generation in the US!
So I’m interested to hear what everyone thinks would be the best response to this situation, I see a few options but all have side affects and repercussions…
1) Spend away and increase debt until the system collapses! Inflating the economy and job market for a short while until it becomes unsustainable..
2) Tighten budgets and prepare for an economic collapse from lack of new money being produced, saving/stashing food and other resources..
3) Revolt… this is probably the most violent viable solution to start but also might be the quickest to and conclusion and therefore saving the most lives in the long run as the others will most likely lead to mass rioting anyways..
Is there any possible peaceful resolution to this? I have read leadershift and 1913. I think that many options in put forward in these books are viable yet with the banks and government having such a large portion of the populace bought… Is it even possible to sink this information into enough people’s skulls to bring about the change that needs to take place? I don’t know… Any thoughts?
Orrin Woodward said
Yes, there is a peaceful solution and I am working on capturing the plan in my new book. 🙂 thanks, Orrin
Jevan Elenbaas said
Awesome! I still believe there is hope for our nation because in Christ there is always hope! But I also believe that if we as a nation don’t learn to follow the laws and decrees God has laid out in His Word then we will inevitably face very difficult times in the very near future. One verse to leave you with,
“if my people, who are called by my name, WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
-II Chronicles 7:14
I very much appreciate what you do Orrin and pray that you continue to follow God and lead others towards the truths of the Bible as they bring TRUE LIFE when consciously and purposefully striven towards.
Bobby Roopchand said
Wow….Every time I learn about the system it turns my stomach even more.
Does anyone know how the system works in Canada? Is it more or less the same system? How is it played?
Thank you Orrin for sharing this. I feel like showing even more plans now 🙂
tom heik said
Well I have been think seriouslythat I should go to a Canadian bank with my money, before the big financial crash in the USA..
Deficit Spending means that we are heading for a financial cliff. The Fed has crossed the RED Line on this.
John Kerr said
Proverbs 3:13-14
[13] Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. [14] For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Keep spreading truth and wisdom together! Let us raise the next generation of great Americans! May God be with you.
John Kerr
Michael H. Simmons said
Great video, but here is what I want to know.
Someone like Orrin needs to put a road map in front of us all with a step be step approach to getting through this problem and thus make it go away forever. Through the power of one large team we can change this for the better of man kind.
I believe Orrin is up for the challenge.
The Band of Brothers
Karol Pykiet said
Orrin,
Thanks for sharing this video. As disturbing as it seems Americans need to be informed and I will share this with many. Thanks for leading the way.
Karol Pykiet
Randy Robson said
Great video. Thanks!
Steve Duba said
Thanks Orrin. What encourages me is exactly what happened between yourself and Michael Mattammal. Until we have the “conversation”,nothing will change. The whole world needs to engage in a positive way by having such a conversation as the two of you just had. God Bless both of you and lets get that conversation started all across America. Great minds working as one is indeed the essence of the solution. Thanks
Scott Staley said
Thank you Orrin for sharing this. I loved reading the various comments. More passion, controversy and (hopefully) action are inevitable with increasing knowledge.
Thanks for all you do.
Greg Oesch said
Thank you Orrin! If we as citizens stop borrowing, will that help in a major way toward removing the banks’ power in IOUs/BONDs over our economic freedom? Do we hold the solution in our own hands personally. Is it possible for us to make a big enough ripple to make a difference with enough of the population taking on this challenge? You said thinking involves asking questions. you’ve got me thinking. Ever since you recommended two books: The Creature From Jekyll Island and The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World, I have never felt so informed on this problem. The Video really breaks it down without all the history that may be found in these two books. Greg
bill lewis said
This is the best video I have seen so far in explaining the whole process. The only part left out was the fed just prints the money and that is how the money is created. I hope everyone that watches this understands that it is vital for you to be debt free, at least. This system will collapse at some point. The more you are in debt the more danger you are in. I am not trying to be an alarmist and it may not happen during your lifetime but the habits of financial literacy are important for every family. The financial fitness pack may be one of the best tools I have ever come across to teach people that financial literacy.
