Summary:

Debasement, the intentional reduction in the value of a currency over time, is a concept that requires a critical understanding. The value of today's dollar consistently decreases each month and year, necessitating more money to purchase the same basket of goods or services. Governments continually inject fiat currency, which lacks intrinsic value and is not backed by a physical commodity like gold or silver, into their financial systems. This process, devoid of productive effort or economic enhancement, is a standard method for the U.S. government. It's crucial to approach this with a healthy dose of skepticism toward government and media narratives, empowering you to make informed financial decisions and take control of your financial future.

Article:

President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, allowing a group of private banks to become the central banking system of the United States. This was promoted to give this private cartel of 12 Federal Reserve banks the right to print money, as sold to the public, to provide a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system. The illusionary objective sold to the public was to foster a sound banking system and promote a financially healthy economy to address the threat of bank runs, which are sudden and simultaneous withdrawals of deposits from banks, that characterized the Panic of 1907. This financial crisis led to widespread bank failures and a severe economic downturn.

The privately owned banks were chosen by an earlier event when 13 of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the U.S. met on Jekyll Island, Georgia, to create a secret cartel and drive all non-member banks out of business. The meeting date was November 20, 1910. Their agenda was to provide a mechanism for member banks to lend to each other to insure against bank runs, enabling them to invest at higher leverage with higher yields. This was a plan to cause non-member banks to become insolvent, destroying the competition.

The Federal Reserve Banks possess tremendous power and receive preferential treatment by creating/making money and profiting from this system at the expense of the general public. The Federal Reserve is a privately owned cartel with monopoly powers and delegated central planning responsibility. It always acts and designs systems to benefit itself first, directly impacting your financial future. This should be a cause for concern and a motivation to manage your finances wisely, as the decisions made by the Federal Reserve can significantly affect your financial well-being.

Member banks can take incredibly highly leveraged financial risks, such as investing in derivatives contracts, to earn extremely high profits. If they win, they keep the profit. If they lose, they are bailed out by the U.S. Treasury Department, which instructs the issuance of newly created fiat money: they have monopoly privilege to do this. Every dollar of freshly created fiat currency becomes future public debt, and losses are transferred to the taxpayers. For every new dollar created by the federal reserve, there is a corresponding new dollar of debt that the taxpayers then owe. Since the top earners, 20% of the taxpayers, pay more than 82% of the taxes, the future burden is ever-present.

Taxpayers who pay little or no taxes (the bottom 50% of earners) are directly affected when the creation of new money causes the value of their money to erode. They struggle to earn enough to offset the increase in the cost of living. If they use financing to maintain their standard of living, they quickly fall into a hamster-like treadmill because they must make enough to pay for current expenses plus all accrued back debts.

The Federal Reserve's new currency has systematically eroded the dollar's purchasing power. From the beginning of 1913, when the Federal Reserve was created, until now, 2024, inflation has risen approximately 3034.6%. This erosion directly impacts your finances, making it crucial to be proactive and cautious about your financial decisions. By staying informed and managing your finances wisely, you can mitigate the effects of inflation on your purchasing power and take control of your financial future, feeling the urgency of this task and the importance of your role in managing your finances.

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

An inflation calculation creates the official US Consumer Price Index (reference Consumer Price Index, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics-bls.gov/cpi/). If we calculate the average annual inflation rate from 1913 until 2020, we get 3.09%. In some decades, inflation was much more significant; in others, it was less. Prices doubled every 20 years. Note that ten decades represents five times doubling. $10.00 doubled five times would mean 10 X 2=20 X 5=100. This calculation assumes a fixed and static value, not compounded or cumulative.

Real inflation, which considers the cumulative and compounding effects of inflation, can significantly impact your purchasing power. For instance, the real compound cumulative inflation rate from 1913 to 2024 is 3034.6%. This means that you would now have to spend 31.35 dollars for the same basket of goods and services that could be purchased for $1.00 in 1913. Understanding this concept is crucial for making informed financial decisions.

Some products have increased more, and some less. For instance, bread is up 2439%, milk by 890% per gallon, coffee by 1875% per pound, potatoes by 3819%, and eggs by only 418% per dozen.

Innovations and technology have increased productivity and have had an offsetting effect on the amount of inflation created.

In 1913, households usually had a single-wage earner with a family at home. Today, the cost of living includes compulsory taxation (taxes required by law and not optional), and overburdening regulations generally require both spouses to work outside the house in income-generating enterprises. Lower- and middle-class homes are full of stressed-out occupants trying to keep up with this financial and regulatory treadmill. One in three wage earners needs more money before each payday. Many work full-time and pay 50% of their wages for housing alone.

Unfortunately, this system was purposefully built to benefit Wall Street's large corporations, increase government deficit spending, and increase government size and power. The elites are fully aware that the U.S. collects about $5 trillion in taxes and creates new debt of an additional $2 trillion to feed all the government programs that the population demands. They borrow from our future to give demanded benefits, then steal it back through the erosion of purchasing power, a form of exploitation.

