Nuggets of GIM wisdom

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ErrosionOfAccord

ErrosionOfAccord

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As GIMers glean some knowledge from buggers maybe we can share some of the stuff we learned in twenty years over there.

Federal Reserve and banking history explained. Even though the guy is a pretty dry narrator much can be learned. Over three hours long so buckle up if you dare.

 
This post was where I got my first wake up call...

Take the RED pill picture-24980.gif
Deprogram Your Self

THE ACTIVIST
"It starts like an itch, something happens in our lives that causes us to question what we know. We open our eyes and seek the truth, and the more we uncover, the hungrier we are for understanding. But the world isn’t perfect, and there’s a lot of pain and deception. We have the burning desire to do more. We read, a lot. We start protesting. Our family labels us as too negative, our friends start to pull away, our spouses reject us. We're labeled hippies, anarchists, angry kids, conspiracy theorists and terrorists. We're beaten by police and mocked by the news. Yet, we have become obsessed with spreading the truth, and it becomes a very solitary journey."
 

Irony: Andrew Jackson On a Federal Reserve Note​

BY JOHN RUBINO ◆ JANUARY 9, 2010 32 COMMENTS

Karl Golovin, a retired customs agent and security director for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, just forwarded a transcript of Andrew Jackson’s farewell address. It’s pretty amazing. Here’s Karl’s intro, followed by an excerpt:

“During his presidency, Andrew Jackson viewed as his crowning achievement that he “Killed the Bank,” the 2nd Bank of the U.S. Our current ‘Federal Reserve,’ created in 1913, is the 3rd Bank of the U.S. Jackson was intent upon restoring an honest, Constitutional monetary system. There probably never has been written a more articulate, prophetic vision of what calamity would befall our nation if we did not diligently stay that course, as argued by Jackson in the following excerpt from his farewell address in 1837. It reads as if written this very day about our present financial circumstances:”​
​

Irony: Andrew Jackson On a Federal Reserve Note - DollarCollapse.com

Karl Golovin, a retired customs agent and security director for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign, just forwarded a transcript of Andrew Jackson’s farewell address. It’s pretty amazing. Here’s Karl’s intro, followed by an excerpt: “During his presidency, Andrew Jackson viewed as his crowning...
www.dollarcollapse.com www.dollarcollapse.com
 
