[PenultimateManStanding]

These are some of the facts and opinions I've read about or seen in videos:

* The Fed is a privately owned central bank that was set up via a conspiracy to engineer the Panic Of 1907. Rothschilds and International money trusts were behind it so they could fleece the American people.

* The American Progressives and Liberals were not happy that J. P. Morgan arranged for private investors to bail out the nations finances:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'D')uring the panic of 1907, J. P. Morgan stepped in and created a consortium of investors, and by so doing ended the panic and saved the banking system. Yet instead of showing gratitude to a great financier who put his own capital at risk in a time of panic, the chattering classes of the day reacted with bitterness. “Isn’t this too much power for one man to have?” they asked. “Shouldn’t the people themselves have an institution that can step in to be the lender of last resort?” “Wouldn’t a public entity more fully serve the public interest?”

And so the Fed was born. Yes, conspiracy mongers, some Wall Street players participated in its creation, but that was more in the cause of minimizing the damage. The Fed was much more the brainchild of academic scribblers and progressive dreamers than of the debits-and-credits crowd. The bankers had to be sold on the idea. Yes, they would have to submit to more regulation. But as compensation they would get a true lender of last resort in a time of need.

[dukey]

the people behind the fed deliberately created panic in the market which caused the bank problems, thus enabling them to push through the act legislating the fed ....

the fed is a private bank, it is raping you of your wealth.

They caused the depression in 29 by contracting the money supply by 30%. When the money supply isn't growing, the only way people can pay off their debts is liquidation. And that's what happened, the fed bankrupted the country, then was able to buy up all the businesses and corporations for practally nothing. And now we are seeing the same thing again, but they've gone about it a different way. They've basically blown up the housing market, got people to borrow against the value of their homes, wrack up credit card debt, and generally just drown themselves in debt, that when the time comes, the banks will mop up everything.

We have already witnessed JP morgan get bear stearns for what, almost nothing ?

If you want to believe in fallacies, and believe a system whereby money is issued as debt is good, and can lead to a stable economy. Be my guest. Be a moron.

[PenultimateManStanding]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukey', '
')If you want to believe in fallacies, and believe a system whereby money is issued as debt is good, and can lead to a stable economy. Be my guest. Be a moron.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Here's another oddity to ponder. Just a couple years ago, subprime home mortgage lending had the blessings of just about everyone. Countrywide was hailed for getting Hispanics and Blacks into homes. Everybody from government to lenders and equity investors were riding high. The so-called "predatory lenders" were just going along with the flow. I wouldn't call it "predatory" considering that the brokers and lenders have gone bust in such numbers. No, this wasn't a conspiracy, it was just short sightedness. It was institutional short sightedness on everyones' part. And furthermore, it is a sign of the times.

[Denny]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukey', '
')They caused the depression in 29 by contracting the money supply by 30%. When the money supply isn't growing, the only way people can pay off their debts is liquidation. And that's what happened, the fed bankrupted the country, then was able to buy up all the businesses and corporations for practally nothing. And now we are seeing the same thing again, but they've gone about it a different way. They've basically blown up the housing market, got people to borrow against the value of their homes, wrack up credit card debt, and generally just drown themselves in debt, that when the time comes, the banks will mop up everything.

We have already witnessed JP morgan get bear stearns for what, almost nothing ?

If you want to believe in fallacies, and believe a system whereby money is issued as debt is good, and can lead to a stable economy. Be my guest. Be a moron.

[mattduke]

Nothing at the Fed makes sense until you realize it is a scam.

[Kingcoal]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', 'H')ere's another oddity to ponder. Just a couple years ago, subprime home mortgage lending had the blessings of just about everyone. Countrywide was hailed for getting Hispanics and Blacks into homes. Everybody from government to lenders and equity investors were riding high. The so-called "predatory lenders" were just going along with the flow. I wouldn't call it "predatory" considering that the brokers and lenders have gone bust in such numbers. No, this wasn't a conspiracy, it was just short sightedness. It was institutional short sightedness on everyones' part. And furthermore, it is a sign of the times.

[JonathanR]

A 'lightbulb moment' for me just recently was coming to the realisation of how inherently unstable the debt-money/fractional reserve/central banking system is.

Given that money is created when debt is engaged (i.e. a customer takes out a loan from a bank), and the loan must be paid back as both principal and interest, then the total amount of money available to discharge that loan is greater than the original loan amount. This might seem trite, but if the banking system created loans at the same rate that they were discharged, then there would be insufficient money supply to pay the accumulating aggregate interest amount.

So for a stable fractional reserve banking system, the aggregate value of all loans (and hence the money supply) must continue to increase in order to supply the money to discharge both the principal and interest.

Of course, there is a limit to this and the growth is somewhat moderated by ongoing default rates. However, an economy can only service so much debt, so the system gets to a point where defaults increase rapidly and the money supply has to contract. This contraction comes about in two ways. Banks cannot find a supply of suitable new borrowers (those who are considered unlikely to default), and banks foreclose on the loan defaulters and attempt to recover their money (and maintain the aggregate debt level) by selling the asset to another buyer. who probably has just taken out a new loan.

So in order for the banks to receive the interest on their loans, they must continue to force debt down the throats of their customer base.

Thus, the money supply increases until the aggregate debt burden cannot be further sustained, and the system crashes. It is a kind of ponzi scheme, which is ultimately unsustainable. The unwinding/defaulting and money destruction is what is happening now.

Of course this is only facilitated by fractional reserve banking, which is aided by a central banking system.