fiat money

fiat money: money that is useless; is used only as a medium of exchange; money which has no intrinsic value and cannot be redeemed for any commodity, but is made legal tender through government decree. all modern paper currencies are fiat money, as are most modern coins. the value of fiat money depends on the strength of the issuing country's economy. inflation results when a government issues too much fiat money. 

our money is worthless. the only value it has is our dependence on it. 

is it fiat money. no gold/silver. 

if our country ever goes back to the gold standard, maybe our economy wouldn't be inevitably doomed. 

i've discussed earlier that when there is more money in circulation, businesses have to raise prices in order to provide for the increased spending/demand. so when prices are higher, the value of money is lower. therefore, when there is more money in circulation, money looses value. 

since the government is in debt to the federal bank(the federal reserve bank,) it has to issue the people debt(loans) in order to pay for its own debt. 

moment of clarity/doubt

just watched the money banking and federal reserve video. it was clear and direct with info. here's what i learned. 

every major war in history disregarded the gold standard of money and printed paper money to fund the war. Abraham Lincoln was the first to print paper money to fund the civil war. 

to address this problem, powerful bankers, JP Morgan and John D. Rockefeller, wrote the Federal Reserve Act, which would create a more powerful bank to regulate the banks so they couldn't print money whenever they wanted. this was passed by Woodrow Wilson in 1913. 

now the Fed. 

the Federal Reserve System's main purpose is to control the money supply and circulation. its goal is keep the economy stable and allow for prosperous growth. 

in actuality, the Fed prints more money when ever the government wants to borrow that money. the government needs more money in order to fund the wars they engage themselves in. 

so the Fed prints more money and this puts more money in circulation with the economy. with more money in the economy, there is more spending. when there is more spending, there is more demand for goods. so businesses have to raise prices in order to provide for the demand. when prices go up, interest rates go up and this is inflation. 

wars equals inflation. 

also, whenever more money is printed, it looses value. similar to diamonds, if there were more available, it would not be worth as much as it is worth today. 

so the Fed controls the economy by controlling the money supply.  

so how does inflation stop? 

wouldn't the Fed need to put more money in circulation so that the people are able to pay those interest rates? 

if so, then wouldn't the cycle just perpetuate itself over and over?

infographic update

behavior modification

this poster is based on chapter 4 of the secrets of the temple book. i took a quote about interest rates and put that inside the arrow. the idea is that by increasing/decreasing interest rates, the fed can affect the behavior of consumers and businesses in a way to get the outcome they want. 

i know there's a lot of information here to read, but i don't really know how to communicate my subject in a simpler way other than using language. i hope i'm heading the right direction with this one. you guys tell me...

secrets of the temple

some research from the secrets of the temple book. it's interesting to see and realize that war is the main cause of inflation. throughout time and even today. funny how the country still didn't learn their lesson. war is costly and will ruin the economy, but it benefits the federal banks because the government has to borrow money in order to fund the war. in turn, the banks profit from these wars and the government always finds a way to pay back those debts. and you wonder where your tax dollars go...

debt trap poster revision

ok since i don't have any information on the poster, i was thinking of making a little info. booklet to go along with the poster explaining what is a debt trap and how the fed works to trap people in debt. a little info... 

in order for the economy to be well balanced (low interest rates, maximum employment) there has to be enough spending to cover the demand for products. spending only happens if people have money, so people will have money, if banks lend them money (business, mortgage, etc.)

banks will do their best to make you think that a loan is what you need because they need people to be borrowing. 

with borrowing comes interest rates, which can accumulate into debt. this borrowed money is usually too large for average to pay off within a few months. so these loans take years to pay off, and with time, the original amount you borrowed accumulate and become twice as much as it was when you borrowed it. this is the debt trap.

revisiting the slavery poster

jobless

One of the Fed's goals is to ensure that there is maximum employment...what are they doing now? The economy is facing a crisis and most, if not all, people are suffering from it. I don't understand why the government and the citizens of this country are not putting pressure on the people who control the country's economy, the Fed. 

alan greenspan

this article goes with the poster below. 

alan greenspan

fresh!

nice collage work by Mario Wagner. 

maybe i can do some collage work for The Fed stuff to make my work a little more varied. 

nytimes article 3

same article as previous.

this one is more abstract, focusing more on how money can be a trap. related to the article about the "debt trap" due to credit profiling.

nytimes article 3

same article as previous.

this one focuses more on how the article talks about people being targeted by banks to be put into debt.

nytimes article 3

article: Drawing a Bead On Debtors

              Banks Mine Databases And Pitch New Loans To Troubled Borrowers

nytimes article 2

article: In Sour Economy, Some Scale Back On Medications

             Drop In Prescriptions

             First Decline in Decade Raises Concern Over Long-Term Effect

infographic update

NYTimes article

i don't know

i don't know about these...