​

The History of U.S. Paper Money​


In the early days of the nation, before and just after the revolution, Americans used English, Spanish, and French money.
1690 Colonial Notes
The Massachusetts Bay Colony issued the first paper money in the colonies which would later form the United States.
1775 Continental Currency
American colonists issued paper currency for the Continental Congress to finance the Revolutionary War. The notes were backed by the "anticipation" of tax revenues. Without solid backing and easily counterfeited, the notes quickly became devalued, giving rise to the phrase "not worth a Continental."
1781 Nation's First Bank
Also to support the Revolutionary War, the continental Congress chartered the Bank of North America in Philadelphia as the nation's first "real" bank.
1785 The Dollar
The Continental Congress determined that the official monetary system would be based on the dollar, but the first coin representing the start of this system would not be struck for several years.
1791 First U.S. Bank
After adoption of the Constitution in 1789, Congress chartered the First Bank of the United States untill 1811 and authorized it to issue paper bank notes to eliminate confusion and simplify trade. The bank served as the U.S. Treasury's fiscal agent, thus performing the first central bank functions.
1792 Monetary System
The federal monetary system was established with the creation of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The first American coins were struck in 1793.
1816 Second U.S. Bank
The second Bank of the United States was chartered for 20 years until 1836.
1836 State Bank Notes
With minimum regulation, a proliferation of 1,600 local state-chartered, private banks now issued paper money. State bank notes, with over 30,000 varieties of color and design, were easily counterfeited. That, along with bank failures, caused confusion and circulation problems.
1861 Civil War
On the brink of bankruptcy and pressed to finance the Civil War, Congress authorized the United States Treasury to issue paper money for the first time in the form of non-interest bearing Treasury Notes called Demand Notes.
1862 Greenbacks
Demand Notes were replaced by United States Notes. Commonly called "Greenbacks," they were last issued in 1971. The Secretary of the Treasury was empowered by Congress to have notes engraved and printed, which was done by private banknote companies.
1863 The Design
The design of U.S. currency incorporated a Treasury seal, the fine line engraving necessary for the difficult-to-counterfeit itaglio printing, intricate geometric lathe work patterns, and distinctive linen paper with embedded red and blue fibers.
1865 Gold Certificates
Gold Certificates were issued by the Department of the Treasury against gold coin and buillion deposits and were circulated until 1933.
1865 Secret Service
The Department of the Treasury established the United States Secret Service to control counterfeits, at that time amounting to one-third of circulated currency.
1866 National Bank Notes
National Bank Notes, backed by U.S. government securities, became predominant. By this time, 75 percent of bank deposits were held by nationally chartered banks. As State Bank Notes were replaced, the value of currency stabilized for a time.
1877 Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Department of the Treasury's bureau of Engraving and Printing started printing all U.S. currency, although other steps were done outside.
1878 Silver Certificates
The Department of the Treasury was authorized to issue Silver Certificates in exchange for silver dollars. The last issue was in the Series of 1957.
1910 Currency Production Consolidated
The Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing assumed all currency production functions, including engraving, printing, and processing.
1913 Federal Reserve Act
After 1893 and 1907 financial panics, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was passed. It created the Federal Reserve System as the nation's central bank to regulate the flow of money and credit for economic stability and growth. The system was authorized to issue Federal Reserve Notes, now the only U.S. currency produced and 99 percent of all currency in circulation.
1929 Standardized Design
Currency was reduced in size by 25 percent and standardized with uniform portraits on the faces and emblems and monuments on the backs.
1957 In God We Trust
Paper currency was first issued with "In God We Trust" as required by Congress in 1955. The inscription appears on all currency Series 1963 and beyond.
1990 Security Thread and Microprinting
A security thread and microprinting were introduced, first in $50 and $100 notes, to deter counterfeiting by advanced copiers and printers.

 

Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation​

F.A. HAYEK

1 FEBRUARY 1976
F. A. Hayek's classic paper on free banking
DOWNLOAD

In this short paper, first published in 1976, Nobel Laureate Friedrich von Hayek suggests that inflation can be stopped by introducing competition in currency. The notion that it is a proper function of government to issue the national currency is false. Citizens should be free to use and refuse any currencies they wish: politicians and central banks would then have to limit their quantities.
iea.org.uk

Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation

In this short paper, first published in 1976, Nobel Laureate Friedrich von Hayek suggests that inflation can be stopped by … Continue reading "Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation"
iea.org.uk iea.org.uk
 
The Secret War
www.swissamerica.com

THE SECRET WAR

Swiss America Trading Corp is helping America rediscover gold in the 21st century for financial safety, privacy and profit. We report the top financial, precious metal, numismatic news and views you can use 24/7.
www.swissamerica.com www.swissamerica.com

Not Yours To Give

​

 
Goldhedge said:
This post was where I got my first wake up call...

Take the RED pill picture-24980.gif
Deprogram Your Self

THE ACTIVIST
"It starts like an itch, something happens in our lives that causes us to question what we know. We open our eyes and seek the truth, and the more we uncover, the hungrier we are for understanding. But the world isn’t perfect, and there’s a lot of pain and deception. We have the burning desire to do more. We read, a lot. We start protesting. Our family labels us as too negative, our friends start to pull away, our spouses reject us. We're labeled hippies, anarchists, angry kids, conspiracy theorists and terrorists. We're beaten by police and mocked by the news. Yet, we have become obsessed with spreading the truth, and it becomes a very solitary journey."
Click to expand...
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.


Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world

As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.
Amen.
 
