An Obscene Breach of Trust

Published 10/12/06

For all those who despair that Congress does nothing positive or useful, the Optimist has good news to share.  Congress has crafted a new phrase that will live in infamy throughout the future of the USA.

An obscene breach of trust.  What could be a better summation of our nation's financial history over the past century?  Consider how precisely that phrase defines the events below:

• Congress abdicates its financial responsibilities in 1913 by creating the Federal Reserve (to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system), and then permitting the Fed to systematically demolish the value of the dollar by massive inflation of the money supply;

• FDR confiscated the people's gold in 1933, and infected the nation with socialism;

• Massive overspending by LBJ on guns (Vietnam) and butter (Great Society and welfare) 40 years ago ignited the great inflation of the following decade;

• The 1971 declaration of USA functional bankruptcy when Richard Nixon closed the gold window and thereby asserted that the USA will never again repay its debts with real money;

• Ronald Reagan rolled the dice in a "Riverboat Gamble" 24 years ago and turned the mighty USA economy from the biggest creditor nation to the biggest debtor in the world;

• G.H.W. Bush (the first) recognized that Reagan's philosophy of cutting taxes and increasing debt was "voodoo economics", and he saw the damage that was being done to the nation's economic strength, but he continued to push the debt pedal to the metal as he raced for reelection;

• Clinton's administration suppressed the price of gold, and intensified the process of wholesale transfer of America's manufacturing jobs to Asia;

• G.W. Bush (the second) refused to encourage conservation, but instead actively pursued drilling and exploration in previously protected areas so the USA could sustain its love affair with SUVs.  The USA continued to ratchet up the temperature of global warming.  This President is also the first who could not find a spending bill that was worth a veto;

• The CPI once was an acronym for the Consumer Price Index on which we based adjustments to salaries and senior citizens' income to proudly honor our promises.  With the advent of exclusions (energy, food, etc.) and hedonics in recent years, the CPI now stands for Consistent Price Immobility;

• Rumors are rampant that our once free markets may have become significantly less volatile (i.e., moderate price increases are OK, but sharp declines are no longer permitted) over the last two administrations due to supportive price assistance provided by the wonderful world of PPT.  Although it is thoughtful of our Repubocrat leaders to reduce the risk of losses from market declines, there are also real costs, such as reduced potential for future gains, misallocation of resources, additional increases in government debt, and a more pervasive loss of personal freedom.

In an earlier commentary about responsibility, I posted a table of the debt increases by Presidential Administrations.  Another view of that debt increase monstrosity is the chart copied below, but please do not look at it if you are prone to heart problems or fainting spells.

Repubocrats of all persuasions have consistently expanded the debt level of Americans, and increased the size and power of the government at the expense of individual freedom.  The Optimist is confident that readers have taken appropriate action to reduce their personal level of debt and to preserve some of their wealth by purchasing physical (not paper, please!) precious metals.  Less than a month from now, we will all have an opportunity to exercise another essential freedom.  The Optimist encourages everyone to vote against the perpetual problems caused by Repubocrats.  Instead of trying to guess which of two Repubocrats is a lesser evil, focus your attention on the potentially positive solutions.  Take the time to learn about the independent candidates in each political race, and vote for the independent who comes closest to your ideals.  To have a chance to evict the Repubocrats from their excessively long tenure in office, we all must support qualified independent candidates for each political position.

Alas, I am not optimistic enough to tell you that the independent you vote for will win election this year.  My positive message instead is that by actively supporting independent candidates, we can improve the future prospects for independents to win elections and to act in the interest of the people by voting to reduce debt, to constrain the cancerous growth of government, and to return freedom to America.

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This commentary presents only the viewpoints of the Optimist, and it is intended only for perspective and entertainment. Please do not interpret any portion of this work as investment advice. If any of the concepts discussed here appeal to you, then you must do the work to decide if and when and how you should invest. The Optimist does not ask for any profits you make, and he cannot be liable for any losses incurred as a result of your investment decisions. The Optimist wishes you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do or not to do. Cheers!

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