Trump's Ignorance, by Hugo Salinas Price

[Dozdoats]

http://www.plata.com.mx/mplata/articulos/articlesFilt.asp?offset=140&fiidarticulo=303

10/January/2017
Trump's Ignorance
Hugo Salinas Price

The president elect of the US, Mr. Trump, does not know what he is doing when he proposes protectionist measures to encourage the reindustrialization of the US and bring home again, the American industry that emigrated to foreign lands.

The US lost their industry as a result of the Bretton Woods Agreements, which were signed (under pressure) by representatives of the allied countries and of the countries conquered by the US in World War II. Those Agreements established the world's monetary system for the post-war world, after the victory of the Allies, which was already in sight in 1944.

The monetary system was to be based on gold, which would be the world's reserve currency, supplemented by the American dollar, which was to be considered "as good as gold". So the world's monetary system was founded upon a lie: that a promise can be as good as the physical thing it promises.

This lie has accumulated a negative "karma" for the US since the moment it was pronounced, and the financial disaster which will overtake the world in the not distant future is its consequence.

In 1960, the economist Robert Triffin detected the central problem residing in the Bretton Woods Agreements. I detected the same problem without having any knowledge of "Triffin's Paradox", as it has come to be known. Many years ago, sitting in my office smoking my cigar and contemplating the world's financial situation, I came to the same conclusion as Triffin.

In a few words, it turns out that in order for the international monetary system established at BrettonWoods to function, the US is forced to run a permanent trade deficit with the rest of the world. Year after year, the US must purchase more from the rest of the world, than what the US sells to the rest of the world, thus creating a permanent flow of dollars to the rest of the world. This flow makes possible the creation of Monetary Reserves in the Central Banks of the rest of the world.

Without this constant flow of dollars from the US to the International Reserves of the Central Banks of the world, the currencies issued by those Central Banks would cease to exist. If Banco de México, the Mexican Central Bank, does not have dollars in its Reserves, then Mexicans do not have money: without dollar Reserves, the Mexican peso would not be worth peanuts - at least, in international terms.

In order to obtain dollars, it is necessary to sell to American customers some product at a lower price than that demanded by an American producer. It is self-evident that there is no other form of introducing an export into US territory, than by means of underselling an American competitor.

This is the reason why a large part of what was once the great American manufacturing industry has disappeared: the overwhelming need of the rest of the world to export to the US, in order to obtain dollars, caused the deindustrialization of the US.

It is quite unjust to blame the rest of the world for having caused the deindustrialization of the US, and to point an accusing finger at Mexico, for instance, as an enemy of the US because it has been a successful exporter of manufactures to the US. Mexico has simply been operating according to the rules established by the US itself in the Bretton Woods Agreements: the dollar is the world's currency, and at all costs, it is imperative to have dollars in order for Mexico to have a monetary system.

If Mr. Trump should attempt to eliminate or reduce the US trade deficit and protect and encourage US reindustrialization by means of tariffs on imports, what he would achieve would be to choke the economies of the rest of the world with a scarcity of dollars obtained - how else? - by exports to the US.

Choking on dollar scarcity, because exports to the US decline or are eliminated, the world will not remain in paralysis. Another alternative to the dollar as the world's currency will be sought, simply because finding an alternative becomes a matter of life or death.

What can take the place of the dollar? Possibly it will be the SDR - the "Special Drawing Rights" created by the International Monetary Fund - another huge lie that has been nicknamed "paper gold". No one knows how what sort of acceptance will be given to this monetary fantasy.

On the other hand there is gold, latent but repressed: true money that implies a world of balanced trade where there can be no trade deficits or trade surpluses.

Mr. Trump does not know it, but applying a policy of protectionism for American industry through tariffs on imports means the death of the world's monetary system based on the dollar.

Postscript: Dr. Agustin Carstens, Governor of the Bank of Mexico: would it not be convenient to think about the silver coin, given a monetary value by a simple procedure that I suggested years ago?

 

[imaginative]

Mr. Trump does not know it, but applying a policy of protectionism for American industry through tariffs on imports means the death of the world's monetary system based on the dollar.

It would sure be revolutionary if Trump aware and moving forward

 

[Sacajawea]

Interesting take on the situation. Well-reasoned.

He does overlook the fact that the de-dollarization of the world's economy has already been taking place and that China's been collecting gold for years now and their currency is now part of the SDR's "basket of currencies". Sort of positioning the Yuan to take the place of the dollar.

