U.S. Economic woes come from the Debasement of the Dollar

Currently, Currency is not created for the benefit of society, but instead it is created and controlled directly for the personal interests of banks. Banks are using money and credit as a tool to control individuals, corporations, and government at all levels by keeping them in perpetual debt through interest obligations.

Easy Credit led to speculative bubbles that help those associated with financial markets become rich through information schemes associated with conflicts of interest and insider trading. These bubbles eventually burst when investments associated with Fiat Money and Debt Based Currency are overwhelmed by service to interest costs.

Under the U.S. Constituton, the Congress and the Federal Treasury are supposed to be in charge of the money supply. Money should be based on the public's interest and interest earnings associated with borrowing should also serve the public good, because the currency is supposed to belong to the people.

If money were directed towards the public good, then high priorities such as Infrastructure and Health Care could see more investment. Instead money is being directed to the Derivatives Casino Economy that is tearing down the fabric of our society. The United States must get back to becoming a productive, value added society. Currently, we are an Imperial society that has become addicted to destruction through consumption. We are no longer have a "fix it" society. We have become a wasteful, throwaway society.

Money is supposed to be a means to exchange goods and services that have real value. Much of our economy has been stifled, because of the huge percentage of our currency (and thus our economy) that is focused towards markets that carry no intrinsic value. The United States Treasury has printed dollars in association with the U.S. Central Bank (the Federal Reserve) that has only benefitted those associated with the U.S. Financial system. This money has been siphoned from the real, productive economy where tangible goods are produced.

The current Debt Based Monetary requires the economy to continually grow exponentially in order to keep solvent. It also requires people to utilize credit to fast forward purchases. In a period where financial institutions are facilitating easy credit, people will tend to purchase many items that they could have waited to purchase or really don't need. This tends to stoke the hot economy, but also tends to exacerbate economic slowdowns, because people have overextended themselves on credit, while borrowing for future purchases. Look at the effect that takes place when sales fall drastically. Positive or negative economic momentum has a tendency to feed off of itself under this Debt Based system.

There are alternatives to the current Debt Based Monetary system. Look at bartering. Bartering allows the market facilitation of trade without currency being involved. Bartering is a legitimate system, but the government wants to curatil bartering, because it is nearly impossible to tax such exchanges.

The real economy is limited to available tangible resources and connected to actual needs, while the current debt based monetary system is based upon speculative expectations of future resources that may or may not ever come into existence. This speculative momentum tends to lead to wild swings of markets, where what appears to be unlimited growth eventually falls victim to the natural law of limited resources, and supply and demand. Eventually a crash that matched the rapid expansion occurs followed by the market eventually establishing an equilibrium. When an economy gets into an exponential growth phase of the currency, then one can see that the currency decouples from reality due to unrealistic expectations and worst of all the value of current real assets diminish. This is what happens during a hyperinflationary scenario.

The current monetary system is designed to help banks achieve profits and does not take into account what serves the public's interest or the natural law of resources. The public have become victims of the casino economy that is directly attributable to derivatives. Derivative investments are basically attached to nothing tangible, because market movements are not tangible resources.

If one invests in a professional football team, then they have a direct interest in the outcome of that team's success. If one invests in the final score of a football game, then they have no direct link to the resources invested or derived from that football team and thus all they are doing is gambling. That is essentially what a derivative investment is -- betting on movements in the market, be it commodities, stocks, or indices.

If one buys a stock in a company, then they have made a direct investment to become an owner in that company. Any other investment related to that stock is a derivative and many of those investments have negative effects on the health of that compant. That is the reason why gambling related to sports is discouraged, because it tends to lead to actions that can ruin the fairness, trust, and competiveness associated with the enterprise of the sport. These derivative markets must be regulated with common sense measures to ensure that they are not becoming impediments to the health of viable corporate and governmental entities and markets in general.

When a government is dependent upon bankers for money, they and not the leaders of the government control the situation, since the hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain. — Napoleon Bonaparte

The supply of money drives the business cycle. And control of the supply of money is necessary to ensure an orderly method of market exchange for goods and services. Too much money chasing constant or diminishing resources creates inflation, while constant or diminshing money chasing too many resources creates deflation. The monetary system must maintain balance and it is historically clear that the current system has not been a good system to achieve the balance we need and it has not benefitted the general populace.

Over time we have seen the debasement of our money. This has happened before historically. Debasement is the practice of lowering the value of currency (associated with inflation). It is particularly used in connection with commodity money such as gold or silver coins. A coin is said to be debased if the quantity of gold, silver, copper or nickel is reduced.

For example, the value of the denarius in Roman currency gradually decreased over time as the Roman government altered both the size and the silver content of the coin. Originally, the silver used was nearly pure, weighing about 4.5 grams. From time to time, this was reduced. During the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the denarius contained approximately 4 grams of silver, and then was reduced to 3.8 grams under Nero. The denarius continued to shrink in size and purity, until by the second half of the third century, it was only about 2% silver, and was replaced by the argenteus.

In the United States our money used to be physically attached to the precious metals Gold and Silver. The Eagle is a base-unit of denomination issued only for gold coinage by the United States Mint. It has been obsolete as a circulating denomination since 1933. The eagle was the largest of the four main decimal base-units of denomination used for circulating coinage in the United States prior to 1933, the year when gold was withdrawn from circulation. These four main base-units of denomination were the cent, the dime, the dollar, and the eagle, where a dime is 10 cents, a dollar is 10 dimes, and an eagle is 10 dollars. The eagle base-unit of denomination served as the basis of the gold quarter-eagle, the gold half-eagle, the eagle, and the double-eagle coins.

From 1837 to 1932, the Gold Eagle carried a weight of 16.718 grams with a 90% gold/ 10% copper composition. This means that the coin carried a weight of .48375 troy ounces of gold, which was a $10 coin. The U.S. also issued a Double Eagle that carried a weight of .9675 troy ounces of silver, which was a $20 coin. That means that money was directly tied to a stable gold price of $20.67 per ounce during this time period.

90% Silver coins remained in circulation until 1965. The Silver Dollars that most of us have seen (the Morgan Dollar and the Peace Dollar) had a fineness of .900, giving a total silver content of 0.77344 troy ounces (24.057 grams) per coin. These coins were minted off and on for general circulation from 1878 until 1935.