I learned a lot about the inevitibility of gold becoming the default underwriter of money by going deep with FOFOA, who seemed to have identified real understanding through picking up on someone who identified himself as 'friend of another', 'another' being someone who was very close to the whole world of gold and was not prepared to self identify.
FOFOA is the next generation ie friend of friend of another and has some seriously smart folk on board.
I gave up on it when he took it private ( to get rid of the idiots and shills ) and wanted my money but probably should have stayed with it. He still does the odd free to all post and I get all excited when I check in and find one.

Theres a lot of info here though and a regular post used to fry my brain

FOFOA

A Tribute to the Thoughts of Another and his Friend<br> <i>"Everyone knows where we have been. Let's see where we are going!"</i> -Another
fofoa.blogspot.com fofoa.blogspot.com

:oops:
 
Goldhedge said:

Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation​

F.A. HAYEK

1 FEBRUARY 1976
F. A. Hayek's classic paper on free banking
DOWNLOAD

In this short paper, first published in 1976, Nobel Laureate Friedrich von Hayek suggests that inflation can be stopped by introducing competition in currency. The notion that it is a proper function of government to issue the national currency is false. Citizens should be free to use and refuse any currencies they wish: politicians and central banks would then have to limit their quantities.
iea.org.uk

Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation

In this short paper, first published in 1976, Nobel Laureate Friedrich von Hayek suggests that inflation can be stopped by … Continue reading "Choice in Currency: A Way to Stop Inflation"
iea.org.uk iea.org.uk
Click to expand...



You have the right to choose between 'Lawful Money' or 'Private Script'.


Does endorsing private script bind you into contract with the beast???


==================================================================================


A FRN is considered to be a dual purpose note,
notice that it has 2 seals on it..
One is the Fed Res seal, the other is the U.S Treasury
The US Note only has the US Treasury seal


Moreover, the Ninth Circuit rejected the argument that a $50 Federal Reserve note be redeemed in gold or silver coin after specie coinage had been rescinded but upheld the right of the note holder to redeem his note in current public money
(31 USC 392 rev., 5103): 524 F.2d 629 (1974), 12 USC 411.



1663337849749.png




1663337873686.png


.
 
rblong2us said:
I learned a lot about the inevitibility of gold becoming the default underwriter of money by going deep with FOFOA, who seemed to have identified real understanding through picking up on someone who identified himself as 'friend of another', 'another' being someone who was very close to the whole world of gold and was not prepared to self identify.
FOFOA is the next generation ie friend of friend of another and has some seriously smart folk on board.
I gave up on it when he took it private ( to get rid of the idiots and shills ) and wanted my money but probably should have stayed with it. He still does the odd free to all post and I get all excited when I check in and find one.

Theres a lot of info here though and a regular post used to fry my brain

FOFOA

A Tribute to the Thoughts of Another and his Friend<br> <i>"Everyone knows where we have been. Let's see where we are going!"</i> -Another
fofoa.blogspot.com fofoa.blogspot.com

:oops:
Click to expand...


Members of GIM do not charge for the info we have

BUT, we do require you to do your own due diligence in order to form your own opinion.
 
Indeed, I happily share what I have learned here at no financial cost to anyone

Everything before FOFOA stopped allowing full public access for free is still available for free on the above link and
i think it includes extracts from the original friend of gold and FOA . Deep wisdom and a lot of work if you choose this rabbit hole but enough has filtered into my limited awareness to allow me to remain 'all in' and see the ups and downs as mere entertainment.
 
rblong2us said:
I learned a lot about the inevitibility of gold becoming the default underwriter of money by going deep with FOFOA, who seemed to have identified real understanding through picking up on someone who identified himself as 'friend of another', 'another' being someone who was very close to the whole world of gold and was not prepared to self identify.
FOFOA is the next generation ie friend of friend of another and has some seriously smart folk on board.
I gave up on it when he took it private ( to get rid of the idiots and shills ) and wanted my money but probably should have stayed with it. He still does the odd free to all post and I get all excited when I check in and find one.