Thanks for posting Orrin.
David Fidler said
Great series of videos. Very educational. I have sent it out to a few very close friends for comments and discussion. I have been aware of much of the information although not all of the details for some time. I have been slowly working to get ahead of the problem and get my family set to survive it. Unfortunately some of my extended family while decrying the problem are not as open to taking any real measures to survive the collapse of the system, which means I am also trying to prepare to assist them as well.
Question I have here sparked by Bill Lewis’ comment:
You mentioned that those in debt will suffer greatly as inflation hits. Does this involve all debt? Or would a fixed interest debt fare better in that you (as does the government) pay back the loan with devalued dollars. Would say a $100,000 mortgage fare well as we see 100% per annum inflation? Considering that after just 3 years of 100% per annum inflation the value would be about $25,000 and thus possible for some to pay off in 1-2 years. I recognize that “revolving debt” will ultimately increase the interest rates as inflation increases, I also recognize that personal income will lag behind inflation somewhat and thus cause difficulty for many whose basic survival costs (food/fuel) suddenly skyrocket while their income stays for a period at the old rates.
If you can help me better understand this and ensure my thinking is correct I would appreciate it.
Ziad K Abdelnour said
If reserves created by LSAP were spreading throughout the economy in the traditional manner, the money multiplier should be more stable. However, if those reserves were essentially funding speculative activity, the money would remain with the large banks and the money multiplier would fall. This is the current condition.
Steve Meixner said
Very,Very Good Video. Thanks again Orrin for taking the time to do the research and post this Important Information. I will continue to forward and send as many people to your blog as I can. We need everyone to learn this TRUTH…
Steve
Kevin Hamm said
Orrin,
Great post. Mike Maloney is a great communicator and did a great job of making the complex concise. The ability to manipulate is limitless I believe. Currently Gold and Silver are manipulated by fiat type stocks (paper gold and silver accounts) or the value against our currency would currently be much higher than it is right now and it would never fluctuate as our money supply is always increasing against the amount of Gold and silver. I am not a dooms dayer though. Everything, including how societies work, is far more resilient than most think. Zimbabwe’s entire money system failed. They have zero government programs, 97% unemployment and yet most everyone survives in some way. Those who find a way to become debt free, entrepreneurial and maintain a never say die attitude will be far better off than anyone waiting for someone to fix the problem. Thank you Orrin for all you have done with LIFE and are doing. The latest adjustment to the retailing of our products was brilliant. There will be some who will profit greatly from that directly and, indirectly, a huge influx of customer volume from outside the community will give great benefit to the bonus structure I would surmise. I am sure you have just rattled the whole industry with this latest advancement. In a tradition mlm model, much of that customer volume would break back the company, here it breaks to the comp plan. Brilliant. Again, thanks for all you do.
Mike Kubus said
Orrin:
I was watching the video yesterday and since it was a snowy day in Pennsylvania, I decided to watch the whole series. After filling my mind on Economics, three things came to mind. 1. I wish my Economics professor taught this in my college career. 2. I felt like I have been mislead most of my life. 3. More people need to know truth. Thank you Orrin, for you truly are an inspiration.
Dennis Higgins said
Thanks for the post and discussion. I ended up watching all of his videos even after I found out that his company sells gold and silver. I don’t really know if it was self serving or if it was done out of ignorance but I do believe that he failed to mention BitCoin at all. I am just starting to look at them and understand their pros and cons and because of this I am interested your perspectives on BitCoins.
