Orrin Woodward LIFE Leadership Press

Fractional Reserve Banking (FRB) and the Financial Matrix

Warning:  there is more truth in this article regarding fractional reserve banking, slavery, debt and the financial matrix than most people can handle!

Orrin Woodward has published another fantastic article on the Financial Matrix; summarizing its roots and explaining why most people feel that there is something wrong with today's financial system.  I have heard Chris Brady say, "truth is sweet to the ear".  On the contrary, this kind of truth feels more like a sucker-punch from a middle school bully just before he steals my lunch.  The good news is we have a way to learn about the financial matrix and begin to fight back!

Read on and get free:

Financial Matrix Debt Money

Posted by Orrin Woodward on February 5, 2015

It’s important to remember that money was not created by the state. Rather, as Mises points out, entrepreneurs created money by trial and error through realizing that gold and silver could be exchanged for current production at any time. Money simply was a measurement of exchange value ratios. Indeed, the rediscovery of gold and silver money led to an explosion of middle-class wealth as people were rewarded for producing more. The gold standard ensured justice for the masses against elites attempts to manipulate the exchange values of monetary system. Because gold is a fixed-quantity and difficult to mine, inflation was low and predictable, whereas the increased division-of-labor caused by the capitalistic system to create more wealth for more people than at any time in recorded history. The gold standard, in short, ensured justice for all by checking the elites desire to create a Financial Matrix by controlling capital.

Unfortunately, however, the elites will not rest until they build a matrix to control the masses wealth. Hence, at the turn of the 20th century, the state and its elite cronies, broke through the gold-standard barrier and created the Financial Matrix. Through using fiat money (money not backed by gold or silver), the elites flooded the marketplace with bogus exchange values causing rapid inflation and rampant injustice. The Financial Matrix was birthed through a web of fractional-reserve banking (FRB), increasing national debts, and increasing taxes. One can recognize the extent of the monetary injustice caused by the Financial Matrix when studying what inflation has done to the value of the US dollar. For instance, the value of one dollar in 1913 is now worth less than four cents today. Or, said differently, one needs 25 dollars today to buy what one dollar purchased in 1913.

Inflation, however, is just one of the many injustices associated with the Financial Matrix. When inflation is combined with the increased personal and national debts (which result in an increase in taxation), one can see why the masses across the civilized world struggle to make ends meet. Indeed, the government-sponsored fractional reserve banking (FRB) system allows banks to partner with the central bank to create the majority of society’s money out of thin air. That’s correct, the FRB system permits banks to loan money into existence while the borrower must pay this fiat loan back with money he must earn through production.

In essence, artificial dollars are created without any real production and then loaned to people who must pay back the loan with interest from real production. Absurdly, the FRB system allows banks to create fake units of exchange that must be paid back by the borrower with real units of exchange plus interest. This is why the FRB system is the root of the new matrix of control and why the Financial Matrix is the most effective form of elites control ever developed. Moreover, the crony-capitalistic FRB system sets the low-interest rates which create the boom/bust cycle plaguing modern society. And, to add insult to injury, once the FRB system fosters the predictable boom/bust cycle, the boom is credited to the ingenious money controllers while the bust is blamed on the free markets. Apparently, its a loaded game of heads and tails where heads means the elites win and tails means the masses lose!

You can find links to the previous Financial Matrix articles here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

 

Orrin Woodward, Morpheus and the Financial Matrix Part 1

Movie fans will love Orrin Woodard's latest comparison of the current worldwide financial plight to the 1999 movie, The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburne.  After reading this article, you will be compelled to choose one of two paths:  (1) to ignore the truth and embrace the financial matrix, or (2) to fight to free yourself from it.  The choice is yours.

Here is a snippet from the full article:

People are waking up to the fact that the Financial Matrix is real. Debt is draining the productivity of all workers from ditch-diggers to doctors because modern society’s money supply is fueled by debt. Indeed, over 70% of the USA money supply is created by housing market mortgages. In other words, if every mortgage was paid off, 70% of the money supply would disappear, literally wiped out when house is owned outright. In the 1950’s the equity in houses in the USA was around 80%, now it’s less than 30%. This means that 50% of the value of all houses in the USA has been siphoned off in the last 60 years!

The Financial Matrix, in a word, is performing exactly as planned. The more people go into debt, the more money is created. Thus, the State and Big Bankers, using Keynesian logic, have wrongly concluded that debt is not only great for bank profits, but also the economy since it stimulates money production. Unfortunately, this economic canard (that more dollars leads to increased wealth) has a long life and only dies with society dies through the predictable boom/bust cycle. The State and Big Banks profit at society’s (the people’s) expense. 

Thankfully, however, reader is waking up to this reality. For just like Neo in the movie The Matrix, he is searching for the answers to why so many people are so far in debt:

Morpheus : I imagine that right now you’re feeling a bit like Alice… Tumbling down the rabbit hole? Hmm?

Neo : You….could say that.

Morpheus : I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees, because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth…. Do you believe in fate, Neo?

Neo : No.

Morpheus : Why?

Neo : Because I don’t like the idea that I’m not in control of my own life.

Morpheus : I know… exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain. But you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there…like a splinter in you’re mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I’m talking about?

Neo : The Matrix?

Morpheus : Do you want to know…. what it is….? (Neo nods yes) The Matrix is everywhere. It’s all around us, even in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to work, when you pay your taxes. The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth.

Neo : What truth?

Morpheus : That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison…for your mind….Unfortunately, no one can be… told what the Matrix is… you have to see it for yourself.

What is the Financial Matrix?

I can answer no better than Morpheus answered (with just a few words added) it in the movie The Matrix:

The (Financial) Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around. What do you see? Business people, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the (debt) system, that they will fight to protect it.