Theres a lot of info here though and a regular post used to fry my brain

FOFOA

A Tribute to the Thoughts of Another and his Friend<br> <i>"Everyone knows where we have been. Let's see where we are going!"</i> -Another
fofoa.blogspot.com fofoa.blogspot.com

:oops:
Click to expand...
$300/yr! We're getting a deal at Bug's place!!

Also looks as if his post count, i.e., membership, has dropped precipitously...
 
Used to be an enlightened cat on GIM who shared his wisdom with all in many threads. Many, many threads. This cat was a tad hyper and had a unique way of looking at things. A lot of his wisdom can be found here https://hypertiger.blogspot.com/2022/
 
Avalon said:
The economy may take care of that pesky work issue.
Click to expand...
It’s interesting but we’re getting almost too much work to handle right now. We’re in manufacturing.

the government screwing with the free market in the “carbon intensity score” area has people scrambling for subsidy participation. The supply chain has stabilized for the most part except for computer chips needed for PLCs

as I understand it, the inflation reduction act unleashed an $85/ton direct payment for carbon score reduction (not a credit a deduction, a cash payment). we don’t chase stuff like this, our project have to justify on their own economics. some of our customers do though

I will say the caliber of applicants for jobs is really improving. We’re starting to be able to hire people that care, want to work and get ahead, and don’t randomly disappear never to be seen again. A refreshing development.

(hope this isn’t too far off topic, I’m still learning the new ropes)
 
searcher said:
Used to be an enlightened cat on GIM who shared his wisdom with all in many threads. Many, many threads. This cat was a tad hyper and had a unique way of looking at things. A lot of his wisdom can be found here https://hypertiger.blogspot.com/2022/
Click to expand...
he went off the deep end
but... for a while he was a font of wisdom
 
Member "789" posted several links on gim that contain some interesting (and historical) reading about banks, banking, paper money, etc.

name789.wordpress.com

Debt to America

---a few facts to show that all those conspiracists who sell books and other products on the mythological Lincoln and 'his' Greenbacks are liars Lincoln and his Dick invented greenbacks -- like Colonel Saunders invented fried chicken My dear Colonel Dick: I have long determined to make public...
name789.wordpress.com name789.wordpress.com

Lotta different stuff here http://www.yamaguchy.com/

Edit: Almost forgot this link. Some interesting reading here:

Heritech.com Index Page

Heritech web host and Internet publisher
heritech.com
 
Last edited:
searcher said:
Member "789" posted several links on gim that contain some interesting (and historical) reading about banks, banking, paper money, etc.

name789.wordpress.com

Debt to America

---a few facts to show that all those conspiracists who sell books and other products on the mythological Lincoln and 'his' Greenbacks are liars Lincoln and his Dick invented greenbacks -- like Colonel Saunders invented fried chicken My dear Colonel Dick: I have long determined to make public...
name789.wordpress.com name789.wordpress.com

Lotta different stuff here http://www.yamaguchy.com/

Edit: Almost forgot this link. Some interesting reading here:

Heritech.com Index Page

Heritech web host and Internet publisher
heritech.com
Click to expand...
I remember 789. He shoots himself in his own foot using acerbic words along the manner of

"You're so stupid! I'm the only one here who knows everything."​

It's apparent in his writing of Lincoln. No educated person would take the screed he writes as anything serious. He writes like a pulp fiction novelist. Cheap paper, here today, gone tomorrow to be found at the local Goodwill store for next to nothing.

He could offer something important to the world that people might entertain if not for that. Most come away with the idea he is full of shit, and truthfully they might not be so far off the mark.

Here is the 'original' version he pilfered his 'story' from so you can 'compare and contrast' writing styles:

 
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“Those Who Won't Learn From History . . . .”

