Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Human Community


Quotation by Tom Paine:

"When shall it be said in any

country of the world, my poor are

happy; neither ignorance or distress

is to be found among them; my jails

are empty of prisoners, my streets

of beggars; the aged are not in

want, the taxes are not

oppressive...when these things can

be said, then may that country

boast of its constitution and

government."
~ Thomas Paine     

Friday, May 18, 2012

MONEY POWER





Democracy will rise superior to the money power.

by William Finnerty  
                          

no copyright claimed


United States President Abraham Lincoln’s MONETARY POLICY




“Money is the creature of law, and the creation of the original issue of money should be maintained asthe exclusive monopoly of national government. Money possesses no value to the state other than that given to it by circulation. Capital has its proper place and is entitled to every protection. The wages of men should be recognized in the structure of and in the social order as more important than the wages of money [interest]. ……………….

No duty is more imperative for the government than the duty it owes the people to furnish them with a sound and uniform currency, and of regulating the circulation of the medium of exchange so that labour will be protected from a vicious currency [private bank-created, interest-bearing debt], and commerce will be facilitated by cheap and safe exchanges…………..

The available supply of gold and silver being wholly inadequate to permit the issuance of coins of intrinsic value or paper currency convertible into coin in the volume required to serve the needs of the People, some other basis for the issue of currency must be developed, and some means other than that of convertibility into coin must be developed to prevent undue fluctuation in the value of paper currency or any other substitute for money of intrinsic value that may come into use……………..

The monetary needs of increasing numbers of people advancing towards higher standards of living can and should be met by the government. Such needs can be met by the issue of national currency and credit through the operation of a national banking system. The circulation of a medium of exchange issued and backed by the government can be properly regulated and redundancy of issue avoided by withdrawing from circulation such amounts as may be necessary by taxation, re-deposit and otherwise. Government has the power to regulate the currency and credit of the nation………………..

Government should stand behind its currency and credit and the bank deposits of the nation. No individual should suffer a loss of money through depreciation or inflated currency or Bank bankruptcy………………

Government, possessing the power to create and issue currency and credit as money and enjoying the right to withdraw both currency and credit from circulation by taxation and otherwise, need not andshould not borrow capital at interest [from the private banking system or their affiliates] as a means of financing government work and public enterprise. The government should create issue and circulate all the currency and credit needed to satisfy the spending power of the government and the buying power of consumers. The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of government, but it is the government’s greatest creative opportunity……………………

By the adoption of these principles, the long-felt want for a uniform medium will be satisfied. The taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest, discounts, and exchanges. The financing of all public enterprises, the maintenance of stable government and ordered progress, and the conduct of the Treasury will become matters of practical administration. The people can and will be furnished with a currency as safe as their own government. Money will cease to be the master and become the servant of humanity. Democracy will rise superior to the money power.” [1]


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Purpose in Government

United States of America



We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.


When the newly free Colonies called for a convention that ended up writing a Constitution for a new Government, we alread had a Government. It operated under the Articles of Confederation. Why did we decide we need a new Government.

It's simple.  The first try was not working.  The Colonies were acting like 13 Nations and were constantly fighting. We had just created a new Europe.  And most of the countries of old Europe were stronger than us.  We need to work together or end up as colonies again.  We needed to "form a more perfect union.".

We need to be sure that everyone was treating everyone else with fairness.  We need to be sure that people and the laws of one state were treated with respect in each of the other states.  We needed to "establish justice".

We needed to be sure special interest groups did not take up violence against others with whom they had disagreements.  We need to be sure that there was no armed resistance to law and order.  We needed  "insure domestic tranquility".

We also were in danger from outsiders who wanted to use our land for their purposes.  We need to be aware of danger from the outside.   We needed to "provide for the common defense".

We need to try to see that our citizens did not starve, or go homeless or suffer unduly  in sickness or be unnecessarily ignorant. After all, in a democratic society the government is the institution of the people. We needed to "promote the general welfare".

And lastly we need to have control over our individual lives and we need this freedom of choice to be guaranteed to our descendants.  We needed to "secure the blessing of  liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

So this Convention proposed, voted on and wrote down the ways they thought we could best make these things happen. They call it the Constitution.  After the appropriate number of free colonies voted to accept this  document as our governing covenant the people had agreed to  "ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

It has take more than 200 years and a bloody Civil War and a lot of other bloodshed to make us the Greatest Nation on Earth.  There is a lot more to do to make it "Perfect"  As long as the People  make sure that it is their Government and working for their interest we still have a chance  to secure the blessings of Liberty to our posterity.  In the words of Abraham Lincoln it is up to us to make sure  "that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 


Copyright © William Hodge 2012