Not quite sure how that will impact Trump's policy plans or how that will work with tariffs.

 

[marsh]

As I understand it, other nations are increasingly cashing in their treasuries. The Exchange Stabilization Fund has used Belgium in the past to buy cashed in treasuries to protect the market and shield the FED from looking like it is buying back US debt. Now that seems to be shifted to a dummy buyer in Ireland. Through Bretton Woods, the US has been exporting its inflation for years. This dummy arrangement keeps the money sequestered - from flooding back onto our books.

Jim Willie and, I believe, Bill Holder seem to think that when the reserve currency status comes tumbling down that the dollar will have to be cut to 1/3 of its present value because of the trade deficit. Willie seems to think China will demand ownership of our infrastructure to collateralize our debts. While the balance of trade is rebalancing, (because we don't have the means to domestically replace the imports we can no longer get credit to import,) China will rush in to bankroll new industry in the US. Perhaps Trump sees the writing on the wall with demise of our "reserve status" and wants to jump start reindustrialization to prepare for the inevitable switch to a new reserve currency and the cutting off of credit to US importers. This could avoid/soften the Chinese grab for control over our domestic economy.

http://chinapower.csis.org/us-debt/ (good graphics on site)

Is it a risk for America that China holds over $1 trillion in U.S. debt?

Many worry that China’s ownership of American debt affords the Chinese economic leverage over the United States. This apprehension, however, stems from a misunderstanding of sovereign debt and of how states derive power from their economic relations. The purchasing of sovereign debt by foreign countries is a normal transaction that helps maintain openness in the global economy. As of December 2016, Japan holds more U.S. debt than any other foreign entity, including China. Consequently, China’s stake in America’s debt has more of a binding than dividing effect on bilateral relations between the two countries.

Even if China wished to “call in” its loans, the use of credit as a coercive measure is complicated and often heavily constrained. A creditor can only dictate terms for the debtor country if that debtor has no other options. In the case of the United States, American debt is a widely held and an extremely desirable asset in the global economy. Whatever debt China does sell is simply purchased by other countries. For instance, in August 2015 China reduced its holdings of U.S. Treasuries by approximately $180 billion. Despite the scale, this selloff did not significantly affect the U.S. economy, thereby limiting the impact that such an action may have on U.S. decision making.

Historical figures calculated from long-term treasury holdings from June of each year. Current year figures are estimates from most recent monthly figures and are regularly updated.

Furthermore, China needs to maintain significant reserves of U.S. debt to manage the exchange rate of the renminbi. Were China to suddenly unload its reserve holdings, its currency’s exchange rate would rise, making Chinese exports more expensive in foreign markets. As such, China’s holdings of American debt do not provide China with undue economic influence over the United States. This page examines the role U.S. debt plays in the global economy by exploring the reasons countries buy sovereign debt; explaining in more detail why China buys U.S. sovereign debt; and discussing which financial actors hold the most U.S. sovereign debt.
Why do countries accumulate foreign exchange reserves?

Any country that trades openly with other countries is likely to buy foreign sovereign debt. In terms of economic policy, a country can have any two but not three of the following: a fixed exchange rate, an independent monetary policy, and free capital flows. Foreign sovereign debt provide countries with a means to pursue their economic objectives.

The first two functions are monetary policy choices performed by a country’s central bank. First, sovereign debt frequently comprises part of other countries’ foreign exchange reserves. Second, central banks buy sovereign debt as part of monetary policy to maintain the exchange rate or forestall economic instability. Third, as a low-risk store of value, sovereign debt is attractive to central banks and other financial actors alike. Each of these functions will be discussed briefly.

Foreign Reserves

Any country open to international trade or investment requires a certain amount of foreign currency on hand to pay for foreign goods or investments abroad. As a result, many countries keep foreign currency in reserve to pay for these expenses, which cushion the economy from sudden changes in international investment. Domestic economic policies often require central banks to maintain a reserve adequacy ratio of foreign exchange and other reserves for short-term external debt, and to ensure a country’s ability to service its external short-term debt in a crisis. The International Monetary Fund publishes guidelines to assist governments in calculating appropriate levels of foreign exchange reserves given their economic conditions.