Orrin Woodward said
Dennis, great question. Anything that can be manipulated because it doesn’t have demand in itself will be thanks to the Five Laws of Decline. Hence, I don’t like fiat paper, bit coins, etc, because I know someone will get the power to manipulate and will do so. However, I do believe anything could work as money if human beings didn’t manipulate, but then again if they didn’t, we wouldn’t need government at all. Since people are fallen, we do need government and we need money that has legitimate demand outside of government or society calling it money; otherwise, someone will manipulate and society suffers. thanks, Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
As long as everyone keeps in mind that Gold and Silver are not immune to manipulation. They have been manipulated over and over again in the past just as paper money has been. Bottom line is that the central issue is the control over the QUANTITY i.e. value of the money, whatever form it takes. Bitcoins and other crypto currencies are the money of the digital future, IMHO, and to miss out on it will be the biggest mistake of a lifetime. I imagine they will compete with other asset classes like Gold and Silver when the dollar paradigm changes, but I think there is room in the world for both to be used as money, and I think the rest of the world will end up agreeing. I guess it’s all speculation, but one things is for certain, the dollar is toast. When that eventually does happen, it would foolish not to own gold, silver, AND crypto currencies.
Take Care!
Orrin Woodward said
Michael, kings debased their money by mixing worthless metals in with gold and silver. However, if society calls fraud by its real name and prosecutes debasers then it is going to be very difficult to manipulate gold or silver since, for example, the 8 oz Spanish dollar was 8oz of gold period. If I can recall my paper at any time for 8oz gold pieces or whatever other standard we set then manipulation would lead to bankruptcy of offending bank and then fraud charges against its owners. This will deter the FLD manipulation like behavior. Paper is manipulated by printing, but gold is a physical item that cannot be so easily manipulated or even debased without fraud. If I buy wood for my new house and someone delivers only half of what I asked and replaces the rest with inferior product, I will seek justice by adjudication, Currently, banking is allowed to do something similar without any penalty, and, even worse, with government backing. This must change! If a bank says it has a million dollars by displaying paper, it better be capable of redeeming each paper dollar with gold or someone will be paying the piper. This simple action that we apply to every other field would bring the end to boom/bust cycles and bring justice to the money supply. One more point, government already does this with its other measurement systems like the inch, foot, yard, and metric system. Can you imagine the lunacy of manipulating the measurement system by government? The reason they don’t is it doesn’t benefit them financially like manipulating the money supply does. Anytime the State can fund itself at Society’s expense, rest assured it will. 🙂 thanks, Orrin
Here is a segment from Murray Rothbard’s Mystery of Banking describing this:
The problem is that governments have systematically betrayed their trust as guardians of the precisely defined weight of the money commodity. If government sets itself up as the guardian of the international meter or the standard yard or pound, there is no economic incentive for it to betray its trust and change the definition. For the Bureau of Standards to announce suddenly that 1 pound is now equal to 14 instead of 16 ounces would make no sense whatever. There is, however, all too much of an economic incentive for governments to change, especially to lighten, the definition of the currency unit; say, to change the definition of the pound sterling from 16 to 14 ounces of silver. This profitable process of the government’s repeatedly lightening the number of ounces or grams in the same monetary unit is called debasement.
Michael Mattammal said
Orrin,
I hear what you are saying, and if fact agree with the principle point of your argument. However, one would need to keep in mind that gold and silver could still be manipulated by the government, via it’s quantity, simply by issuing out more paper than what actually exists. The money trust did this in the past because they knew that not everyone would come calling for their gold all at once. The only way the system for which you speak could work is if there was a LEGITIMATE audit system put in place where the amount of paper/gold representation certificates were matched to the actual amount of gold in storage. I would support an annual audit or audit every two years where each member of Congress had to physically inspect the gold holdings and report their findings to Congress. If there is no legitimate audit system, in the system you speak of, then manipulation will surely happen.
Either way, again the premise of the argument, on both sides, is that we the people need to take back control over the QUANTITY and ISSUANCE of money in the system. We as a society do not need to indebt ourselves right out of the gate, or our future generations. That is the fight of this century, and humanity going forward, as it affects all other facets of society and the environment. Personally I think a basket of hard assets that represents the money could be a viable option. Good talk!