 

Link to read the full article-->

 

American Income Tax

On his blog, Guinness World Record holder Orrin Woodward shared some of his thoughts on the American Income Tax system. LIFE Leadership continues to set the pace for research into the 8F's of life. Do you believe the Income Tax system is fair and equitable? 

USA Income Tax Amendment

Income tax has proven to be the goose that lays the golden eggs for government. Although all governments, even those performing its limited and delegated role, need constant funding, the creation of income tax has led to the unlimited State. Indeed, expecting a limited-government to restrain itself when it has been handed the power to tax the people’s income indiscriminately is like expecting the local drunkard to restrain his drinking when he has a free pass for unlimited drinks from the local brewery. It cannot be emphasized enough that power is an insatiable drug and money is its means of purchase. Hence, any government given a practical unlimited ability to tax (restrained only by society’s rebellion or destruction) will use this power over the purse to build State Power by taxing Social Power. The State’s view of society is akin to a the shepherd over his sheep, namely, seeking to shear them as close as possible without slaughtering them. Montesquieu recognized the State and Social Power and Social symbiotic relationship when he wrote:

The revenues of the state are a portion of that each subject gives of his property in order to secure or to have agreeable enjoyment of the remainder. To fix these revenues in a proper manner, regard should be had both to the necessities of the state and those of the subject. The real wants of the people ought never to give way to the imaginary wants of the state. Imaginary wants are those which flow from the passions, and from the weakness of the governors, from the charms of an extraordinary project, from the distempered desire of vain glory and from a certain impotency of mind incapable of withstanding the attacks of fancy. Often has it happened that minsters of a restless disposition, have imagined that the wants of the state were those of their own little ignoble souls.

The State and society, however, have had an ongoing dispute over the definition appropriate, equitable, and just levels of taxation. Indeed, when John Marshall wrote, “the power to tax is the power to destroy”, he articulated why limiting government’s ability to tax is just as important as limiting as its sphere of operation. In fact, the only proven method for limiting the State has been by limiting its funds. For anytime the funds are available to do so, government’s “force hammer,” has routinely usurped its delegated boundary to becomes the exploiters agent of injustice. Accordingly, if society intends to enjoy its inalienable rights, it must minimize the level of taxation to a limited and equitable amount that permits the government to perform its delegated role. Anything above this minimum amount is dangerous to the inalienable rights of society’s members since government will seek to use these funds to interfere with the SDS. Unhappily, few societies have successfully walked this tightrope and thus why the FLD has historically thrived under government taxation schemes. Taxation has typically been used by the rulers to optimize their profits and power by providing special deals for the few funded by increased taxation upon the many. Tax historian Charles Adams wrote:

A government that taxes excessively is like a spouse that engages in adultery. Its destructiveness is usually not apparent until it is too late. . . A society can best be evaluated by examining who is taxed, what is taxed, and how taxes are assessed, collected, and spent. Those in control of the political process invariably bear lighter tax burdens than those on the outside. . . Taxes are forced exactions. The loss of money through taxation often enrages people and drives them to revolt. Governments, therefore, must face their tax management with the utmost prudence and wisdom. . . A government that shackles its people with grossly inequitable tax laws and despotic enforcement practices loses all moral persuasion with respect to compliance, and can hardly complain if its taxpayers resort to all kinds of schemes to protect themselves . . . The ethics then, of society’s tax policy should develop from two moral maxims: First, it is the duty  – the first duty – of every government to develop just and sound revenue systems. . . Second, it is the duty of every person to pay his (or her) fair share of the costs of maintaining the government that serves and protects them. 

Regrettably, the history of taxation reveals the inability of those in power to lightly shear society’s sheep. As the tax rates increase, the shearing transforms into slaughter as the the people are plundered mercilessly. Moreover, the increased taxes rob the people of the capital needed to grow the SDS. As a result, societal growth slows before it begins its inevitable decline. Although people can endure injustices for extended periods of time, they will not tolerate an unjust tax system indefinitely. If the FLD continues to expand within the tax system, then evasion, exile, and rebellion become the potential paths of action. But when the rebellion against the State’s oppression reaches a certain point, the SDS collapses as either chaos or coercion overthrows societal concord.

Monetary Manipulation

Leadership is about trust. Therefore, when the State manipulates the money supply, it violates the trust of society's members. The goal of LIFE Leadership is to instill the proper principles to restore trust in society and the State. Recently, Orrin Woodward has written two books that would help to restore trust - And Justice For All and The Leadership Train. Below is an article Orrin wrote on debasement of the money supply. 

Debasement Leads to Inflation

German Hyper-Inflation

Nonetheless, this gain to the state’s coffers is no free lunch; rather, society pays in full for the state’s abuse of its powers. For debasement leads to a hidden tax on society’s members known as inflation. Society’s members recognize that prices are rising, but cannot identify its true cause. Ignobly, the government, instead of ensuring justice through protecting society against fraud and counterfeiters, has entered the counterfeiting business to benefit the ruling elite. To be sure, the government hammers anyone else attempting to benefit at society’s expense through the printing of fake dollars that cause inflation within society. Evidently, however, this aggressive government action is less about ensuring justice and more about ensuring the exclusive rights on the systematic counterfeiting fraud. Furthermore, since inflation is a disguised tax upon society, it is one of the safest methods of exploitation. Rothbard observed:

Direct, overt taxation raises hackles and can cause revolution; inflationary increases of the money supply can fool the public— its victims—for centuries. Only when its paper money has been accepted for a long while is the government ready to take the final inflationary step: making it irredeemable, cutting the link with the gold. After calling its dollar bills equivalent to 1/20 gold ounce for many years, and having built up the customary usage of the paper dollar as money, the government can then boldly and brazenly sever the link with gold, and then simply start referring to the dollar bill as money itself. Gold then becomes a mere commodity, and the only money is paper tickets issued by the government. The gold standard has become an arbitrary fiat standard. The government, of course, is now in seventh heaven. So long as paper money was redeemable in gold, the government had to be careful how many dollars it printed. If, for example, the government has a stock of $30 billion in gold, and keeps issuing more paper dollars redeemable in that gold, at a certain point, the public might start getting worried and call upon the government for redemption. If it wants to stay on the gold standard, the embarrassed government might have to contract the number of dollars in circulation: by spending less than it receives, and buying back and burning the paper notes. No government wants to do anything like that.

