I am writing this on Juneteenth. My understanding is that this was the day that slavery was ended in America. Actually, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and scheduled to take effect January 1, 1863.

Because of the extension of the civil war the actual final emancipation was June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger ordered final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in the last holdout- Texas.

In January of 1865, the thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in America.

While the abolition of slavery was a godsend for many- and many still believe we are all free. I believe that slavery was re-instituted in the USA in December of 1913 when congress passed the Federal Reserve Act.

The initial idea was sold to the USA as having a bank that could backstop the economy when there was a lack of liquidity and smooth out the ups and downs in the economy.

What did we actually get? We got a PRIVATE bank that issued Federal Reserve Notes (DEBT).

Ever since, we have been misled to believe that the Fed is part of the government- it is NOT. It is owned by private major banks. It is not related to our federal government and has no reserves. Even the name is misleading.

The main mission of the Fed was said to be to maintain the purchasing power of the US dollar. Based upon the price of gold, which was $20.67 per ounce in 2013, and which has risen to $3365.00 today, our once-powerful US dollar has less than 1% of its purchasing power left. I would call that a FAIL.

The loss of purchasing power is a direct attack on anyone who works. The price you are being paid for your labor is being siphoned off because of the destruction of the VALUE of the currency you are being paid in. This is the cause of inflation. Inflation is the disease and money “printing” is the cause.

As I have written in the past- a person earning an ounce of gold per week was considered wealthy in the early 1900s. That was $20.67 or a little over $1074.00 per year. If a person today earned that ounce per week the annual income would be close to $175,000.00. Still an amount that could give you a decent lifestyle. It would be even more impressive if the Fed did not manipulate interest rates lower and cause the price of assets like homes, cars, etc. to rise far above a fair price that would allow far more participation and lower prices.

Since all of this has taken place over the last 112 years the changes seemed subtle for a long time but now, we are clearly able to see the rot and disease that has taken over our economy. Things have become so expensive that many are resorting to going deeper and deeper into debt to maintain the illusion of a middle-class lifestyle.

Many have become slaves to the system via DEBT. In the past, our money was valuable because of its backing by gold and by design- scarcity. Once Richard Nixon severed the link between the dollar and gold (temporarily-in 1971 and still in effect today) the conjuring up of cash has been growing exponentially since then. We are now in uncharted waters.

In the past people may have taken out a small mortgage to buy a house. Cars were bought with cash, day to day purchases were done with cash. People had the discipline to save, invest and buy when they had enough money to cover whatever they were buying.

Today, people not only have MASSIVE mortgages but also carry massive car loans, credit card debt, student loan debt, personal debt, and buy now pay later schemes. In addition, because of the destruction of our purchasing power the costs for taxes, insurance, tolls, and necessities are rising.

Because of all of this many people- even high-wage earners are living paycheck to paycheck. Any unexpected calamity could cause a major problem.

I think it is pretty obvious that the central bank has enriched themselves at our expense. How do banks make most of their money? By LENDING. What happens if you cannot carry the payments? They foreclose and own your property with “money” that was conjured up for practically NOTHING. Wouldn’t it be nice if you or I could conjure up cash and get something for nothing? Of course, if we did that we would be in jail because only the FEW can take advantage like that.

Many are being deceived by economic numbers that are being grossly manipulated to look FAR better than the economy is actually doing. Many are being teased by the stock “markets” rising recently- buoyed by over a TRILLION dollars in stock buybacks in May so that the underlying rot is not exposed. The S&P did not rise recently because of earnings growth or productivity but because companies see slowing revenue, rising debt payments, slowing demand, and shrinking margins. This leads them to buy back shares so that lower earnings are spread among less shares and the numbers do not look as bad. In addition, it puts a bid on their share price temporarily. (It keeps the PRICE elevated even if the VALUE is collapsing).

My concern is that many- and likely most people- are being misled with bogus numbers and that when the SHTF those “in charge” will declare that nobody could have expected this. “This” being a collapse that is likely well underway already and just waiting for a false flag event or a major bankruptcy somewhere to expose the real state of our economy. At that time, planning will probably be impossible. The planning has to take place now.

If you are a debt slave- pay it down as best, you can. If you are planning a major purchase practice restraint- it is possible that prices could be far lower in the not-too distant future anyway. Most of all, listen to your gut. Look around. See things as they are rather than how you would like them to be. Most of all …

Be Prepared!

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