161 results for author: Dave Svetlik

JUST MONEY FIVE

The following 1-minute video shows former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, educating former Congressman, Paul Ryan, about Social Security solvency. I’ve used it before, but Greenspan’s words are relevant to recent congressional budgetary arguments. Ryan begins by asking Greenspan to agree that Social Security benefits would be more secure if a percentage of retiree contributions were invested in personal retirement accounts (Wall Street Individual Retirement Accounts – IRA’s) rather than the government run Social Security system. Greenspan’s reply lays bare the ignorance of both Ryan and current budgetary argument...

JUST MONEY FOUR

Money and wealth are not the same thing. Money is simply a medium of exchange – a legally accepted claim to wealth. Money doesn’t exist in nature and is generally created out of thin air by the central governments of nations. In our modern world 97% of money doesn’t physically exist. It’s just record keeping on computer screens. The distribution of money – who possesses it – determines the allocation and distribution of the wealth of a nation. Wealth is the physical ability to provide for the wellbeing of the people of a society. Wealth is food, clothing, housing, healthcare, education, roads, bridges, airports, clean water and ...

JUST MONEY THREE

One of the most pernicious myths regarding US Federal Government monetary operations, is that our Federal government budget is like a household budget – it must get money before it can spend money. This leads to another deeply ingrained, and equally false belief – that our taxes pay for Federal Government spending. Let these two myths, these two falsehoods, sink in - - - our Federal government has no money of its own and, like our households, it must get money before it can spend money - - - and the way our Federal government gets money is to collect taxes from us, the citizens. Let us really think about these falsehoods. Money doesn’t ...

JUST MONEY TWO

We are currently witnessing the final (now annual) arguments between members of congress and whoever is President, over the “debt ceiling.” As always, there is wringing of hands and the endless alarms about “mortgaging our grandchildren” regarding the “unsustainable” national debt. “Government spending needs to be cut” (except, of course, the military/industrial/congressional complex – unanimous bi-partisan support there). So, as always, the items on the chopping block are, unlike endless military spending, the things that actually defend average, working Americans. Infrastructure, education, low-cost housing, social security, ...

JUST MONEY ONE

We are once again watching the complete ignorance – and yes, it is ignorance – of our legislators arguing over the national “debt Ceiling.” Forgive the harsh words, but this misguided foolishness hurts people. It hurts the nation.  Every time we witness this self-destructive nonsense, one cannot help but wonder - - - Why don’t Americans ask some obvious questions? How can there even be a national debt? The Federal Government is the Constitutionally authorized creator and supplier of the nation’s money. Who are we borrowing our own money from, and why are we borrowing our own money at interest? Our politicians unanimously approve ...

SEEMS OBVIOUS PART TWO

Still alive! So, a quick review from Part One. The BBP (Brilliant Batch of Politicians) is once again conducting the PCC (the Parade, the Charade, of Charlatans), threatening to shut the US Government down over the “debt ceiling.” But we know Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 of the US Constitution says: [The Congress shall have Power] To coin Money and regulate the Value thereof So, we know the US Government is the creator, the source, of the nation’s money. We know the US Government always has money of its own (for Heaven’s sake it creates the money). We know the US Government can never run out of money. There, the review of Part One ...

SEEMS OBVIOUS – PART ONE

We once again witness the “Parade, the Charade, of Charlatans” (the PCC). Another “Brilliant Batch of Politicians” (the BBP) threaten to shut the US Government down over the “debt ceiling.” “America has overspent! Something must be cut!” The next paragraph is technical. Try to stay awake. This has a huge impact on your life, whether you know it or not. Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 of the US Constitution says: [The Congress shall have the Power] To coin Money and regulate the Value thereof In other words – the US Government is the creator, the source, of the nation’s money. The US Supreme Court has stated this includes ...

THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR LIES

History matters. In 2018 the Washington Post and New York Times were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on the alleged interference by Russia in the 2016 Clinton/Trump presidential election. On February 20, 2022 the Editorial Board of the New York Post published an article titled: “The Absurd ‘Russiagate’ Pulitzer of the NY Times and Washington Post.” Opening lines from that article: “For deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest,” the citation from the Pulitzer Prize board begins, “that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential ...

Who Will Speak for Spaceship Earth

            The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of Earth taken Feb. 14, 1990,                                                                        by NASA’s Voyager 1 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles.                                                                                     (About one third down in the sunbeam on the right)   I have quoted Carl Sagan’s eloquent words on the Pale Blue Dot in a few past articles. But I am ...

DEMONIZATION

  Just some quotes:   “[Wars] are fought against people, 98 percent of whom are resistant to killing, and most of whom had little or nothing to do with bringing on the war. One way to dehumanize those people is to replace all of them with an image of a single monstrous individual.”                                                                                    - Excerpted from War Is A Lie by David Swanson.   “Words have consequences. You cannot compromise with unmitigated evil. So, once you’ve established that your adversary is a ...