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The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself... And Governments Telling Us What To Fear: Why The Beginning Of The End Started With FDR's Confiscation Of Gold
As is well-known by now, following America's collapse in the first Great Depression back in 1929, one of the first decisions undertaken by president FDR, not even a month following the first of four inaugural speeches (in which he notably said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself") was to respond to the rolling bank runs and shutdowns, by doing something unprecedented: confiscating the gold of American citizens. And then he logically followed up by doing the only thing that insolvent governments know how to do: he debased the US Dollar overnight by 40% by changing the official exchange ratio of the USD to gold from $20.67 per ounce to $35.00 per troy ounce. Alas, since exchanging such gold would be impossible until 40 years later, nobody could take advantage of this generous offer. It is this point in history that to William Buckler of the famous Privateer newsletter marks the transition of American government from republican (on behalf of the people) to being authoritarian (in control of the people). It also begs the question: what did FDR offer in return for gold confiscation - after all if gold confiscation is not "something to be feared" then there is a quid pro quo. Why he gave us Social Security and the Welfare state. The same "welfare" state whose unfunded obligations amount to roughly $80 trillion, and whose increasingly tangible insolvency is precisely the reason why ever more capital is shifting right back to, you guessed it, gold. Perhaps FDR should have added that in addition to fear itself, the one other thing everyone should fear is governments believing they they know what they are doing when transitioning to central planning an an authoritarian regime based on nothing but faith.
From the latest Privateer newsletter:
The US banking collapse which occurred early in 1933 was the result of a huge withdrawal of Gold by both foreigners and Americans. There was real fear that the incoming government would repudiate the Gold standard - just as the UK government had done in late 1931. The worst nightmare of all central bankers was taking place. Just as Mr Bernanke does today, Fed Chairman Eugene Mayer had access to (primitive) helicopters and printing presses. What he did not have was a “fiat” currency. As long as foreigners - AND AMERICANS - could redeem their US Dollars for Gold, his hands were tied.
As already stated, FDR declared a bank holiday immediately upon his inauguration on March 4, 1933. The banks had already ceased making payments and were paying out only five percent of deposits. The bank holiday merely froze this last gasp of bank activity - for a week. It took a lot more to “scare” Americans in the early 1930s than it does today, but the bank collapse of early 1933 was the culmination of the aftermath of the stock market crash of October 1929. For three-and-a-half years, Americans had been rocked by a series of economic and financial calamities - each one of them worse than the one that preceded it. The bank holiday was the last straw. Something RADICAL had to be done.
Something radical was done. When the bank holiday ended, thousands of US banks had ceased to exist. The ones that remained were “SOUND” - so said FDR. Most Americans could no longer afford not to believe him. The Gold poured back into the still standing banks. No sooner had it done so than the US government literally stole it - on April 5, 1933 - by making it illegal for Americans to hold or own Gold. From that day to this, the US economy has run on a totally fiat currency. Until December 31, 1974 - the day it once again became legal for Americans to buy, sell and hold physical Gold - there was no escape.
Gold confiscation was all it took to turn the form of US government from being republican (on behalf of the people) to being authoritarian (in control of the people). It is all it took for that same US government to start to nurture the attitude among Americans that they were dependent on their government. To nail down that attitude, “social security” (a contradiction in terms), old age pensions and unemployment insurance were all enacted into law by 1935. By the end of the 1930s, they were electorally sacrosanct. Deprived of the means to maintain independence, Americans were given the substitute of “welfare”.
Segment courtesy of Bill Buckler and his prior permission.
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"Funny" isn't the word I would use.
Sad.
Pathetic.
Insane.
Criminal.
Disgusting.
Those are some words that come to mind. Dick van Dyke is funny. George Carlin is funny. Kristen Wiig is funny. These guys aren't funny, they're deranged, mindless and despicable.
Will have to look up this newsletter. However, while it is clear that FDR was the most destructive man in American history, he was only following in the footsteps of Lincoln, the first supreme dictator of the USSA, whose dark gaze still looks out on DC thinking of the Americans he slaughtered for power and glory. When states rights were revoked, the republic was null and void.
Perhaps the path began as early as Jefferson.
Your head is shrinking.
It is easy to take pot shots at FDR from a distance. Just remember the alternative was not utopia. See Butler, Smedley. We are now at that crossroads again. Choose carefully.
FDR confiscated gold because there were competitive devaluations going on with currencies worldwide.... just like now. In fact, it seems that the countries that devalued first were the first to recover.
Here's a point-by-point breakdown of FDR's January 11, 1944 speech. As you can see this is the inspiration for the current White House Information Czar, Cass Sunstein's strategy to turn America into Europe. Sunstein explains that what we have to fear is failure to have the best basketball sneakers and silk neckties... literally.
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Ron Paul...sound money, peace, liberty.
