WHO RULES THE WORLD PART 2
CENTRAL BANKS
Regarding the power of central banks, if you will take a piece of paper money out of your wallet -- any denomination -- you will see these words, "Federal Reserve Note -- This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." You might ask yourself why the paper money does not state that it is a note from the Treasury of the United States? If the Federal Reserve is not the Treasury, what is it? The Federal Reserve is a "central bank." To put it in every day terms, it is a private corporation which claims to provide a service to the people of the United States by providing the money used in our banking system.
When America was founded, there were great and serious debates over who should control the monetary system of our new country. While President Washington was chosen by unanimous vote, he appointed a number of constitutional advisers. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson believed in the capacity of the common people for self-government. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, an aristocrat by birth and breeding and connected to the Tory element of the Revolution, believed our monetary system should be like that of England's with a private corporation -- central bank (Bank of England). Washington accepted the views of Hamilton and signed a bill into law creating our first central bank (The Coming Battle, M.W. Walbert, 1899, republished 1977, 3).
When Congress refused to renew the Bank's charter in 1811, the War of 1812 ensued, and in 1816 Congress re-chartered the bank with a capital stock of $35M. "From 1816 to 1828, it was the sole arbiter of the financial affairs of the nation, both public and private. Its power in politics was immense and it swayed elections as well" (Walbert, 11).
Senator Benton of Missouri thoroughly understood the means by which the bank had obtained its mastery over the commerce and industry of the nation and at the session of Congress presented a resolution in the Senate to the effect that the charter should not be renewed (Walbert,12). Senator Benton said,
The government itself ceases to be independent, it ceases to be safe when the national currency is at the will of a company [Bank of the United States, now Federal Reserve]. The government can undertake no great enterprise, neither war nor peace, without the consent and co- operation of that company; it cannot count its revenues six months ahead without referring to the action of that company -- its friendship or its enmity, its concurrence or opposition -- to see how far that company will permit money to be scares or to be plentiful; how far it will let the money system go on regularly or throw it into disorder; how far it will suit their interest or policy. People are not safe when such a company has such power. The temptation is too great, the opportunity too easy, to put up or put down prices, to make and break fortunes, to bring the whole community upon its knees to the Neptunes who preside over the flux and reflux of paper. All property is at their mercy, the price of real estate, of every growing crop, of every staple article in the market, is at their command. Stocks are their playthings -- their gambling theatre on which they gamble daily with as little secrecy and as little morality and far more mischief to fortunes than common gambles carry on their operations (emphasis added) (Walbert, 14).
When Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828, he announced in his first message to Congress that he would not renew its charter. By that time, the Bank had great accumulations of reserves. Jackson advocated the passage of a law distributing these surplus revenues back to the states. He ended up vetoing the law Congress passed to re-charter the Bank. His reasons were salient and vital to future U.S. security. Jackson pointed out that the bank's stock, worth $8 million, was held by foreigners, chiefly in Britain, and that this was the most dangerous feature of the plan because a majority of shares of its stock might fall into alien hands, which, if we were involved in a war, could use its influence against the United States (Walbert, 17).
In 1881, President James A Garfield said,
Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce....and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.
Needless to say, the move to re-establish control over the economy of the United States did not abate. Between 1840 and 1913, there was much done to try and re-establish a private corporation to control our monetary system.
In 1910 a group of men met in secret on Jekyll Island to plan the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States. These men were members of Cecil Rhodes secret circles: Frank Vanderlip, Benjamin Strong, Paul Warburg, Henry P. Davison, Charles Norton, and Senator Nelson Aldrich.
Three years later in 1913, the central bankers took action. This time the people involved in this effort included some of the wealthiest people in America: Senator Nelson Aldrich (grandfather of David Rockefeller); Jacob Schiff and Paul Warburg of Kuhn, Loeb and Company, an international banking house; Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Henry P. Davidson, Senior Partner of J.P. Morgan & Company; Charles D. Norton, and Frank Vanderlip, President of National City Bank which today is CitiGroup. The passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was done through chicanery. Those in the Senate who favored the Act did not go home while those that were against it went home for Christmas. In a special session convened with quorum, the Act passed at 11:45 p.m. on December 24, 1913 -- an evil act of bondage for the American people.
Today, only five countries in the world are without a central bank: Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Cuba and Libya. All of these just happen to be on George Bush's "Evil of Axis" list.
With the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, our monetary system changed back to one of control by a private corporation and not the U.S. Treasury. Our currency is an IOU against the "Federal Reserve Note." Earlier in the day on December 24, 1913, Congressman Charles A. Lindberg, Jr. stated from the House floor: "This Act established the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President signs this bill, the invisible government by the Monetary Power will be legalized...The worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking bill." We should note that President Woodrow Wilson could have vetoed this bill like Andrew Jackson did, but he had been put into power by the same powers that passed the bill.