Manipulation of Money Supply

Simply stated, inflation, through society’s ignorance, allows exploiters to bilk society with little resistance. Governments, in effect, as they transform into powerful states, promote monetary sophisms to disguise its scheme of systematic exploitation of the nation’s money supply. Indeed, without public acceptance of the state’s control of the monetary system the Five Laws of Decline would be severely limited. Unfortunately, however, most of society’s members remain ignorant of monetary matters, leaving them susceptible to state propaganda. For the state and its servants argue that, since all production is good and increases wealth, the state must increase the money supply to increase wealth in society. The fallacy, however, in this argument is, unlike all other consumer goods, money is not used up in the consumption or production process. True, it is indispensable to both steps, but only as a medium of exchange for goods and services. To quote Rothbard one more time:

Unlike consumer or capital goods, we cannot say that the more money in circulation the better. In fact, since money only performs an exchange function, we can assert with the Ricardians and with Ludwig von Mises that any supply of money will be equally optimal with any other. In short, it doesn’t matter what the money supply may be; every M will be just as good as any other for performing its cash balance exchange function.

Society, in other words, can practically use any stable non-manipulated money supply level to use in its role as a medium of exchange for all other goods and services; however, the exploiters resist this economic truth for they cannot manipulate a money supply operating within free market environment. Accordingly, the state utilizes all the means at its disposal to gain control of a nation’s money thus ensuring its ability to exploit society. Interestingly, American President James Garfield emphasized the FLD risk when the state’s “monopoly of force” controlled the money supply when he declared, “He who controls the money supply of a nation controls the nation.” Garfield understood that, since money is the lifeblood of the entire economy, when the state is given control of the economy’s blood, it controls its life. For if the money supply can be expanded and contracted at will, the state can bankrupt any person, business, or political rival it chooses. Perhaps the simplest way to clear the fog on the false reasoning of financial elites is to ask: in what other field would it be proper for government to cartelize the entire field and claim the procedure is for society’s benefit?

For instance, if a monopoly was delegated complete control over car manufacturing in the USA, would that improve or hinder the quality, quantity, and price of future cars? Historically, when competition is reduced, so is the quality. In fact the only thing that increases is the price. All of this, in short, because the monopoly has no competitors for customers to flock to when the entity is unresponsive to their needs. However, if monopolies and cartels are damaging to the Six Duties of Society in every other field, why does the state/financial elites insist on making an exception when it comes to banking and the money supply? Indeed, because the money supply is used for all other businesses transactions within society, the monopoly control over the monetary policy indirectly allows one to control all other economic activities. This is summum bonum for exploiters, allowing them to profit through foreknowledge of the inflation and deflation cycles under their control. In fact, for society to remain free, there is no greater assignment for the people than to ensure the FLD do not infect the nation’s money supply. Paradoxically, however, in no area of society is the state given a freer reign than in the nation’s money supply. In consequence, since men are not angels, the FLD temptation to expropriate the wealth of society is too great for the state’s rulers to resist.

George Guzzardo Reviews And Justice For All

George Guzzardo has done an excellent review of NY Times Bestseller Orrin Woodward's new book And Justice For All.  LIFE Leadership continues to produce world-class content that is reaching into the corporate world and driving change. 

Best selling author Orrin Woodward has released his most profound book 'And Justice For All' revealing his depth of insight about what challenges there are to the freedom of western civilization and how to preserve it. In addition LIFE Leadership strives to provide cutting edge information through its  'Freedom’ subscriptions where we can learn lessons of timeless principles. This combination of authors and audios are the most significant tools available for those who take the preservation of freedom seriously.

Problems and answers to those problems are revealed at a new level of depth in his book, 'And Justice For All'.  Best selling author, Orrin Woodward describes three historical ways exploiters have plundered freedom from people:

1. Slavery
2. Plunder of Private Property
3. Control of the Monetary System

Orrin writes about what most people inherently know. People, however, are not sure how to explain why they, their friends, their family, and members of their community are under financial stress from the economy. They don’t realize that they have become slaves to the monetary system. This has come about as exploiters have taken control of monetary policies. Orrin describes, “The central banking system’s centralized planning of the money supply by directly controlling the monetary system…” “The central banks create money out of thin air electronically, and this new money is then loaned to people who buy nonimaginary items such as cars, houses, and entertainments. In effect, the state has permitted the centralized banks to have the Five Laws of Decline (FLD) sweetheart of a deal of the millennium, since they receive interest on fake money that must be paid for by the real productive efforts of society’s members. Although the methods of exploitation are certainly less direct now than in the past, they are much more effective because they are less detectable.”

