Monday, June 15, 2009

The Money Masters

The Money Masters is a 3.5 hour documentary detailing the history of the US monetary system. It is long but I consider it essential background information for directing our future course as a nation.
Yes, it's a bit dry and slow; the narrator likes to shake his pen at you, and there are plenty of hard cuts to countless different locations (hard cuts bad, change of scenery good). The film was made from 1996 and the production quality is low.
Yet, as the film gets going, the story of monetary history takes on engaging and thought-provoking qualities. It is obviously thoroughly researched and the quotes are always pointed, relevant, and supportive of the claims he makes.

He goes into detail on the Federal Reserve system, central banking, fractional reserve banking, fiat money, debt-based money, silver and gold, and the gold standard. He changed me from pro-gold standard to anti-gold standard with a simple argument:
The aim of the gold standard is to distribute control of wealth and create an inflation proof currency. However, (as of 1996) central banks of the world controlled 2/3rds of the gold. A return to a gold standard therefore would not decentralize that wealth and with that, inflation would not be affected. For further elaboration, just watch the video.

Agenda: showcase the evils of central banking, eliminate fractional reserve banking, eliminate of the Fed, move to a government issued and controlled fiat money (non-debt-based) similar to Lincoln's greenbacks

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