United Liberty
Recovery Through Debt Slavery
Thu, 02/26/2009 - 7:41am | posted by William 'BJ' Lawson
Obama’s address Tuesday evening contained a fascinating lesson in economics and monetary policy for the American public. Let’s review:
So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.
I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.
The concern is that if we do not re-start lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.
You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.
But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. With so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money to households, to businesses, or to each other. When there is no lending, families can’t afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.
That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start lending.
I’ve highlighted several words above: credit, debt, loan, and lending. Note how words credit and lending are used with positive connotations… and how the word debt is only used once, with a negative connotation.
Here’s the irony — the words are synonymous, they’re just on opposite sides of the same transaction. For every lender there is a borrower, and an extension of credit requires that someone go into debt — thus committing to pay back the borrowed money, with interest.
As explained in this article from last July, our money is debt. Does it make sense that our “economic growth” requires our taking on new debt at an accelerating rate to prevent defaults from exponentially-growing compound interest?
If the above paragraph doesn’t resonate, please view Chris Martenson’s excellent Crash Course. The root of our problem isn’t partisan politics — it’s high school math that is lost on our economists and central bankers.
In other words, Obama’s speech is written from the perspective of the banks, not the people. Let’s rewrite Obama’s speech from the people’s perspective, who also lack confidence:
So the recovery plan we passed is the first step in getting our economy back on track. But it is just the first step. Because even if we manage this plan flawlessly, there will be no real recovery unless we clean up the debt crisis that has severely weakened our financial system.
I want to speak plainly and candidly about this issue tonight, because every American should know that it directly affects you and your family’s well-being. You should also know that the money you’ve deposited in banks across the country is safe; your insurance is secure; and you can rely on the continued operation of our financial system. That is not the source of concern.
The concern is that if we do not re-start borrowing in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins.
You see, new debt is the lifeblood of our economy. The ability and willingness to borrow is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.
But people have stopped borrowing the way they should. The Federal Reserve’s easy credit resulted in people borrowing too much money to pay artificially high prices for housing, and now we’re losing over a half million jobs per month. With so much debt and so little confidence, people are now fearful of borrowing more money. When there is no borrowing, families can’t afford to buy homes or cars. So businesses are forced to make layoffs. Our economy suffers even more, and credit dries up even further.
That is why this administration is moving swiftly and aggressively to break this destructive cycle, restore confidence, and re-start borrowing.
Obama has mastered bank-centric newspeak. Isn’t it odd that the President of the United States cannot conceive of saving money to buy a home, car, or college education? Isn’t it strange that we’re dependent on the “lifeblood” of new debt to stock shelves, buy farm equipment, and make payroll?
Please, take a moment to educate a friend on the unsustainable nature of our debt-based money system. Economic recovery cannot be accomplished by tightening the chains of debt slavery.
Dependence, not self-sufficiency, is the ultimate end goal of this administration. Dependence in all its forms - to banks, to the state, to others, will create a mindset that they require in order to expand the states role to fill every niche of our lives. Obama is creating a nation of dependents, preferably dependent on the state to support it. Without dependence, is state is less important and ultimately not required.
Obama cannot conceive of a world where people can support themselves. He knows nothing of wealth creation, only of wealth redistribution, where “someone else” creates the wealth, and we benefit. The concept that that is theft is completely alien to him.
Chris you are absolutely right on the mark. Everyone needs to get the word out every chance they get and by all means possible before it is too late. These socialists must be stopped!!! I have lived 8 years in China, 3 in europe and one in Canada I know what it like if people think they are miserable now just wait!!
Spend like there’s no tomorrow (on things that truly make you HAPPY) because tomorrow never COMES but ALSO save like there’s no tomorrow cuz “TOMORROW” COMES before you have time to put on the condom!
irony and metaphors are my life:efil
I (once) met a man with seven wives … I can’t remember the rest of the joke but I seen it in a movie (once). I think it’s (was:wuz) a riddle …
I think I need some Help HERE or am I just going crazy? Prob(b)ably a little bit of both ! bee’s look like bb’s or b to me or maybe it’s a “d”
My god your english is magnanimous. I could hardly read a fucking word of it and I loved it to death. Thanks.
To infinity and beyond … —> <— which way is it?
