Niall Ferguson on Wealthtrack

Great interview with economist and historian Niall Ferguson. But what can I say, I'm a sucker for anyone who knows how to put things perspective, particularly historical perspective.

Stop Spending Our Future - The Crisis

This 2+ min video outlines and gives historical context to the recent, on-going and future government spending. Although informative, it strikes an alarmist and blaming tone (in my opinion it's justified but blame doesn't solve problems). I find the numbers alone are frightening enough: I think there is no need for trying to induce panic in the viewer with mood music and a symbolic diver.

Agenda: showcase the scale of government spending, get viewer to question the government spending

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

Money as Debt

This 50 minute video describes simply, but also thoroughly, how banking works today and how banking came to be that way. It covers fractional reserve banking, debt-based money, gold, etc.

However, I strongly dislike the cheesy clip art style animations and the obviously over-the-top characterizations of bankers and government (and everyone else frankly). Also, he uses some spurious or questionable quotes (like the Woodrow Wilson one). Yet, a great deal of powerful information lies beneath that veneer of heavy-handed bias. Use your head and don't throw the baby out with the bath water.
I still heartily recommend watching it.

Agenda: bankers are evil, elimination of debt-based money (debt to private banks), banking as non-profit government outfit that makes interest-free loans, government created and managed value-based money (money printed by gov't for public works that promote economic growth: roads, bridges, harbors)

(There is about 15 secs of black video before the it actually begins. Just wait it out or skip it.)


I know there is a revised edition of this video on DVD which I believe addresses some the issues I have with this video. I also know there is a sequel; I am in the process of finding both.

Chris Martenson's Crash Course

As my first real post, I unhesitatingly recommend the Crash Course by Chris Martenson. I cannot stress enough the importance of this video seminar, freely available at

http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse

This 20 chapter video seminar is the most comprehensive, far-reaching, thorough, even-handed, and level-headed look at the economy, energy, the environment, and the future. All this is accomplished in an educational, apolitical manner. Chris presents facts and graphs, not to shock and awe you, but to educate. He teases so much meaning out of each graph, it has changed my views of the graphs from "dry data" to "profound conclusions based in fact"

You must see this video seminar.

Be warned though, the first quarter of the seminar is slow and can take some effort to slog through. This is by far the weakest part of the entire course but it is not representative of the rest of the course.
Also, the overall length is about 3.5 hours which seems daunting at first but you will be compelled to finish once you get into the meat of presentation. (The previous statement is me speaking from witnessing people so drawn in by the series that they drop whatever plans they originally had just so they can finish the course.) In other words, the length becomes perfectly justifiable once you understand the breadth and depth of the seminar.

Watch the Crash Course

The chapters titles will give you a good idea what the course is all about:

• Chapter 1: Three Beliefs (Time: 1:46)
• Chapter 2: The Three "E"s (Time: 1:38)
• Chapter 3: Exponential Growth (Time: 6:20)
• Chapter 4: Compounding is the Problem (Time: 3:06)
• Chapter 5: Growth vs. Prosperity (Time: 3:40)
• Chapter 6: What is Money? (Time: 5:55)
• Chapter 7: Money Creation (Time: 4:19)
• Chapter 8: The Fed - Money Creation (Time: 7:13)
• Chapter 9: A Brief History of US Money (Time: 7:14)
• Chapter 10: Inflation (Time: 11:48)
• Chapter 11: How Much Is A Trillion? (Time: 3:28)
• Chapter 12: Debt (Time: 12:32)
• Chapter 13: A National Failure To Save (Time: 12:06)
• Chapter 14: Assets & Demographics (Time: 13:41)
• Chapter 15: Bubbles (Time: 14:10)
• Chapter 16: Fuzzy Numbers (Time: 15:52)
• Chapter 17: PART A: Peak Oil (Time: 17:52)
• Chapter 17: PART B: Energy Budgeting (Time: 12:15)
• Chapter 17: PART C: Energy And The Economy (Time: 7:05)
• Chapter 18: Environmental Data (Time: 16:22)
• Chapter 19: Future Shock (Time: 8:02)
• Chapter 20: What Should I Do? (Time: 19:48)