By the early 1960s, the value of silver had risen to the point that it became worthwhile to melt down U.S. coins for their bullion content. U.S. silver coins (those of 10-cent value and above, which contained 90 percent silver through 1964) began to disappear from circulation, leading the U.S. (Coinage Act of 1965) to introduce layered composition coins made of a copper core laminated between two cupro-nickel outer faces for the 1965–present coinage years. The Kennedy half dollar design, however, continued to be minted silver-clad composition from 1965 to 1970, although the silver content was reduced to 40 percent. To find the value of the silver in a half-dollar, multiply the current market price for silver by 0.36169 for 1964 issues, and by 0.1479 for issues from 1965 to 1970 (This is the weight x 90% silver composition).

Here is a chart that shows the value of the coins based on $1200 per ounce Gold and $20 per ounce Silver (click spreadsheet to enlarge):


This should show you the loss of purchasing power that is associated with our present Legal Tender, Fiat Currency. I don't think we can ever go back to a standard associated with Gold or Silver, but we have to attach the currency to something in order to bring it back under control.

I think that most of us that understand the Federal Reserve System (created in 1913) believe that the central banking system does not work. It only works for those private interests that control it. The money in this country should be a tool of the government and that is the people. The great divide in this country has come from the separation of the currency from the people. In my opinion, the next great leaders of this country will be the people who bring the monetary system back to the people and represent the interests of the people over the interests of the fat cat financiers.

The beginning of the Second Phase of the World Economic Depression

U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fall in May



Plummeting Sales - (A sale is the pinnacle activity involved in selling products or services in return for money or other compensation). When sales fall it is generally due to a downturn in the business cycle and much of downswing we are currently seeing is directly attributable to the "debt-based" monetary system we currently live under, which requires an ever increasing and exponentially growing money supply in order to continue positive economic momentum.

The problem is that Newton's law of motion states, "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." The vast expansion of credit that we saw due to low interest rates and easy credit in the 2000s is being followed by tightening of the credit markets and thus a reduction of money available to the general public.

People are purchasing fewer goods and services as a result and the full dynamic circle makes them worry about the negative ramifications that are associated with an economic downturn and the lack of security fostered by such dynamics.

Fewer Jobs - (A job is a regular thing performed to create a value in society (and personality of individual) for meeting the needs of that individual)). As a result of customers purchasing fewer goods and services, businesses begin to see inventories rise. With rising inventories, businesses have no need for excess labor. The business must find ways to reduce these pysical goods inventories. Labor cost is the largest expense of most businesses and thus the most crucial element of reducing overhead costs.

Lower Wages - (A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor). If the macro-economy sees people have their employment terminated in many sectors of the economy, then the supply of labor will increase drastically at the same time that demand for labor is decreasing (drastically). That means that for businesses it becomes a buyers market when purchasing labor and they can pretty much name their price when it comes to wages.

Lower Prices - (In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given from one party to another in return for goods or services). Because of increasing inventories and terms of credit (net 30, 60, 90), businesses must lower prices and profit margins in order to sell the merchadise and meet their short term debt obligations.


All of the above can take a toll and lead to the following consequences for both business owners and labor:

Foreclosures - Foreclosure is the legal and professional proceeding in which a mortgagee, or other lien holder, usually a lender, obtains a court ordered termination of a mortgagor's equitable right of redemption.[clarification needed] Usually a lender obtains a security interest from a borrower who mortgages or pledges an asset like a house to secure the loan. If the borrower defaults and the lender tries to repossess the property, courts of equity can grant the borrower the equitable right of redemption if the borrower repays the debt. While this equitable right exists, the lender cannot be sure that it can successfully repossess the property, thus the lender seeks to foreclose the equitable right of redemption. Other lien holders can also foreclose the owner's right of redemption for other debts, such as for overdue taxes, unpaid contractors' bills or overdue homeowners' association dues or assessments.

Bankruptcies - Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a business or corporate debtor ("involuntary bankruptcy") in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring. In the majority of cases, however, bankruptcy is initiated by the debtor (a "voluntary bankruptcy" that is filed by the insolvent individual or organization). An involuntary bankruptcy petition may not be filed against an individual consumer debtor who is not engaged in business. (Bankruptcy in the United States)

Bank Failures - occurs when a bank is unable to meet its obligations to its depositors or other creditors because it has become insolvent or too illiquid to meet its liabilities. More specifically, a bank usually fails economically when the market value of its assets declines to a value that is less than the market value of its liabilities. As such, the bank is unable to fulfill the demands of all of its depositors on time. Also, a bank may be taken over by the regulating government agency if Shareholders Equity (i.e. capital ratios) are below the regulatory minimum.

The failure of a bank is generally considered to be of more importance than the failure of other types of business firms because of the interconnectedness of banking institutions. It is often feared that the effects of a failure of one bank can quickly spread throughout the economy and possibly result in the failure of other banks, whether or not those banks were solvent at the time. As a result, banking institutions are typically subjected to rigorous regulation, and bank failures are of major public policy concern in countries across the world.

Articles that lead to the conclusion that we are in the second phase of the Depression:

George Soros: Risk Of Double Dip Recession Can't Be Ruled Out - Wall Street Journal - 6/10/2010

1930's Redux - IBTimes - Global Forex Trading Portal - 6/12/2010
Doubts about sovereign credit are forcing reductions in budget deficits at a time that the banks and the economy may not be strong enough to permit the pursuit of fiscal rectitude-George Soros

In English, what Mr. Soros is saying is that (European) austerity programs are coming at the exact worst time, because governments which implement them are likely to double-dip into recessions.

Tax Hikes and the 2011 Economic Collapse - Wall Street Journal - Arthur Laffer - 6/6/2010
Consider corporate profits as a share of GDP. Today, corporate profits as a share of GDP are way too high given the state of the U.S. economy. These high profits reflect the shift in income into 2010 from 2011. These profits will tumble in 2011, preceded most likely by the stock market.