Control of the monetary system does not come about without most of our society’s citizens feeling powerless to make a difference. When studying the Cycles of Civilization we see that the progressive symptoms of a society in decline include: complacency, apathy, dependency, and bondage. Which one of those behaviors do you see prevailing throughout our society today?  The media feeds the feeling of powerlessness. Noam Chomsky explained it, “It is possible to regiment the public mind every bit as much as an army regiments their bodies… These new techniques of regimentation of minds… We can do it now because we have these new techniques.” Orrin describes, “The number of corporations controlling the media dropped – from twenty – nine firms in 1987, twenty – three in 1990, and fourteen in 1992 to ten in 1997 and only six today! In other words, six corporations create, print, and deliver the “official” news that the US public consumes.” 

“Gresham’s Law, to sum up, explains how and why independent thinkers have been driven from the political arena and replaced by obedient servants who follow party mandates.” “Interestingly, through controlling the political parties, media sources, and educational institutions, the state (with its cronies) has poured out copious amounts of monetary misinformation into society. The reason, of course, is to thoroughly confuse the exploited masses while discrediting those who detect the deceit.”

Why do I quote how Orrin describes how thoroughly the Five Laws of Decline have crept into our society and are subtly stealing our freedoms? Because, if we do not become aware and know how to respond, the FLD will steel not only our freedoms, but, the freedoms of our future generations. He does not leave us hanging as he describes two critical components of the Six Duties of Society (SDS) that are required to preserve freedom.  In the forward of the book, constitutional specialist Dr. Gregory J. Brannon quotes Thomas Jefferson, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” First we must recognize what was written in the ‘Declaration of Independence’, “All men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” People are not ants!

Two qualities of the SDS that demonstrate our unalienable Rights are the ability to dream and the ability to distinguish our talents. These two qualities define what is missing in our society and if we accept responsibility we will restore our freedom. These are qualities that define a leader.  The dream allows people to innovate and create. “They set goals, and make plans.” “Without dreams, people quickly lose hope for the future.” “Success begins with the end in mind.” Leadership expert John Maxwell writes about the dream:

1. Dare to dream: Have a dream to do something bigger than yourself.
2. Prepare the dream: Do your homework; be ready when the opportunity comes.
3. Wear the dream: Do it.
4. Share the dream: Make others a part of the dream, and it will become even greater than you had hoped.

Orrin writes about distinction, “Indeed, every society has distinctions, but if there are rewards for wrong behavior (“political means’ rather than “economic means’), the human spirit is damaged. Distinctions, then, must be based upon performance.”

The ultimate ability to dream and create distinction comes from two leadership qualities, character and courage. The ability to stand on one’s principles and the ability to have the courage to perform are what distinguish a leader’s influence.

Who do you know who is hurting financially as a result of financial manipulation or lack of financial intelligence? Who do know who is currently going through some type of relationship conflict? Who do you know who has given up hope? Who do you know who is living paycheck to paycheck or social security check to social security check? To answer these problems we must learn to think differently about the problems that we are facing. Most of all we must act on our new thinking. Instead of thinking about your rights and what you deserve, maybe it’s time to start thinking about your duty and the freedoms you must preserve. Next time you look into an infant’s eyes ask yourself what kind of world that will be left to the next generation? Will you have the character and courage to perform your duty to preserve those freedoms? God Bless, George Guzzardo

John Law: Forerunner of the Federal Reserve?

After reading this blog post from Orrin Woodward, I felt John Law was ideologically aligned with the Federal Reserve of modern America. Both felt they could inflate themselves out of every problem. LIFE Leadership teaches a different path of personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and long-term focus. There are no short-cuts to true success and every minute spent looking for a short-cut is one less minute of compounding the right actions, thinking, and attitude. Here is Orrin's article.

John Law has been called a knave, fool, and an evil genius. Probably all are true in some sense, but probably most accurately, he is another person who sought utopia in something for nothing (SFN). Printing money is not the same as producing goods. Somehow, however, the lure of SFN, continues tempting governments to print paper and call it real value by government fiat. Simply stated, this results in a devaluing of all the money in the system, making every productive citizen a loser by the government’s unconscionable actions. Nonetheless, inflationary policies, like printing fiat money along with the newer methods involving digits on the computer screen, continue to bilk billions from hard-working Americans.

Most Americans know little about the underlying principles of inflation, but intuitively, they wonder why they work harder every year and yet seem to get further behind. In an effort to educate North America on the evils of inflation, I will share a portion of an article from Adam Hamilton. This article wonderfully explains one of the best documented cases of inflation on record – John Law and France in the 18th century. To truly create a LeaderShift, we must learn what the State is doing to our money, economy, and freedoms. LIFE Leadership is monthly providing CDs, books, and seminars to educate North Americans on their history, liberties, and the need for leadership.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward: LIFE Leadership

There are many fabulous examples of this phenomenon throughout history, including Germany after the First World War.  One of the most entertaining ones surrounds the British rogue John Law in the early 1700s.  John Law was forced to flee England in order to avoid prosecution for some alleged crimes.  He traveled around Europe and eventually settled in France, where his powerful personality, incredible mind, and command presence ultimately brought him to the attention of the King of France.

Law convinced the King and the French monetary authorities that in order to have a perpetual business boom, all they needed to do was print enough fiat currency so that business was assured of having access to the capital it needed.  Law stated that a stable gold-backed currency, which by its very nature stops meddlesome government bureaucrats from living beyond their means, was too archaic and far inferior to his new fiat currency theme.  He assured the French ruling class that because the government would print money when more was needed and buy it back when there was a surplus of money, that there would not be inflation and business would have the optimum amount of capital to thrive.  Unfortunately, the French powers that be bought into Law’s inflationist plan and executed the necessary monetary policy to make it happen.