The Story of Joseph

As a child, I attended Sunday School. I distinctly remember being taught the Old Testament story of Joseph (a son of Jacob). I was taught how Joseph had been sold by his brothers into slavery to the Egyptians back about BC 1700; how Joseph correctly interpreted two of the Pharaoh's dreams to mean that there would be seven wonderful years of plenty, followed by seven terrible years of famine; how Pharaoh made Joseph his second-in-command; how Joseph built granaries during the seven good years to store enough surplus grain to feed the Egyptian people during the subsequent seven bad years of famine. I was taught how Joseph saved the Egyptian people; that he was a great man and an extraordinary blessing to the people of Egypt.

55 years later, I actually read the story of Joseph for myself in the book of /Genesis. /I was much surprised to learn that my Sunday school's characterization of Joseph was a lie. Joseph, as it turns out, was a diabolical sonofabitch who didn't save the Egyptian people, but rather used his foreknowledge of the coming famine and understanding of economics to subject the formerly free Egyptian people to /slavery/.

That's right. Long before the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews, Joseph, the first Hebrew to enter Egypt, enslaved the the Egyptians. So far as I know, Joseph was the world's first economist; our first “John Maynard Keynes”.

As you'll read from /text in the Bible/, Joseph was no hero—quite the opposite. More importantly, the story of Joseph shows that it was understood /at least 3,700 years ago/ how to manipulate an economy so as to enslave an /entire nation/. And Joseph's story—openly published to this day in Chapter 47 of /Genesis/—has been ignored and overlooked by the world, for centuries.

The impact of Joseph's story and the world's failure to learn from that story is stunning. Chilling.

Truly, to understand the story of Joseph is to understand “what fools we mortals be”. Joseph's story may be the quintessential illustration of George Santana's observation that those who won't learn from history, are destined to repeat it. In fact, Americans (and even the world) appear to be repeating the story of Joseph, right now.

What follows are excerpts from /Genesis/, Chapter 47, and my observations:

“And there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very sore, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph /gathered up all the money/ that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they bought: and Joseph /brought the money into Pharaoh's house/.” /Gen 47:13-14/

The seven bad years of famine had begun. But Joseph—contrary to the benign characterization I learned in Sunday school—did not provide /free/ grain to the starving Egyptians. Instead, he /sold/ the grain he'd accumulated during the 7 good years until he “gathered up /all/ the money” and then brought all of it “into Pharaoh's house”.

Thus, in the first year of the famine, Joseph had 1) cornered the grain market; 2) sold grain to starving Egyptians for such a high price that he collected /all/ of their money (silver); 3) deposited all the money into Pharaoh's coffers and thereby /removed all the money from circulation in the Egyptian economy/; and 4) exacerbated the famine by pushing the Egyptian economy into an economic recession and/or depression.

I.e., if the Egyptians still had money in circulation, they might've been able to buy grain at better prices from foreign countries. They might've been able to work their way through the famine. But without food (grain) or money (silver), their economy collapsed, and they were trapped in the famine, trapped in poverty and absolutely /dependent/ upon and subject to Joseph.

“And when /money failed/ in the land of Egypt . . . all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us bread: for why should we die in thy presence? for the money faileth.” /Gen. 47:15/

Of course, the “money failed”. Why? Because Joseph had removed it from circulation and cached it away in the “Pharaoh's house”. By doing so, Joseph /caused/ an economic collapse/depression that, in conjunction with the famine, subjected the Egyptian people to the fear of death by starvation. In that fearful condition, the Egyptian people became more easily enslaved.

The Egyptians understood that their money had “failed” but they apparently regarded this failure some sort of natural but inexplicable anomaly. They did not suspect that their money (and thus economy) had “failed” because /Joseph/ had collected all of their money, removed it from circulation, and deposited that money with Pharaoh.

Coincidentally, our own government removed all the gold money from domestic circulation in A.D. 1933 and all the silver money in A.D. 1968. The vast majority of the modern world's gold (and much of the silver) has been deposited in the bank vaults of our modern “pharaohs” (governments and central banks). Thus, much like the Egyptians of 3,700 years ago, we too, have no real money in circulation.

Interesting coincidence, hmm?

