Food for Thought
August 27, 2009
– Comments (14)
History certainly has in inglorious way of repeating itself, does it not?
I find this quote from Andrew Jackson fascinating in light of current events. If only we voters had demanded leaders of such character, perhaps we may have avoided the ruinous economic path on which we now find our nation.
I was pleased to see that this quote was submitted to the Congressional record recently by one member of Congress in relation to AIG discussions. Fools may recognize the last sentence, which is commonly cited:
"Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time, and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the
bank and annul the charter, I shall ruin 10,000 families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin. Should I let you go on, you will ruin 50,000 families, and that would be my sin. You are a den of vipers and thieves. I have determined to rout you out and, by the Eternal, (bringing his fist down on the table) I will rout you out."
Jackson spoke these words to the Second Bank of the United States, one of our pre-Fed attempts to create a central bank. There is historical precedent, then, for approaching a central bank entity with skepticism and mistrust.
In a separate quote, Jackson forewarns against creating a central bank run by an autonomous corporation the way our Fed is structured, and declares such a structure patently unconstitutional:
"It is maintained by some that the bank is a means of executing the constitutional power “to coin money and regulate the value thereof.” Congress have established a mint to coin money and passed laws to regulate the value thereof. The money so coined, with its value so regulated, and such foreign coins as Congress may adopt are the only currency known to the Constitution. But if they have other power to regulate the currency, it was conferred to be exercised by themselves, and not to be transferred to a corporation. If the bank be established for that purpose, with a charter unalterable without its consent, Congress have parted with their power for a term of years, during which the Constitution is a dead letter. It is neither necessary nor proper to transfer its legislative power to such a bank, and therefore unconstitutional."
Our founding fathers, dear Fools, are rolling in their graves.
I have contacted my elected representatives to demand a full audit of the Fed's activities in response to this crisis. We have a right to know precisely how our economic future has been plundered.
Personally, I would like to see the Federal Reserve abolished entirely, and a return to sound money, but a truly independent audit would be a great start.
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