The 27% portion of the national debt held by foreign investors may not seem like a large
These bonds could become a great problem down the line as they mature. So far, they have been a partial blessing because they were purchased with money that already existed. Therefore, they were not inflationary. But it is not difficult to imagine future conditions under which the bond holders would decide not to renew. In order to pay off those bonds on maturity, the Treasury would have to issue new ones. The Federal Reserve then would have to purchase the new bonds with fiat money. Therefore, foreign-held federal debt is a ticking time bomb. If it should ever have to be picked up by the Fed, the inflationary impact on our country would be staggering.
WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
There is a tendency to read about these trends with a kind of detached fascination: Isn't that
So what if the government is mired in debt? Who cares if the interest will never be paid? What of it if we have a world currency or a world government? What difference will any of it make to me?
The first step toward answering those questions is to see what difference it already has made. Our upcoming trip into the future will merely extend those lines.
DOOMSDAY MECHANISMS
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As illustrated in previous sections of this book, there has been a long-term policy at the highest levels of government to shift economic resources away from the United States. That policy has been successful. Based on doomsday predictions of environmental disaster, government has saddled private companies with such burdensome expenses for eliminating waste products that heavy industry, once the mainstay of American prosperity, has fled our shores. Because of concern over the natural habitat of the spotted owl and the desert kangaroo rat, millions of acres of timber and agricultural land have been taken out of production. High taxes, rules beyond reason for safety devices in the work place, so-called fair-employment practices, and mandatory health insurance are rapidly destroying what is left of America's private industry. The result is unemployment and dislocation for millions of American workers.
Federal taxes, including social-security, now take more than 40% of our private incomes. State, county, and local taxes are on top of that. Inflation feeds on what is left. We spend half of each year working for the government.
A study by the AFL-CIO in 1977 revealed that, in spite of wage increases in terms of dollars, the
The message here is that real wages in America have declined.
Young couples with a single income now have a lower standard of 1. 'Has Our Living Standard Stalled?'
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THE CREATURE FROM JEKYLL ISLAND
living than their parents did. In spite of two incomes, the real net worth of the average household is falling. The amount of leisure time is shrinking. The percentage of Americans who own their homes is dropping. The age at which a family acquires a first home is rising. The number of families counted among the middle class is falling. The size of the family savings is smaller. The number of people living below the officially defined poverty level is rising.
The rate of personal bankruptcy is triple of what it was in the 1960s.
Over 90% of all Americans are broke at age 65.
THE NEW WORLD ORDER
None of this is happening by accident. Chapters five and six documented the currently unfolding plan to create a functional world government within the framework of the United Nations.
Often referred to as The New World Order by its advocates, the proposed global government is designed upon the principles of socialism. It is the dream-come-true for the world's socialist theoreticians, politicians, and technicians who see it as the ultimate laboratory for their social experiments upon mankind.
There are two weapons of control now being readied at the UN.
One is a world military command which eventually will control all national armies and super weapons. That is being accomplished under the slogans of peace and disarmament. The other is a world central bank, now called the IMF/World Bank, with the ability to issue a common money which all nations must accept. That is being accomplished under the slogans of international trade and economic growth.
Of the two weapons, monetary control is the most important.
The use of military force is viewed as a crude weapon in the arsenal of world government, to be used only as a last resort. The effect of monetary control is more powerful than mega-tons of atomic energy. It reaches into every shop and home, a feat that could never be accomplished by standing armies. It can be used with precision against one nation, one group, or even one person while sparing or benefiting all others. Military force may be irresistible but it causes resentment and political unrest that can smolder for decades. Since monetary manipulation is seldom