Update 12/12/15

My Challenge to the Other Presidential Candidates and the Media

Well, I guess we Americans are doomed to remain DEBT SLAVES forever.  After eleven years of effort and frustration, apparently, there is nothing I can do about it.  Despite two campaigns for the Pennsylvania state legislature, local television and radio interviews, my web site, roadside signs from Pittsburgh to Ohio and Upstate New York and information placement all the way to New Jersy, I’m still stuck out in the political wilderness.  I tried to provoke a public debate regarding the issue of U.S. Treasury issued debt-free money – United States Notes (U.S. Notes) -- by publicly calling the politicians and the pundits stupid.  That didn’t work.  On April 7, 2015 I launched my campaign for President of the United States.  I figured surely that would get someone to notice me.  So far, the stonewall of silence and suppression remains monolithic and impenetrable.  However, I did accomplish at least one thing.  I proved that, for me, the constitutionally protected right of free speech is a cruel myth.   

On August 29, 2015, I began writing to the major American news organizations and prominent members of the mainstream media.  This included Katrina vanden Heuvel editor of The Nation magazine; Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes; David Rhodes, president of CBS News, Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, Gwen Ifill, co-host of the PBS NewsHour, Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC Hardball, Matt Taibbi, journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, David Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and twenty-eight others.  The complete list can be seen at the end of this post.  Incredibly, I have heard nothing from them, not even a form letter.  The envelopes that contained my letters clearly and boldly stated that I am a candidate for the office of President of the United States.  This was repeated in the first sentence of the letters.  And the first paragraph of the letters stated that I am registered with the Federal Election Commission.  Surely our world renowned “free press” wouldn’t ignore a presidential candidate would they?  Is our constitutionally protected free speech an inside joke among America’s insider elite?  (Pun intended.)  Unfortunately, the deafening silence of the mainstream corporate media has forced me to be a “flip flopper.”

In my April 7, 2015 presidential candidacy declaration (below) I said: “In my two previous campaigns for public office, I despised asking for money.  As a result, my political activities have caused me spend thousands of dollars of my own limited financial resources.  Despite this, I will not ask for political contributions.  I will try to finance my campaign and my living expenses through the sale of my art.  I will accept contributions if they are offered but I will do no political fundraising.”  Well, I am forced to do a flip flop (!) and ask for campaign contributions.  I assumed that exposure in the national mainstream media would bring me financial and organizational support without pandering for money.  And it would give me the opportunity to promote the sale of my art.  But, because I was smacked down by the mainstream media, I am forced to ask for campaign contributions and promote the sale of my art from this web site.  My portfolio can be found on this home page.  Just click on the link Ray’s Art.  This portfolio will be replaced as soon as possible with a portfolio with prices for the art.  Some of my art is unique, cerebral, unprecedented and valuable.  Unfortunately, the art market has no interest in my art.  You might want to render your own judgment.  I suggest scrolling down to the end of the portfolio.  There you will find my painting titled “The God Equation.”  I consider this painting and the explanatory essay a very good example of contemporary art.  This painting, like my monetary reform proposals, requires an open mind to be understood and appreciated.         

With the exception of Senator Bernie Sanders, I haven’t written to the other presidential candidates.  I’ve given up writing to politicians because they either ignore me or send me worthless form letters.  I wrote to Sanders because I thought he might be different.  I thought, because of his populist rhetoric, he would be interested in giving the enormous benefits of debt-free money to the American people.  I’ve heard nothing from him.   

The national debt is a threat to our national security and the general welfare of the American people.  Every federal politician is given a mandate by the Constitution to “promote the general welfare” of the American people.  If I am elected president, I will take that clause as my mandate.  Why did I title some of my previous Update posts “It’s the stupidity, stupid”?  My objective was to bluntly warn the American people about and call their attention to the consequences and dangers of accepting stupid ideas as revealed wisdom.  The national debt is a stupid idea that is accepted as a normal fact of life.  Conversely, U.S. Treasury issued legal tender United States Notes are a legal and practicable way to fund government at all levels, with no debt.  That is why I say raising taxes and borrowing money to fund the government when there is a debt-free alternative is stupid.  Letting the politicians use the national debt as a weapon against the American people is stupid.  Letting the politicians reject debt-free money out of hand for eleven years with no public debate is stupid.  Denying the American people the enormous fiscal and economic benefits of debt-free money is stupid.  Loading an $18 trillion national debt on the backs of American taxpayers for the benefit of the global bond market parasites is stupid.  Letting the Republicans use the national debt as a weapon against social security, Medicare, Medicaid, our pensions, veterans and even our wounded and disabled veterans is stupid and immoral.  Letting investors use the national debt as a risk-free “flight to safety” during market downturns is stupid.  Letting Wall Street speculators use the national debt for a safe place to “park their money” when they crash the stock markets is stupid and fiscally irresponsible.  Using the national debt to “justify” the budget sequester that weakens our military and cuts vitally important government operations is stupid and irresponsible.  And being a debt slave to the Bond Vigilante parasites is stupid.  When you read my challenge to the other candidates, the media and all politicians, you will understand just how monumentally STUPID the $18 trillion national debt really is.

