9 Essential Changes to Keep America From Becoming a Third World Country

Dees Illustration

Brandon Turbeville

In my last article, 10 Proposals To Get America’s Economy Back on Track, I wrote of the various methods that can be taken to stop the hemorrhage of money coming from the US Treasury via the TARP legislation and subsequent bailouts. I also mentioned the mechanisms that must be taken advantage of in order to stop the Housing/Derivatives/Speculation crisis.

While these suggestions are important, the fact is that even if all of them were implemented immediately they would not solve the long-term issue of government debt, currency control, and inflation. The solutions mentioned in the last article are only the beginning and they should be implemented with the knowledge that they are only meant to stop the bleeding.

As it stands, the US National Debt is an astronomical monstrosity which has been the result of years of Congressional abdication of authority and the insanity of Fractional Reserve Banking. According to the Economic Collapse Blog, as of June 20, 2011, the US National Debt stood at $14,344,524,186,068.19. Not only that, but mandatory Federal spending will surpass Federal revenue for the first time in history.

1. Seize the Federal Reserve, place it under the United States Treasury, and immediately establish the Federal Reserve as the National Bank of the United States. It is not enough to simply end the Federal Reserve without replacing it as such an act would create a vacuum and do little to free the United States from the clutches of the private international banking cartels.  The new National Bank must be placed under the authority of the United States Congress, thus returning the power of lending, borrowing, and the issuance of currency to the Congress as mandated by the Constitution. The National Bank should be the one that lends to the US government at 0% interest and follows the dictates of Congress in regards to the size of the money supply.  Subsequently, we must repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 for good measure, so as to erase from the language of the law all legitimacy of the private central bank.

2. After the nationalization of the Fed and the creation of the National Bank of the United States, the size of the money supply, interest rates, methods of lending, etc. should be the responsibility of the National Bank of the United States and, by its very nature, the United States Congress. The size of the money supply should be determined as a result of public laws passed by Congress and signed by the President after much public debate. The goal should be a money supply that is stable, yet still capable of funding the military, social safety net, infrastructure projects, research, and all other forms of legitimate government spending.

3. After taking all spending factors (such as those listed above as well as all other legitimate factors) into consideration, the money supply should be set and tied directly to population growth. As the population increases/decreases, the money supply should be adjusted accordingly.

4. The form of currency used by the United States and the National Bank of the United States should be entirely fiat. We must avoid the temptation to move towards a gold- or silver-backed currency. All that is needed to give a particular currency value is that a people consider it valuable and this can easily be achieved with fiat currency. Indeed, this is the case right now. Because the gold and silver markets are controlled by international banks and financiers, a currency that is backed by these commodities could be disastrous. Fiat currency gives a country the necessary flexibility for a stable currency, yet a fully funded military and social safety net, etc.

5. Pass a law that directs the US Treasury to issue US Treasury Notes in order to pay off the national debt.

6. Direct the US Treasury to replace all Federal Reserve Notes in circulation with US Treasury Notes. This will enable the Treasury Notes to act as the national currency instead of the Federal Reserve Notes.

7. End Fractional Reserve Banking by passing a law that requires private banks to increase their reserve ratio from the current 10% to 100%. Because this requires banks to have 100% of the money they loan out on reserve for depositors and ends their ability to create money out of thin air, this law will force the banks to absorb the money needed to pay off the national debt owed to them.  As a result, we will able to:

8. Pay off the National Debt. By forcing the banks to hold 100% reserves and by replacing Federal Reserve Notes with US Treasury Notes, the United States could actually be debt free. Because the national debt closely parallels the amount of money created by private banks and the debt held by the Federal Reserve (which would be nationalized), the national debt can be paid off in one fell swoop.

9. The US government must then STOP all borrowing from private banks and foreign nations. The United States can act as its own bank through the US Treasury and the new National Bank of the United States. The US Treasury/National Bank of the United States must then forgive all debt owed to them by the states as a result of the unfunded mandates created by the 2008 Stimulus package. This will drastically reduce the debt of the individual States and free up State money for other projects.

Nothing short of something drastic, such as the solutions I have mentioned above will solve the issue of national debt, inflation, currency control, and the like. The only thing that is for certain is that the current system is not working. Unfortunately, it is not working because it is designed not to work. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t have to throw out the baby with the bath water. We can have ou cake and eat it too – regardless of what we are told by those who wish to steal the cake for themselves.

I would love to hear your proposals for how to restore America’s economic freedom and prosperity.  Please leave your comments below and share your ideas with others. More can be found in my book Five Sense Solutions.