Exchange rate

A fixed or pegged exchange rate is a monetary policy decision. This decision attempts to minimize the price instability that accompanies volatile capital flows. Such conditions are especially apparent in emerging markets: Argentinian import price increases of up to 30 percent in 2013 led opposition leaders to describe wages as “water running through your fingers.” Since price volatility is economically and politically destabilizing, policymakers manage exchange rates to mitigate change. Internationally, few countries’ exchange rates are completely “floating,” or determined by currency markets. To manage domestic currency rates, a country might choose to purchase foreign assets and store them for the future, when the currency might depreciate too quickly.

A low-risk store of value

As sovereign debt is government-backed, private and public financial institutions view it as a low-risk asset with a high chance of repayment. Some government bonds are seen as riskier than others. A country’s external debt may be viewed as unsustainable relative to its GDP or its reserves, or a country could otherwise default on its debt. Generally, however, sovereign debt is more likely to return value and therefore is safer relative to other forms of investment, even if earned interest is not high.
Foreign Reserves Held by Key CountriesWhy does China buy U.S. debt?

China buys U.S. debt for the same reasons other countries buy U.S. debt, with two caveats. The crippling 1997 Asian Financial Crisis prompted Asian economies, including China, to build up foreign exchange reserves as a safety net. More specifically, China holds large exchange reserves, which were built up over time due in part to persistent surpluses in the current account, to inhibit cash inflows from trade and investment from destabilizing the domestic economy.

China’s large U.S. Treasury holdings say as much about U.S. power in the global economy as any particularity of the Chinese economy. Broadly speaking, U.S. debt is an in-demand asset. It is safe and convenient. As the world’s reserve currency, the U.S. dollar is extensively used in international transactions. Trade goods are priced in dollars and due to its high demand, the dollar can easily be cashed in. Furthermore, the U.S. government has never defaulted on its debt.

A Conversation with Scott Miller

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs5zC7awzgA
Skip to another question

Despite U.S. debt’s attractive qualities, continued U.S. debt financing has concerned economists, who worry that a sudden stop in capital flows to the United States could spark a domestic crisis. Thus, U.S. reliance on debt financing would present challenges—not if demand from China were halted, but if demand from all financial actors suddenly halted.

From a regional perspective, Asian countries hold an unusually large amount of U.S. debt in response to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. During the Asian Financial Crisis, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand saw incoming investments crash to an estimated -$12.1 billion from $93 billion, or 11 percent of their combined pre-crisis GDP. In response, China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asian nations maintain large precautionary rainy-day funds of foreign exchange reserves, which—for safety and convenience—include U.S. debt. These policies were vindicated post-2008, when Asian economies boasted a relatively speedy recovery.

GDP Percent Change during Asian Financial CrisisFrom a national perspective, China buys U.S. debt due to its complex financial system. The central bank must purchase U.S. Treasuries and other foreign assets to keep cash inflows from causing inflation. In the case of China, this phenomenon is unusual. A country like China, which saves more than it invests domestically, is typically an international lender.

To avoid inflation, the Chinese central bank removes this incoming foreign currency by purchasing foreign assets—including U.S. Treasury bonds—in a process called “sterilization.” This system has the disadvantage of generating unnecessarily low returns on investment: by relying on FDI, Chinese firms borrow from abroad at high interest rates, while China continues to lend to foreign entities at low interest rates. This system also compels China to purchase foreign assets, including safe, convenient U.S. debt.

Who owns the most U.S. debt?

A full 66 percent of U.S. debt is held by domestic financial actors and institutions in the United States. U.S. Treasuries represent a convenient, liquid, low-risk store of value. These qualities make it attractive to diverse financial actors, from central banks looking to hold money in reserve to private investors seeking a low-risk asset in a portfolio.

The biggest effect of a broad scale dump of US Treasuries by China would be that China would actually export fewer goods to the United States.
Scott Miller

Of all U.S. domestic actors, intragovernmental holdings, including Social Security, hold about 28 percent of U.S. Treasury securities. The secretary of the treasury is legally required to invest Social Security tax revenues in U.S.-issued or guaranteed securities, stored in trust funds managed by the Treasury Department.

The Federal Reserve holds the second-largest share of U.S. Treasuries, about 13 percent of total U.S. Treasury bills. Why would a country buy its own debt? As the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve must adjust the amount of money in circulation to suit the economic environment. The central bank performs this function via open market operations—buying and selling financial assets, like Treasury bills, to add or remove money from the economy. By buying assets from banks, the Federal Reserve places new money in circulation in order to allow banks to lend more, spur business, and help economic recovery.