The last “deadline” to raise the national debt ceiling was November 5, 2015.  But a funny thing happened on the way to the debt ceiling debate.  The debate vanished!  The 2011/2013 debt ceiling debate was swallowed by the budget sequester.   Then, a couple of months ago President Obama and Congress quietly pushed the debt ceiling debate out to March, 2017!  My plan to confront the politicians and corner them into a public debate about debt-free money was blown out of the water.  Who needs debt-free money when you can raise taxes, cut social security and borrow more money from China?!  Did our loan originator politicians know I was waiting for the debt ceiling debate to force them to finally publicly take a position on debt-free money?  After eleven years, three political campaigns, dozens of phone calls, letters, e-mails and faxes, they have to know who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish.  Am I just paranoid to think that our bought and paid for politicians are deliberately stonewalling me?  It is interesting to note that the only politicians who successfully implemented debt-free monetary reform, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, were both assassinated.  Congress withdrew their United States Notes from circulation after they were murdered and never again permitted the issuance of debt-free money.  Why would I be paranoid?    

I consider excluding the issue of debt-free money from the debt ceiling “debate” a crime.  The national debt is an $18 trillion theft of American tax dollars.  On the subject of theft, how many trillions of dollars ($5 trillion or more?) have been stolen from the social security “trust fund” since the federal budget was “unified” in 1969?  Remember, social security money was stolen to pay for the unnecessary Vietnam War.  FYI, the FICA social security payroll deduction IS NOT A TAX.  It is a premium payment to a government administered insurance program.  The acronym FICA stands for Federal INSURANCE Contribution Act.  Would the American people tolerate the politicians intercepting and stealing their premium payments for their car insurance, healthcare insurance or life insurance?!  Of course, they wouldn’t.  So why do they tolerate politicians stealing their social security and Medicare money?  By the way, what bank holds the mythical $2.7 trillion social security “surplus” Senator Sanders?

Two visionary American presidents recognized the danger to national security and the general welfare of the American people of a national debt -- Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.  They both used the U.S. Constitution and the LAW to justify issuing debt-free United States Notes directly into the national money supply. It is worth repeating that they were both assassinated.  And after they were murdered, Congress withdrew all the debt-free money from circulation.  The result is the destructive and unnecessary $18 trillion national debt. 

The debt monster is not only a national threat, it can also devourer states, counties, cities and towns.  The soon forgotten Jefferson County, Alabama sewage project financial disaster and scandal could have been avoided if the project was funded with U.S. Notes.  As I said, U.S. Treasury issued legal tender United States Notes are a legal and practicable way to fund government at all levels, with no debt.  Not only could the project have been funded debt-free, the money didn’t have to be paid back!  Am I taking my life in my hands when I reveal this astounding truth to the American people?  Does this make me a “CNN Hero” Anderson Cooper?  The massive corruption that permitted Wall Street to financially rape Jefferson County and the city of Birmingham would have been avoided with federal government regulation and oversight of the distribution of the U.S. Notes.  Is there a politician in America (other than me) with the guts to reveal this explosive truth to the American people?      

I like to tell anybody who will listen that we have no good politicians.  They’re all bad.  Some are just worse than others.  The dreadful situation that America is in today clearly illustrates the catastrophic failure of American political leadership.  If this opinion provokes a response from ANY politician, I will be happy to debate the issue.  Why do I say catastrophic failure?  Some politicians like to brag that they voted against the Iraq War.  That vote was a life and death issue.   President George W. Bush’s fraudulent “justification” for the war caused some politicians to vote against the war.  That fraud should have caused those politicians to vehemently attack Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the neo cons in the mainstream media and in the halls of Congress.  But after that disastrous vote, they were silent.  What if, after the vote, those politicians would have publicly exploded with outrage and told the American people WHY they voted against the war.  Would Bush have dared to invade Iraq?  This catastrophic failure of courage and political leadership is responsible for the deadly, enormously expensive, metastasizing and possibly unfixable and Middle East disaster!         

When I think about the proportion of commercials, “branding,” self promotion, bumper music, fluff and other useless “content” to useful, valuable news and information, I consider our mainstream news media another catastrophic failure.  And when I consider the vitally important news and information that is ignored and deliberately suppressed by the corporate media, I believe this fraud masquerading as a free press borders on a criminal enterprise.  The role of the media in enabling the politicians to force America into another unnecessary war is a disgrace that should haunt and taunt our media forever.  If this opinion provokes a response from ANYONE in the media, I will be happy to debate the issue.

However, I refuse to debate my opinion of our cowardly, sold out politicians and my opinion of the cowardly, sold out media until the issue of debt-free money is resolved to my satisfaction.  Three hundred million dollars of unissued debt-free United States Notes (U.S. Notes) currently exist in our national money supply.  By law, The Legal Tender Act of 1862, this amount can be increased by Congress.  This link to the U.S. Treasury Department web site: U.S. Treasury - FAQ: LegalTender Status of Currency will verify that what I say about United States Notes is true and based on existing law.  In theory, there is no limit to the amount of U.S. Notes that Congress can authorize!  And the Treasury can put this debt-free money into circulation immediately.  These facts make our $18 trillion national debt the greatest financial SCANDAL in American history!

