Discussion

I really appreciated this speech by Congressman Ron Paul
HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS
Before the U.S. House of Representatives
February 15, 2006

www.house.gov/paul
Ron Paul Speeches and Statements
You can read the entire speech at the above website

“The End of Dollar Hegemony”
1.US Dollar based on precious metals
Congress created the Federal Reserve System in 1913 making it possible to remove the US dollar from precious metal backing
FDR removed the US dollar from gold backing
Richard Nixon removed the US dollar from silver backing
Quoting Ron Paul
“…the French and others in the late 1960s demanded we fulfill our promise to pay one ounce of gold for each $35 they delivered to the U.S. Treasury. This resulted in a huge gold drain…”
“It all ended on August 15, 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window and refused to pay out any of our remaining 280 million ounces of gold. In essence, we declared our insolvency and everyone recognized some other monetary system had to be devised in order to bring stability to the markets.”

2.US Dollar based on mid-east oil
“The 1944 Bretton Woods agreement solidified the dollar as the preeminent world reserve currency…”
“Amazingly, a new system was devised which allowed the U.S. to operate the printing presses for the world reserve currency with no restraints placed on it-- not even a pretense of gold convertibility, none whatsoever! Though the new policy was even more deeply flawed, it nevertheless opened the door for dollar hegemony to spread.
Realizing the world was embarking on something new and mind boggling, elite money managers, with especially strong support from U.S. authorities, struck an agreement with OPEC to price oil in U.S. dollars exclusively for all worldwide transactions. This gave the dollar a special place among world currencies and in essence “backed” the dollar with oil. In return, the U.S. promised to protect the various oil-rich kingdoms in the Persian Gulf against threat of invasion or domestic coup. This arrangement helped ignite the radical Islamic movement among those who resented our influence in the region. The arrangement gave the dollar artificial strength, with tremendous financial benefits for the United States. It allowed us to export our monetary inflation by buying oil and other goods at a great discount as dollar influence flourished.
In November 2000 Saddam Hussein demanded Euros for his oil. His arrogance was a threat to the dollar; his lack of any military might was never a threat. At the first cabinet meeting with the new administration in 2001, as reported by Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the major topic was how we would get rid of Saddam Hussein-- though there was no evidence whatsoever he posed a threat to us. This deep concern for Saddam Hussein surprised and shocked O’Neill.
It now is common knowledge that the immediate reaction of the administration after 9/11 revolved around how they could connect Saddam Hussein to the attacks, to justify an invasion and overthrow of his government. Even with no evidence of any connection to 9/11, or evidence of weapons of mass destruction, public and congressional support was generated through distortions and flat out misrepresentation of the facts to justify overthrowing Saddam Hussein.
There was no public talk of removing Saddam Hussein because of his attack on the integrity of the dollar as a reserve currency by selling oil in Euros. Many believe this was the real reason for our obsession with Iraq. I doubt it was the only reason, but it may well have played a significant role in our motivation to wage war. Within a very short period after the military victory, all Iraqi oil sales were carried out in dollars. The Euro was abandoned.…”

3. US dollar based on military might
“If oil markets replace dollars with Euros, it would in time curtail our ability to continue to print, without restraint, the world’s reserve currency…”
“Our whole economic system depends on continuing the current monetary arrangement, which means recycling the dollar is crucial. Currently, we borrow over $700 billion every year from our gracious benefactors, who work hard and take our paper for their goods. Then we borrow all the money we need to secure the empire (DOD budget $450 billion) plus more. The military might we enjoy becomes the “backing” of our currency. There are no other countries that can challenge our military superiority, and therefore they have little choice but to accept the dollars we declare are today’s “gold.” This is why countries that challenge the system-- like Iraq, Iran and Venezuela-- become targets of our plans for regime change…”
“And once again there’s this urgent call for sanctions and threats of force against Iran at the precise time Iran is opening a new oil exchange with all transactions in Euros…”
“The economic law that honest exchange demands only things of real value as currency cannot be repealed. The chaos that one day will ensue from our 35-year experiment with worldwide fiat money will require a return to money of real value. We will know that day is approaching when oil-producing countries demand gold, or its equivalent, for their oil rather than dollars or Euros…”

I've been in business 30 years, and was an employee before that. Every small business wants reliable managers....following that..buyers. Young people, you still have a chance. You are ahead of the "yuppies" who are not even trying to educate themselves, they want everything NOW!.
It took a life-time for us to build our business, we are now getting too old to take care of it. We have found a reliable young couple who we "trust" to rent some of it to, and sell some on a contract.
You can do it, it takes patience, due deligence, and you have to prove your commitment. Most people are under the illusion of getting rich quick. The ultra rich and crooked have our polical people by the nose and always have had, but currently we are in a severe socialist movement, very foreign to most americans. This is where other cultures shine, you do not share our complaciency. This all makes it harder for us, we have to figure out a way to survive. Robert is here to help us.
Robert please give us your specific ideas of business avenues most apt to survive the current government/market turmoil.