Initially, Law’s plan seemed to be working brilliantly.  In the 1720s, France experienced an incredible boom as vast amounts of new fiat capital flowed into the existing markets.  Prosperity seemed to be everywhere, and the French stock market was exploding.  Soon, ordinary folks were quitting their jobs to hang out on the street where securities were traded and they became day traders.  Charles Mackay reports in his 1841 magnum opus “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” that one deformed hunch-backed man made large amounts of money renting out his slumped back as a mobile writing table for the frenzied stock jobbers buying and selling French equities on the street!  The wild stories that came out of this particular mania are endlessly fascinating!

John Law became the most famous and loved man in France, accruing enormous wealth for himself.

He then convinced the French government to join him in forming a company to develop the fabled wealth of the Mississippi River, of which the French controlled the gateway with their colony of New Orleans.  The Mississippi company was floated and everyone in France wanted to own shares of this hot new IPO.  They were convinced that they would be able to retire in a year or two because of the legendary wealth that the Mississippi company would generate.  Like hungry sharks boiling around a wounded whale, the people of France started a bidding war that propelled the Mississippi company stock and other French equities to dazzling heights.

Of course, since France was printing inherently worthless fiat money with both hands, the prices of everything in France were rising dramatically.  Gresham’s Law, the timeless axiom that bad money drives good money out of circulation, came into full effect.  Gold coins were hoarded and smuggled out of France, and paper fiat currency was spent as rapidly as it was received.  Eventually the gold hemorrhage became so bad that the French government, on John Law’s advice, outlawed gold.

In the meantime, like all exponential parabolic manias, the French bubble soon collapsed.  The aftermath of the disastrous inflationary policy of creating money out of nothing was brutal, and the Mississippi Scheme is one of the most widely studied speculative manias and bubbles in all of history.  The country of France and the French people bore the consequences of this monetary inflationary nightmare for decades, and some would argue France has never regained the prominence it had before the greatest inflationist of all time, John Law, took the reigns.

The man whom kings used to wait to consult was widely known as the “eldest son of Satan” in France after the bitter fruit of rampant fiat monetary expansion became apparent.  Provocatively, reading accounts of the Mississippi Mania in France and its sister South Sea Bubble in England, which arose at the same time, is eerie in that the parallels with the US NASDAQ tech bubble of early last year are startling and profound.  The lessons of history are never learned by governments and they continually repeat these same mistakes.

Liberty or Leviathan

Here is an article from Orrin Woodward's archive that explains the reason for his, and Oliver DeMille's book LeaderShift. This is a right/left issue, this a concerned citizens from both sides of the aisle who are witnessing North American freedoms dissipate. Something must be done and both Orrin and Oliver do not believe Washington can fix themselves. Instead the people must launch a leadershift and reclaim responsibility for our government just as the founders expressed in "We the people . . . " 

In one corner we have the Right. They claim that America needs a huge military/industrial complex to protect our country. Strangely, in order to do so, it is claimed that it requires military personnel in a hundred plus countries and military bases in 63 of them! Isn’t this a costly endeavor when a nation is going broke? In addition, the military complex provides gun-boat diplomacy (open your markets or else) for large corporations to sell merchandise protected by the military paid for by the shrinking middle class.

In the other corner is the Left. They claim that America needs a bigger government to regulate those greedy capitalist who are exploiting the people. Although I agree with the assessment, the answer – more government power – only allows the greedy business people to buy the greedy government, thus the power to control their markets. Plus the bigger government requires even more tax dollars (similar to the Right and military complex), leaving the citizens reduced to mere serfs at the beck and call of numerous regulations.

What if both the Right and Left were a Hegelian maneuver of thesis, anti-thesis, leading to the inevitable synthesis of larger State power and control, regardless of which side wins an election? What if, in other words, the Right/Left dichotomy isn’t even the real battleground? America was founded on limited government bound by the Constitution to ensure the beast never escapes it clearly delineated powers. Oh how far we have traveled from this ideal.

Today, whether one votes Right or votes Left, what a person actually votes for is less freedom and more Government/Big Business/Banker control. Until the citizens change the framework of the debate for Right/Left to Freedom/Tyranny, nothing will change. Asking money-hungry Government (it takes money to get elected) to regulate money-hungry Big Business is like asking Al Capone to regulate prohibition. History has provided endless examples of the illicit partnering of Big Business and Big Government to feather their nest at the expense of the citizen’s freedoms and pocketbooks – Federal Reserve, Income Tax, Railroads, Savings & Loans, etc.

Let’s change the debate this electoral season. Let’s start asking our candidates how they intend to reduce Big Government. By reducing Big Government, it will automatically reduce the ability of Big Business to buy the power needed to set up monopolies, thus ensuring true free enterprise for the benefit of all citizens. Free enterprise is the only system where the consumer has the choice to vote with his money and support or withhold these if not happy.

Why give government this control when they have proven repeatedly they are incapable of withstanding the bribery of Big Business? Let’s put the power back in the citizens hands where it belongs. Idealist? Maybe, but what is the point of getting involved unless we have ideals to shoot for? Time is short, America cannot continue on its present path of fiscal insanity, power lust, and ethical wasteland forever.  What part will you play in the restoration of the American Dream?

As of today, I am officially no longer a Republican or a Democrat. I am now going under the long forgotten term called American. I refuse to allow our political pundits to divide us any longer. Americans must unite around freedom not fight around force. In my opinion, each citizen has a moral responsibility to stop dividing between the false dichotomy of Right/Left and start uniting around the true division of Freedom or Tyranny. I choose Freedom, how about you? Sincerely, Orrin Woodward

Social Security or Insecurity?

Orrin Woodward reads and studies many different fields. Indeed, sitting down with Orrin can lead to discussions in many different fields. For instance, this article on social security leaves me wondering how he finds the time to research all of this? Nonetheless, subject after subject is studied and shared in a manner that a person can learn. Americans should be concerned about the unfunded deficits and the LIFE Business is an educational businesses focused on informing America in the 8F's of life - Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Freedom, Fun, Friends, and Following. Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward have developed a one of a kind model with LIFE. Here is Orrin's post.