On October 2, 2015 I wrote to the Alliance for Retired Americans.  And on October 5, 2015 I wrote to Senator Bernie Sanders.  I am still waiting to hear from them.  Incidentally, when I wrote to my conservative Republican Congressman Tim Murphy, his man in the front office intercepted my letter.  He even admitted that he never gave my letter to Murphy.  He read it and threw it in the trash!  This, of course, gave the Congressman “plausible deniability” of any knowledge of debt-free money.  For several months I battled with Murphy’s office to get him to read my letter and make a statement about it for the record.  Eventually, after much badgering, the front man said he gave the letter to Murphy.  That was eight years ago.  I’m still waiting for a response.  For the last eleven years the politicians have made a mockery of my Constitutional right to petition the government for the redress of grievances.  Primary among my many grievances is the theft of my social security money.  I even complained to U.S. attorney’s office in Pittsburgh about being denied my Constitutional right and the theft of my social security money.  Both the previous and current U.S. Attorneys refused to take any action.

Below is my challenge to the other candidates, every federal politician and the media.  I sent this challenge to thirty-six media big shots, they all ignored me.  Below that is the form/cover letter that I included with each challenge.  This particular one was addressed to Katrina vanden Heuvel editor of “liberal” The Nation magazine. 

 

[I make no apology for the length of this post or the volume of the writing on this web site.  Presidential candidates routinely write books explaining their ideas.  Repetition of some important points is unavoidable because this site is composed of many stand alone posts and essays.]

   

My Challenge to the Other Candidates and the Media 

The September11, 2001 terrorist attack, the Iraq War, and the 2007/2008 subprime mortgage disaster/global credit crisis are three tragic examples of the catastrophic failure of American political leadership.  I could list many more.  This leadership vacuum is the reason I am running for the office of President of the United States. 

The main plank in my campaign platform is the issue of U.S. Treasury issued debt-free money, United States Notes.   For more than eleven years, an impenetrable barrier of silence has prevented me from engaging my elected representatives in a public debate about this vitally important issue.   As a legitimate presidential candidate, registered with the Federal Election Commission, I demand that the issue of debt-free money be part of the 2016 presidential debate.  

I CHALLENGE EVERY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND EVERY ELECTED FEDERAL POLITICIAN, INCLUDING PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, TO ENGAGE ME IN A PUBLIC DEBATE REGARDING THE ISSUE OF U.S. TREASURY ISSUED DEBT-FREE MONEY.

Before I propose what I believe is an irrefutable case for debt-free money, I would like to tell the voters about candidate Ray Uhric.  Nobody owns me.  At this point in time, September 15, 2015, I have received no support from any political party, organized labor, the private sector, any group or individual.  In fact, if you read my writings on this web site, you will learn that after more than eleven years, no organization or politician (including President Obama) will talk to me or answer my correspondence in any meaningful way.  My allegiance is to my country -- the United States of America and the United States Constitution.  I owe no allegiance to any individual, organization, religion or ethnic group.  If I am elected president, no individual, group or organization should ask me for special treatment or favors based on who they are or what they are.   

My mandate comes from the preamble of the United States Constitution: “to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and to promote the general welfare” of the American people.  As a populist politician, justice to me includes economic and social justice.  Domestic tranquility to me means a society without violence and hatred.  To me, providing for the common defense means a military capable of defending America against any external or internal threat.  As president, I will not create external or internal threats.  My idea of the general welfare of the American people means prosperity for every American based on their contribution to society.  People who need help from the American government will be helped, generously.  The cost of this help will be funded with debt-free U.S. Treasury issued United States Notes.  No tax dollars or government borrowing will be required.  Full employment and full heath care coverage will be available for all Americans and their families.  Full employment to me means good pay, good benefits and good working conditions.  The Constitutional mandate above means that if you are an American or an American business with a legitimate need or problem, it is the job of the government address the need and fix the problem, if possible.  This is especially true for veterans; combat veterans particularly wounded and disabled combat veterans.  No budget constraints will interfere with the fulfillment of this mandate.  If any individual, group or organization wants to support me with a monetary contribution, organizational support or by purchasing my art, they will be supporting the above agenda.  

Some people might say this is a utopian fantasy.  I say it is a legitimate public policy objective.  The achievement of this objective is made possible by the U.S. Constitution: art. 1, sec. 8, par. 5 and the law: the Legal Tender Act of 1862.  With unlimited money, yes, I said unlimited money, what is impossible under free market capitalism is possible with what I call Lincoln/Kennedy monetary reform.  My proposals for Lincoln/Kennedy (that is, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy) populist economics are explained in detail elsewhere on this web site.  But, essentially, I propose a modern version of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.  Rather than raise taxes, my economic policies – full employment with good wages/salaries, good benefits and full health care coverage – will be funded with U.S. Treasury issued debt-free United States Notes.  Inflation will be controlled.  I will not permit Greed Inflation or currency manipulation to devalue the dollar and wreck the economy.  The power to control inflation is given to the government by the U.S. Constitution: art. 1, sec 8, par 5: to “regulate the value thereof [money] and of foreign coin.”

The public debt-free money debate can be easily presented to the American voters.  All rebuttals to my policy proposals from any candidate or politician should be sent to Committee to Elect Ray Uhric, PO Box 815, Coraopolis, PA 15108.  I will respond on this web site/blog or in the public news media.  To avoid time wasting spurious “rebuttals,” I will respond to no rebuttals that do not address everything in my 10 point thesis below.  I will debate any domestic or international issue, AFTER the issue of Treasury issued debt-free money is resolved.  I am a legitimate presidential candidate registered with the Federal Election Commission.  This gives me the right to demand access to the public news media.  I also have the right to demand that the other candidates address the issue of debt-free money as proposed on this web site and in the white paper below.