The result will be a crash in tax receipts once the surge is past. If you thought deficits and unemployment have been bad lately, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Why We’re Falling Into a Double-Dip Recession - Robert Reich - 6/4/2010
The Labor Department reports this morning that the private sector added a measly 41,000 net new jobs in May. (The vast bulk of new jobs in May were temporary government Census workers.) But at least 100,000 new jobs are needed every month just to keep up with population growth. In other words, the labor market continues to deteriorate.

Of the small number of jobs created by the private sector in May, many came from temporary help services. Which is one reason why the median wage continues to drop.

Why are we having such a hard time getting free of the Great Recession? Because consumers, who constitute 70 percent of the economy, don’t have the dough. They can’t any longer treat their homes as ATMs, as they did before the Great Recession. Businesses won’t rehire if there’s not enough demand for their goods and services.


The week ahead in telling the tale - Thursday's consumer price index, and Friday's release of the leading economic indicators. Although the numbers are cooked, it will be good to gage a reading of what top economists think.


Next up: Debasing the currency

Continuing the Rant - The City of Hickory's Budget

This is a continuation of my commentary based on the Monthly Monday Morning Meeting with the Mayor on WHKY's First Talk show on June 7, 2010. This isn't about critiquing Hal, but as I stated I have some thoughts about what I heard on Monday morning and since I do have this forum, I am going to espouse them.

I think about what Mayor Wright said to Ray Hunt about a month ago during the second time that he approached the Council. Mr. Hunt initially addressed Council as a property owner in Southeast Downtown (across from Clark Tire). Initially, when Mr. Hunt addressed Council it was to address a grievance in which his tenant went to the city to report Mr. Hunt's building as untenable. The City sent officials to the building and issued code violations, but they never contacted Mr. Hunt, who is the owner of the building. Mr. Hunt was upset about the city never contacting him about the violations and how they could be remedied.

After I inquired, he told me about his tenant, who has not paid rent in a substantial period of time. Mr. Hunt had previously told this tenant that he was going to have to get his stuff off of the property, because he needed to have work done on the building so that he could find a new tenant, one that would pay their rent. Basically, the tenant used the city's processes as a vendetta against the property owner Mr. Hunt.

Mr. Hunt didn't feel that the situation had been remedied when he addressed the Council for a second time. When he went before Council, he asked if there were any thoughts about what he had addressed the Council about. Mayor Wright summarily cut him off and stated that he would be heard, but this wasn't going to be a debate. Mr. Hunt then looked frustrated and stated that he guessed he didn't have anything else to say and went and sat down.

To me, it was an embarassing moment. Several times I have seen people not have their concerns addressed by the council. Yes, the public is allowed to speak before the council, but one gets the sense that many times they are not listening or lending any credence to the addressor. If the addressor is being respectful to the council, then they should show respect to their issue or grievance. That is the bond that we should expect between the people and their representatives. Instead, a mentality of "us versus them" has been fostered by the system that has been created and I don't believe that chasm was the intent of our forefathers.

That is the reason why I created a blog. With it, we have another way to bind the government of, by, and for the people together. This is our playground and we encourage debate, thought, and openness. It is our desire.

I have heard people say that you have to take whatever you see on the internet with a grain of salt. I agree and that goes doubly for any other media outlet, because they censor a lot more relevant information and choose to dissemenate what they want their audience to know. The Hound is a Battle Royal of information, in which we respect our audience's intelligence and choose not to dictate the conditioning of their mind, but instead program their brain with thought provoking correspondence. Our goal is to seek the truth, not dictate it.

The reason why I have established the pieces of the puzzle above is because of what Hal stated at the end of his show. He talked about it always being nice to hear about the good things that are happening in the City of Hickory. And how lots of times we focus on the negative and negative things that are happening. Then he went into his diatribe about people being employed, garbage being picked up, water is coming to our homes, the tax rate is staying the same... And how it is good to be reminded of that.

Let's be honest, what the Mayor said during this interview would not be considered positive by many folks. Have some of us reduced our expectations to such an extent that the basic services paid for by the people are supposed to be awe inspiring. It is as bad as when our mothers would chastise us about cleaning our plate, because their are starving children over in some Third World Country. For God sakes, we pay for that water, sewer, garbage, police protection, and other basic services. Are these people appreciative of the service at restaurants because the server brings them their water or the kitchen staff gets their food cooked and the server can bring that to their table? Do they show appreciation that the oil company can deliver the gas to the service station? Or the purveyors, truckers, and grocery store employees can follow the processes to get the store shelves stocked?

Let's look at Hickory's proposed budget for 2010-2011. Hal initiated the conversation by talking about the budget being award winning and we weren't in dire straits like other cities he has seen. The Mayor addressed the budget by talking about City of Hickory staff and lauding them about how efficient they are with the budget and they don't spend money unnecessarily and they don't have a bureaucratic mindset. He said that it was very much like they were running a business.

Secondly, he stated that the good tax payers, in spite of the bad economy were paying their taxes. The collection rate is very good. He stated that the Council sets realistic policies with the staff and the staff is in charge of execution. Council doesn't tell staff where and when to cut. He stated that you don't see a lot of politics involved in the budget, like in some nearby large cities.

What Choice do taxpayers have? They aren't turning over tax dollars out of the goodness of their heart. If they don't pay the taxes, then the city will put a lien on their property. This was silly rhetotic.

Politics are rife throughout the City of Hickory decision making process. It is all about connections. Just because their isn't an elephant or donkey involved doesn't mean that politics play no role in decision making. Look at the interests of downtown and Northwest Hickory as prime examples of special interests.

Mayor Wright stated that people know that we aren't going to get hit with any shock or huge tax bills at a time when people can least afford them. He then talked about the things that they would like to do that they can't do. Examples were Cloninger Mill Park and Splash Parks instead of Pools. The Mayor talked about how there hasn't been good attendance at the city pools and that pools are passe.

Could that be because the pools have not been kept up to standards? Could that be because the City did the bare minimum in running the pools and maintaining them? First the cost was initially stated in the $45,000 range to fix the pools, then the price drastically rose to $800,000, then $850,000, and now the Mayor is stating that the costs would be $865,000. Yet, no one has shown anything close to an itemized list of the exorbitant costs associated with these mid sized pools.