Since 1913, the Federal Reserve Act has been amended over 195 times. In 1914-1939, U.S. Federal Reserve Notes were backed by gold certificates to 40% of their value. This was reduced by 25% in 1945 and today it is questionable as to how much gold backing there may be.
There have been a number of empowerments given to all central banks, including the Federal Reserve, over the last ten years. In 1997, the Bank of England was given powers, like the Federal Reserve, which included the power to set interest rates without permission from government and to have a separate pool of foreign exchange reserves to INTERVENE in currency markets at their discretion. A Washington Times article has stated that their central bank minister, Gordon Brown, was "modeling the Bank of England much more closely after the U.S. Federal Reserve which can adjust rates even if that causes short-term political discomfort for the White House" (Washington Times-WT, 5/7/97,1). About the same time, the Bank of Japan was also given more power to determine monetary policy. Currently, the Bank of England, the Bundesbank and the European Central Bank all have the same power as the Federal Reserve to change interest rates without approval from government, first.
Also in 1997, it appears that there was a harmonization between Fed concerns and market direction. Starting then, every time Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made any kind of comment about the market, it reacted. This continues. The market takes its direction from the Fed.
Then, in 1999 Congress passed HR1094, which amended the Federal Reserve Act to broaden the range of discount window loans (i.e. where banks borrow from the Fed overnight to maintain their capitalization) that could be used as collateral for Federal Reserve Notes. Assets eligible for collateral include: Treasury and federal agency securities, gold certificates, Special Drawing Rights, foreign currencies, and discount window loans made under Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act. What we can see is that as our indebtedness grows, this private corporation wants more collateral for the loans it is making to the U.S. government. Furthermore, with the expansion and harmonization of central bank powers, the Fed has gained great power over the government. It is the Federal Reserve Chairman who TELLS Congress what he thinks and some of what he is doing, not the other way around.
Karl Marx said this about central banking, "By means of the banking system the distribution of capital is taken out of the hands of the private capitalists and usurers. But at the same time, banking and credit thus become the most effective means of driving capitalist production beyond its own boundaries, and one of the most potent instruments of crises and swindles" (Mayer, 39).
Regarding the power of central banks, if you will take a piece of paper money out of your wallet -- any denomination -- you will see these words, "Federal Reserve Note -- This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private." You might ask yourself why the paper money does not state that it is a note from the Treasury of the United States? If the Federal Reserve is not the Treasury, what is it? The Federal Reserve is a "central bank." To put it in every day terms, it is a private corporation which claims to provide a service to the people of the United States by providing the money used in our banking system.
When America was founded, there were great and serious debates over who should control the monetary system of our new country. While President Washington was chosen by unanimous vote, he appointed a number of constitutional advisers. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson believed in the capacity of the common people for self-government. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, an aristocrat by birth and breeding and connected to the Tory element of the Revolution, believed our monetary system should be like that of England's with a private corporation -- central bank (Bank of England). Washington accepted the views of Hamilton and signed a bill into law creating our first central bank (The Coming Battle, M.W. Walbert, 1899, republished 1977, 3).
When Congress refused to renew the Bank's charter in 1811, the War of 1812 ensued, and in 1816 Congress re-chartered the bank with a capital stock of $35M. "From 1816 to 1828, it was the sole arbiter of the financial affairs of the nation, both public and private. Its power in politics was immense and it swayed elections as well" (Walbert, 11).
Senator Benton of Missouri thoroughly understood the means by which the bank had obtained its mastery over the commerce and industry of the nation and at the session of Congress presented a resolution in the Senate to the effect that the charter should not be renewed (Walbert,12). Senator Benton said,
The government itself ceases to be independent, it ceases to be safe when the national currency is at the will of a company [Bank of the United States, now Federal Reserve]. The government can undertake no great enterprise, neither war nor peace, without the consent and co- operation of that company; it cannot count its revenues six months ahead without referring to the action of that company -- its friendship or its enmity, its concurrence or opposition -- to see how far that company will permit money to be scares or to be plentiful; how far it will let the money system go on regularly or throw it into disorder; how far it will suit their interest or policy. People are not safe when such a company has such power. The temptation is too great, the opportunity too easy, to put up or put down prices, to make and break fortunes, to bring the whole community upon its knees to the Neptunes who preside over the flux and reflux of paper. All property is at their mercy, the price of real estate, of every growing crop, of every staple article in the market, is at their command. Stocks are their playthings -- their gambling theatre on which they gamble daily with as little secrecy and as little morality and far more mischief to fortunes than common gambles carry on their operations (emphasis added) (Walbert, 14).