In the event that the issue of debt-free money is resolved in my favor, I will call on Congress to authorize the issuance of debt-free money IMMEDIATELY.  There is no reason to wait until after the 2016 election to take this action.  The $18 trillion national debt is a threat to national security and the general welfare of the American people.  It must be arrested NOW.

Debt-Free Government Funding, A Proposal by Ray Uhric

Since June of 2004 I have been promoting debt-free monetary reform to my elected representatives, the media and several academics.  I propose having the U.S. Treasury issue legal tender United States Notes (U.S. Notes) to supplement our national money supply.  This is the same currency, sometimes called “Greenbacks,” that was issued under Presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and John F. Kennedy in 1963.  This debt-free currency could be placed directly into the federal trust funds e.g., social security, Medicare, Medicaid etc. to replace the trillions of dollars stolen and spent by the politicians since the federal budget was “unified” in 1969.  U.S. Notes can eliminate all government funding shortfalls, lower taxes, reduce the national debt and stimulate the economy with government funded jobs.

I believe the monetary reforms outlined on my web site can solve virtually all of America’s fiscal and economic problems.  Despite this obvious win/win for America, I have been stonewalled by my elected representatives and ignored by the media for more than eleven years.  My web site documents the more recent years of my so far fruitless struggle to provoke a fair public debate of this vitally important issue as well as my efforts to win elected office.

The purpose of this paper is to present what I believe is an irrefutable case for debt-free monetary reform.  My thesis below is formulated to answer and refute any objections to my proposals.  If any candidate or federal politician can find any flaws or errors in my paper, they should send them to Committee to Elect Ray Uhric, PO box 815 Coraopolis, PA 15108.  If I am wrong on any point, I want to be corrected.  The U.S. Constitutional justification for my thesis is Article 1, Section 8, Paragraph 5.  The legal justification is The Legal Tender Act Of 1862.

 My debt-free economic and monetary reforms will require no tax dollars or government borrowing.  Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) and the Veterans Administration can all be fully funded and made permanently solvent using United States Treasury issued debt-free money.  Today, government funding is such a disaster that several private sector charities are making television appeals for money for our wounded and disabled veterans.  Wounded and disabled veterans have become charity cases.  This is a national disgrace!  For years I have been badgering our politicians to use unlimited Treasury issued debt-free money to fund ALL of the needs of our veterans.   Tragically, I have been stonewalled and ignored by the dozens of politicians who I have contacted.  The debt-free funding that I propose will be provided in the form of U. S. Treasury issued, legal tender United States Notes (U.S. Notes).  This is the same currency that was issued under Presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and John F. Kennedy in 1963.  Incredibly, all of their debt-free currency was withdrawn from circulation by Congress after these great presidents were assassinated! 

Despite the stupidity of Congress, $300 million of this debt-free money is currently an unissued part of our national money supply.  Under the authority of the Legal Tender Act of 1862, Congress can increase this $300 million to whatever amount is needed to solve America’s fiscal and economic problems.  The U.S. Notes can be put directly into the federal trust funds to replace the trillions of dollars that have been stolen since the federal budget was unified in 1969.  Treasury issued debt-free money is the perfect, legal and practicable solution to America’s fiscal and economic problems.  This link to the U.S. Treasury Department web site: U.S. Treasury - FAQ: Legal Tender Status of Currency will verify that what I say about United States Notes is true and based on existing law.

It is a self-serving myth created by Wall Street, the global bond market and their agents in academia and government that U.S. Treasury issuance of debt-free money would cause inflation or even hyperinflation. I have discredited this myth elsewhere on this web site (in my article titled social security/pensions).   So, rather than give a lengthy rebuttal of the myth here, I will ask these questions of any politician, reputable pundit or academic who claims that my debt-free monetary reforms would be inflationary, illegal or impracticable.  

1.     If U.S. Treasury issued money would not increase labor or production costs, why would prices go up?     

2.     The commodity theory of valuing the dollar (“more of something makes it worth less”) is wrong because dollars are not a commodity.  They are a medium of exchange.  And, the supply of U.S. Notes, unlike debt-based Federal Reserve Notes, is unlimited and not dependent on taxes and U.S. government debt (or the assets of the American people) for backing.  So, why would increasing the money supply with United States Notes decrease the value of the dollar?

3.     Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) are based on and backed by U.S. government debt --- Treasury bills, bonds and notes.  According to former Federal Reserve Chairman Marriner Eccles, “without that debt, we have no money”!  Of course, these Treasury issued “debt securities” are a liability on the backs of American taxpayers.  The collateral for this debt issuance is our taxes and the assets of every man, woman and child in America!  Is our “monetary system” a form of debt slavery?  The Treasury can legally issue U.S. Notes with no debt burden and no lien on the property and assets of the American people.  Wouldn’t Treasury-issued debt-free money be a more intelligent and fiscally responsible way to fund our government?

4.     Congressman Paul Ryan claimed that he will “pay off the national debt.”  Congressman Ryan, please explain exactly how you would do that?    

5.     According to the Constitution as cited above, only Congress has the authority to regulate the value of the dollar “regulate the value thereof” domestically and relative to foreign currencies “and of foreign coin.”  This means that currency speculators on Wall Street regulating and attacking the value of the dollar is unconstitutional and thus, illegal.  Why do our politicians tolerate this illegal and destructive activity?