Both inflation and the erosion of purchasing power will accelerate at higher speeds. We are on track to double the inflation rate for the next century compared to the last century.

Since 80% of our economy is consumer spending, the only thing that would derail the brutal serfdom-like existence that most people look forward to is to stop spending all at once and force the government's hand in cutting back on its spending: government growth, waste, and uninvited intrusions into our private lives. Otherwise, 80% of the working population will continue to be like hamsters on a financial treadmill.

The government and the mainstream media are not your friends. They are there to exploit and maintain superior power and authority over the people. It's crucial to maintain a healthy skepticism toward their actions and narratives. This skepticism will empower you to stay vigilant and informed about the economic landscape, enabling you to make sound financial decisions in a complex and often misleading environment.

How should ordinary people handle this situation? By investing in personal development. This will equip you with the knowledge and skills to navigate economic challenges and make you feel more motivated and proactive in securing your financial future.

• You can avoid outside rumblings of noise in the legacy news media. The 24/7 news cycles want you to become addicted to their propaganda-filled content and advertising blitzes. The average person is subjected to over 2000 advertisements per day.
• Unaccountable government agencies, institutions, monopolies, and approved cartels (the establishment) make their living by manipulating and controlling the people (commoners). They represent themselves in maintaining power and control and extracting profits, fees, and taxes from the people.
• The establishment members' propaganda and advertising are all designed to solicit trust when their actions are contrary. State-sanctioned lies, misinformation, indoctrination, and surveillance are the most dangerous because they contradict the underlying purpose of governance.
• The establishment allows controlled propaganda and misinformation but suppresses the content when the people use it. It protects members of the establishment's use to maintain power, control, and the status quo.
• Major corporations make money during inflation, which debases currencies. They use highly leveraged financial instruments as an investment strategy, which benefits them when inflation increases.
• Social trust, the public's confidence in the establishment's actions, has diminished to a 50-year low.
• Awareness and skepticism bring us closer to the truth and how to handle our decisions and actions.
• The best investment strategy is to invest in yourself, including education about your profession, personal development, technology, goal setting, and other methods. Become an expert in your field, the top ten percent or the best, for the best return on your time and money.
• If you own a business or work as an independent contractor, your enterprise should govern your lifestyle. An example is leasing an automobile, where the payment is written off as a business expense. Could you talk to your accountant about creative strategies?
• Leasing a Mercedes where the payments are not tax deductible just because others do is not a good strategy. Could you talk to your accountant?
• Research each purchase like it is your last.
• Covet each dollar like it is your last. Shop for value and discounts.
• Accumulate cash for emergencies (90-180 days' worth) and savings.
• Accruing debt can make a person a debt-serf. If one borrows and consumes today, they will pay various sales taxes, use taxes on the item or service, and repay it over time. The consumer must work to earn the payback money, pay federal and state taxes on the income, and pay interest on the loan, which may double the expense of the consumption. The cycle can become ugly when consumers use credit cards or high-interest-rate loans.
• Most of today's purchased stuff is either consumed or will retain little or no value in the future. Much of the stuff one assumes to have value must be stored or maintained, which can be costly.
• Surrounding ourselves with material possessions becomes a questionable endeavor. Today's keep-up-with-the-Joneses mentality consists of a home full of valueless stuff.
• Life has seasons, from youth, when people look forward to things, to owning and consuming as a habit or ego, to later in life, when the entire process is considered superficial and a burden.
• Young people usually do not understand this process and the changing attitudes.
• The debt accumulation process applies to entire countries like the U.S.A. The difference is that individuals use their credit cards, while the government can create money, spend it, and allocate it to the taxpaying population's credit cards. The government does not work for the money, make anything of value, or show responsibility for spending.
• The government's motivation is for political expediency and retaining power and authority over the people.
• The government creates new money, which becomes a debt to the taxpaying public. However, the strategy is never to pay it back, kick the can down the road, and go through the erosion of the currency's value.
• Groupthink is the practice of thinking or making group decisions that discourage creativity, self-sufficiency, individuality, and responsibility.
• Avoid the whims of the groupthink (the crowd). In other words, be a non-conformist. Think outside conventional norms. I have found that the wisdom of the crowds is usually false.
• Keep your checking and savings accounts away from major banks because of their derivative loss exposure and the possibility of a bail-in, wherein they sweep your accounts. Remember that your money in the bank belongs to them only, and they have a liability obligation to allow you access. Your money is an asset to them, but the obligation to pay you back is a liability.
• A credit union or local or regional bank is preferable to a major bank. Choose a bank with no derivatives exposure.
• Invest savings in income-producing or tax-deferral assets like a 401K or IRA. Talk to your CPA about this.
• Plan when to stabilize and back out of the treadmill lifestyle.
• Escape from the jungle of life stresses and daily frantic hustle-bustle into peacefulness, tranquility, serenity, and resolve. Build your mental hobby shop. Create a list of activities you and your family enjoy and spend more time doing them.