What If We Paid Off The Debt? The Secret Government Report

[babsbunny]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/10/20/141510617/what-if-we-paid-off-the-debt-the-secret-government-report

Planet Money has obtained a secret government report outlining what once looked like a potential crisis: The possibility that the U.S. government might pay off its entire debt.

It sounds ridiculous today. But not so long ago, the prospect of a debt-free U.S. was seen as a real possibility with the potential to upset the global financial system.

We recently obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Act Request. You can read the whole thing here. (It's a PDF.)

[truedelphi]

1. Comments about the Banking Cartel and their control

Public Banking (public banking)
comment off of NPR comments:
Public Banking (publicbanking) wrote:

The reason they couldn't forgive the debt is that the sovereign currencies of the world are controlled by a private banking cartel that creates debt slavery by charging us interest for using money. If nations owned their own currency and credit, they could eliminate debt. Bonds would not be necessary if there was no interest. As long as the money in circulation reflected the value of goods produced, there would be no inflation. So, money could be parked in banks. No big deal. The problem is that, in the last 250 years or so, the international money cartel has used its profit on money creation to take over the governments, military and intelligence services, media, and voting processes, thus the vast and growing disparity of wealth in the world. The way to change this is to create state, county, and city owned banks, just like North Dakota. The Bank of North Dakota is the only publicly owned bank in the U.S. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate, highest budget surplus, lowest bank failure rate, and most independent community banks per capita in the U.S. There have been many public banks over the centuries, but they always come under attack by the cartel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTDTL55K1U

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.
Thomas Jefferson, (Attributed)

Or as John F Kennedy said of the Big Banking Cartel (and he included "our" Federal Reserve in this spiel)
"There exists in this country a plot to enslave every man woman and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot." - President John F. Kennedy - 7 days before he was assassinated.

[Matariki]

8. So, I did a search for that Kennedy quote

and all the sites I find it on are sort of conspiracy oriented. Did JFK really say that and if so, what was the context and the occasion? Was it in a public speech? If yes, when/where?

[truedelphi]

14. Well some of the sites that have this quote are simply quote sites.

No one I can find has the ability to offer a place where he said these particular words.

However, he also said:
"The high office of President has been used to foment a plot to destroy the American's freedom, and before I leave office I must inform the citizen of his plight. We are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence." - John F. Kennedy at Columbia University, 1963

Which makes it seem that we have the first quote I used being an abbreviated version of this longer quote.

[Matariki]

15. That was the height of the cold war

very probably he was talking about "the threat of communism". It's very ominous sounding though. I heard his speech to the media where he starts out talking about 'secret societies'. :shrug:

I think your first quote is actually fabricated and not really from JFK. I was curious and did a bit of research. I don't think it's credible.

[truedelphi]

16. The quote that I was looking for was this one -

JFK quote: "All problems, depressions, wars, disasters, assassinations, all of them were planned, instigated, and implemented by the International Bankers and their attempt to establish a central bank in every country in the world, which they have now done, thanks to corrupt politicians who have been bought and paid for. This is all you need to know about the history of the world."

[apocalypsehow]

19. Interesting quote. Could you provide a source for it, please? Thanks. n/t.

[emcguffie]

17. I disagree.

That doesn't seem at all to be about the "threat" of Communism. And I would certainly want to read the context.

JFK also had the Treasury issue US currency. This happened shortly before he was assassinated, and I think it was the first thing Johnson did, to undo that executive order.

I had a silver certificate when I was about 10 years old. I'm sorry I don't still have it. I didn't understand its significance then.

[truedelphi]

18. Yep, the Powers that Be do not like to discuss

Much of what JFK did.

Including the Executive Order that he wrote and signed into law.

Which is still part of the law of the land.