6.     It has been said that United States Notes wouldn’t be accepted by other nations in the global economy.  U.S. Notes are interchangeable with and have the same value as Federal Reserve Notes and they are legal tender just like Federal Reserve Notes.  Why wouldn’t they be accepted in the global economy?

7.     The national debt is a threat to national security and “the general welfare” of the American people.  Why have the politicians ignored and stonewalled my call for Treasury issuance of United States Notes for more than eleven years?  Why have they piled an unnecessary $11 trillion on to the national debt and on the backs of taxpayers since 2004 when I first proposed debt-free monetary reform?

8.     The “gold bugs” claim that the dollar should be backed by gold, silver or some other “precious metal.”  This is another self-serving myth.  This stupid and unnecessary action would do nothing to “stabilize the dollar.”  In fact, by restricting the money supply, it could cause a recession or even a depression.  But it would be an enormous financial windfall for the gold bugs.  The dollar does not need to be backed by gold, silver or the taxes and assets of the American people.  The dollar gets its value and legal authority from the U.S. Constitution, the LAW and the strength of the American government.  Why would we do something as stupid as backing the dollar fully or partially with gold?

9.      In 1862, in order to save the union, President Abraham Lincoln called on the U.S. Treasury to issue debt-free United States Notes.  This was necessary because the United States was on the gold standard and there was not enough gold to back the money needed to fight and win the Civil War.  In 1863 and 1864, Congress passed the National Banking Acts.  This legislation set up a national banking system based on U.S. government debt.  According to some historians, Congress blackmailed Lincoln into signing this redundant legislation.  Lincoln signed it because if he didn’t, Congress would authorize no more U.S. Notes!  Did Congress commit treason in 1863 and 1864 for the benefit of the banksters?  These same historians say that Lincoln planned to repeal the National Banking Acts after the Civil War was won.  Tragically, he never lived to fulfill this promise.  Why is the U.S. Congress, to this day, determined to load enormous unnecessary debt on the backs of American taxpayers and undermine the solvency of the American government?

10.  Does the current Federal Reserve “monetary system” actually contain any money within the constraints of the U.S. Constitution?  Our current (issued) monetary system only contains debt.  The legal authorization for the U.S. Congress to “coin (i.e., create) money” is art. 1, sec. 8, par. 5 of the Constitution.  This authority makes United States Notes legal tender.  Article 1, sec. 8, par. 2 gives Congress to authority “to borrow money” by issuing government debt.  A Federal Reserve Note dollar is based on U.S. government debt.  Federal Reserve Notes are “authorized” by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, not the Constitution as is the case with United States Notes.  Some people consider the Federal Reserve Act illegal because Congress does not have the authority to give away its enumerated power to create money without a Constitutional amendment.  So, are Federal Reserve Notes really legal Tender?  Or, are they illegal because they violate the United States Constitution?            

After badgering a stonewalling federal politician for six months about the issue of debt-free money, he referred me to the Congressional Research Service CRS.  The CRS response was, in my opinion, wrong.  The CRS tried to sell me the insidious, self-serving Wall Street myth that “printing too much money” caused the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany between 1921 and 1924.  In fact, the opposite is true.  The Weimar Republic was forced to print a massive amount of currency in a desperate attempt to maintain an adequate money supply in the economy because of the hyperinflation.  War reparations, social and political instability, default on external debt and out of control economic forces weakened the Weimar government and put downward pressure on the currency.  Also, some people who actually profited from the hyperinflation had a selfish reason to destroy the value of the German currency.  When all these problems were resolved, the currency stabilized.

It is important to remember that after the 2007/2008 sub-prime mortgage meltdown disaster/global credit crisis, central banks pumped trillions of dollars and other currencies into the global economy to prevent a second Great Depression.  Wall Street economists predicted a hyperinflation disaster that never happened.  In fact, the Federal Reserve is still worried about deflation.  Out of control commodity markets can and have caused inflation.  This is what happened during the so-called OPEC oil crisis.  The price of gas went from 35 cents a gallon to $1.35 a gallon permanently despite the fact that the embargo lasted only about six months.  The price of gas continued to rise even after there was an oil glut when OPEC stopped the embargo. 

I coined the term “Greed Inflation” to indicate the primary cause of inflation.  The ability of consumers to pay the price is the reason that prices rise.  The retailers say, “Raise the price and see if it sticks.”  This is Greed Inflation.  Abraham Lincoln proposed controlling inflation with taxation and reduction of the money supply.  Richard Nixon’s wage/price controls worked initially but were defeated by commodity manipulation.  The economic growth and increased profits that would result from increasing the money supply would be a tremendous benefit for American producers and sellers.  There would be no need to raise prices just because consumers have more money to spend.  This Greed Inflation would only benefit sellers but it would devalue the dollar and damage the economy.  For the good of the country, inflation must be controlled.

My debt-free economic and monetary reform proposals have been stonewalled and ignored for more than eleven years by politicians, the mainstream media, the “academics” that I have contacted and the Federal Reserve.  The American people must be told the truth about our monetary system and the benefits of Constitution based, U.S. Treasury issued debt-free money.  