Excluding the Federal Reserve and Social Security, a number of other U.S. financial actors hold an additional 24 percent of U.S. Treasury securities. These financial actors include state and local governments, mutual funds, insurance companies, public and private pensions, and U.S. banks. Generally speaking, they will hold U.S. Treasury securities as a low-risk asset.

Sovereign debt is mostly used as a management tool by governments . . . if you want to maintain a stable currency value versus other economies with which you trade and in some cases compete, you use debt held in denominations not your own to manage your own currency.
Scott Miller

Overall, foreign countries each make up a relatively small proportion of U.S. debt-holders. Although China’s holdings represented 20 percent of foreign-owned U.S. debt in March 2016, this percentage only comprises 6.8 percent of the total. Moreover, Japan has as of December 2016 overtaken China as the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt. Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities jumped in February 2016, driven in a large part by China ($1.24 trillion) and Japan ($1.13 trillion). The Treasury Department reports that total foreign holdings now stand at $6.29 trillion.

Internationally, this situation is common: most sovereign debt is held domestically. European financial institutions hold the majority of European sovereign bonds. Similarly, Japanese domestic financial actors hold approximately 90 percent of Japanese net sovereign debt. Thus despite international demand for U.S. sovereign debt, the United States is no exception to the global trend: U.S. domestic actors hold the majority of U.S. sovereign bonds.

 

[JF&P]

What the op misses, and most do, is that the worlds monetary system is a scam....we've been "set up"...in a process that began long ago.

I'd recommend reading "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin

 

[Dozdoats]

A trillion here, a trillion there - pretty soon you're talking real money.

 

[intothatgoodnight]

. . . the worlds monetary system is a scam....we've been "set up"...in a process that began long ago.

Agreed.

The root of this issue goes back into the mists of history, but the same participants and/or their family/agents are STILL involved, to this day.

I'd recommend reading "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin

"The Creature from Jekyll Island," is available at Amazon and other book sellers, and must be considered FUNDAMENTAL, REQUIRED reading for any serious student of the school of TB2K.

Once read and properly digested, you will have acquired the basic intellectual tools to understand and correctly analyze the nature of our current world-wide economic woes, how we got where we are, the identity of the real kingmakers, and how this broken, fraudulent economic system perpetrates itself.

This book should be inhaled by all citizens, of all countries -- NOT simply written for those who are living under the spell of the United States Federal Reserve.

Meet the challenge.

Edumacate yourself.

Read. the. book.


intothegoodnight

 

[JF&P]

Agreed.

The root of this issue goes back into the mists of history, but the same participants and/or their family/agents are STILL involved, to this day.



"The Creature from Jekyll Island," is available at Amazon and other book sellers, and must be considered FUNDAMENTAL, REQUIRED reading for any serious student of the school of TB2K.

Once read and properly digested, you will have acquired the basic intellectual tools to understand and correctly analyze the nature of our current world-wide economic woes, how we got where we are, the identity of the real kingmakers, and how this broken, fraudulent economic system perpetrates itself.

This book should be inhaled by all citizens, of all countries -- NOT simply written for those who are living under the spell of the United States Federal Reserve.

Meet the challenge.

Edumacate yourself.

Read. the. book.


intothegoodnight

Thank You intothegoodnight for your affirmation of this important work.

Seriously, this book paints the rest of the "Picture" (Story) that most don't even realize is reality.

 

[Adino]

The author of the op fails to realize that the monetary policy that came from the globalista banksters at Bretton Woods was the intended virus meant to infect every sovereign country and bring the US and the rest of the world to their knees and under the yoke of the globalista plutarchs.

The sickness is intended to be fatal to all not immunzed by plutocratic regionalization and commensurate global vision of the future.

We're about to find out if Trump is ignorant of reality or not.

 

[Ractivist]

Agreed.

The root of this issue goes back into the mists of history, but the same participants and/or their family/agents are STILL involved, to this day.



"The Creature from Jekyll Island," is available at Amazon and other book sellers, and must be considered FUNDAMENTAL, REQUIRED reading for any serious student of the school of TB2K.

Once read and properly digested, you will have acquired the basic intellectual tools to understand and correctly analyze the nature of our current world-wide economic woes, how we got where we are, the identity of the real kingmakers, and how this broken, fraudulent economic system perpetrates itself.