Mike
Orrin Woodward said
Mike, Ok, I agree 100% if they print paper and act like their is gold reserves, we have a problem. 🙂 Under Free Banking, banks return the paper and expect gold immediately. If its not forthcoming, then someone has committed fraud and is going to jail. If government just ensures contracts and weight of gold standardized in coins and then allows Free Banking (free markets for banking) the banks will be forced into 100% reserve banking for fear of other banks and you and I demanding gold for our paper at will. Since the paper is supposed to represents the banks gold reserves and paper is only used for convenience, if a bank has paper but no gold to redeem the paper then they are busted. It won’t take many legal proceedings before banks get religion and we won’t need government to do any audits unless they do not redeem with legitimate money on demand. Although money is unique, the solution is simply free enterprise like it is in other fields. It is very difficult to manipulate consumers when they have choices and government ensure justice by prosecuting fraud. The problem with the monetary system is government wants money so bad it will team up with Big Bankers to defraud the public rather than protect it like it is supposed to. Get government out of banking and make banks compete and we will find we do not have a gold manipulation problem. Look at this graph and see how banks would attempt to inflate at the national level, but then other countries would demand gold and the subsequent deflation would balance gold standard back to un-inflated price. Only after Federal Reserve freed itself from gold standard do we see no deflationary corrections and thus just pure inflation that ruins our money. Interestingly, Free Banking would reduce the swings on this graph by a factor of 100 or more since it isn’t just nations practicing Free Banking like in the graph, but local banks who compete with one another. Therefore no one will be able to inflate, thus not as much deflationary pressure after inflationary cycle since it didn’t happen. 🙂 This fixes the problems that we are both concerned with, I believe, Love the discussion Mike. Keep leading and learning! thanks, Orrin
http://dshort.com/articles/2010/recessions-inflation-gold-standard.html
Michael Mattammal said
To be honest with you Orrin, I am in favor of attempting just about any new form of monetary system, as long as it is NOT debt based. I think there are pros and cons to any form, whether it be a new gold and silver backed form, a basket currency form, digital currency form, etc. As long as it is NOT debt based and we aren’t BORROWING our money into existence at interest I would be inclined to consider supporting it. That really is the central issue, that and fractional reserve banking. We cannot set up the new system on debt and enslaving our future generations in debt. Whichever road we go down, we the people have to take back control over the money supply from private banking institutions at the creation and issuance level.
The subject of money will either be one of humanities greatest achievements in the quest to end servitude, or its most destructive device going forward. Human beings have two choices going forward, we as a species through our technological advances can either grow up or destroy ourselves. There really isn’t any other option. The way we structure our ECONOMY (careful management of available resources) on a local and global level will determine which road we end up going down. If we can pry the power away from the “powers that be” then we have a chance, if not, then my past experience has taught me that pain, misery, an suffering will follow. I believe Life Leadership will play a significant role going forward down the path of enlightenment, and I thank you for your time, energy, and dedication to changing lives in a positive way. Please check out Bill Still when you get a chance. His documentary THE MONEY MASTERS is awesome. Great talk Orrin!
Orrin Woodward said
Thanks Mike! Will do. Have a Merry Christmas. God Bless, Orrin
Michael Mattammal said
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well Orrin!
Jesus Hernandez said
Hi, I’m no economist or anything like that I simply seek truth. It is SO nice to plug to a website and see the opinions people have and actually see a conversation develop in the comments section! It’s very rare to see opinions being stated and not making it too personal but instead in just seeking solutions to problems and questions. Thanks for reading this. Have a blessed day!
KellyJack Nelson said
Jesus, I agree. Mr. Woodward puts out an extremly well thought out piece, on a wide variety of pertinent issues. But I read this blog regularly and love the respectful discourse ALMOST as much as the original blogs.
Jason Freiburger said
This video is right on the money… No pun intended. I read Maloney’s book from the Rich Dad series many years ago. My Family instantly started making changes. I’ve warned and warned everyone I’ve come in contact with, but few are proactive enough to take action. Ironically, I have family members that work for the Fed and they are a-clue-istic (don’t have a clue).
Thanks for the post. It will help people get the picture… Again no pun intended.
JF