"If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them."
PAPER MONEY
If the colonists forgot the lessons of goldsmith bankers, the American Revolution refreshed their memories. To finance the war, Congress authorized the printing of continental bills of credit in an amount not to exceed $200,000,000. The States issued another $200,000,000 in paper notes. Ultimately, the value of the paper money fell so low that they were soon traded on speculation from 5000 to 1000 paper bills for one coin.It's often suggested that our Constitution's prohibition against a paper economy -- "No State shall... make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a tender in Payment of Debts" -- was a tool of the wealthy to be worked to the disadvantage of all others. But only in a "paper" economy can money reproduce itself and increase the claims of the wealthy at the expense of the productive."Paper money," said Pelatiah Webster, "polluted the equity of our laws, turned them into engines of oppression, corrupted the justice of our public administration, destroyed the fortunes of thousands who had confidence in it, enervated the trade, husbandry, and manufactures of our country, and went far to destroy the morality of our people."
It seems obvious that if the Federal Reserve keeps printing more notes, they will decrease in worth as there are no assets to make them worth anything. The currency of the United States is only backed by the good credit and trust of the People. Since there are more People unemployed and requiring support from the government, there are also less Americans paying taxes, Congress still borrows and spends, and now that the US has had their credit rating downgraded, they are still looking to spend more.
As I listen to Members of the House and Senators speak, and the lectures of "fair share" taxing of the "wealthy" by the President and his Administration, I am reminded of all the great nations that have fallen before us, and being broke is a major cause. Reagan was in office when the military spending of the Soviet Union could no longer sustain itself and take care of its People.
If we wait for a new President or Congress to fix things, I'm afraid it won't get fixed. The government has been unable to fix anything economically and all they do is throw money at it and hope it will change. It didn't work for Bush and it is not working for Obama. No surprise there really, after all, you cannot expect different results when you do the same things over and over. Someone famous called that the "epitome of insanity."
No, this time must be different. This time We the People must choose new representation, but not from the favorite ranks of the two predominant political parties. No, we need to pick candidates that are either not career politicians or have demonstrated by their deeds and words that they stand for liberty, property, and limited government. We need representation that has the courage to tell the truth even when it is not politically correct or motivated by popular support.
I find that very few Americans speak out against "water boarding" and torture in general, claiming that it was "necessary" to save lives. How many Americans were tortured by Nazis and Japan? How many Americans suffered the cruelty as POWs in Vietnam? John McCain knows what that is like. But what makes America exceptional is that we did not use such methods on prisoners and still won the war. Would torture have saved lives? Maybe. But the damage to the nation's character would have lasted for several lifetimes, and if we take that course it will be very difficult to be that example of liberty and humanity that makes the United States exceptional.
One way we can lead by example is to elect a President that supports the Constitution and demonstrates the ethics and morals that made the US a great nation. It wasn't our military might, it was honor and integrity that pushed innovation and invention. We made the products the world wanted and were proud of them too. Now we buy and sell products made in other nations, as more American factories close and jobs never return.
A President nor a Congress can create jobs. The best they can do is create an environment where businesses can be productive and prosperous. But we need to have a stable currency that has worth. When the US dollar had worth, there was no high taxes. In fact, there was no income tax at all prior to FDR and the New Deal. More like a "raw deal" is what we got.
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