From The Final Call, Vol. 15, No.6, On January 17, 1996

On June 4, 1963, a little known attempt was made to strip the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the government at interest. On that day President John F. Kennedy signed Executive Order No. 11110 that returned to the U.S. government the power to issue currency, without going through the Federal Reserve. Mr. Kennedy's order gave the Treasury the power "to issue silver certificates against any silver bullion, silver, or standard silver dollars in the Treasury." This meant that for every ounce of silver in the U.S. Treasury's vault, the government could introduce new money into circulation. In all, Kennedy brought nearly $4.3 billion in U.S. notes into circulation. The ramifications of this bill are enormous.

With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Kennedy was on his way to putting the Federal Reserve Bank of New York out of business. If enough of these silver certificats were to come into circulation they would have eliminated the demand for Federal Reserve notes. This is because the silver certificates are backed by silver and the Federal Reserve notes are not backed by anything. Executive Order 11110 could have prevented the national debt from reaching its current level, because it would have given the gevernment the ability to repay its debt without going to the Federal Reserve and being charged interest in order to create the new money. Executive Order 11110 gave the U.S. the ability to create its own money backed by silver.

[MedicalAdmin]

20. And then ...

BANG!

[Hutzpa]

11. .

the international money cartel has used its profit on money creation to take over the governments, military and intelligence services, media, and voting processes, thus the vast and growing disparity of wealth in the world.

What else is there to say other than - and there are people working to protect this extortion on the American
people.

[SharonAnn]

2. Yes, I was telling someone this last week and they didn't understand how it was a problem.

So, I explained about how many things are tied to U.S. Treasury rates and if they no longer were being used, there was not a "gold standard" for determining financial costs, interest rates, etc.

But, since * blew through our suplus and left us more indebted than ever, that's not a problem now.

Whew! Escaped that set of problems, didn't we?

[defendandprotect]

3. KR -- back later to read it ---

[underpants]

4. An amazing read. It was right there and it washed away for the rich

about the instruments - well gee there were all these "geniuses" who created bad instruments.... I think we could have come up with something.

[Poll_Blind]

5. !

PB

[unkachuck]

6. "What do you do with the money that comes out of people's paychecks for Social Security?"

....how about investing it in the creation of a Peoples Bank of the United States?

....pay off the debt? Fat chance....they would just figure out new ways to give us more debt....it's like a credit card that you can never pay off....a perpetual transfer of wealth from out pockets to the pockets of the rich....

....why?....because we don't control this particular system....

[sakabatou]

7. I look at this graph

And say, "Awww, fuck."

[LadyInAZ]

9. many elite live this way....

re-occurring debt... never pay it off completely... just let someone pay off their house or car... and watch just under a year... u r part of a scam in regards... and the banks are responsible for that... but you never know it... make it look like a crime... to get money out of you as a penalty for eliminating debit... lol

yes I'm a true victim... lol

[TheKentuckian]

10. This we have known for hundreds of years, which is why we had smart folks fighting the deal

the whole way.

Why would we want to borrow our own money or pay a big to issue it?

What else can it be but a scam?

[KoKo]

12. K&R.!

I just posted about the same thing...(having not seen your article) so I'll give a kick for yours. Mine is from a different site with a little more...so I won't delete...just K&R yours.

[unblock]

13. the mother of all fake crises. the game was obviously rigged when "serious people" talked this up.

i couldn't believe the way the media handled it, it made it obvious that the right-wing had complete control over the political dialog.

in fact, if there were even any independence WITHIN the right-wing, there would have been someone laughing this concept off the stage.

so obviously wrong and wrong on so many levels. nevermind how far-fetched the idea of paying off the debt in its entirety is, what gets me is the idea that somehow politicians won't be able to figure out how to stop. "gee, we've paid off all the debt and there's STILL money left over, what on earth do we do with it?" so what ever the solution is, somehow the idea is that we can do that NOW, but we would never be able to do that if and when it became an actual problem?


but no, they held hearings, greenie testified about how serious a problem this was. all ludicrous. of all the reasons for a tax cut.


so as much as republicans claim to hate the deficit, remember this: they fear a surplus even more!