                                                ******************************

PO box 815                                                                 Coraopolis, PA 15108

                                        August 28, 2015

Katrina vanden Heuvel

The Nation Magazine, Editor

33 Irving Place

New York, NY 10003

Dear Ms. vanden Heuvel:

Enclosed is the declaration of my candidacy for President of the United States as it appears on the home page of my web site, rayuhric.com.  I believe my political and public policy ideas are very well aligned with The Nation and you personally.  This is why I am writing to you.  Despite my two political campaigns, my web site, local television and radio interviews and more than ten years of writing letters, E-mails and phone calls, I am still totally ignored by the Democratic Party and the mainstream media.  Apparently, my proposals for debt-free economic and monetary reform are too politically incorrect for the Democratic Party and the liberal component of the mainstream media.  I am a legitimate presidential candidate registered with the Federal Election Commission.  I hope this letter will convince you that I am worthy of coverage by the mainstream media, and your help.  My candidacy declaration will give you a good outline of what I am trying to accomplish with my political activity.  If I don’t get the Democratic Party nomination, I will support the party’s choice for president.

 I have seen you many times commenting on the national political talk shows.  Unfortunately, all my letters and E-mails to important political shows like 60 Minutes, Hardball, the Ed Show and many others go into a black hole of silence.  I’m sure an interview in an important and influential publication like The Nation will open a door for me into the mainstream media.   

My battle to get a fair public hearing regarding my debt-free monetary reform proposals is documented on my web site.  The strident tone of the site reflects my many years of frustration and my effort to provoke a public debate with my elected representatives.  I am still in the process of updating the site for my presidential campaign (I’m a one man operation.).  Despite this, I wanted to contact you even before it is finished, because I am anxious to know if you will help me present the important issue of debt-free money to the American people.  I will try to finance my campaign and my living expenses with the sale of my art.  Although I am a senior citizen on a fixed income, I will not ask for financial support.  However, I will accept financial and organizational support if they are offered.  The presentation of my portfolio on my web site is crude because this portfolio was never intended to market my art.  It will be replaced with a more professional version with prices for the art works.   

Included in this letter is a brief white paper that explains why U.S. Treasury issued debt free money is legal and practicable.  I believe I have something important to say to the American people.  Donald Trump’s remarkable ascendance is obviously the result of his total access to the mainstream media.  It is extremely unfair that my public policy proposals have been shut out of the mainstream public policy debate for more than eleven years.  Please help me to rectify this injustice.  Thank you.

                                                                                   

Sincerely,

                                                                                   

Ray Uhric

A Partial List of Media Organizations and Individuals Who Did Not Respond to My Correspondence Regarding Debt-Free Money

[Date mailed]: [8-29-15] Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation magazine; [8-31-15] David Rhodes, president of CBS News; Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes; [9-8-15] Sara Just, executive producer of the PBS NewsHour;  Gwen Ifill, co-host of the PBS NewsHour; Judy Woodruff, co-host of the PBS NewsHour; James Goldston, president of ABC News;  Roxanna Sherwood, executive producer of ABC News Nightline; David Sloan, executive producer of ABC News 20/20; George Stephanopoulos, chief anchor for ABC This Week; David Muir, managing editor of ABC World News Tonight; Andrew Lack, chairman of NBC News/MSNBC; John Reiss, executive producer of NBC News Meet the Press; Chuck Todd, host of NBC News Meet the Press; Lawrence O’Donnell, host of MSNBC The Last Word; Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show; Chris Hayes, host of MSNBC All In; Court Harson, senior producer of MSNBC Hardball; Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC Hardball; Bill Wolff, Cory Gnazzo, executive producers of MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show; Denis Horgan, executive producer of All In with Chris Hayes; David Shribman, executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; [9-11-15] David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker magazine; Matt Taibbi, journalist for Rolling Stone magazine; Clara Jeffery, editor-in chief of Mother Jones magazine;  David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine; Nancy Gibbs, managing editor of Time magazine; James Bennet, editor-in chief of The Atlantic magazine; Jess Cagle, editor of People magazine; Jeff Zucker president of CNN Cable News Network; Erin Burnett, host for CNN Cable News Network; Anderson Cooper host for CNN Cable News Network; Wolf Blitzer anchor for CNN Cable News Network; Larry Kramer, editor of USA Today; Dean Baquet, editor of the New York Times; Martin Baron, Editor of the Washington Post; Davan Maharaj, editor of the Los Angeles Times.

2016 Presidential Candidacy Declaration.

In my last blog update (11-3-2013/11-13-2013), I said, “I am not running again for public office.”  Well, after the midterm Democratic Party election disaster, I have come to the conclusion that we a leadership problem in the Democratic Party.  Therefore, I feel it is my civic and patriotic duty to declare myself as a Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States.  Today, April 6, 2015, I learned that there are five declared Democratic Party candidates for president in 2016.  Hilary Clinton has not yet declared her candidacy.  None of the declared candidates are what I would consider nationally known politicians.  So my running for president really isn’t that outlandish.

In my two previous campaigns for public office, I despised asking for money.  As a result, my political activities have caused me spend thousands of dollars of my own limited financial resources.  Despite this, I will not ask for political contributions.  I will try to finance my campaign and my living expenses through the sale of my art.  I will accept contributions if they are offered but I will do no political fundraising.  Below is the main plank of my campaign platform:

I am running on a Full Employment (with just compensation and benefits), Low Tax, Low Debt, Debt-Free Money platform.