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We dont have a proper fiat regime where the relative value of the dollar is determined by the market, we have an oil backed currency, if the market determine the value of the dollar it would be worth several times less based on the massive increase in supply over the last couple of decades, instead the demand for oil determines the value of the dollar and economic growth, thats why we have wars for oil and not wars for other people's dollars, if we go back to a gold standard we would not change anything cos the powers that be will find excuses to invade south america (like they did in the 17th and 18th century) and other gold producing regions to replace real growth, based on producing more than you consume, with fake growth based on stealing whatever keeps the purchasing power of your currency from going down too much.
What a Hoot TD! You have quite the sense of humor to print a typical college brainwashed “conomist” FDR hate piece of propaganda on Labor Day!
FDR was a great American leader who stepped into the Great Depression with fore thought and action on behalf of his sworn duty to “government of, for and by the People” and regulated predatory monopolistic corporations and banksters who caused the Great Depression. The “lawlessness of the wild, wild west of corporations” as Bush would say, was over (for awhile, government uncorrupted).
To stimulate the stricken American economy, FDR instigated government spending on public infrastructure (electrification, dam, highway construction ect) on behalf of the American taxpayers. Those facilities were owned and belonged to the (public) American People for the mutual benefit to everyone.
FDR made bold steps in nationalizing retirement insurance and secured for the American working public an old age pension so that old workers would not die in poverty. Social Security contributions worked great, a little every paycheck for a stipend after age 65. The Federal self sufficient pay as you go system had a surplus in funds (stolen by government corruption).
Yes, FDR is the Labor Day hero of the American Main Street economy: FDR brought the corporate criminals to Justice, broke up their monopolies. FDR acted on behalf of the American People for their benefit and the sovereign American Free Enterprise economic system known as the American Main Street Economy.
Buckler is a rabid conomist dog who keeps biting himself, self consuming himself, believing his own FDR hate rhetoric instead of looking up and realizing what he is doing. His people “welfare state” is really a multinational corporation’s “welfare state”.
No surprise here. The site is nothing more than a front for right-wing funded think tank agenda. There is nothing here that advocates policies that would benefit the common man, that is,
the bottom 75 % of Americans. All articles posted here are advanced by people with ties to the financial, plutocrat class. On Labor Day, you are not going to find any articles about working
families living on food stamps, or in their car parked at Walmart here. No Sir! But, you are might find articles here about how to "shit on US' and take all your financial loot to some
reactionary, plutocrat controlled country and live like a king exploiting cheap local labor.
Tyler and the rest of the libertarian peabrained teabagger contingent on this board smack of just ONE VERY GLARING IDEOLOGY when talking about politics:
Because of its qualitative populism, Fascism must be against "rotten" parliamentary governments.Wherever a politician casts doubt on the legitimacy of a parliament because it no longer represents "the Voice of the People", we can smell Fascism.
Eternal Fascism: Umberto Eco
14 Ways to Uncover Fascist Ideology
ooopps ...Temet nosce
According to the article as written (regardless of its absence of historical reality) the only entities that lost control were the banks, not " for the people."
The first day banks said anything less than 100% of deposit available on demand, their con game was over, and the "banker class" was subject to fail. The USA and other nations were already building an uber-bank as the only workable weapon "the people" could have to stop banker class predations.
England went off the gold standard, but its bankers were able to note that the USA was stupid enough to stay on it, and acted accordingly.
England made the move in slow response to the fact that the "banker class" had begun eating its own children in Austria in May 1931.
The quid pro quo that gold owners got for their gold was "the United States." Any who didn't want the deal were free to leave.
The only thing "privateers" have to fear is somebody with a bugger gun and the will to use it; non-plussed by the cries of "we were just playing" or "we got a right."
If "republic" means "for the peole" then anyone standing in the way of "the people" has a right to be run over, and no more.
Tips for a Tyrant's Apprentice:
Tyrants are everywhere, always be at war with one.
The world is dangerous. Sell the people safety, make them pay with Liberty.
Let the people feel need then sell them Freedom from need.
Give to the poor the produce of the rich, be certain there are always pleanty of poor.
Follow all money flows and be certain you tax at every point.
Surround youself with weaker but like minded men, find the tall and attractive and let them be the leaders. Let them be loved. Martyr them from time to time.
Control what people think by controlling what they hear. You must have power over all media.
Control what maybe be called money, be able to produce it at will. Do not let barter arise.
People fear death, let them have god. You must have power over the churches.
To fight men must have weapons. Forbid them weapons.
Know what men are saying, listen to all their conversations. You will know which men are dangerous.
Old heros are important. Remember them but control what is remembered.
Work is important, when men are idle they revolt. Keep them employed, keep their mission confused however or they will realize their work is just a ploy.
All men are different. Be certain all men know what group they belong to and who are the enemies of their group.
Allow dissent. Let your media show the dissenters to be baffoons and fools.
People have needs, meet their needs, let no one else do so unless it is through you.
There must be justice, control the courts and all who sit on them.
I know Machiavelli beat me by a few hundred years but just in case he missed something.... Too bad these are all already being used or I could have had a job as a consultant.