When I was a kid, I used to attend First Baptist daycare in the Summer (from 1974 to 1976). We went to the pool twice a week and I would estimate there were well over 100 people at the pool each time we were there. In this economic downturn, what makes you think that more people might not attend the pool. I can tell you that the people that Harry and I spoke with last year surely had issues with what was happening.

I think it is more than obvious that the city wants those pools closed and they are unwilling to even discuss the idea of them being open. My questions regarding these pools are two-fold. Would the city be willing to donate the pools to a non-profit or church to run? Is the city going to sell these properties and if so and a for-profit enterprise wanted to run the pools would the city move forward expeditiously with such a transaction?

Another thought on City Sponsored water activities, I would like you to know that I don't expect any "Splash Parks" any time soon and if they are established, I believe that they will be located in an area North of the Tracks. The Splash Parks were addressed by Derek Williams of Site Solutions at the City Council Meeting of May 4, 2010 and the Mayor's comments are a verbatim reflection on Mr. Williams statements.

The Mayor stated that we aren't going to lose libraries or parks. City Staff has been patient and they understand the economy and they have had to forgo pay raises. He thinks the day will come when this thing will turn around. He stated that there are increases in fees and that seems fairer to us (city officials), because there is an element of control by the property owner.

What they don't seem to understand is that fees are regressive, especially with flat fees (garbage) and minimum payment fees (water). There is alot less control afforded to residents than the Mayor admits to when there is a minimum fee or there are exceptions, such as filling your swimming pool. Wealthier residents generally create more garbage and utilize more water resources than poorer residents. These costs hit the poorest harder. Whereas, increases in property taxes are progressive, because the wealthy pay higher tax based on their house, car, etc., which is usually more valuable than poorer resident's possessions.

The next thing that was mentioned was that the tax rate had not increased. The Mayor then went into his spiel about the comparison and improvement of tax ranks of Hickory versus other city's in North Carolina (John Locke numbers - 2nd to 11th over the last 10 years). He stated that 98% of the world is imperfect and Hickory is in the 2% that are about as close to perfect as you can get.

That's all great rhetoric, but let's get real. If we were in the top 2% of communities in this country, would businesses and people not be knocking down our doors to get in here. The Milken Institute and Forbes numbers have ranked us in the bottom 10% over the last several years. Whose rankings and criteria do you trust?

I think that tax burden wise, Hickory isn't too bad, but as far as jobs and income levels there isn't much to offer. The real (U-6) unemployment rate here is over 20%. We have a terrible underemployment problem and much of this is attributable to the mindset of local leadership, who have set us up to take few losses in local government projections, but they have also limited our potential to grow.

Government officials want to obsess about the property tax rate and the fact that it hasn't been raised, because they worry about electability and job security (politics). The bottom line is that based on assessments, Hickory residents are overpaying taxes, because they could not currently sell their houses for the assessed value. If the houses are revalued to their proper, realistic values, then the local government is going to have to raise the tax rate. They will do this under the guise of being revenue neutral. You see, it is all semantics about the revenues they need and they don't want to upset the simple folks who can't comprehend the sliding scale. If your house is presently valued at $100,000 and they revalue it at $80,000, then they will raise the tax rate by 20% from 50-cents to 60-cents per thousand dollar valuation and next year Hal and the Mayor can sell you the fact that it is revenue neutral.

Hal and the Mayor kept inferring about Charlotte's troubles. Well, Charlotte hasn't limited its growth prospects the way I believe we have. Charlotte is a larger city with more public amenities. That is the reason why they are having to cut back on some services, but they are by no means worse off than we are. And anyway, Great leaders don't point to the inadequacies of others to tout their own accomplishments, but that seems to be commonplace for the mentality of this city.

Charlotte is adjusting to the transforming economy. Sure, they have difficulties, but their unemployment rate is still better than ours and their population is 10-times larger than ours. We have had the worst unemployment rate in the state for years and indications are that we are in the beginning of a process of losing population, especially if we discount the illegal immigrants that are living in the area.

And neither side of these discussions should be deemed as positive or negative. They should be deemed as different points of view. Those of us that choose to look at the glass half empty should not be forced to drink the Kool-Aid of those that swear the only way to look at the glass is half full -- because those little children in the Third World don't get to drink Kool-Aid.

We can do some really positive things around here. I sincerely believe that City Staff should be commended for the budget, because they have made it work. It isn't sort of like a business. It is a business. It is the business of the people of Hickory who are the shareholders. City staff are not employees of Mayor Wright, City Council, and/or Mick Berry. They work for the interests of the people of Hickory. And I believe that they have carried that task forward well.

But, I do believe that we are going to have to see investment dollars utilized more creatively to get more of a bang for the buck and return of capital, if we are to start growing this city again, especially in these trying times. I am going to address that in an article in the next couple of days.

The Hounds June Rant - What will it take to wake people up?

Yesterday, I listened to the Monthly Monday Morning Meeting with the Mayor on WHKY's First Talk show as I have done monthly for years. Honestly, I appreciate Hal Row's show and although I haven't been listening live as much over the past few months, because of my job and insomnia, I keep up with the show and the direction that Hal wants to take the show.

I'm not really into critiquing Hal, but I have some thoughts about what I heard on Monday morning and since I do have this forum, I am going to espouse them and I will attempt to do so in a tasteful manner. I would like to preface what I say here by stating that Mayor Wright is entitled to his opinion and even if I don't agree with a few of the things that he stated yesterday, I do appreciate it when he steps forward in a responsible manner and willfully lets us know what he is thinking.

The first issue that the Mayor talked about was his attendance and duties involving Memorial day. I think he was spot on in his statements that more people should attend these services. The public definitely should show reverance to the troops. They do not ask to be put into the situations they are placed in. They are doing their job and fulfilling their duty.

But then, in my opinion, Mayor Wright got off track. He stated that this was the best time to be alive on this earth, because of the strength of the United States of America. He stated that we should be proud of that strength. We should be building on that strength. He stated that this world probably needs a benevolent, powerful leader and he doesn't know who else is going to step up and be benevolent. He stated that our soldiers make the rest of the world know that we are the ones that have to be accounted to.

