Contrary to popular opinion, it’s fairly simple to understand our national economy. I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that our “economy” is built for the benefit of those who profit every time money changes hands. Therefore, their priority is simply to keep the machine running. As long as money is changing hands, profits are being earned….even in a “poor economy”, such as the one we are currently suffering.
Now that I’ve let the cat out of the bag, let’s try to make some sense of it. And to that end, our economy is perhaps best understood by first considering an alternative and hypothetical economy that is not cartel-driven but that is driven by individuals protecting and pursuing their own interests.
Let us imagine an agrarian society in which most people own their own land, raise their own food, and invest primarily in such things as will increase their own ability to produce for themselves. These investments might include such things as training, tools, sewing machines, cookware, fences, land, etc. etc. Similarly, in our imaginary society, most people would invest into building strategic alliances with others, whereby they can work and trade together, whether occasionally or routinely, whenever they see such collaboration as being beneficial. Further, a common strategy would be to invest in having children who, once grown and trained, can work alongside the parents and eventually care for the parents in their latter years.
In such a society, “wealth” would be viewed in terms of a person’s ability to provide for himself—or better yet, since most people in such a society would place such a high value on collaboration, as a group’s ability to provide for itself. One’s relationships would also be viewed as a form of wealth, as would also his good character (necessary to maintain healthy working relationships with others) and his physical health (necessary to continue solidly as a producer and to avoid becoming a burden to others.
By way of contrast, in our real society, however, it’s cash and possessions that are generally thought to constitute wealth, and not our ability to produce and the number and strength of our collaborative relationships. In our society, one hopes to amass enough cash to see himself through to his death, converting that cash into whatever goods and services he needs by hiring others to provide for him.
Given the choice between these two economies, who would choose our real one over the agrarian model I described above? Well, millions and millions of people would—and do….but they shouldn’t! They choose it because they are weak, and not because they are strong. They choose it not because they are imaginative and resourceful, but because they are not. They choose it not because they are excellent specimens of independence and liberty, but because it is simply easier to go along with the established system of “working for the man”.
Thus is their dream of working hard and “getting ahead” demoted in reality to a dream of winning the lottery.
So why does this economy continue? How does it manage to survive? And who would keep promoting it for so very many generations, even though it’s so distasteful? The answer to this last question is that there are certain entities who profit greatly from our present economy. They would quite naturally promote it. They would keep it going.
How They Benefit
If you listen carefully to the talking heads on the television, you’ll hear many phrases such as “keep the economy going”, “boost the economy”, “stimulate the economy”, and so forth. Even on the day after September 11, 2001, President Bush encouraged Americans to show their resilience by continuing to buy! Why was it so important that we send this message of “resilience” to someone?
The fact of the matter is that it wasn’t about resilience at all, but about keeping the machine running for the benefit of those who profit from it. See, the natural response after a crisis is to withdraw, to analyze, to regroup, to re-prioritize—and none of these things involve spending. Yet we were encouraged to behave unnaturally after 9-11. Are we to assume that this was all for the purpose of sending the bad people a strong message about our defiance?
Hardly! Bush was trying to protect those who profit when money changes hands. At a time when people’s most natural and honest instinct was to do one thing for their own good, why were we being asked to do the opposite? Why were we being asked to spend when it was not in our best interests? And who were the profiteers who stood to gain from it.
Consider the following:
- Governments. Our governments profit from taxation and fees on a great number of financial transactions. Whether it’s sales tax, property tax, corporate tax, or any of a great number of other taxes and fees, the more we spend, the more revenues pour into our governments.
- Banks, creditors, etc. Whether we’re writing a check, using a debit card, or using a credit card, some financial institution is profiting from it. If we quit spending, a great deal of their earning stops. We even pay them checking fees to maintain our checking accounts even when we don’t write checks! So they profit even from our desire to have checking capabilities, whether we use them or not! Even when we deposit our cash into the bank for safe keeping, they use that deposit as an excuse to invent and to loan out money that didn’t exist before our deposit, so that they can earn interest on the repayment of it.
- Financial Services, Legal Services, and Insurance. Huge industries have sprung up related to our earning, spending, and protection of wealth. From lawyers to tax accountants to insurance companies, billions are being earned from our current economic model, in which money regularly changes hands.
When so much profit is made from the spending of others, we can naturally expect the profiteers to be huge proponents of spending. And that is exactly what we do see. Governments and banks alike love and promote all manner of commerce. Even seemingly-unrelated things such as Christmas are fundamental blocks in the governmental/banking industry’s business model. The more money that is spent on Christmas:
- The more taxes are collected.
- The more transaction fees are collected.
- The more need will be created for services such as automotive or homeowner’s insurance.
Should we be surprised, therefore, if banks and governments are seen supporting Christmas? Suddenly, that manger scene on the lawn of the county courthouse or city hall deserves a little deeper thought than before, doesn’t it? It might not just be an official expression of popular religious belief, but an official promotion of the entire holiday culture and the spending that comes along with it.
I recently heard Donald Trump state on a television show that the 4th of July alone brings in about $3 Billion in sales (food, fireworks, party favors, etc.). I can only imagine what the total impact is from spending on:
- New Year’s Eve
- Easter
- Mother’s Day
- Memorial Day
- Father’s day
- Birthdays
- 4th of July
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
In not one single case above is special spending necessary. In fact, one can do quite a lot of celebrating for any one of these holidays or causes without spending anything at all. Yet these things define our very culture as much as anything else does. We have been conditioned to spend, even when we cannot necessarily afford to spend.
And just who would encourage us to do what is not best for us? Someone who will profit from it, naturally!
Yes, the retailers want us to spend in their stores, but it’s the bankers and the government who earn no matter where we spend. Is it any surprise, therefore, that the deepest depths of corruption and collusion in the US lie in the realm of the government/banking establishment?
Distasteful as it may be to our ears, we are the ones who keep feeding this monster. We feed it, then complain about it, then we feed it some more–even voting for more of the same to take office when the present set has spent its allotted time.
Even today, amidst the ostensible threat of “economic meltdown”, enormous profits are being made from the spending we do. Yes, spending is down, but exorbitant profits remain even so.
The people, in the eyes of the banking cartel that owns us all, are mere consumer cattle. They can be counted upon quite regularly to spend here and there. “Oh, it’s Christmas; let’s all hoof our way over here and spend.” And later, “Oh, it’s Independence Day; let’s mooove over to Walmart and buy $3 Billion in hot dogs and sparklers!”
And how do we pay for all this spending? Naturally, we go get jobs in the businesses that are owned (or otherwise profited from) by the bankers!
That’s how our economy works. And if you’re an average American, you are a vital part of keeping it running. Thus, the great promotion (and achievement) of average-ness in America—all while claiming “American Exceptionalism”.
The banks, of course, enjoy the protection of the United States Government, which is to be expected since the Government is owned by the banks (in more ways than one). Oh, and the Government enjoys the protection of the banks. Just try to run a candidate who is a true agrarian economic reformer and see how much money the banks will put up to promote an establishment candidate instead!
Oh, and if you were thinking of simply bypassing all this by paying only in cash and keeping your cash in a coffee can buried in your backyard, the cash itself was printed with interest due by the Federal Reserve Bank. They thrive, therefore, even from the bumpkin millionaire who does all his business under the table, because he’s using their Federal Reserve Notes to conduct that business.
The agrarian life looks good to me!
Jack