   

The main plank of my platform is a permanent U.S. Constitution-based (article 1, section 8, paragraph 5), debt-free monetary solution to federal, state and local government funding problems. My proposal will require no tax dollars or government borrowing.  Social security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) and the Veterans Administration will all be fully funded and made permanently solvent using United States Treasury issued debt-free money.  This legal tender currency is called United States Notes or U.S. Notes. 

Today, government funding is such a disaster that several private sector charities are making television appeals for money for our wounded and disabled veterans.  Wounded and disabled veterans have become charity cases!  This is a national disgrace!  For years I have been badgering our democratically elected politicians telling them to use unlimited United States Treasury issued debt-free money to fund ALL of the needs of our veterans.  Tragically, I have been stonewalled and ignored by the dozens of politicians that I have contacted.  United States Notes are the same currency that was issued under Presidents Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and John F. Kennedy in 1963.  Incredibly, all of their debt-free currency was withdrawn from circulation by Congress after these great presidents were assassinated!  And, shamefully, Congress never again permitted the Treasury to issue debt-free money.  The result is an $18 trillion national debt.  When I first proposed issuance of debt-free money to more than a dozen politicians in June of 2004, the national debt was $7 trillion.  Since then, $11 trillion of unnecessary debt has been loaded on the backs of American taxpayers.

Despite the stupidity of Congress, $300 million of this debt-free money is currently an unissued part of our national money supply.  Under the authority of the Legal Tender Act of 1862, Congress can increase this $300 million to whatever amount is needed to solve America’s fiscal and economic problems.  The U.S. Notes can be put directly into the federal trust funds to replace the trillions of dollars that have been stolen since the federal budget was unified in 1969.  Treasury issued debt-free money is the perfect, legal and practicable solution to America’s fiscal and economic problems.  This link to the U.S. Treasury web site: U.S. Treasury - FAQ: Legal Tender Status of Currency will verify that what I say about United States Notes is true and based on existing law.

I have populist, AMERICA FIRST positions on all of the issues facing America, both domestic and foreign.  Most of my platform is already stated plainly on this web site.  As a presidential candidate, the politicians can no longer refuse to acknowledge my correspondence and throw my letters in the trash.  And, when I request an interview in the media, they will have no choice but to comply.  The “establishment” has refused to debate the issue of debt-free money with me for more than ten years.  So, in the spirit of reciprocity, I will refuse to debate any national or international issue until the issue of U.S. Treasury issued United Stated Notes is resolved.  My proposals for a U.S. Note funded full employment economy (outlined elsewhere on this web site) are inextricably linked to the debt-free money debate.  Thus, that will also be part of the debate.  Compare my no tax, no debt, full employment proposals on this web site with the pie-in-the-sky “jobs bills” that are proposed by Congress and the president.

This post will serve as my formal declaration of my intention to run for the office of President of the United States.  Because much of this web site was written for my 2006 and 2010 campaigns for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, some of the text is out of date.  However, nothing in my policy proposals has changed.   This web site will be reformatted and updated to be more timely and relevant for the 2016 presidential election.  In the meantime, I challenge all presidential candidates, any politician, any reputable pundit, any academic, any government or Federal Reserve official, any business leader and any banking spokesperson to find anything that is in error, illegal or impracticable on this web site.  (Typos don’t count.)  All legitimate rebuttals should be sent to PO Box 815, Coraopolis, PA 15108.

Ray Uhric                                                                                                                   April 6, 2015  

UPDATE 11-3-2013

It’s the Stupidity, Stupid

Part 5

Actually, I’m not calling everyone who reads this blog update stupid (despite the attention grabbing title).  My objective is to warn people about the dangers and consequences of accepting stupid ideas as revealed wisdom.  After more than nine years of stonewalling and silence, it is obvious that I have to try harder to get the attention of the politicians, the pundits, the mainstream media (MSM) and the general public.  Calling people stupid will usually get their attention.  I am not running again for public office (calling people stupid is not a good way to get votes). As a non candidate, I don’t have to pander to anyone.  I have a populist message, that is: economic and social justice based on the U.S. Constitution and existing law.   

What is an example of the stupidity that I’m talking about?  The current budget “debate” is an exercise in stupidity that is a result of widespread ignorance.  It is ironic that the politicians who stuck us with the seventeen trillion dollar national debt are now frantically warning us about the dangers of public debt.  They say that, if we don’t raise the debt ceiling, we will default and the financial markets will destroy America. And there is nothing they can do about it!  I think it is more realistic to think of the politicians not as public officials, but as loan originators.  After all, it was them, not the taxpayers, who borrowed the money that put us seventeen trillion dollars in the hole.  Politicians, as loan originators, serve the same function as did Mitt Romney when he owned and ran Bain Capital.  That function was/is: to borrow huge amounts money that other people have to pay back.  (Remember, it was the loan originators, working for the banks, who created the massive, unsustainable debt that caused the, quickly forgotten, subprime mortgage disaster.)  I hope everyone who reads this blog will write or call their Congressperson and ask them this question: If the Constitution and the law give Congress the authority to direct the U.S. Treasury to issue debt-free legal tender currency -- United States Notes (U.S. Notes), why do we have a $17 trillion national debt?   I recommend clicking on this link to the U.S. Treasury Department web site: U.S. Treasury - FAQ: Legal Tender Status of Currency.  There you will learn that everything I say about Treasury issued debt-free money is true and based on existing law.