As I stated, I do believe that we should stand 100% behind our troops, but is our government doing that? I believed in the so called War on Terror, when I thought it was going to be fought to be won. In my opinion, the intentions were never meant to make this nation and our forces occupiers or to enforce our ideals on anyone else. We cannot afford to have a mindset such as that. We have been in these battles for nearly a decade with no end in sight and somewhere along the way we have moved towards governance through the ideals of an Empire instead of as a Republic.

What do I mean by this? George Washington, in his farewell address to the American people urged the nation to avoid attachments and entanglements in foreign affairs. Have we followed this advice? No, We have for years used covert and overt operations to try to manipulate and control other governments for the benefit of a few multinational corporate oligarchs.

This has nothing to do with the troops. This involves politicians who have usurped the authority granted to the government by the constitution. These politicians have been all to willing to be bought off by the corporatists who are really in control of this nation.

If you think that I am being unpatriotic by making these assertions, then maybe you should go back and listen to what President Dwight Eisenhower said in his farewell address in 1961, when addressing The Military Industrial Complex.

Too many people just fall in line with the mainstream media's coverage of these wars. Everyone has fallen into a context of thought that these wars are like sporting events -- Good Guys versus Bad Guys. The questions must be asked about purpose and intent and whether those original purposes and intentions are being fulfilled.

These wars are a culmination of historical events that have developed since the beginning of man's existence on this planet. Is it unreasonable to look at the reasoning behind these wars. Is it wrong to project the future? Is it wrong to demand accountability from our government pertaining to the direction and goals set forth involving these military issues?

I don't think it is good that we try to become benevolent dictators of world policies. We can never permanently enforce these actions. No empire has ever been able to enforce the type of control necessary to maintain the empire. You can't do it militarily, you can't do it motivationally, you can't do it mentally, and you can't do it monetarily. So, what is the endgame? Have we bitten off more than we can chew?

These are clearly not the best times in the history of mankind. The 1990s were the zenith of the United States, but what we have seen is that the Wizards behind the curtain were manipulating perception by cooking the government and corporate books, selling the public on the idea that overconsumption was good, and instituting policies that allowed people to overexpand their credit through cheap money (low interest rates).

The fat created from the bubble economy of the late 1990s' dot.com bubble allowed the people of this country to live in denial for a decade about the true health of this nation's finances. The average person in this country is still unaware of what is going on and has chosen to remain fat, dumb, and happy. They still think that this is a normal business cycle recession and everything is going to come back. Really, has the average person ever been aware? These people are acting as a burdensome anchor that is preventing us from moving towards recovery.

U.S debt to rise to $19.6 trillion by 2015 - Reporting by Donna Smith; Editing by Kenneth Barry - Tue Jun 8, 2010 6:19pm EDT WASHINGTON June 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. debt will top $13.6 trillion this year and climb to an estimated $19.6 trillion by 2015, according to a Treasury Department report to Congress.

At the end of Hal's radio show, he talked about how it was good to discuss some of the positive things going on in our community. I will talk about some of the other issues that were discussed on this radio show over the next couple days, but I'll be honest, I didn't hear anything positive mentioned during that show. Maybe it was because the Mayor makes Hal feel warm and fuzzy, but there wasn't any good news on the City's Budget of Austerity, which was the other main point of topic.

I think we have got to get real. The economy is not turning around. What are you pointing to, if you are going to state that?

The worst problem we have in this community is that the people in this community don't care about the world that surrounds them and the actions of our local leaders show that they don't want these people to wake up and they don't want to take any steps that would make the local government more accessible to the people. They want to horde and control the decision making process and I don't think they have any contextual understanding of the world outside of their small group, and what they slurp up on the Boob Tube and a few mainstream periodicals.

I want you to look below at the map of the last 500 people that have looked at this blog. There are as many people looking at it who reside outside the vicinity of this region as those who live here. I think that speaks volumes about what this community is facing and its biggest liability.

I have people that talk to me all of the time about the issues that this community faces, but they don't want to get involved. I have been informed of what I consider unethical conduct taking place, but no one wants to step forward to ask pertinent questions and demand accountable answers. There are a handful of us that care and ask questions, but we are ignored, because the majority of the public and the local press don't care about openness and accountability. The public and the local press go along to get along.

I'm not here to talk about American Idol or Dancing with the Stars or Sports. I am here to talk about the reality of issues that have a true bearing on your life. And I hear the following statements alot from people. "That doesn't affect me." "I can't do anything about that." "That's the way its always been"... And the frog continues to boil.

People talk about how they want someone to step up and do the right thing and look out for the people's interest and not the power's interest; but we step forward and get abandoned by the sloths who in the end support the status quo of continually reduced expectations.

People keep thinking that we've hit rock bottom and this is as bad as it gets. They don't think that things can go down from here. They think it is impossible that this country could become a full blown Totalitarian Government or that we could be militarily invaded and we could be occupied by foreign nationals. We could become a Third World Country like these countries you see on the television. What we have learned from the history of the world is that none of this is impossible.

How long has this thinking that we have hit rock bottom been going on? It seems, as long as the check is coming in the mail, then the people don't care that the governments surrounding them are getting in a continually worse financial bind. Will it take the end of these social welfare programs for people? And will it be too late then? What will it take to wake people up?

Houndvision: Building a Raised Bed Garden - Ready to plant today

Would you like to start a garden today? Do you hate the thoughts of pulling weeds or spending hours building a garden only to lose it to those pesky weeds or crab grass?

This is the way to get a quick start in gardening when you are having trouble getting the soil to cooperate, because there may be a weed issue or the soil isn't properly amended. You can do this in just a few hours. The bed that I build in this video is 18 feet long by 1.5 feet in width and 8 inches deep at the center of each bag -- as is its twin bed along the fence. You could build a 9'x3' with the same depth or a 4'x6' and make it a couple of inches deeper.

The beds built here are 27 square feet in total area utilizing 11 bags of top soil(98 cents per bag on sale), 1/4 bags of 50lb sterilized play sand ($2.50 per bag on sale), and 1/10 of a bag of peat moss ($8.98 for 3 cubic feet). Extrapolating those numbers out, this project cost less than $14, when you include tax. Even without the added savings of the sales, you will add less than $5 to the total cost of this project.