Let´s take "meaning of life"
If money can be defined as "a means to and end", we can say that rich people think money is a means in itself. Money AND power. So it is with most of us, we we get manhandled by the financial anxieties as debts, etc.
So, we can say the urgent matters make it difficult to see important ones.

Financially speaking,"meaning of life" MUST include money as a means. If it is a means, THEN we need to know the RULES behind, organizing its true funtioning.

But also must include the North, the way were we are going. What´s the use of a means without and end?

It´s so interesting to know... no, to put it more precisely, to engage into the process of becoming aware of the astounding fact that, for the vast mayority of we, humans on Earth, we simply DON´T HAVE A DELIBERATE END. A really focused purpose in life. WE just "follow the current" of comodity, of mayority, of bodily needs and desires... that, mostly, ALL.
Purpose is something special, something we must construct. It´s not something given to us from without.

Religions tend to, as actual money culture, to supply us with prefabricated answers. Answers that set us to sleep.
True religion creators are like business entrepreneurs. They created something ALIVE.
The the followers took of the alive part simply because the were dead on the inside. Replaced it with set of rules, which are mechanical in nature. Away with aliveness, with consciousness.

Then, similar is religion to politics. All based on the need of control, to put an elite over the top of masses.
Until there, all OK. But they ALL forget to engage in true ENDS.

For me, learning about the possibility of acquiring true financial literacy was like an spiritual opening. I have the possibility to be the master of my money, my finances. So I gain control over my money=my cultural part of my life.

Learning financial literacy and acquiring financial freedom has definitely to do with aproper means towards a proper end.
Mean:the way of true money
End: mastering how to be the master of oneself
How can I be the master of myself if I simply can´t AFFORD it?!?

I´m not answering your question... well, I´m not being original then, doing so, ha,ha...

I think that you are touching an important theme: VALUES.
Maybe you should consider the estrategy of approaching such an important issue.

You created Cashflow. Then I think the ludic approach can be very effective to assist us in thinking in different ways. There´s a word, METANOIA, meaning "to think in a different way". You help us, assist us, encourage us to do so.

So maybe creating another game, this time not only to help us understand-by-doing about financial matters, but about VALUES. Not only how to make money work for me, but how understand my personal meaning in life armoniously related to other´s?

I wonder: why can´t we also play to put values together with money?
CHANGE OUR WORLDVIEW.
How can we work for something if we don´t know we´re we going?

We are working towards a particular Worldview. Are we aware of it?

Maybe it´s not "rich (bad)few people against innocent (good but quite stupid)many, potentially noble people"

We have to impersonalize this matters.

I think that we have to evolve our worldviews. To broaden our concepts.

I´m thinking about creating a board game, instead about Cashflow, it should be about WORLDVIEW.
So we first accept the concept of financial literacy
Then the need of financial freedom
Then we become "responsible citizens"
Thern we continue with the next level of our training: how to tune in with higher Worldviews and consciously work on them.
Then money and power are stripped of being ends; they are what they are: means.
Can we attain an instruction level so we can be conscious co-administrators of the world? Collaborating instead of Interfering with Nature?
Isn´t it the purpose of Religion?
I´sn´t it the purpose of your teachings?

To collaborate to create a higher world? First we must understand what to do with ourselves!

It´s FUN to do this. to learn this!

I think you have done a fine job in laying out all of the realities. I don't think there is anymore to state.