When I was eighteen, I had, in one day, two life changing experiences, both coming on my first day of work.  One for good, the other, not so good.  All of the new co-op students for AC Spark Plug, then a division of GM, gathered around a long wooden table in a conference room, to learn of their roles and responsibilities.  It was at this meeting that I first met Chris Brady, my good friend and business partner.  This was the good life changing event, as Chris and I have partnered in business over the last fifteen years, producing results and memories that will last a lifetime.  I will save my Brady stories for another time, mainly, because I want to discuss the other life altering experience that day.  I was an A section student at GMI-EMI (now Kettering), so I went to school during the summer while B section students worked in the summer, with each section rotating between work and school every twelve weeks.  Because I was A section, I was only at work one day that summer for my initiation, meaning AC had to cut a check for that day before I headed to school the following Monday.  You can imagine my anticipation, after leaving work, making my way to my rusty Chevette, when opening my first ever paycheck.  I made a whopping sixty-four dollars minus,  Federal withholding, Michigan State withholding, Flint City witholding, and FICA, leaving a grand total of around forty dollars.  I couldn’t believe the taxes taken from my check, over one third of my check vanished, but still a nice amount for a broke eighteen year old.  I quickly reviewed the taxes and acknowledged some legitimacy (the tax, not the amount) for the Federal, State, and City, but what is this FICA (Social Security)?  No one told me about any FICA tax, exactly what is FICA Tax?  I raced home to talk to my financial guru, my mom,  sharing with her my concern at this extra tax.  Laughing at my ignorance, she shared with me that our benevolent government withholds a certain amount of money from your paycheck, planning to take care of you when you retire.  “But I don’t need the government to take care of me when I retire,” I emphatically stated, “I’m going in there and telling them to stop withholding that FICA tax.”  My mother chuckled at me, like she has many times over the years, figuring I would have to learn this truth the hard way.

Imagine how strange I felt, realizing for the first time, that the State can help itself to my paycheck, not just for protection of my life, liberty, and property, but also to provide nanny services in my retirement years.  I appreciate the offer Mr. State, but I will take care of myself through my own savings plan; sadly, that isn’t an option as we are forced to save our money with the State.  Always the curious one, I asked around, seeking wisdom from some of my older co-workers, learning that employees and employers both pay half the bill, totalling over 12.5% of a employee’s income.  What I learned, that government can take our money, becoming a mandatory bank for us, didn’t sound like freedom as I understood the term.  But like most eighteen year olds, my mind quickly lost focused, conveniently forgetting about my lost freedoms, reassuring myself that I could trust the Federal government to save my money; after all, if you can’t trust your own government, the one assigned to protect our life, liberty and property, who can you trust?
What’s most surprising to me, looking at our Social Security system, isn’t its upcoming bankruptcy, nor its over 12% tax on every incomes, but the curious lack of concern by the American citizens.  Look at the latest statistics from the Mark Crovelli, writing for Mises Institute, on our American Social Security system.

For those people not gifted with accounting ESP like Lindorff, Social Security’s unfunded liabilities are conservatively estimated to be around $17.5 trillion. Oh yeah, and that “trust fund” that Lindorff mentions as if it were really overflowing with saved money — all the money has already been spent by Congress. As you can see, the numbers are not exactly as rosy as Lindorff’s ESP has led him to believe.
What is really interesting is that even while Lindorff is trying to make the case that Social Security’s fiscal condition is not all that serious, he concedes that Social Security will indeed go bankrupt this year. He writes:

So with beneficiaries rising faster than anticipated, and the total national payroll in sharp decline, of course things have gone negative for Social Security earlier than originally anticipated.

One would think that an institution going “negative” (i.e., bankrupt) is a sign that there is something fundamentally flawed with it. For Lindorff, however, bankruptcy is nothing to get ourselves worked up about, especially since the bankruptcy is only caused by the demographic problem posed by the baby boomers.

Lindorff thinks the boomers are only a “demographic wave that will eventually pass.” He’s right — we only have around 30 more years until the “wave” passes. Thirty years of bankruptcy is nothing that need trouble us!

Now, let’s see if we can understand these figures.  The unfunded liabilities is $17.5 trillion, that’s a boat load of money, even if your last name is Buffett or Gates, certainly enough to bankrupt the 100 wealthiest Americans with plenty of room to spare.  The tax money, taken from us against our will allegedly for our own good, because it was assumed government would be more responsible than its citizens, saving it for us until we retired, is missing in action.  Politicians transferred the money out of Social Security into other projects, violating our trust and their fiduciary responsibility, exhausting themselves in an orgy of spending, leaving a huge IOU to unsuspecting Americans.  The problem, as I see it, is our government has proven incapable of balancing the budget with the Social Security surplus; how will they balance the budget and fund Social Security when there is no surplus?  Can anyone say higher taxes or inflation?  I heard recently, that Social Security is now paying out more in benefits than its receiving in taxes; simply put, this means it’s time for us to reap what we the State has sown. Believing Americans, from all regions of the United States, allowed the federal government to go beyond its normal responsibilities, surrendering their money to FICA,  assuming their savings is secure.    Every year, for approximately the next 30 years, the numbers will get worse, accumulating more debt as baby boomers retire faster than the younger generations enter the workforce.  Remember,   currently, the State relies on the tax from the workers to pay the benefits of the non-workers.  If the pool of workers reduces while the pool of non-workers increases, exactly the condition we find ourselves with the Baby Boomer retirements looming, the State is in trouble.  The Social Security system is a classic example of a Ponzi scheme, where people get paid only if new people join fast enough to compensate existing beneficiaries.  If new members do not appear, the system collapses. Population growth, not to mention the economic conditions, are not cooperating with the needed tax revenues to fund.  By reviewing the State’s results, it’s clear to me, that Social Security isn’t going to be social and it certainly isn’t secure.