I will probably stretch this to two feet when I enclose it this Fall. And my goal is to add a removable cold frame top to grow lettuces and other cold season plants and vegetables.

My backdoor garden area has had issues with crabgrass. I wanted to plant herbs there and begin the process of getting the weeds under control in that area. I got this idea of how to make this quick raised bed garden at the Mother Earth News website:

Mother Earth News: How to Make Instant No-dig Garden Beds



Many of the plants that you see in this video were plants that were started in February and March and transplanted the first week of April. I also have utilized 100% of the water resources collected in the Water Container system that I developed in April.

I hope these ideas might help open your mind to the possibilities of self sustainability and the many ways that you can save and conserve your resources, while leading a healthier lifestyle and reducing your dependence on the grid.

Houndvision: Garden Watering System
My Scientific Garden 2010

Newsletter about the City Council meeting of June 1, 2010

This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.
At the bottom right of this page under main information links is a Hickory's Local Government link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the bottom of the page you will see the future dates for meetings scheduled for this year.

At the top of the page, if you click on the “Documents” link, you will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.

Here is a summary of the agenda of the 6/1/2010 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below

Invocation by Rev. Susan Smith of Exodus Ministries

Consent Agenda:

A. Resolution – Cancellation of July 6, 2010 City Council Meeting – Because of July 4th holiday

B. Approval to Declare Seven Automated External Defibrillator Units as Surplus - The Hickory Fire Department requests approval to declare these Units as surplus to be utilized by other public safety agencies. The units were purchased in September 2000 and April 2001 for the use on adult-aged cardiac patients only. New protocols have been established for North Carolina to upgrade equipment to adult and pediatric aged cardiac patients. Pursuant to General Statute 160A-274 City Council may surplus items for use by other governmental agencies. The St. Stephens Fire Department by letter of May 26, 2010 has requested one of these units.

C. Write-Offs for Fiscal Year 2009-2010 in the Amount of $164,346.90 - In accordance with the NC General Statutes and the City of Hickory’s financial policies, a list of accounts to be written off follows and is submitted for Council approval in conjunction with the annual audit for FY 2009-10 as required by law. Fiscal Year 2010 write-offs total $164,346.90; whereas, FY 2008-09 write-offs totaled $247,850.19. The majority of these accounts have been submitted to the North Carolina Debt Setoff Program, which means we are continuing to pursue collection. Collections from the NC Debt Setoff Program for Calendar Year 2010 have exceeded $28,000 so far.

D. Proclamation Declaring May 18, 2010 as Fiserv, Inc. Day in the City of Hickory

E. Approval for Financial Assistance to Group Workcamps Foundation (GWF) in the Amount of $9,000 -

The Foundation is a non-profit, interdenominational Christian volunteer home repair organization headquartered in Loveland, Colorado, which is a similar organization to Habitat for Humanity. It differs in that they repair homes instead of building them. Catawba County and the Hickory area have been chosen by the Foundation for home repairs that consist of construction of handicap ramps, porches, painting, sheetrock repair, weatherization, and other general repairs. Eighteen homes have been identified in Hickory with additional projects in the process of acceptance. GWF has requested $9,000 in support from the City of Hickory, which can be provided through the Rental Rehabilitation Program income. GWF will be reimbursed for materials following inspection of the completed work.

F. Request From the Hickory Museum of Art, Through Healing Eyes, Hospice of Catawba Valley and Women’s Resource Center for Use of Union Square for Movie Night in the Courtyard Event on June 3, June 10, June 17 and June 24, 2010 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

G. Transfer of Cemetery Lots in Oakwood Cemetery From Stephen W. Brown, Eric Avant Brown and James A. Owenby Personal Representatives of the Estate of John W. Brown to James A. Owenby

Budget Ordinance
1. To budget $650 of International Council donations in the International Council expenditure line item to be used for the International Springfest event expenses.

2. To budget $150 of revenue from Catawba County in the Water and Sewer Pipes, Hydrants and Meters line item. Catawba County received a grant for a Water Infrastructure Hook-up Program that WPCOG is administering. Therefore, Catawba County is paying Hickory for the water (and/or sewer) taps as well as
the radio read water meters that are required for some of the locations that are hooking up to the system.

Capital Project Ordinance Amendment
1. To budget a total of $23,784,853 ($6,284,853 transfer from the Northeast Wastewater Treatment Plant Capital Reserve and $17,500,000 of State Revolving Funds) in the Northeast Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade Project. This amount includes construction costs, construction oversight costs, a
5% contingency and closing costs related to the SRF loan.

2. To decrease the Amity Lane Project Design and Miscellaneous operational line items by $9,711 and increase the Interest Earned by $226. This amendment is necessary to close the completed Amity Lane Capital Project and to transfer the $9,937 of remaining funds back to the original funding source.

Grant Project Ordinance Amendment

1. To accept a $3,690 transfer from the General Fund and budget in the Police Firing Range Upgrade Project-Justice Assistance Grant (J.A.G.) Fund. $3,690 represents Police Federal Reimbursement balances from previous years that have been rolled into Fund Balance at year end, therefore an appropriation is necessary.

New Business - Public Hearings:

1. Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Budget Ordinance - Pursuant to NC General Statutes §159-12(b), a public hearing shall be held before adopting the budget ordinance. This public hearing was advertised in a

newspaper having general circulation in the Hickory area on May 21, 2010. Copies of the budget ordinance were filed for public inspection in the Office of the City Clerk, Patrick Beaver Memorial Library and Ridgeview Library. The recommended budget is also posted on the City’s web page, www.hickorygov.com. Pursuant to NC General Statutes §159-13(a), the City Council is required to adopt a balanced budget before July 1, making the appropriations and levying taxes for the budget year. Manager Berry went over the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget is projected to be $85,215,943 which is .47% more than this years budget of $84,820,849. While the General Fund fell by 3.72%, the overall impact on the operating budget is a 1.59% decrease. He stated that the City of Hickory's financial policies have been held up as models by the institute of government for years, because of prudent budget policies.