This is an excellent analysis. The whole speech was all double-speak and newspeak. Indeed, we are on an unsustainable, destructive path. It’s time that we stop it, and start going the right way, beginning with an audit of the Federal Reserve so that its inner workings are exposed for all to see, leading to a widespread demand to end the Fed.
Isn’t it just unbelievable how we are so responsible in one light and yet we allow other things to run totally out of control for pursuit of profit (exponential growth is a regular occurrence in the world). Of course, with the population ever growing, there is no better form of control than buying someone through debt, but how does any representative stand up and admit we base our lives and all workings within it around what is really only supposed to be a representation of assets combined with an indicator of a country’s economic strength. If America is doing well internationally and the dollar is strong, why do you have to pay for houses at all, or at least keep them away from dangerous markets. that way they can’t take your home as it isn’t classed as an asset, but national right!
Instead, they have made money out to be the greatest asset of them all (I’m talking materialistically, not morally; that’s your choice) and that is why this collapse is so dangerous to all richer economies; because during times of wealth, business becomes international, as do their principles, so it’s no longer about communities and families, but profit and expansion and in my mind government is the biggest business!
Debt is the biggest killer of freedom, simple as. This is a popular occurrence, but where my country, Britain, differs from America; we have put 75% of livlihoods in the services bracket, with no alliance from industry, where as America has this back bone to assist. You are too large internally to shut down all trade and you will come out the other end of this just as strong. I hope you don’t go through too much suffering in the mean time, but we’re all survivors when we need to be.
Isn’t the Obama plan following the classic Keynesian economic model?
TAX - SPEND - BORROW - PRINT MONEY - TAX - SPEND - BORROW - PRINT MONEY, etc.
Fact of life: The American automotive investment capital is now in China on the Shanghai market board, invested in Chinese corporations - never to return to the U.S.A.
Fact of life: China has found a use for its daughters in the factories for 85 cents an hour, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week,rice-burning, in factory dwelling, slot toileted, factory uniformed, union free, company cafeteria fed, government rail transported, unending supply of cheap female Chinese peasant labor.
Fast of life: American car concerns are old, corrupt, intertwined and union bound, laced with favoritisms, old shop thinking, family “inherited” jobs passed from generation to generation, keeping out new blood.
Fact of life: Americans live in extreme extravagance, far and above what their efforts merit on the world scene, and feel “entitled” to it.
Fact of life: we are at the endpoint of the “Cheap oil Era” in the world and will now compete with growing Asian forces for every damn drop.
Fact of life: no matter how convincing the politicians are, we cannot pull a few strings, and change a few laws and maintain the status quo.
Fact of life: China has more post graduate students with IQ’s of 130+ than the U.S.A. has high school students, including dropouts. These Chinese students will lead the way in the world of science and development in the years to come - not Americans, Chinese!
Fact of life: Brazil is oil-independent in the world, America is not.
Fact of life: Denmark exports its surplus wind power to Europe. America is a net energy burden to the world, in spite of plentiful wind resources and solar resources.
Fact of life: Converting to Eurodiesel engines, which are 40% more efficient can reduce oil imports by the same 45%, but American sensitivities prevail as they go broke, and they would rather walk than tell the truth about the Eurodiesel, but quietly buy Mercedes models anyway?
Fact of life: Oslo Norway and Sweden run public transportation on sewage gasification, while America shits in its own lakes, rivers and seashores and imports oil to compensate for it!
Factory farm wastes produced in the U.S.A. can provide enough free bio-gas to run entire industries, but is spread on fields, burning vegetation and laying fields waste, for the owners convenience.
Banking problems are the tip of the iceburg, if called to task America has many venues for improvement, most of them involve curtailment of wasteful ways, not banking issues!
Government budget should be spent wisely, failure to do so will incur so much debt. Avoid excessive spending we are strucked by the global crisis. If there is one good thing brought by the economic meltdown it is the fact that people learn how to save money, they tend to be practical and resourceful. Saving money has become the fashion, and it should be. (There’s no reason for it to be a bad thing. The people who say it is want your money.) Well, there are tips all over the place that will help you in saving money, and CNN has some real humdingers. First, stretch everything as far as it can go. Cutting paper towels in half, even halving bacon can get some more mileage. Second, clip coupons – you’ll save a lot of money over the year if you’re diligent. Think of it as personal loans to yourself. And last, remember the Internet is a valuable resource for coupons and classifieds. You start getting debt relief if you start saving money. Proper spending is a sure fire during hard times.
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