“And Joseph said, /Give your cattle/; and I will give you for your cattle, /if money fail/. And they brought their cattle unto Joseph: and Joseph gave them bread /in exchange/ for horses, and for the flocks, and for the cattle of the herds, and for the asses: and he fed them with bread for /all/ their cattle for that year.” /Gen 47:16-17 /

Thus, in the second year of the famine, Joseph offered to supply the Egyptians with enough grain to survive for another year—/provided/ that they surrender all of their privately-owned livestock (their primary means of production and wealth) to Joseph and Pharaoh. Joseph had parlayed control of the grain market into control of the nation's livestock (industry) and thereby reduced the Egyptian people to even greater poverty and dependence.

I'm cynically amused by Joseph's offer to sell grain to the people in exchange for all of their livestock “/if/ money fail”.

If?/ If?!/

By using the word “if,” Joseph implied to the Egyptian people that he, too, was shocked (“Shocked, I tell you!) and surprised by the strange disappearance of the money from circulation. But, Joseph /knew/ the the money (the medium of exchange) had “failed” because he had personally caused it to fail by removing all of it from circulation and then depositing it within the Pharaoh's vaults. When Joseph offered to trade grain for livestock, he (much like Don Corleone in the /Godfather/) made the Egyptian people an “offer they couldn't refuse”.

Why couldn't they refuse? Because the Joseph knew that the people would be forced to either surrender their livestock—or die. That's an offer most cowards can't refuse.

Coincidentally, our government has entered into “Global Free Trade” treaties that reduced or eliminated our tariffs and caused many of our industries (our jobs and means of production) to leave the USA to relocate into third world nations. Much like the Egyptians of 1700 BC, we've also lost many of our jobs and means of production.

And don't forget that about one-sixth of all Americans are now on food stamps and/or welfare. Another sixth depend on Social Security. Thus, at least one-third of Americans are directly dependent on government for their survival—and that doesn't include those of us currently employed by and overpaid by government. Americans are not yet in circumstances as desperate as that of the ancient Egyptians, but we are similarly vulnerable to natural or /contrived/ food shortages.

Continued
 
“When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord, how that /our money is spent/; my lord also hath our herds of cattle; there is not ought left in the sight of my lord, but /our bodies, and our lands/:

Wherefore shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? /buy us and our land/ for bread, and /we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh/: and give /us/ seed, that we may live, and not die, that the land be not desolate. And Joseph bought /all the land/ of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine prevailed over them: so the /land became Pharaoh's/.” /Gen 47:18-20/

Note that, prior to the famine, the Pharaoh was a “very important person” (probably something like the nation's “high priest”) but he wasn't a dictator. He didn't own all of the money, all of the grain, all of the land and all of the people.

However, thanks to the food shortage and Joseph's economic manipulations, the Egyptian people /agreed/ to first give all their money, then all of their means of production (livestock), then all of their land, and finally /themselves/ as servants/slaves to the Pharaoh.

Without mounting a military threat, without shooting one arrow, Joseph was able to single-handedly induce the Egyptian people to not merely /consent/ to become the Pharaoh's slaves, but to /initiate/ the offer to do so. Joseph didn't ask the people if they were would trade their land and bodies (personal freedom) for more grain. He simply waited for circumstances to grow so dire that the people had no option other than to prostitute themselves and sell their land to buy another year of life. The people, recognizing their hopeless condition, therefore invited Joseph to “buy us and our land for bread”.

Joseph accepted their offer, but it's inconceivable that Joseph didn't know all along that the people's desperation would drive them to “voluntarily” become slaves. Joseph simply created economic circumstances so desperate that the people—fearful of death—/volunteered/ into bondage. The masses of people—who could've torn Joseph and Pharaoh apart with their bare hands—instead refused to fight and /volunteered/ to become slaves.

Entering such servitude /voluntarily/ is important. If Joseph had enslaved the Egyptians by force, they'd always be looking for an opportunity to slay him and regain their freedom. But by creating circumstances where the Egyptians /voluntarily/ agreed to become slaves, Joseph was far less likely to ever be murdered in a revolt.