This book should be inhaled by all citizens, of all countries -- NOT simply written for those who are living under the spell of the United States Federal Reserve.

Meet the challenge.

Edumacate yourself.

Read. the. book.


intothegoodnight

Yes, a true eye opener... and lays a foundation of knowledge that is invaluable to understanding. I also suggest one read "The Report from Iron Mountain". It is also quite eye opening, though down an entirely different path of understanding. It's a little over a hundred pages and available on line, google it. Read it, and research it. "Freedom from War" is another must read. These three have an accumulative value that is immeasurable.

 

[Dozdoats]

I third the motion that all here read The Creature.

Also useful in understanding the Fed-

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/326358.Secrets_of_the_Temple

Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country
by William Greider

4.08 *·*

Rating Details*·* 484 Ratings *·* 55 Reviews

William Greider’s groundbreaking bestseller reveals how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and manipulates and the world’s economy.

This ground-breaking best-seller reveals for the first time how the mighty and mysterious Federal Reserve operates—and how it manipulated and transformed both the American economy and the world's during the last eight crucial years. Based on extensive interviews with all the major players, Secrets of the Temple takes us inside the government institution that is in some ways more secretive than the CIA and more powerful than the President or Congress. (less)

Paperback, 800 pages
Published January 15th 1989 by Simon & Schuster (first published 1987)

 

[alchemike]

What the op misses, and most do, is that the worlds monetary system is a scam....we've been "set up"...in a process that began long ago.

I'd recommend reading "The Creature from Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin

This...

o)<

mike

 

[Dozdoats]

http://www.jsmineset.com/2017/01/11/in-the-news-today-2592/

Posted January 11th, 2017 at 12:20 PM (CST) by Jim Sinclair & filed under In The News.
Bill Holter’s Commentary
Sadly Mr. Salinas Price is correct as he expands on what I meant when writing I “feared Mr. Trump would make a policy mistake”. Nationalism and “America first” was embraced and a key reason Mr. Trump won the election. Starting a trade war has precedent, please google “Smoot-Hawley” trade tariffs. As I have said before, no one can fix the problems created from what has already been done (think existing debt). He will simply preside over a bankruptcy …which will result in a reset of all values.

 

[imaginative]

The private owned bank scheme is designed to transfer wealth from the working class to the fiat magicians- insert Thomas Jefferson quote- certainly Trump understands that. Where Trump stands and what he does is the real game; he has hinted at abolishing both Fed & fiat. Certainly we will watch.

Here is a small example grom today's news of how you and I are being scheistered by them


Fed Pays Banks $12 Billion on “Excess Reserves,” Taken from Taxpayer Pockets
Published: January 12, 2017

Source: Wolf Street

Circuitous hidden wonders of paying interest on “excess reserves.”

The Federal Reserve just went through its annual ritual of disclosing its preliminary results for the year: The income it earned less its operating expenses, according to central bank accounting, and how much of these earnings it is remitting, as it does every year, to the US Treasury Department. But this statement includes another nugget.

In 2016, the Fed paid our favorite banks $12 billion in interest on their “excess reserves” held at the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks (the New York Fed, the Boston Fed, the Dallas Fed, the San Francisco Fed, etc.). But wait… who’s actually paying that $12 billion?

Is it just a well-earned freebie for the banks, conjured up out of nothing, in Fed-style? Nope. The taxpayer paid the $12 billion to the banks. Here’s how.

The Fed earns interest income from the $2.46 trillion in Treasury securities and from the $1.74 trillion in Agency mortgage-backed securities on its balance sheet. These are the securities the Fed bought from its Primary Dealers with money that it had created under the QE program. So now, it’s collecting the coupons. This is its income.

After subtracting its operating expenses ($709 million in 2016) and the interest it pays to the banks for their “excess reserves,” it remits the remainder to the Treasury Department. This is revenue for the US government, which can use every dime it gets.

According to the Federal Reserve Board’s preliminary estimates of its 2016 results, it will pay the Treasury Department $92 billion. That’s down from $97.7 billion it paid the Treasury in 2015.

Part of the reason why the payment is lower: the Fed is paying the banks more on their “excess reserves”; and this amount it pays the banks is deducted from the amount it pays the Treasury. Here are those infamous “excess reserves” that came into being as QE kicked off at the end of 2008:

As you can see, these excess reserves have dropped by about $775 billion since their peak at the end of 2014. They ended 2016 at $1.925 trillion.