Manager Berry made the statement that the City is in a strong financial position and referenced the undesignated balance fund, which has a surplus of $10,087,675. This fund began with a $11,900,000 at the beginning of the year. The City designated funds for projects, such as the Clement Boulevard project, which along with other expenditures led to a budget shortfall of $1.5 million, which is being made up for by other budgetary reductions. In the proposed budget, the City has designated $762,325 of the fund balance towards the upcoming years expenditures. Manager Berry states that this is not out of line. There is still $1 million set aside in fuel reserve and a parking fund reserve of $1.6 million.

Manager Berry went over some of the various expenditures that the appropriated fund balance will be used for. icluding a one time balloon payment, "Project No Vacancy," The Ensure "Greater Hickory Classic" at Rock Barn, the Convention and visitors Bureau, and the Hickory Downtown Development Association. He stated that the biggest concern is what the State of North Carolina might do about revenues that are owed to the city. He added comments about possible the Google initiative and the Wayfinding project, as outstanding projects where the fund balance might be used in the upcoming year.

As far as revenues, he stated that he is recommending that the tax rate stay the same for the upcoming year (50-cents per $100 value). There was no growth and no reduction in property tax revenue in the previous year. There is a $2 million gap that they knew that they would be facing. On the revenue side, they went to the solid waste fee and the water/sewer fee. He stated that as a major water supplier for the region, these water fee increases will also be raised to users in other areas served by Hickory. These water rates are still below average, as is the sewer rate.

On the expenditure side there are some unavoidable costs. employee health insurance has increaded by 3% and the North Carolina Retirement System is requiring the city to increase its contribution by 1.2%. There is still a half a million dollars supporting workers with a benefit package. Manager Berry is recommending the elimination of the longevity benefit for anyone hired after July 1. There is a hiring freeze that has been in place for over a year. If a department has to hire someone they have to go directly to the city manager for the request.

The City Manager addressed the issue of the pools involving his recommendation that the city pools be closed. He stated that these pools are antiquated. Federal law requires new vents to be placed on the areas where the water is circulated. In investigating this issue they found out that the pools were not circulating water sufficiently and it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to completely replace. The Parks and Recreation Commission is reccommending the pools be closed and is exploring what types of water based recreation should be offered. The mayor interjected by making a statement question about the pools being greatly underutilized. The city manager stated that they were. He also pointed out about the libraries having there hours cut.

The city manager stated that he is proud of is that there is a tendency with local governments that when you have a budget crisis that you postpone your capital replacement. They did not want to do that. They wanted to make cuts in operating costs that recurr year after year. The city's policy has been to set two-cents aside for capital replacement. So they don't have to borrow to replace the rolling stock. They can pay for it with cash.

The great unknown is what the State is going to do with their budget. They are guardedly optimistic. The Governor's budget hasn't taken any revenue from us and the house budget writers haven't tapped any of our funds. The City Manager mentioned and gave commendations to Warren wood and Karen Hurley along with all of the department heads. He stated that he shared with the co-workers that you learn alot about your organization when it is under duress. He is proud of the department heads and their staff in helping put together this budget.

The Mayor interjected that Manager Berry mentioned policies, but we all know that it isn't about policies. It is about execution. Isn't it great that we aren't facing some of the problems other municipalities are having. He stated that we have a staff that wants to work to make things go the way they should go. And we have taxpayers that pay their taxes and these people aren't complaining. Alder Patton asked about airport Tower funding, City Manager stated that it isn't being taken away, the FAA money will be there.

The Mayor stated that for $6 per day we get all of the services we have available. He also stated that it hasn't been long since we had the second highest property tax burden in the State of North Carolina. We are now 10th or 11th. He said that he surely hoped that pay raises won't be frozen for another year next year. The City Manager and Council's raises are directly equal to the avarage raise of all employees - therefore they will not be getting a raise. Fees will increase, but this is paid for by users. The users have some control over the services they use. He mentioned the SALT Block appropriation, which he stated benefits everyone in the city. He also mentioned the golf tournament, which is predicated on the Classic becoming a very different activity. It will involve alot more community involvement. Charities will be allowed to keep all of the proceeds from the tickets they sell.  He thinks this will make the classic truly a grass roots community thing. The committment is not contractual and it sil depend on what they do and what other municipalities and counties do. Just because something is in the budget doesn't mean you've got to spend it.

Alder Fox asked what other municipalities are participating? Mayor Wright stated that he understands that it is all of the ones that have in the past and they are being asked to step up there contributions. The tournament was bleeding losses and it would not have been feasable, if not for Ensure stepping forward to sponsor the tournament. 

Alder Fox stated that she hates to see the hours cut back at the library. She doesn't think this is the time to cut back on the hours of the library and other recreational services. She understands the pools. She commended the fine staffs at the library an in recreational services. The Council unanimously approved the budget.

The Hound thinks that city officials and staff deserve due credit for putting together a solid budget under such negative economic circumstances. Everyone has issues that they would like to see addressed or areas that they don't want to see cut. This budget is dictated upon keeping your head above water. It has been achieved without increasing a burden upon citizens whose responsibilty it is incumbent upon city officials to protect the interests of. I think that under Mr. Wood and Ms. Hurley's direction they should be commended for causing the least pain possible and being fair in the process.

Looking down the road things, in my opinion, things are going to get worse. Tough choices are going to have to be made and cuts are going to have to be made to the bone in the upcoming years. Not raising the tax rate directly correlates to Property Appraisal assessments. Right now people are having their properties assessed far above what they could ever sell them for. If these properties are fairly assessed in the future, then surely the rate will have to go up. Of course it will be done under the guise that it is revenue neutral. What will be do about abandoned properties, should we not be able to turn the economic circumstances around and people have to leave Hickory to find work elsewhere?

Also. I think we deserve to see the specifics about the pools, because I really feel that these numbers don't really add up and I can't just take the explanations for granted. The bottom line is that they don't want to operate the pools and they should just get down to the brass tax.  Is the city willing to sell those properties? Would the city consider contracting out those facilities? Will the city abandon the areas of town where those facilities reside in order to build a splash park on the "RIGHT" side of town? Everyone knows that this issue is not going to go away.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road (part 2) - How it relates to today

If you have not read Follow the Yellow Brick Road - The Wizard of Oz and 1890's Monetary Policy, I would suggest you do so, so that you will fully understand the context of the article below. I want to sincerely thank you for reading The Hickory Hound.