Awesome analogies thus far and I am highly excited about the book! My contribution / question is based on one of your previous books that I am VERY SURE you will be interested in following up on along the lines that your logic is taking in THIS highly educational 'update'. In "Rich Dad's Prophecy" you explained all about the ERISA Act of '74', I believe it was, where as we baby-boomers come of not only retirement age, but of forced pullout age of our 401K's by the age of 70 and a half! Talk about a prophecy gaining by leaps and bounds ! Not only is the prophecy RIGHT ON the mark in its progression BUT I think it's being accellerated in time well before 2016 because of the financially uneducated masses following blind investment 'mentors' right to the 'tax slaughterhouse' as our market accelerates it's freight train right into it's coming crash! I believe your book talked about 2016 being the time that many 401K-boomers would HAVE to begin pulling their retirement and invested funds out thus oweing that BIG TAX money to the gov'ment when they reached the age of 70 and a half. This would be at a rate of somewhere a bit over 600K-plus per year investors in addition to the already existing 2.1 Mil who are having to pull their 401K invesments out of the stock market and mutual fund market. You've already mentioned in this book that this process is accellerating by the thousands as it is in the present. This was because when Pres. Ford signed the ERISA Act into law back in '74' it contained the 'pound of flesh' clause you perfectly deemed it as. This 'pound of flesh' clause is when TAXES HAVE TO BE PAID when the investor begins to pull their 401K investments because they reached the age of 70 and a half. Meantime, back and the ranch, the present in other words, the markets are already falling so fast that investors are pulling out their existing 401K's REGARDLESS of having to pay the early withdrawaal penalties to the IRS because they've already lost so much money that they don't trust the market let alone their so-called financial planners and stuffing what's left 'under the mattress' while the market continues toward its CRASH! I believe THIS point should be added to your financial realities list because folks, this freight train of 'financial conspiracy' is gaining carload after carload of OUR MONEY which HAS to be paid back to to all those loans given our gov'ment and who do you all think is going to HAVE pay them off? When those loans are called in, that's one thing in the future which we hope is in 'a galaxy far far away'! BUT, our already reduced-return 401K money, which we all hoped so dearly was going to provide for us in our old ages with paid off home mortgages, cars, utility bills, food on the table, AND those mounting medical needs bills, let alone SOME kind of legacy for our kids and maybe even hopes for something for our grand kids maybe in the name of a college trust fund.....WHO is it that will HAVE to pay additional funds thus adding MORE cars to the freight train to pay for those 'incentive package'loans that our 'all-knowing' gov'ment is trying so desperately to use to 'stimulate' our falling economy ?... IT'S OUR KIDS folks...AND THEIR KIDS ! OK Mr. K. NOW WHAT ? The train's a'comin' and its comin' faster and faster at us, our kids AND their kids alot more soon than we all might think! Do I convert my 'funny money' to GOLD and bury THAT in my back yard?! A mattress is all i'll have left! I can't put the GOLD there because Uncle Sam's IRS is SURE to look under it! All in the name of trying to back out of THEIR fleecing of OUR hard earned USofA to all those foreign gov'ments who NOW ALREADY OWN many of our major industries BECAUSE of those elected leaders WE so 'popularly' elected? Isn't all of this OUR UNEDUCATED FAULT too? I am somewhat at a loss as to what to do. THANK YOU SO MUCH for stimulating our minds BEFORE our gov'ment stimulates their fleecing hands too far into our's and our kids pockets so we have the chance to educate our KIDS along with ourselves and maybe, just maybe, we CAN begin to get out of this mess, make educated changes not only in our financial thinking BUT ALSO in our political thinking since THAT is where this book seems to be going!

Robert yes, there is one that is missing in my opinion;
Religion !
In most religions in the world, money is an evil thing,
and independant thinking is not educated, let alone financial education.

Robert yes, there is one that is missing in my opinion;
Religion !
In most religions in the world, money is an evil thing,
and independant thinking is not educated, let alone financial education.

What came to mind to consider adding. The so called "symbols of being successful or daily life": the encouragement of large purchases such as cars, going to colleges/ schools with enormous loans attached or taking on a credit card with large credit lines just because you qualify.
All seemingly pretty day to day but often damaging because people often do not think it all the through.They lose in the end when they buy, barrow or take part in these actions that cannot yeild the return of a quality of life that they are suggested commercially to offer. aka a smoke and mirrors kinda moment that really sucks when the illusion is all over...

All encourage you to use a loans that benefit the loaner right away. The joy for the barrower currently is likley short lived and replaced with a nagging debt.

I want to add to my comment on religion as a financial reality.


The number one real estate owner in the world is the catholic church.
How did the church "educate" people since the midages in Europe and all over the world?