After hearing the dismal record of government involvement in Social Security, one can only pray for leaders to arise and address the root causes.  America is suffering a courage crisis at the highest leadership levels.  It’s time for government to stop trimming the leaves, calling this change; instead, start pulling out the failed government bureaucracies root and branch.  Leaders in the business community, that want to serve their customers, not partner with the State, need the freedom to do so.  Only production can generate real GNP and job growth, hiring more government employees only means higher taxes for the few courageous enough to still produce.   Perhaps the biggest lesson learned in the Social Security mess is that government is the wrong place to look for retirement planning.  We can make politicians our scapegoat, but the system rewards the wrong behaviors; changing politicians will do nothing, until we change what we ask government to do.  Of course the politicians, tempted by potential votes, increased the Social Security benefits; of course the politicians, enticed by the “free money” surplus, spent it all, writing IOU’s that come due after they leave office.  Social Security is in shambles, whether the government inflates its way or taxes its way out of the mess is the only question. We can complain about how poorly the Social Security system has been managed, but government wasn’t designed to manage our affairs, placing the responsibility upon citizens to clearly define and limit government’s roles.  Politicians, by their nature, cannot think long term, having to stand for re-election every two, four or six years; when you consider that Americans live over seventy years on average, making life a long-term project, even retirement happening after thirty or more years, you quickly see the fallacy of our short term government involved in our long term lives.  This is another example of the “Destruction of the Commons”, the politicians choosing their personal short term “good” creating the public’s long term bad.  A simple way to remove the risk of “Destruction of the Commons” is to privatize, similar to what the airlines did in the early 1980′s, ensuring there is no commons to destroy.  Government has always been a hot bed for short term fixes, pushing the long term consequences off into the future, a future that never comes for them, since they are out of office, being replaced by others who quickly learn the rules of the political game.

The problem, even though accurately defined and easily predicted, is not simply solved.  Because of the politics associated with Social Security, every electable politician is afraid to touch this with a ten foot pole, assuring the problem isn’t addressed, passing the buck into the endless future.  By studying the failure of Social Security, learning the “Destruction of the Commons” principles, seeing the political take over from the economic any field government enters, one becomes certain of the proper course, keeping government out of people’s affairs.  Americans, if we include colonial times, without the help from government, saving their own money and relying on family and friends, survived for 250 years without a Social Security system. Government, it seems, by offering to care for us in retirement, taxed our incomes, reduced our savings, forced us to hope in government’s solvency, a hope perpetually deferred.   I have mentioned only one area of government intervention, but there are plenty of others to choose from.  Each of the areas have their own particular facts, but all have the same underlying failure modes – “Destruction of the Commons.”   Without looking at Public Schools, Medicaid, Federal Housing Aid and many more, don’t we already have enough knowledge to know that less government intervention is better?  Is anyone truly going to argue that a $17.5 trillion deficit in one program is a success? With that said, is it really in our best interest to sacrifice our Health Care system on the State altars?  You don’t have to be a prophet to see the effects of the “Destruction of the Commons” in the Health field, offering slower services, less doctors, but always the higher taxes as our reward for trusting in the State.  As a leader, I learned a long time ago not to listen to what a person or organization says.  Instead, I learned to watch what they did and the results they achieved.  The rhetoric out of Washington may tickle the ears, but it empties the pocketbook.  We can and must do better.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward



Holger Spiewak: Freedom

Holger Spiewak has become one of the best leaders in the LIFE Business. Originally from Germany, Holger is an American because he believes in freedom. Orrin Woodward, Chris Brady and Bill Lewis have witnessed Holger develop into a people person even though he started with poor skills as a logically oriented engineer. Dreams come true for those willing to pursue it. Are you pursuing yours with the freedoms we have? Here is Holger's article.

This is Holger Spiewak. Today, I would like to take a few minutes and talk about the subject of FREEDOM. In working with Orrin Woodward for over 12 years now I have certainly gained a whole new perspective on Freedom.

Thomas Paine is quoted to have said,

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon it’s goods; and it should be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should be highly rated.”

For a long time of my life I was certainly swimming along with the stream of the vast majority of people that took the freedoms that I have been blessed with for granted. Even though, I served in the German Air Force for 2 years and felt that at least to a small extend I was “fighting with NATO against the evil empire”, I certainly had no appreciation of my freedoms and the price that somebody had to pay for me to enjoy them. Growing up in a FREE Germany was certainly nice. Meeting a close family friend, Dan Quinn, who had just started his first assignment as an officer in the U.S. Air Force in Germany in 1983 started me on a path the would eventually lead me to America in 1993.

America, Land of the free, home of the brave. “Amerika, das Land der unbegrenzten Moeglichkeiten”, as we say in Germany, in English, “America, the land of unlimited possibilities”. Similar statements are known in different countries throughout the world, basically, stating the same sentiment. So, one has to ask, WHY is America so “free”? Obviously, we can take that into many directions, starting with the fact that those that came to America from the old world were looking to escape tyranny and oppression. The generations following had to endure many hardships and fight for freedom, settling the West, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II. In all these endeavors, many Americans sacrificed dearly, many gave their lives in the pursuit of freedom. In the beginning, for America’s freedom but eventually, which is even more amazing, for my freedom. Who knows how Germany during my childhood would have looked like had Hitler won the war. Likely I would have been “trained” in the Hitler youth about the “great freedoms” that come with living under a fascist regime. Thanks, but “no, thanks!!”

