Economania Links & Resources
Around the turn of the century before last, there was a protracted battle. It was not a geographical battle, fought around and over physical boundaries. Instead it was between the small group of people who own the private banks, and just about everyone else. The bankers eventually won, so everyone else lost. This is the world that you and I were later born into. The consequences remain...
For the most part we don't give it any thought but in this world there is but one universal medium of exchange, money. Because they'd won that big battle, very nearly all of it there is comes supplied by and so owed to private bankers. This world is made so we can't live very well without money. However, there's only one place we can get it, and when we can get it, it's expensive. We have to give back more of it than we are given. That expensive place to get it is the private banks.
You'll have more idea of how this has come about, and the terrible harm this arrangement does to us as a community, when you've followed some of these links...
A quick, dirty and essential guide to what's REALLY going on in the financial world from Ellen Brown.
A quicker and arguably dirtier and possibly even more essential guide to what's REALLY going on in the financial world once more from Ellen Brown. She does this (IMHO) better than anyone else, that's why she gets to go twice.
The cause of the financial crisis & how do high street banks create money?
An explanation of how banks create money from thin air, by Ben Dyson (he of Positive Money)
The Bank of England Act (proposed)
A proposed answer to our financial woes. Well worth the read. It's broadly similar to Ellen Brown's public banking proposals. I support the idea myself in principle.
An offshoot site from Positive Money offering alternatives to the austerity-inspired cuts in the UK.
The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation
Dedicated to the works of Henry George.
Reinventing Money from THomas Greco Jr
Thomas Jr walks us through banking and money options that aren't dictated to us by government. We need to understand these alternatives ready for when the mainstream financial system goes pop, which looks to be any minute now.
Banker Simon Dixon makes his views known.
The American Monetary Institute
Another of the recent crop of British anti-banking sites. Pleasingly lively.
Probably the best of the recently arrived British banking reform sites.
Mick Reiss's site on, you guessed it, FRB.
Margrit Kennedy on Bank Interest
Downloadable PDF from Margit explaining how bank interest adds hugely and unnecessarily to the cost of everything you buy.
The message spreads... about time too!
The message about public banking and its undeniable merits for any community adopting it spreads even further!
The Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
"Perpetual economic growth is neither possible nor desirable" they say, and quite right they are too.
The (rather dry) textbook explanation of the same. Is this obfuscation deliberate? Some would say it is, and remind you that The Wizard of Oz, with its descriptions of smoke and mirrors, is said by some to be metaphorical.
Zerohedge - how the world almost came to end at 2pm September 18th 2008
The Zero Hedge blog details, with video, how close the world came to complete economic meltdown September 2008. We brinked - and how many people realise this?
Download here; Monetary Reform; Making It Happen
PDF of the book by James Robertson
The Forum is a voluntary Initiative of Parliamentarians and Concerned Citizens across the full political spectrum and from all religious persuasions.
PEOPLE For Mathematically Perfected Economy™ (PFMPE™) : mathematically perfected economy™ (MPE™) is the singular integral solution to 1) inflation and deflation, 2) systemic manipulation of the cost or value of money or property, and 3) inherent, irreversible multiplication of debt in proportion to a vital circulation, engendering inevitable systemic failure at a finite system lifespan defined by an inevitable, terminal sum of insoluble debt. Mathematically Perfected Economy™ is every prospective debtor's right to issue their promise to pay, free of extrinsic manipulation, adulteration, or exploitation of that promise, or the natural opportunity to make good on it (that's what they say anyway - BB).
An online book by Bill Davies for the UK describing how our financial system works against us when it should be working for us.
can-we-fix-the-global-financial-system-yes-we-can
More about money creation from Welsh Country magazine.
In Lewes, Sussex, they're printing their own local currency... why?
Local Money shows how local currency can help us unleash the financial power of our communities to build a resilient, low-carbon future.
Another successful local currency.
Another area making a success of their local currency.
The German original of some of the UK's local currency schemes and at time of writing this page's only foreign language link.
And here's another one - that didn't take long did it?
An overview of local currencies from the Worldchanging team.
"No-one could have seen this coming" is the politician's excuse for not forseeing the banking crisis. Here's evidence from former BIS chief economist William White that highly placed people did indeed see it coming but were ignored.
Community Banking - an Example
The Palm Bank - an example of community banking.
Starting in the Austrian town of Worgl, alternative currency worked so well that it spread to neighbouring towns, where it worked well too. Seeing how well plain folks could get along without them, the authorities banned it. If they hadn't, all this too-big-to-fail nonsense very likely couldn't have been justified as, one could strongly argue, there'd be this handy alternative to the big banks.