But in December 2015, when the Fed raised the fed funds rate target for the first time in this tightening cycle, it also raised the interest rate it pays to the banks on the excess reserves, from 0.25% to 0.5%. This pushed up the amount it pays to the banks, despite their lower excess reserves, from $6.9 billion in 2015 to $12 billion in 2016.

The Fed says that it pays the banks for these excess reserves as a mechanism to get banks to raise their own lending rates when lending to each other, which, in theory, would contribute to raising market rates.

Some folks in the cheap seats might snicker that this is just a pretext, that surely if the Fed really wanted to raise market rates, it could find other means, such as selling down the assets on its balance sheet.

But here’s how the taxpayers end up paying that $12 billion to the banks. The Fed deducts that $12 billion from the amount it pays the Treasury. So the US government gets $12 billion less in revenues, a hole that all US taxpayers have to deal with forevermore. And the 2017 hole, which might even be larger, would add to it.

Don’t worry, the banks are happy. They include that income from the Fed in their earnings reports. And you can just buy their stocks to try to get your money back.

But not all may be well with those banks. They appear to have formed a circular firing squad. Read… What’s Going on with the Banks? Citi Cuts Goldman to “Sell,” after Goldman Cut Citi to “Neutral”

http://www.blacklistednews.com/Fed_..._from_Taxpayer_Pockets/56265/0/38/38/Y/M.html

 

[jed turtle]

http://www.jsmineset.com/2017/01/11/in-the-news-today-2592/

Posted January 11th, 2017 at 12:20 PM (CST) by Jim Sinclair & filed under In The News.
Bill Holter’s Commentary
Sadly Mr. Salinas Price is correct as he expands on what I meant when writing I “feared Mr. Trump would make a policy mistake”. Nationalism and “America first” was embraced and a key reason Mr. Trump won the election. Starting a trade war has precedent, please google “Smoot-Hawley” trade tariffs. As I have said before, no one can fix the problems created from what has already been done (think existing debt). He will simply preside over a bankruptcy …which will result in a reset of all values.

The bankruptcy is baked in the cake. The only way I can conceive of to avoid it is to create a new global currency, - equally fiat- and no doubt, cashless. Even then, still based on fiat. Only cheaper, and with ultimate control, and probably with a lifespan of less than a decade...

 

[Dozdoats]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-11/what-does-future-hold-average-joes-spoiler-alert-feudalism

What Does The Future Hold For 'Average Joes'? (Spoiler Alert: Feudalism)
by Tyler Durden
Jan 12, 2017 2:00 AM

It is difficult to say exactly how, or when, the next collapse will be triggered, but, as SHTFPlan.com's Mac Slavo notes, of course all the conditions are ripe for it.

What can be certain is that the technocrats intent on controlling the future are already engineering the post-collapse society. Many of the Davos elite have been pushing “universal basic income” for all countries across the globe, and are leading people not only into a digital grid where cash is banned, but also into a society where private property and ownership are outlawed.

They are designing a future in which you must borrow or rent everything you need from corporations or the government, if you are allowed to have them at all.

You Realize The Universal Basic Income Is Feudalism, Right?

What does the future hold for average people?

Feudalism.

And they’ll welcome it with open arms, convinced that they are embracing a smart, fair system that eliminates poverty. The greed, entitlement, and lack of ambition that seems inherent in many people today will have them slipping on the yoke of servitude willingly.

Here’s what I mean.

Have you ever been around people who say things like,

“I can’t afford it, but I deserve it…”

“Having [fill in the blank with a material object] is a basic right…”

“Losing that right is okay with me because it’s for the greater good.”

But the thing is, what we “deserve” is the right to pursue our dreams freely.
We deserve what we earn.

We deserve to be secure in our life, liberty, and property.

We deserve the freedom to go about our lives and decisions as long as we aren’t harming the life, liberty, and property of others.

No one owes us anything other than that.

But quite a few people are ready to give up their freedom so that someone else can take care of them.

A lot of people disagree with that list of rights.

They feel like they deserve a living just for drawing breath. As Gawker’s headline reads, “A Universal Basic Income Is the Utopia We Deserve.”

