About Thomas Purifoy

For a very long time, the United States has pursued a policy of printing more dollars regardless of the long-term economic consequence. This inflation of the U.S. money supply gradually decreases the value of the dollar in comparison to a scarce commodity such as gold. In the late 1960′s, President of France Charles DeGaulle realized what was happening and demanded gold in return for France’s U.S. dollars; after all, the U.S. was then still honoring an international gold standard that said 1 ounce of gold was worth $35. DeGaulle explains why here:

Nixon realized the curtain had been pulled back revealing the real intent of America’s inflationary monetary policy. So, in 1971, he just untethered the balloon to the only thing that ultimately was holding it down – thereby giving the U.S. the ability to expand credit to infinity and beyond. This was the start of a fiat monetary system for the entire world, since the U.S. was the reserve currency of the world. (In other words, the dollar was the standard by which all other currencies were measured.)

This choice by Nixon (and his advisors) was the real turning point that eventually led to the current dollar crisis. This short article explains why.  (Make sure you look at the chart that shows just how much the dollar has been devalued – as we explain in Lesson 9 of Economics for Everybody, that value was taken from one group and given to another silently, invisibly, and effectively.)

For decades before 1971, America had been pursuing a dishonest and immoral monetary policy.  DeGaulle was simply calling them on it. As history has shown, DeGaulle was right – and Nixon was a crook.

I took a break from blogging over the holidays to read some new books, work on a new project, and write some new articles. But the nation has not changed direction since last year. Instead, it continues to slouch ever closer toward economic disaster. As a case in point, the fiscal cliff fiasco demonstrated that the leaders of both parties cannot solve even the most basic economic problems, much less recognize the enormous economic crisis which lies before us.

2013 appears to be a continuation of current policies, with the policy that holds the gravest long-term danger being the inflation and devaluation of our money supply. Our eyes should be on the Federal Reserve, for if the government is not committed to cutting spending, then it must rely on the Fed to create the money necessary to pay for its habits as well as to buy up the bad assets that are the by-product of interventionist fiscal corruption.

If left unchecked, the combination of inflation, fiat money, and fractional reserve banking will ultimately destroy our economic system. As a result, throughout 2013 we will regularly come back to this topic.

It is not simple. As a result, I began reading de Soto’s Money, Bank Credit and Economic Cycles (available free at the link) to try to understand it better. From a Christian perspective, he begins with Roman banking law as codified by the Christian emperor Justinian, then looks at how fractional reserve banking has been the cause of major economic problems throughout history. I will try to give updates and thoughts on it as I move through it.

We also have a series of articles on poverty planned from Shawn Riteour and Timothy Terrell.

Finally, the new project I spoke about is an abridgment of Economics for Everybody into a 2-hour study film. Watch for updates, since we’ll be putting out more information on it soon.

Since we’re all in the same boat, Happy New (Higher Taxes) Year…

We spend a lot of time in Economics for Everybody showing how interventionist economies like the United States end up persecuting Christians. Many Christians blithely think this is not possible today: yet here is a prime example that should be on the front page of every newspaper. (But isn’t – I wonder why?)

Christian business owner David Green and his family are being given an ultimatum by the U.S. government: use your own money to support abortion policies we dictate through health insurance or we’ll fine you out of existence (to the tune of $1.3 million a day). As we explain in Lesson 11, our government uses the enormous regulatory arm of the President’s administrative branch to try to control the economy for its own ends. What it cannot control, it has the power to smash – and often does.

Hobby Lobby owns the retail chain of the same name as well as Mardel Christian bookstores. The Greens have said it is a violation of conscience for them to be required to pay for insurance that will also pay for abortifacients like Plan B and Ella. For those who realize that abortion is a sanitized form of murder, it is easy to see how this requirement would be like German Christian companies during WWII being forced to pay a stipend for Zyklon B. Such is the roundabout goal of evil laws.

Notice whom the suit is against: Sebelius, U.S. Cabinet member and head of Health and Human Services; she reports to the President. And who is defending now (but eventually will prosecute once the law goes into effect)? Lawyers from the Department of Justice led by the Attorney General; he reports to the President. Our consolidation of power under the Executive branch (something Lowi explains clearly in The End of Liberalism - published 40 years ago and still just as relevant) continues to bear ugly fruit that appears more and more like 20th-century totalitarianism. [Read more...]