#15.5 Bill Still's Reports 61 thru 68

2012-7-24: #61 What is the Fed? .mov   

Banks do lend out far more than even the safest usual requirements for fractional reserve banking normally permit. Still correctly calls this counterfeiting. Riegel called it watering down the money supply, which is actually what this practice does. Informative.
 
2012-7-25: #62 National Debt – Bill Still 

Recap what we've learned. Fractional reserve lending, additional money creation by the Fed for the benefit of the banks, the Fed not owned by the people of the US, Federal regulators incapable of being responsible regulators (a morality gap, perhaps?). Meanwhile the US Federal government (and all the other state and local governments) borrow a trillion dollars a year and the interest payments are gigantic.

2012-7-26: #63 Interest on the National Debt  

How much could you buy with $500+ billion in interest payments on our national debt? Still tries to give us an idea of the enormity of our situation.

Still also claims that Jefferson, well he probably did out of ignorance, supported government issuance of money and that is what it says in the Constitution all right, except that it also allows the government to borrow money, of which Jefferson always disapproved. Now if it could do one, why would it need to do the other? Yeah, I know, just a dumb obvious question, right?
 
2012-7-27: #64 The Solution #1 – Bill Still.mov

1. Forbid further government borrowing. Right.
2. End the Federal Reserve system. Sure.
3. Replace all FRN's with US notes. What happened to the last guy who tried this?
4. No more fractional reserve lending -> dollar of capital lending – Karl Denninger.
 
We encountered the article Denninger wrote here
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=209282
and have its themes plainly in mind for a future paper.
 
2012-7-29: #65 The Inducement Situation – Bill Still.mov

Still points out that bribing Congress would be cheaper, by far, than paying the interest payments on our national debt.
 
2012-8-1: #66 Jekyll Island – Bill Still   

Still is planning on being part of a movie on Jekyll Island. Terrific, especially if they can make it historically correct without making the audience too sleepy. Half the reason that money people get it over on most people is that money and money matters are inherently boring to most people or are purposely presented as such in order to make it easier for most people to outsource their thinking on money subjects. They shouldn't, obviously. Bill likes the scene of the proposed movie, the resplendently preserved old club down in Georgia. As of this point, Still and his group are looking for “angels.” Let's see if he gets it. Informative.
 
2012-8-18: #67 IMF Paper Supports Monetary Reform??? Bill Still.mov  

This episode referenced an IMF study concerning something called The Chicago Plan which was crafted by some economists back in the 1930's but never adopted.

2012-9-1: #68 The Gold Solution is a Lie – Bill Still 

Still is correct in slighting the “gold bugs.” In its place he sees ceasing government borrowing and fractional reserve lending as the prescriptions.

We doubt anything will come of this. Therefore why not consider setting up a competitive system that runs in parallel with the present system, on basic easy to understand principles that is run by the people who participate in it, not some far off bureaucracy. Still includes those who slight the Austrian school and Ayn Rand followers. Well and good we say, except we will cherry pick some things from them where we can. Still is correct about the effect gold would have on banking; absolutely nothing. In fact the gold and then silver based money systems were started by the same people who invented fractional reserve banking centuries ago. Returning to a gold standard gets them back into their oldest game.

We have a different use for precious metals in a Value Unit system, for those who have assets they want to convert into Value Units for uses of trade, all transactions must be made in gold and silver bullion. Those who have no assets shall get for their value as decided among themselves as many Value Units as they qualify to receive for FREE. This will surely be a subject for a future paper.

From 2012-8-30, here's the gospel on the Austrian economics from Max Keiser, plus other related news.  Again, should we be surprised? Should we care?

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