Politics, Money and Sustainable Living
A plain-English description of fractional reserve banking practices and the unpleasant consequences.
Indie think-and-do tank that inspires and demonstrates (they say) real economic well-being
The UK's own political party for money reform.
American-oriented, a guide to who sponsors whom (and presumably have a big say on what law gets made too).
The Alternative Money Tribe (forum)
The Tribe forums are specialist forums, this one's about alternative currencies and related themes.
An intermediate guide to money, where it comes from (banks create it) and how we got this way. It's probably too wordy (hey, you know economists) for the simple tourist, though.
A wiki offering alternate economic models and the chance to comment or add your own.
The Information Clearing House
All the news you won't get in the mainstream media. This is an invaluable source of alternative information, and it needs funding badly.
All the news you won't get in the mainstream media. This is another invaluable source of alternative information, and it needs funding badly.
Mary Bottari knows whereof she speaks! Very well informed.
A variety of articles, some about social and monetary money, some about religion. The real significance here is that you have a small inkling of how far back people have preached, I mean religious people, against usury, against interest, against economic principles we see around us everywhere in modern day life. You have the feeling that if Jesus came back, He wouldn't be too happy with the credit card companies...
The Austrian School. These are they, and this link itself leads to a list of resources they think will help the reader understand the background to the whole sorry mess. The credit crunch itself is really a side issue.
Hjalmar Schacht and the Magic of Money
Ever wonder how Germany, defeated in WW1 and suffering rampant inflation, managed to conjure from nowhere enough guns and tanks to start WW2? Read what German financial bigwig of the day Schacht has to say about how the famous German inflation came about and was overcome, then ask yourself why you've never had this properly explained before....
Zerohedge on the disclosure of emails between major players who were supposed to be neutral
Emails between the major players involved in the American bank bailouts. Interesting reading.
Click on the links to "The Debt" and "The Federal Budget". Then, if you weren't already, be very afraid.
Hoofy and Boo - the award-winning cartoon commentators. Remember, many a true word is spoken in jest...
Informed opinions on contemporary related matters.
Velvelonnationalaffairs.blogspot.com
Dean Velvet's blog. He gets forensic on the rear of one Madoff and everyone else he feels share the blame, taking in just about every regulatory body you heard of and, I imagine, plenty you didn't. They all are complicit, he says, and reading his stuff I have to agree with him.
The forum to accompany Ellen Brown's Web Of Debt book. It's very new and few people are using it yet, but I'm hoping it'll pick up.
Bill Bonner writes an amusing daily commentary on America's economic woes. Subscribe to it here. I will caution, though, that while I recommend you read Bonner's stuff as he's very knowledgeable, he seems to me always to be trying to sell you something.
All the news that the mainstream won't print. Some good articles here.
Ever wonder why government statistics and your own experience don't match? Find out why here. Exposing the damn lies behind statistics.
The view from Michael Parenti. We're screwed, basically.
Another alternative news site.
Making the (very good) case for a basic income for everyone.
Another alternative news site. These take on a new perspective when you consider that Obama plans to shut the internet down in (ahem) emergencies.
Links and articles.
Home of irrepressible commentator Max Keiser. Alternative commentary, widely informed.
Home of even more irrepressible commentator Webster Griffin Tarpley. Alternative commentary, hugely informed. I don't know of anyone else with his sense of historical perspective.
Inside the economic meltdown. How the society we know came this close to ending last year.
A list of blogs on the subject of the economic meltdown.
Alternative news.
http://www.strike-the-root.com/
Alternative news.
http://timeline.stlouisfed.org/index.cfm?p=timeline
Credit crunch; the timeline.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/
Alternative news.
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/
ALternative commentary. So many of these people really do seem to be flakes but George, however, still plays for the lucid.
http://www.globaleventsmagazine.com/
Fortnightly commentary.
Stephen Zarlenga's site. An extraordinary authority.
Economic guru Richard Cook - read his article
http://www.thiscantbehappening.net/
Alternative viewpoints and commentary. People speak their minds on these small sites, something you don't get the same sense of in any media owned by Big Money.
We do, you'll probably smartly say, because it's nationalised. And so it is, but that doesn't mean we own it. In fact, it apparently means, among other things, we don't and we aren't actually allowed to know who does own it... or why we aren't allowed to know, or who says we aren't allowed to know. A shame there's so little attribution in this article but there's much to think on in it.
http://www.alternativeinsight.com/
Economic articles and analysis.
