Can we admit that we are unified in this country by at least one thought? We are all concerned about money. The posts of the last few weeks in this ChadRad forum have made that very clear.
I share the following as an expert. You know the definition. “Somebody from out of town.” But I also have over thirty years of independent study and experience about our declining economy that I hope you find edifying and relevant. And I hope some of you will feel inspired to lead, in Chadron…Dawes County…and beyond. Our nation needs you to act, and to know what to demand of the people you elect, that they must equally serve you and your neighbors in whatever position – city, county, state, or federal government.
Some of you will remember Ross Perot and United We Stand America, and his 1992 presidential campaign. With his charts and tables, he graphically revealed the mess our economy was in. But he only exposed symptoms, not the cause. During his campaign, I was invited to speak as a monetary expert at a local United We Stand event in New Jersey, my home state. The state director attended, and he challenged and interrupted me through out my presentation that centered on our corrupt, unbiblical, and unconstitutional monetary system. Afterwards, privately, the director told me I was probably right, but that it wasn’t the direction the campaign was going.
That United We Stand experience was my introduction to the attitude of, “We are ignoring the fire in the basement. Our only concern is keeping our favorite pictures hanging on the walls.” To this day, that is the common sentiment. See for yourself…
There was much talk about balancing the federal budget during the ’90s that included public hearings in Trenton, New Jersey. I spoke directly with N.J. State Senator Bill Schluter, a man that I knew and respected. When I shared my concern that a sustained balanced federal budget was a mathematical impossibility under the current monetary system, and that previous balanced federal budgets and decreased deficits had resulted in recession, his response was, “We’re going to do it different this time.” Bill had a degree in economics from Princeton University, yet his response revealed that he did not understand the most fundamental element of any economy – how money is created.
Then there was the big event in 1995, when the congressional delegation that was promoting the Balanced Budget Amendment was in Manville, N.J. Hundreds of people showed up. While waiting in line to get into the VFW hall for the event, I struck up a conversation with William Vickrey, an economics professor at Columbia University. He was so deeply involved in economic theory that he could not discuss fundamentals. They were excluded from his thought processes. In 1996, he received the Nobel prize for his economic theories.
You can find an account of the Manville event in the Congressional Record, February 14, 1995, beginning on pg S2619. Thirty years ago, the discussion and concerns were essentially the same as today. Nothing has changed, not even by a Nobel Prize Laureate economist.
Last decade I was a repeat guest during the seven years of the Wealth Money blog radio show. On the show when economics professor Randall Wray was also a guest, in 2016, I asked him why changing the way we create money was never discussed. We participated in the show via our respective telephones. After my question, there was silence. He had hung up his phone. After the show I learned from the host, Byron Dale, that Professor Wray had stated beforehand that he would not discuss how money is created.
Of more immediate concern to Nebraska, where I have lived since 2008, are my encounters with then Governor Pete Ricketts and Congressman Adrian Smith. When I suggested to Ricketts, at a town hall meeting in O’Neill, that the solution to our economic problems is to change the way we create our money, he said he didn’t think the bankers would like that very much. And while meeting with Smith a decade ago at The Hub in Burwell, he responded to my points about the monetary system by trying to pigeon-hole me into some body of economic theory, like the Austrian School. I believe that, in his mind, once I was labeled he would no longer have to try to understand what I was discussing. That is a common destroyer of thoughtful conversation.
Bringing it current, Senator Fischer’s August 12th article on this site plays on both political and ideological divisiveness. Regardless of our political or social bent, that should be very troubling to all who understand, because it exemplifies the Marxist philosophy – essentially divide and conquer – that prevails today. Why must we decide between funding farmers and ranchers, and funding to save our planet? Why do the people we elect to serve us spend their time trying to divide us? We must not get dragged into these divisive, no-win arguments. We must admit that with honest, biblical, and constitutional economic understanding, neither of these problems would be issues, and the Department of Agriculture would have no reason to exist.
Fischer speaks a lot about government helping farmers and ranchers. But every farmer knows that with natural – God-created – increase, a kernel of corn can easily produce 500 or more kernels in a single season. And ranchers know that by putting a cow and a bull together, a calf is produced. Cows produce milk. Chickens produce eggs. Sheep produce wool. Earthworms produce soil! The list is near endless. So why do farmers and ranchers need government assistance to produce our food and fiber? Because the corrupt monetary system is parasitic on these systems of natural production. But we are too busy arguing who should get what share from the budget that we are distracted from understanding these God given truths.
It is easy to be critical of the individuals I have encountered, a few of whom I have described here. Then I must remind myself that they studied the same economics texts that I did in college. The difference between them and me is that I have been blessed by a continuing childlike curiosity about the world around me, and the critical lesson that answers are found by studying original source documents and observing the world around us, not by listening to political speeches and commercialized news reporting.
This missive necessarily includes the obvious question that we all know but fail to pursue with vigor…
“For how long have politicians been promising to balance the budget, reduce inflation, reduce property taxes, etc.?”
We have heard these promises for decades and have yet to see any hint of improvement. In fact, our nation’s economic conditions and our personal economic circumstances continue to decline. And there is one…just one…fact that essentially no one so much as mentions, as plainly illustrated above. What is it that we use for money? In other words, “What is a dollar, who creates it, and how does it get into circulation?”
Anyone who cannot answer that critical question, with confidence, in one sentence, and explain the ramifications if challenged, lacks the most fundamental qualification to serve you and me in any elected position. Is that too harsh? Not at all. Go back to the question, for how long have politicians been promising…? For generations! I, for one, will not sit idly by and hand this declining economy off to my grandchildren…or to your grandchildren.
There is enough chatter plus more serious conversations in northwest Nebraska to warrant a gathering of concerned citizens who want to understand the problem and work toward a sustainable solution. Begin by understanding that a corrupted economic system is fundamentally a spiritual matter. We must seek our answers from the Bible – the original “original source document.” In the beginning…God created the Garden and he commanded Adam and Eve to be stewards over it. That must be strongly held as our first lesson on economics. It was very good. There was no debt, and there is no debt, only production, in natural systems. All this was understood and reinforced by our founders, who fought for freedom from economic tyranny two and a half centuries ago.
Would any of you organize a panel discussion on the topic of economics, with the goal of working toward genuine, sustainable, resolution to the economic problems that have been argued for generations? And moderate the discussion, not prioritizing or glorifying the panel members but choosing them only for their particular expertise in the matter, or their accountability to the outcomes, to create an honest and edifying non-political exchange among all who are in the room. Whether it is ten or 100 participants, I would welcome the opportunity to participate, either on the panel or in the general audience. Judging by the number of readers of these blog articles on economic issues, you have hundreds of interested friends and neighbors who are hungry for both answers and solutions.
J. Drew Foster
I welcome your comments and questions, and thoughtful and respectful discussion. Phone 402-961-0160 or email at Acts41920@hotmail.com