This allegorical relationship between the movie "The Wizard of Oz" and our country's economics and culture is something that I have heard before, but never really delved into to the point of being able to fully grasp the conceptual relationship. After reading much of the information, reading the book in the past, and remembering the movie, I believe I truly understand what Baum was getting at. He is telling you that family and relationships are more important than money.

The World is more complex than it was 110 years ago, but people are still the same. Read the characterizations of the main players in the story. Dorothy still defines that innocent young wide eyed person that doesn't understand the cruelty and crassness of the environment surrounding her. Toto represents the people who are good, but many times find trouble by sticking their nose in other people's business, even though many times they do good by exposing the man behind the curtain. Read about the Tin Man and see if it doesn't remind you of the people who are lost because of deindustrialization. Look at the Scarecrow, who now equates to the small businessman being squeezed by a financial structure and taxation system instituted by the government, through funding and support of moral hazards associated with the bad behavior of corporations deemed "Too Big to Fail" and a sense of entitlement and least common denominator expectations associated with a burgeoning underclass created by the imploding structure of the macro-economy.

The Lion represents the modern day leaders of the cultural and political world who complain, but are unwilling to take any real, aggressive action that might put their reputation at risk. The witches are the people in politics and economics at the top of the food chain, who are willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to support their personal interests and goals.

The Presidents still represent witches who are persuaded and controlled by the Wizards who personify the money interests of Wall Street, whether that be the revolving door that Goldman Sachs utilizes to control the regulation of the bureaucracy through conflicts of interest or the insider trading that JP Morgan-Chase utilizes in association with Goldman Sachs in rigging the markets through insider trading sanctioned by The President's Working Group on Financial Markets (the Plunge Protection Team).

Look at what happened two years ago when the banks began imploding, because of the moral hazard associated with their bad lending habits and the derivative investments associated with those loans. Many of the supposed leaders of our country, including President Bush, blindly came to their defense and agreed in conjunction with the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to take the money supply to astronomical levels under the guise that they were helping the American people. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money was supposed to help individual homeowners who had become underwater on their mortgages and help shore up a Housing system that was imploding due to the Economic bubble associated with the cheap money policies facilitated by the Federal Reserve. Two days after the bill was passed Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson redirected the scheme to give billions of dollars directly to the "Too Big to Fail" Banks.

We look at the campaign of 2008 and how Barack Obama and John McCain essentially ran in the same direction with Progressive platforms. Both of the men supported the TARP and other Banking bailout policies. Obama won because he sold the Average "Dorothy" type Citizens on an idea that he was the candidate who represented Change. In his term to date, he has not represented change. He is carrying out a furtherance of the policies of the George W. Bush administration. He has thrown his lot directly behind the Fat Cats on Wall Street at the expense of the Small Businessman (Scarecrow) and the Average Laborer (Tin Man).

The reason why the Tea Party began forming is because of the disillusionment of an American public that feels that the Legitimate American System has been stolen from us. Think back to August 2009 and those Town hall meetings that took place. Those Town Halls were not organized to function the way that they did. "Toto" showed up to expose the men behind the curtain. People were angry that their health care preferences weren't being represented. It is agreed that something needs to be done, but what has been done does not implement a system of healthcare liberation and choices, instead it institutes a system of top-down bureaucratic control.

I believe that many of the Dorothys are going to be awakened by what the Totos have led them into. People buy into the notion of Conservative-Liberal, Democrat-Republican, Left-Right... These paradigms are meant to divide and conquer. Look at what the parties have done. Do their actions match their rhetoric? Just like in 1890, when both the Democrat and succeeding Republican Presidents made sure to enforce a strict monetary policy tied to Gold, today we have seen a Republican President and his Democrat successor both support a monetary policy based upon Fiat currency, expansion of Federal Reserve Powers, protecting a world banking cartel, Laissez-Faire world trade policies, and I can go on and on with the similarities.

What the story of The Wizard of Oz teaches us is that "There's no place like home." Home is where we find comfort through family and the people that we love. That cannot be derived through the unquenchable, covetous desires programmed upon us through the ideas of the modern materialistic, bastardized "American Dream."

Look at what has happened over the generations to the American Family. It used to be that the family could live comfortably off of one income, usually derived from the father, while the mother stayed home taking care of the household and raising the children. That was a real job, that should have truly been appreciated. Over time, the mother was economically forced to go to work to help support family income needed to pay for rising costs. The system endorsed this transformation in the family structure as Women's Liberation. Has it really liberated anyone?

As time has gone on in this new family structure paradigm, and with the conception and implementation of Social Welfare, we have seen the cohesion of the Institution of the American Family decimated. Under this new structure, it is much more easy for the husband and wife to lose their commonality and grow apart, because their career becomes their identity and more important than their family. Many times this leads to divorce.

Much of the economic devastation we have seen correlates with the coming into middle age of the initial Latchkey Kids and the products of the Age of Divorce. As the Latchkey pioneer generation comes to the age of taking leadership roles, most are lost and ill-prepared because they do not have a principled foundation to fall back on. They are not prepared for leadership, because they have basically had to mentally raise themselves in a chaotic trial and error experience caused by this transformation in Family Values. What has been instituted is a mentality of isolation, survival, and taking care of ones self.

There is no place like home and the security and love that comes with it. I believe that is what we are missing today. Money cannot fulfill that need and as a society we have to get back to Family and Togetherness being the norm and not the exception. Ones relationship with the government should not take precedent over ones relationship with their family. I really don't know if we are too far down this road to get back to the soundness built upon a solid foundation of principles, but in my heart of hearts I know that it is what is right.

I refuse to espouse the ideas of the typically trite politician, who drones on about their belief that America's best days lie ahead. We cannot take that for granted! What we have seen is part of the evolution of our country; but just like that unbridled teen who is out of control, we have to begin to find our way through the personal practice of the principles of honesty, integrity, honor, and loyalty; and we need to get back to being productive. What we have gone through is not a lost cause if we learn from the errors of our ways; but if we don't, then we could surely witness the demise of this great nation in our lifetime. And like Dorothy, the power to solve our problems is within our own hands and it has been the whole time.