Subject: Manifesto
From: Margaret Carswell <[email protected]>Hi all
I was at the Occupy SB event yesterday afternoon. There were around 200 people there, many of whom intend to stay for at least a week.This feels like the beginning of the uprising we have all been waiting for, hopefully to be followed soon by the mass up-wising.I was asked to participate in the press release for the event. I ended up writing the following:"There has been a political and financial coup in this country, performed by the mega bank corporations, which now control both political parties in addition to the mainstream media and the federal reserve. These corporations decide how much money will be available as the means of exchange. They are restricting the flow of currency, causing many people and small businesses to suffer from a lack of funds. They are wrongfully foreclosing on the homes of millions of people. They have become a malignant disease destroying the very fabric of this country and the world.Together we must fight this scourge in every way we can, through the courts and on the street. In the short term we must follow Thoreau’s lead, using civil disobedience where called for. We must join in community and create new political and monetary systems outside the grasp of these corporations.Everything is possible, now that the general political will of the people is emerging. Occupy Wall Street is the first manifestation of the political will that has begun to ignite the people of this country, following in the footsteps of the uprisings that are occurring in other countries around the planet.Here in Santa Barbara, many of us have been fighting wrongful foreclosures for some time. We have begun a silent vigil campaign at the courthouse every weekday at 1 while the homes of our community are being wrongfully taken by these corporations.We need more than a moratorium on foreclosures. We need every home in this country to be occupied by the party who can prove true ownership of it. If there are homes where no clear title can be shown, then the community can take over such properties and turn them into low-cost housing. We must take back our homes, take back our communities and use our human energy to create a new world that will work for the benefit of everyone.The mega bank corporations must be dismantled. The rule of corporate personhood must be ended. The rule of law must be restored."We must not only point out the problems but must also come up with solutions. I am convinced the answer lies in the creation of a new monetary system.More to come…MMargaret Carswell,PresidentEARTH FIRST CONSTRUCTION"Together we can build a better world"andContributing Editor
Noa,
I agree with all you said. Except that any bank can, through fractional lending, create money, not just the Fed. All they have to have (legally) is one dollar in reserve in order to lend ten. And that multiplies the problem incredibly. But while banks generally have to (hah) abide by the law (1 for 10), the Fed doesn't. And why should it? It's a roge criminal organization.
Although Margaret's words may inspire action against corporate greed, her observations are not very accurate. Maybe she doesn't realize that long before mega-corporations were large and powerful enough to control governments and own most of the media, the Federal Reserve Bank existed. It was created in 1913 by a handful of wealthy families in a secret meeting on Jekyl Island, Georgia. It is a private bank and is not part of the federal government. http://www.wanttoknow.info/financialbankingcoverup
To be accurate, corporations don't control the Federal Reserve, but those getting fat in the Fed no doubt own some of the most powerful corporations. Why is this distinction important? Because thousands of people are now protesting against Wall Street and corporate greed with hardly a mention about ending the Fed. All banks borrow their money from the central bank, the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve Bank is at the top of the food chain.
It is the Federal Reserve Bank that issues and controls the amount of currency in circulation, not corporations. Even Bank of America has to borrow its money from the Fed just like everyone else in this country. The Fed controls the U.S. government by charging interest on every coin or paper it mints. The income tax you pay goes directly to the Federal Reserve to pay the interest on this debt, not for roads, schools, or public services. Money to operate the government has to be borrowed from the Fed, adding the interest we pay in taxes. The IRS exists only to fill the coffers of the Federal Reserve Bank. The 16th Amendment enacted the first permanent income tax law in 1913, the same year that the Fed was created.
Wall Street could give back every penny of the bailout money, but as long as the Fed is allowed to print our currency, we will always be in debt. That's because the Fed doesn't create any money to cover the interest, so there is always a shortage. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3sKwwAaCU&feature=related Plus, with fractional reserve banking, the Fed is legally allowed to create money from nothing. If you or I did that, it would be called counterfeiting. Think about it, you are trading your valuable labor for pieces of paper. Its only value is the faith we have in it. As soon as the rest of the world gets fed up accepting counterfeit US dollars, they become totally worthless. That day is already on the horizon as plans are being made to replace the USD as the world's reserve currency.
So, please, if you're going to take action against corruption, get your facts straight. If you protest against Wall Street while ignoring the Fed, the economy is still going down the toilet.
That's only partially correct, Bob. All banks can create debt on a ledger, via the borrower's signature, but only the Federal Reserve Bank can print currency (put money into circulation). All banks, with few exceptions, get their money from the central bank. In the United States, that's the Federal Reserve.