When Andrew Jackson was elected President in 1828, he announced in his first message to Congress that he would not renew its charter. By that time, the Bank had great accumulations of reserves. Jackson advocated the passage of a law distributing these surplus revenues back to the states. He ended up vetoing the law Congress passed to re-charter the Bank. His reasons were salient and vital to future U.S. security. Jackson pointed out that the bank's stock, worth $8 million, was held by foreigners, chiefly in Britain, and that this was the most dangerous feature of the plan because a majority of shares of its stock might fall into alien hands, which, if we were involved in a war, could use its influence against the United States (Walbert, 17).
In 1881, President James A Garfield said,
Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce....and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.
Needless to say, the move to re-establish control over the economy of the United States did not abate. Between 1840 and 1913, there was much done to try and re-establish a private corporation to control our monetary system.
In 1910 a group of men met in secret on Jekyll Island to plan the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States. These men were members of Cecil Rhodes secret circles: Frank Vanderlip, Benjamin Strong, Paul Warburg, Henry P. Davison, Charles Norton, and Senator Nelson Aldrich.
Three years later in 1913, the central bankers took action. This time the people involved in this effort included some of the wealthiest people in America: Senator Nelson Aldrich (grandfather of David Rockefeller); Jacob Schiff and Paul Warburg of Kuhn, Loeb and Company, an international banking house; Piatt Andrew, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury; Henry P. Davidson, Senior Partner of J.P. Morgan & Company; Charles D. Norton, and Frank Vanderlip, President of National City Bank which today is CitiGroup. The passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was done through chicanery. Those in the Senate who favored the Act did not go home while those that were against it went home for Christmas. In a special session convened with quorum, the Act passed at 11:45 p.m. on December 24, 1913 -- an evil act of bondage for the American people.
Today, only five countries in the world are without a central bank: Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Cuba and Libya. All of these just happen to be on George Bush's "Evil of Axis" list.
With the passage of the Federal Reserve Act, our monetary system changed back to one of control by a private corporation and not the U.S. Treasury. Our currency is an IOU against the "Federal Reserve Note." Earlier in the day on December 24, 1913, Congressman Charles A. Lindberg, Jr. stated from the House floor: "This Act established the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President signs this bill, the invisible government by the Monetary Power will be legalized...The worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking bill." We should note that President Woodrow Wilson could have vetoed this bill like Andrew Jackson did, but he had been put into power by the same powers that passed the bill.
Since 1913, the Federal Reserve Act has been amended over 195 times. In 1914-1939, U.S. Federal Reserve Notes were backed by gold certificates to 40% of their value. This was reduced by 25% in 1945 and today it is questionable as to how much gold backing there may be.
There have been a number of empowerments given to all central banks, including the Federal Reserve, over the last ten years. In 1997, the Bank of England was given powers, like the Federal Reserve, which included the power to set interest rates without permission from government and to have a separate pool of foreign exchange reserves to INTERVENE in currency markets at their discretion. A Washington Times article has stated that their central bank minister, Gordon Brown, was "modeling the Bank of England much more closely after the U.S. Federal Reserve which can adjust rates even if that causes short-term political discomfort for the White House" (Washington Times-WT, 5/7/97,1). About the same time, the Bank of Japan was also given more power to determine monetary policy. Currently, the Bank of England, the Bundesbank and the European Central Bank all have the same power as the Federal Reserve to change interest rates without approval from government, first.
Also in 1997, it appears that there was a harmonization between Fed concerns and market direction. Starting then, every time Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made any kind of comment about the market, it reacted. This continues. The market takes its direction from the Fed.
Then, in 1999 Congress passed HR1094, which amended the Federal Reserve Act to broaden the range of discount window loans (i.e. where banks borrow from the Fed overnight to maintain their capitalization) that could be used as collateral for Federal Reserve Notes. Assets eligible for collateral include: Treasury and federal agency securities, gold certificates, Special Drawing Rights, foreign currencies, and discount window loans made under Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act. What we can see is that as our indebtedness grows, this private corporation wants more collateral for the loans it is making to the U.S. government. Furthermore, with the expansion and harmonization of central bank powers, the Fed has gained great power over the government. It is the Federal Reserve Chairman who TELLS Congress what he thinks and some of what he is doing, not the other way around.
Karl Marx said this about central banking, "By means of the banking system the distribution of capital is taken out of the hands of the private capitalists and usurers. But at the same time, banking and credit thus become the most effective means of driving capitalist production beyond its own boundaries, and one of the most potent instruments of crises and swindles" (Mayer, 39).
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