The point is that freedom is not free. Freedom has won those battles but the war is still going on. The enemy is no longer King George, Slavery, or Adolf Hitler, the enemy is… Well, who is it?!?

In my eyes, there is a lot of forces now that are battling a war of ideas. A war behind the scenes, that most people are not aware of. These forces are working on taking our freedoms away one by one, little by little. And what do most people do about that? Play computer games, watch more football, entertain more, turn the other way, because, who cares about the future generations? I don’t care if my grandkids and their kids enjoy the same freedoms I have as long as I am happy… Really?!? Is that how we feel? Of course not. But that is how we act. For a long time of my life, I have acted that way, done my share of playing computer games and wasted my life away being entertained. I believe it was the cartoon character POGO who once said, “We have met the enemy and he is US!”, I say, EXACTLY!!! After reading the excellent book FREEDOM SHIFT, by Oliver DeMille, Founder of the Center for Social Leadership (http://www.thesocialleader.com/), which I obtained through the LIFE materials, I realize that as long as I remain a passive bystander and don’t actively get involved to fight for freedom, I AM an accomplice of the enemy, I AM the enemy!!! However, I can do something in the fight for FREEDOM. I can turn off my computer games, turn off the TV, sacrifice some entertainment and educate myself in what it will take to turn the tide around and do something about it. And, hopefully, if enough of us are willing to change and fight for freedom, our grandkids and the generations following will have a chance to enjoy the freedoms that so many people today take for granted.

Is there anybody else out there willing to sacrifice for freedom?!? Because,

“I’m gonna go pick a fight.” -William Wallace in Braveheart

“FREEDOM!!!”

Holger

Andrew Jackson: Courageous Freedom Fighter

Here is a guest post from Orrin Woodward! He is working on a study of Andrew Jackson's "Battle against the Bank." Jackson was mentally and physically tough, kind of a forerunner to the Mental Fitness Challenge program. :) Here is a preview:

Andrew Jackson, right or wrong, was always a man of strong convictions. He stood by his libertarian principles even when it hurt him politically to do so. It takes courage to stand by one’s convictions, especially when a person is offered peace and financial rewards to surrender them. Courage isn’t the absence of fear; rather, it’s the acknowledgement that one’s principles are bigger than one’s fears, regardless of the consequences. 

In today’s “situational ethics” society, principles are sold out for pragmatism, making courageous stories like Andrew Jackson’s as rare as gold-backed currency. Consequently, much could be learned by the study of Andrew Jackson’s stand against the “moneyed interest” drive to re-charter the Second National Bank. Indeed, through reading Jackson’s battles against the Bank, one yearns to find leaders with similar backbones to break the Federal Reserve monopoly on America’s money. Let’s examine this historic battle between the President Andrew Jackson of the United States of America versus President Nicholas Biddle of the Second National Bank. Several questions come to mind. First, what are the leadership lessons learned from this historic struggle between the statist and anti-statists philosophies of money? Second, how do the lessons from Jackson’s battle apply in today’s battle for monetary freedom?

Jackson resided in the thriving American West, witnessing first hand the dire effects of inflationary banking policies in the western land prices.  Jackson learned the salutary lesson of hard money (gold and silver coins) vs. the prevalent paper based inflationary policies loved by bankers and wealthy merchants.  Inflationary methods allowed banks to print paper, pretending the paper had value, even thought it wasn’t backed by gold or silver.  Without a check on the banks, like requiring banks to submit gold for paper dollars when requested, one can easily see how banks would fall into the trap of printing more paper than could possibly be redeemed on demand.  Profits for banks can increase greatly in the short term by interest collected on nothing more than paper, causing more money to flow into the marketplace which raises the prices of consumer goods as more printed dollars are available.  The splurge of printed money only corrects  itself when consumers become aware of the inflationary policies of banks, quickly requesting gold for their inflated paper dollars before the banks runs out their reserves.  In theory, paper money should be a promissory note, representing gold, but easier to carry on one’s person.  The minute the promissory note is not backed by real value (gold, silver etc), it becomes fraudulent with the bank benefitting by printing monopoly money at the expense of all consumers who now own dollars less valuable than before the fraudulent activity. For example, if we doubled the amount of dollars in circulation today, giving everyone twice as much money as they have currently, each dollar would quickly fall to half of its former value, prices would rise as each person’s dollars bid up the prices in an attempt to purchase the means for living.  Printing money does not produce wealth, but it can benefit the few at the expense of the many, a temptation too lucrative to be left in the hands of government politicians and their wealthy patrons.

When Jackson was elected President of the United States, one of his missions was to end the syndicate of control over America’s money supply by three power hungry groups: foreign interests, big business, and big politicians.  Jackson believed that banks ought to run like any other businesses, having to sink or swim based upon their own business acumen, needing reserves to secure their loans provided.  But when a national bank receives the protection of the federal government to ensure its solvency, this is no longer free enterprise, but a form of fascism, where government and business partner, reducing competition amongst banks, and increasing the cost of the entire system.  It would be similar to all automotive companies agreeing to fix prices on cars, certainly improving the profits for manufacturers, while decreasing the downside risk of the manufacturers, all of this, at the expense of the customers.  The Second National Bank received the deposits of the America, ensuring its solvency, providing a special deal for the bank and its investors at the expense of other banks and all customers. 

Nicholas Biddle, the president of the Second National Bank, was not alarmed initially with Jacksons rhetoric, having heard many politicians boast of drastic changes when entering office only to conform into the system when elected.  But Jackson character was different, his campaign promises before election aligned with his actions afterwards, necessitating a showdown between the President and the money interest behind the Bank.