The idea of a universal basic income for all citizens has been catching on all over the world. Is it too crazy to believe in? We spoke to the author of a new book on the ins, outs, and utopian dreams of making basic income a reality.The basic income movement got a significant boost this week when the charity GiveDirectly announced that it will be pursuing a ten-year, $30 million pilot project giving a select group of Kenyan villagers a basic income and studying its effects. As an anti-poverty solution, universal basic income appeals to impoverished people in Africa, relatively well-off Scandinavians, and Americans automated out of their jobs alike.

Sure, money for nothing sounds great on the surface.

But what would the real result of a Universal Basic Income be?

Feudalism. Serfdom. Enslavement.

UBI would fast track us back to the feudalism of the Middle Ages. Sure, we’d be living in slick, modern micro-efficiencies instead of shacks. We’d have some kind of modern job instead of raising sheep for the lord of the manor.

But, in the end, we wouldn’t actually own anything because private property would be abolished for all but the ruling class. We’d no longer have the ability to get ahead in life. Our courses would be set for us and veering off of those courses would be harshly discouraged.

People will be completely dependent on the government and ruling class for every necessity: food, shelter, water, clothing. What better way to assert control than to make compliance necessary for survival?

(If you’re like me and a life of serfdom is not the future you want, you have to take your independence into your hands. Go here for a bundle of self-reliance downloads, absolutely free, to help you do just that.)

Here’s a quick glimpse at peasant life in the Middle Ages, for comparison’s sake.

The period of history from the 5th to the 15th century was known as the Middle Ages. During this time, the law of the land in Europe was the “feudal system.” This system was the manner in which the upper 10% (the nobility) controlled the lower 90% (the serfs or peasants).

It is estimated that just over 90% of the population of Europe were peasants. Most peasants were basically slaves. They were provided with a small shelter on an inferior piece of land and the “protection” of the noble in charge of that area. In return, they worked for the estate, farming the land with no recompense, paying taxes and having no control over their lives. Some peasants were “free” and had small businesses: blacksmiths, carpenters, bakers, etc.

They paid for the protection of the “Lord” with money, goods, and services.

Peasants had few rights. They could be taxed at any time, were obligated to use (and pay for) services of the manor like mills or large ovens, and had to request permission for marriages, change of locations or educating their children.

Each year, the peasant was required to give the best part of his harvest to the lord of the manor. The peasants were not allowed to own things that made their lives easier, like oxen or horses, for example. A peasant did not own the land on which he lived and was therefore obligated to live where he was told, grow what he was told, and farm in the manner in which he was told. They were not allowed to hunt on the lord’s land – poaching was an offense punishable by death. They were not permitted to cut trees for firewood but forced to gather fallen branches to stay warm. A peasant was not allowed to have real, effective weapons – those were reserved for the armies of the nobility, to keep the peasants in line and immediately quell any quest for dignity and independence.

Most of the peasants seemed content with the arrangement because they received security and safety from the Lord. He was obligated to protect them from marauders and barbarians and provide enough land for subsistence. (Learn more about feudalism here.)

People will be trapped into servitude because they feel entitled to a lifestyle.

Over the past years, the education has drummed a sense of entitlement into students. And now, world leaders are counting on using that feeling of entitlement to march society willingly right into a tiny gilded cage.

The World Economic Forum is held yearly in Davos, Switzerland. It is at this meeting where a couple thousand of the world’s top economic and political leaders meet to plot our future.

If you think I’m crazy for the comparison between UBI and serfdom, wait until you see this year’s vision for our future.

Ida Auken, a Danish politician who is a contributor to the World Economic Forum, doesn’t believe we should own things.*She doesn’t stop at personal possessions, though. She believes we should eschew privacy in our homes, that cash is unnecessary, and that even our thoughts and dreams are not really ours. You can read about her idea of a perfect future in an article for the Annual Meeting of the Global Futures Council titled “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better.”

In her article, Auken idealizes feudalism, and the kinds of people who believe they “deserve” certain entitlements, like the UBI will welcome this loss of individuality and freedom with open arms.

Watch the video below. I couldn’t make this up if I tried.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRybM76qx6I

The Privacyless, Freedomless Smart City of 2030 the Elite Are Engineering

Truthstream Media

Published on Jan 9, 2017
Well here's a fat bag of crazy for you, courtesy of the elites over at Davos ahead of their 2017 meeting. Add cashless in there of course, we would have but there are only so many words that will fit into a YouTube video title.

If you look around at the way things are being manipulated on nearly every level right now, you can clearly see how society is being engineered for this future, as insane as it sounds...

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