Joseph, my Bible school's purported hero, manipulated the Egyptian economy so as to cause a whole nation to /consent/ to become slaves. I doubt that there's another comparable story or even myth in all of history. One man—Joseph—essentially engineered an unprecedented, unrivaled and extraordinary conquest an entire nation. This is the stuff of awe and legend.

And just to ensure that the slavery stuck, Joseph moved the people from their rural homes into the big cities:

“And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof.” /Gen 47:21/

City folk are packed so tightly and stressfully that they know they can't survive independently. They are natural /dependents/. They typically don't own their own land, and therefore won't fight to defend or retain it. So, even after the Egyptians agreed to surrender their land and their freedom to Pharaoh, Joseph apparently thought it prudent to move them off their former land so they didn't get any ideas about taking it back or reasserting their former independence.

(Curiously, the UN's “Agenda 21” (like Joseph) also proposes to remove all Americans from rural areas and force us all to live in a relatively few major metropolitan cities. Another interesting coincidence, hmm?)

Having urbanized all the people, Joseph then offered to seemingly do them a favor:

“Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here/ /is /seed/ for you, and ye shall sow the [Pharaoh's] land. And it shall come to pass in the increase, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.” /Gen 47:23-24/

Note that once the people had surrendered all of their money, livestock, land and freedom to buy seed/grain so that they might survive, Joseph then offered “free” seed to anyone who would plant and work the /Pharaoh's/ land.

Implication? There was never a real grain shortage. Joseph could've given the people free grain in the first year and let them keep their money. He could've given them free grain in the second year and let them keep their livestock and free grain in the third year and let them keep their land and freedom. But instead, Joseph artificially restricted the supply of grain so he could sell under such terms as to slowly put the people into poverty and then bondage.

By anticipating the famine and cornering the grain market, in just three or four years of famine, Joseph had captured all of the money, livestock, land and the people's former freedoms. And then, Joseph put the /unemployed/ city dwellers back to work on the land they used to own, raising crops that used to be their own, on condition that they give 20% of whatever they earned to Pharaoh.

Thus, Joseph became father of the world's first income tax. Some “hero,” hmm?

*Punchline*: “And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find grace in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants.” /Gen 47:25/

The damn fool Egyptians were too ignorant or gutless to see that they'd been hustled, conned and subjected to slavery by Joseph.

Instead, those mindless cowards were actually /grateful/ to Joseph.

They /thanked/ their oppressor for “saving” them when he had, in fact, been instrument of their enslavement.

The ancient Egyptians' incredible, self-destructive ignorance and cowardice is frightening.

And yet, 37 /centuries /later/,/ what's changed?

How are today's Americans one whit smarter than the cowardly Egyptians of 3700 years ago?

The Bible—the /Bible!/—which could be read by common people for most of six centuries . . . offers a comprehensive, step-by-step “How To Do It” guide for conquering a nation and subjecting its people to slavery by means of economic control rather than open war .

. . and yet not one man in 100,000 has read and understood that lesson. Not one man in 100,000 has appreciated how dangerously, self-destructively “natural” it is for people to “thank” (rather than fight) the very adversaries who rob them of their property and their freedom.

In the context of history, the story of Joseph is chilling. As a species, mankind seems determined to welcome our own servitude. As a species, we seem almost innately blind to /economic/ forces that would enslave us. We can all see guns, and bullets, and war—but almost none of us can see economics.

And here we are today—without money, with diminishing means of production, with only equitable title to our land and deemed to be fiduciaries (employees) to our government by means of Social Security Numbers, and increasing dependence on government for our food—and watching ourselves slowly slide deeper into the same bondage that Joseph once imposed on the formerly free Egyptians.

Will we learn to recognize and fight our economic oppressors? Or will we, like the ancient Egyptians, also soon come to thank and praise those responsible for our enslavement?

Written at arm’s length and without the singular “United States” (“this state”) by Alfred Adask
 
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