Before, I go any further—I wanted to clear up any issues of why I chose the title above. By no means, am I belittling anyone. Most of us have heard, “it’s the economy, stupid,” from the Clinton administration. That is where my inspiration for the title came from.

According to the Constitution, "Congress shall have the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof." Did you know that Congress had lost this power in 1913 due to the creation of the Federal Reserve Board? And, did you also know that the Federal Reserve is not even a government agency? It is a private bank made up of twelve districts. Therefore, our currency is managed by only a few people in power and the poster child is Ben Bernanke. Ron Paul states it best: “The Fed is a private bank run by unelected officials who are not required to be open or accountable to ‘we the people.’” Does this make you comfortable, knowing that our money is managed this way?

When the Fed cuts interest rates, it means that they have to print more money. If you have noticed the new five dollar bills are in circulation (they have a big purple “5” on the back side, on the bottom right) and also you may have noticed that the Fed have recently cut interest rates—coincidence? The more money there is in circulation, the less your dollar is worth. In actuality, the dollar today is worth only four cents—I repeat four cents! How is this possible?

In this current monetary system we are indebted to the Federal Reserve through the payment of taxes and debts. The Federal Reserve having the power to print money out of thin air, (we are no longer on the gold standard) it’s a fair statement to say that our dollar is worth as much as Monopoly money. So, let me get this straight, the Fed has legal powers to print counterfeit money? If you look at the front of your dollar bill, on the top it says “Federal Reserve Note.” On the bottom left is the phrase: "this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” This currency is really like an IOU, whenever you use it, it’ll remind you that you owe the bank—which is the Fed (render unto Cesar’s) and it’s a vicious cycle.

Do you also know that you pay an “inflation tax?” When you fill your car up with gas and you go to the store and purchase groceries—the current rise of prices is the silent, invisible “inflation tax.” Why is this happening? Simple--Uncle Sam needs your hard earned money to pay for our welfare and warfare state. Also, our children and grandchildren will be footing this bill, as well, if we continue with this madness. Our national debt is well over nine trillion dollars and growing. As long as we have government handouts and war, we are slaves to this system.

We are paying for “guns and butter” for the sake of obtaining “peace and prosperity.” George Orwell was right, “war is peace.” No wonder Thomas Jefferson said, “I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”

For more information read, Billions for Bankers and Debts for the People by Pastor Sheldon Emry.