FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
By
Coach Dave Daubenmire
October 2, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” --The Wizard of Oz.
How many of you know the real story behind the children’s movie, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?”
Unfortunately, thanks to today’s modern “educational” system very few of us have a good grasp on history. George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Is it just me or does it appear that we are on the precipice of financial collapse, reminiscent of 1929?
I remember my mother, a child of the Depression, warning me in the late 1970’s that if we continued on the path we were on we were headed for another depression. Why is it a midwestern housewife could figure out what all of the twenty-first century “financial experts” on Wall Street could not?
Let me help you out a little. I am not a financial expert, (although I am good at pinching pennies) but it doesn’t take a degree from Harvard or a stint as a robber-baron on Wall Street to realize what the real problem is with our financial system. It is not sub-prime mortgages, although loaning people money that they cannot repay is not wise financial business. The culprit is not high-oil prices and our failure to build new refineries, although worshiping the creation rather than the creator is never a wise move. It is not even the lack of “government oversight” -- as if more layers of lawyers and pencil pushers somehow guarantee honesty.
No, my friends, the dirty little secret in the American economy is that our dollar is worthless. You don’t have to be a junior senator from Illinois to realize that our problems really began in 1913 when we turned the control of our money over to the un-constitutional Federal Reserve.
Our money is controlled by a small cabal of bankers who have succeeded in ruining the once-powerful dollar. The Constitution is very clear. Article I Section 8 enumerates that Congress shall have the power “To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;”
Coin money…not print it. Coin means a piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of a government for use as money. We have allowed the Fed to trade our gold and silver for paper and ink. Come on now, which do you think is more valuable?
We are such lemmings. You see, prices are not going up as much as the value of the dollar is going down. “Need more money, America? Cool…start the printer!” Can you say 700 billion? On top of the 600 billion they already spent on the bailout earlier this year.
If you are like me, you remember the old “Silver Certificate.” Printed on it were these words “One dollar in silver payable to the bearer upon demand.” You could take the dollar bill to the bank and they would give you a dollar in silver. That is why it was called a “Note.” It represented something that was owed. One dollar paper bill was equal to one dollar in silver.
Not today. In fact, Silver Dollars are becoming more and more valuable. How can that be? Wouldn’t you think that a dollar is a dollar, whether it is paper or coin? Sorry, Charlie. In 1973 America stopped using gold and silver as backing for the dollar. Remember the jokes about “all of the gold in Ft. Knox?’ Well, no more. Today, the American dollar is backed by nothing but the integrity of the Federal Government. No wonder we’re in trouble. Ink and paper aren’t good “hedges against inflation.”
For years and years most American workers got cost-of-living raises. We were fooled into thinking that the cost of living was going up because things cost more. But the ugly truth was, the price of goods were remaining basically the same, it was the dollar that was becoming worth less every year as the Fed printed more money backed by nothing.
The house my parents bought in 1950 for $7000 is worth nearly $150,000 today. In reality, the house is not worth more, it just takes more of the “Funny Money” to buy it. Inflation, a direct result of monetary policy, has robbed the average American.
My mother never had to work outside the home. My father’s factory job put four children through college. Today factory jobs have left America, Mom and Dad both have to work and the only way most are able to send their children to college is by burdening them with massive debt….usually from the “government” with interest paid to the “Fed.” We are the Government. The government has no money. They get it from us. When you hear “government bailout” grab hold of your wallet!! The Fed prints more worthless dollars so they can charge you more interest. They don’t even have to “pass GO” to collect their $200.
Remember, “government” means you and me. We are the one’s who will ultimately pick up the tab…or, more specifically, our children and grandchildren. Proverbs warns us that “A wise man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” Sadly, we are spending the inheritance. America has been on a generational spending binge and the bill is finally coming due. Our children will be the one’s to suffer.
“Follow the yellow brick road….pay no attention to the man behind the curtain….was a clear warning of what would happen when loose monetary policy became the philosophy of the American government. “The men behind the curtain” are controlling all of our lives. Those who forget the past…..
Who elected Henry Paulson? Who elected Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan? Where did the Fed get the power to print Monopoly Money?
The “men behind the curtain” have us focusing on McCain and Obama but they are running a bootleg. Let us never forget that it was the House of Representatives that turned down the bailout plan. They call it “The People’s House” because it is the legislative body that is closest to the People. Phone calls still work. We must focus on gaining more influence where the power is closest. We can regain control by “throwing the bums out” of the House, not by changing Wizards. If your Representative voted for a bailout, (s)he obviously is Constitutionally illiterate and has no business serving. Run yourself or find a neighbor who cares enough to understand what it means to serve the People.
The “People” flooded the phones. The curtain-dancers were turned back. At least for now. This guy gets it.
Back to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum wrote this spoof on the late 1890’s attempt to reform America’s monetary policy. Even back then the “bankers” were attempting to take the American dollar off of the gold standard. Baum wrote “Oz” to expose the forces conspiring to gain control of the economy.
“Oz is short for ounce, the measure for gold and silver.
Dorothy, hailing from Kansas, represents the commoner.
The Tin Woodsman is the industrial worker, rusted solid as the factories shut down in the 1893 depression. The Scarecrow is the farmer who apparently doesn’t have the wit to understand his situation or his political interests. The Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan; (Ron Paul) who had a loud roar but little political power as he fought the political powers of his day.
The Good Witches represent the magical potential of the people of the Midwest and the South (red states).
After vanquishing the Wicked Witch of the East (the Eastern bankers) Dorothy frees The Munchkins (the little people). With the witch's silver slippers (the silver standard), (they change to ruby red in the movie) Dorothy sets out on the Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard) to the Emerald City (Washington), where they meet the Wizard (the President), who appears powerful, but is ultimately revealed as an illusion; the real Wizard being just a little man who pulls levers behind a curtain” (printing presses).
“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…” We must once again come to the realization that WE hold all of the power. The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion are us.
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The Scarecrow was looking for a brain, all of the time convinced he needed “experts” to think for him. The Tin Man was looking for a heart, feeling he needed the “great and powerful Oz” to restore his broken spirit through government handouts. And the Cowardly Lion needed only the courage to fight.
It’s time to return to Oz.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road!
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