Is this all planned? Is the Conspiracy Theory after all fact? Difficult not to think so if you read Dr. James Polk's analysis of the financial timeline.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/apr2009/pers-a10.shtml
The World Socialist Website, not surprisingly with plenty to say just now.
Articles and commentary, news.
http://www.goldmansachs666.com/
Goldman Sachs/Satan; easy mistake, thinks Mike Morgan.
http://www.dollarsandsense.org/index.html
Ongoing coverage of the financial crisis.
Nikki rages. Nikki rants. I've included her here because she's also very knowledgeable and, frankly, I'm upset too.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Questions-about-money-the-by-Martin-Carbone-090420-887.html
Just ask yourself the questions here. Then ask the big question - why don't you know the answers? Immensely revealing, illustrates how we're led to believe we're educated when in fact we're simply duped.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/frb.html
Rothbard on fractional reserve banking.
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/
Tyler Durden blogs on stocks and shares his views.
The Motleys as themselves. The rascals.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Solve-our-Home-Mortgage-M-by-Martin-Carbone-090424-743.html
A solution to our problems, from Martin Carbone. We'll have to get rid of those pesky cartels first.
Stock-market oriented news and commentary.
http://www.prosperityuk.com/prosperity/bromsgrove/bromsgrove.html
The Bromsgrove Group, our homegrown economic reformers. Wish them well, they fight our fight.
Scottish-based monetary reform site.
The struggle with the banks, as I suggested earlier, has been going on for some time. Here's links to early works about it - from centuries ago....
Knowledgeable article about the rise of fractional reserve banking.
A proposal to take back the power of money creation from private banks.
How bad it really is... and it's worse than you think... much worse.
Yup... it's worse than that, even. Doomed!
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n10/lanc01_.html
But enough of why the American poor have reached the bad end of the Yellow Brick Road. Here's why the British have, too.
http://plus.maths.org/issue51/features/boedihardjo/index.html
The mathematics that didn't add up for Lehman Brothers. Technical terms explained for the beginner.
The UK national debt clock, Britain's growing debt illustrated as a ticking money bomb. Good luck to who tries to defuse that one.
What's really going on from a knowledgeable insider - in plain English too. Must-read.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2009/
The Fed's Beige Book report. See what the Federal Bank of the USA, a private bank I remind you, report to each other.
http://www.cyberclass.net/ecolinks.htm
http://www.rapidtrends.com/lets-make-some-money-no-i-dont-mean-earn-it-i-mean-make-it/
Good explanation of money creation.
An animated iluustration of banking practices including fractional reserve banking and its origins.
The IMF and the World Bank are Weapons of War
Says crusading journalist John Pilger. He's absolutely right too - why do you think, given the much trumpeted need for austerity measures on the basis there's just no money available, the Coalition Government maintained what it refers to as Foreign Aid? We're not aiding these people, we're at war with them. After watching this video you'll have a better understanding of how economic warfare works.
"Film maker Bill Still discusses the underlying problems of the monetary system and fractional-reserve banking, and provides solutions that must be taken to reclaim national sovereignty." - Bill talks up a storm at the annual Bromsgrove/Prosperity UK meeting 2011.
John Perkins on Why We're At War
John Perkins, the Economic Hitman himself, gives his vies on the real reasons America's at war in the Middle East in this speech from 2006.
Transcript of the 'Money As Debt' video (see below)
Videos
Ellen 'Web of Debt' Brown and her concepts now have their own video channel on Youtube.
Congressman Kanjorski recalls the critical moments when the world's economy hung in the balance. If this link's live then you might like to download a copy to convince yourself the video ever existed, as it seems to vanish then reappear. One is reluctant to suggest conspiracy but then there were those in the financial profession recently reluctant to bawl "ICEBERRRRRRRRRRRG!!" when really they should have... one must make up one's own mind.
Economic guru Richard Cook's site. Watch his videos.
The movie of the credit crunch. Take note of the comments.
http://www.thenation.com/section/meltdown101
A multimedia online guide around the crisis.
Animated movie explaining the financial mechanics behind our situation. Buy the DVD or watch it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC720Cl3N-0
A little old now but revelatory still to anyone who hasn't understood the basic principles of fractional reserve banking. This is Youtube again. I believe there's a DVD available but I haven't found where yet.
Argentine Adrian (who's been through it all personally) explains why we're doomed, basically. Part One.
Argentine Adrian (who's been through it all personally) explains why we're doomed, basically. Part Two. It would be nice to think there's going to be a Part Three but given the subject matter... Adrian? ADRIAN??
Economist and historian Niall Ferguson examines the current global financial crisis in the context of the financial history of the West in four video instalments.
Margrit speaks on the subject of bank interest and how much it adds to the cost of daily living.
William K. Black, the former litigation director of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board who investigated the Savings and Loan disaster of the 1980s, discusses one scandal in which a single bank, IndyMac, lost more money than was lost during the entire Savings and Loan crisis. Warning - he gets excited...
One woman in a position of power saw the crash coming and did her best to stop it by regulating derivatives; take a bow, Brooksley Born.
Bill Still examines the Wizard of Oz, a tale not for children but a metaphor for America's relationship with the banking fraternity and money in general. Features interviews with Peter Schiff, Ellen Brown and other notables. Unusually this goes into early British financial arrangements in some depth, examining the tally sticks method of accounting, and features filming from inside the Bank of England museum. Very informative and IMV well worth ordering for Britons and Americans alike. There's now a free version for the UK avaiable at The Secret Of Oz
An animated iluustration of banking practices including fractional reserve banking and its origins.
Books
By Ellen Brown, this is the one everyone has to read. The best researched and easiest to understand, it wins on all fronts. One wonders with whom she banks.
By James Gibb Stuart. This is the one that, in addition to the above, everyone in the UK has to read. We could be and should be far better off as a nation. Check out page 149 which suggests to me that the Tories reputation for fiscal prudence is no more than sleight of hand. Essential reading. You can find it on Amazon from time to time too.
By Tacitus, the celebrated Roman historian. His father-in-law Agricola is remembered by we Britons as one of the first governor-generals of the conquered British Isles. Note this quote;"All this in their ignorance, they called civilization, when it was but a part of their servitude". Sound familiar? It should, that was Tacitus talking about us, confident we were so uneducated we wouldn't understand it if we read it. Two thousand years later and he's still right. Look around... we're still in the same circumstances, but with a different group having the monopoly on the medium of exchange we're compelled to use.
From David Korten. Self-explanatory.
A financial history of the world by Niall Ferguson. There are several, indeed many, books along these lines but author Niall is more topical than most at time of writing because of his well-publicised spats with distinguished economist Paul Krugman. I haven't read Niall's book yet myself but frankly, if he's agin Krugman, I'm for'im.
By Stephen Zarlenga, reputedly a masterful work vividly detailing 2000 years of monetary history.
By Michael Rowbotham, an in-depth examination of the consequences of an economy built on debt.
Some people say there's a cartel of bank-owning families behind every boom and bust. A couple of years ago I'd have dismissed these people as cranks and conspiracy theorists. Now, after a couple of years of running Mensa's Special Interest Group on Economics, Trade and Finance, I've come to the conclusion that we are farmed. What we think of as our own culture, one having matured and developed over the years is in fact an imposed culture, in effect no more than a giant battery farm in which we live and function largely as we are told to for the profit of others. I don't think that's what's made the credit crunch though. I think that was drugs. For the first time in the history of economic manipulation, you have Big Drugs in the mix. The money dealers got intoxicated and blew it. Oh, I know about Clinton and the Community Reinvestment Act and A.C.O.R.N. and Fannie and Freddie and all the rest of it, the lack of regulation... I know all that. I've learned, and if you've read enough of the above, you've learned too. I still believe the real biggie that's messed things up for any banking cartel and their plans is... too much coke up too many noses. It's got away from them. However... that war I was talking about earlier. The one between a small group of private bank-owners and the rest of us. I said we lost a battle, and we did. That's why we grew up believing that books had to balance, that money had to come from somewhere. That's why we didn't know banks could make it up. We haven't lost the war though. That goes on. I'm in it, you're in it; what can we do?
You could write to your MP. This at least will bring it home that understanding of the issue itself is beginning to surface again. Ask them how it can be that there can be such a thing as a national debt. Where would a bank, any bank, get more money than a country does? How can any bank be generating and holding more money than the country it does its business in and anyway, aren't these the banks that we've just all had to bail out because... because they had no money? Ask what's going on here. Demand to know.
Write to your daily paper asking these same questions. I doubt you'll see your letters printed or even any comment at first. However, my suspicion here is that members of the press would love to be writing about these subjects but are forced by commercial considerations to write around the real problems, never mentioning them directly. If enough letters on the subject are arriving then they may appeal to their editors (who may in turn then appeal to the paper's owners) that in order to retain any journalistic credibility (and so keep people reading) they will have to openly begin addressing these issues.
Members can discuss this and other articles on the economics forum at International Mensa.