Someone might think I have a lot of nerve calling people stupid.  Let’s see if I can back up this harsh characterization.  I hear politicians warning of the dire consequences and dangers of “jeopardizing America’s credit rating” by not raising the debt ceiling.  The U.S. Constitution (Art.1, Sec.8, Par.5,) and the law (the Legal Tender Act of 1862) grant the American government the exclusive authority to issue money, debt-free, in any amount.  Needless to say, the implications of this statement are staggering.  Specifically, it means the national debt and state and local government debt is a gigantic scam perpetrated against the taxpayers.  And it means government borrowing from the global bond market (aka the Bond Vigilantes) is stupid and unnecessary.  After more than nine years, no politician, pundit or academic has accepted my challenge to try to refute these statements.   

The debt-free money deniers claim that the government can’t issue money because the global markets won’t accept Treasury issued United States Notes.  Wrong!  U.S. Notes are interchangeable with Federal Reserve Notes, they have exactly the same value, they are both legal tender and they are both currently part of our national money supply.  So, what’s the problem?  Corruption is the problem.  Apparently, the global bond market/Bond Vigilantes control the politicians, the media, academia and religion.  Why else would we have an unnecessary $17 trillion national debt?  Why else would the world be drowning in debt? 

I actually heard worried politicians say that if we don’t raise the debt ceiling, “the government won’t be able to sell its debt.”  Did we elect politicians or bond salesmen (aka loan originators).  I think Goldman Sachs will always have a “job” for people like this.  Worrying about America’s “credit rating” is insanely stupid because America doesn’t have to borrow money!  The government borrows money because the Wall Street stooge politicians make the government borrow money.  The banksters have to get something for their campaign contributions.  The shocking reality is that the private sector should be borrowing money from the government, not the other way around.  How did the American taxpayers get sucked into this $17 trillion scam?

I would love to write to Ted Cruz, Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Pat Toomey, Jim DeMint, Tom Cobern, Tom Price, Mick Mulvaney, Steve Scalise, James Lankford, Mike Kelly, Louie Gohmert, Jason Chaffetz, Mike Lee, Eric Cantor, Joe Wilson, Allen West, Ted Yoho, Herman Cain, Phil Gingrey, Randy Hultgren, Joe Walsh, Dan Burton, Mike Pence, Steve King, David Vitter, Pete Hoekstra, Michele Bachmann, Joe Barton, Virginia Foxx, Sue Myriek, Ed Royce,  Trent Franks, David, Schweikert, Paul Gosar, Matt Salmon, Jeff Denham, Tom McClintok, Gary Miller, Cory Gardner, Doug Lamborn, Sandy Adams, Gus Bilirakis, Ander Crenshaw, Rich Newgent, Dennis Ross, Steve Southerland, Cliff Sterns, Connie Mack, Trey Radel, Paul Broun, Lynn Westmorland, Raul Labrador, Todd Young, Tim Huelskamp, Lynn Jenkins, Jerry Moran, Thomas Massie, Rodney Alexander, Bill Cassidy, John Fleming, Jeff Landry, Roscoe Bartlett, Andrew Harris, Justin Amash, Tim Walberg, Kerry Bentivolio, Steven Palazzo, Vicky Hartzler, Billy Long, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Denny Rehberg, Adrian Smith, Charles Bass, Mark Meadows, Richard Burr,  Howard Coble, Sam Rohrer, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Tim Scott, Diane Black, Scott DesJarlais, Stephen Fincher, Phil Roe, Michael Burgess, Quico Canseco, John Carter, John Culberson, Blake Farenthold, Ralph Hall, Kenny Marchant, Randy Neugebauer, Ted Poe, Pete Sessions, Lamar Smith, Robert Aderholt, Rob Bishop, David McKinley, Cynthia Lummis and all the other Tea Party conservative, government-hating “deficit hawks” and challenge them to a public policy debate.  I would demand that they address point-by-point every grievance in this petition.  You know, per my Constitutional right to “petition the government for the redress of grievances.”  My primary grievance is that the politicians are stealing my trust fund money, adding the theft to the national debt and sticking us taxpayers with the liability. 

I wrote to the Justice Department to complain that the politicians were/are denying me my Constitutional right by ignoring me.  The Justice Department ignored me and my petition.  I’ve given up writing to politicians.  Every time I am ignored or I receive a worthless form letter, I get angrier.  So, I stopped writing to them.  I’m angry enough.  I don’t need another politician rubbing my face in my powerlessness.  My blog has received thousands of visits from all over the world (Germany, China, Israel and many more), but I can’t get a single politician, pundit or academic to engage me in a public debate on this blog.  

Tea Party conservatives are called “populists.”  I don’t think this term applies to the Tea Party.  I call myself a populist.  To me, populism means economic and social justice.  But Glen Beck, a member of the Tea Party, said populist calls for economic justice is Marxism.  When Glen Beck calls economic justice Marxism, I assume he means economic justice is bad.  This tells me that the Tea Party is not a populist movement.  Apparently, one of the reasons the Tea Party hates paying taxes is because taxes “redistribute wealth.”  But the original Populist Party of the 1890s “championed the graduated income tax as a way to redistribute wealth.”  The Populist Party wanted the people to “rise up and tame the power of the wealthy.”  And they “reviled blood-sucking plutocrats.”  This doesn’t sound like the plutocrat funded Tea Party to me.

If the Tea Party really is a populist movement, they would support my call for the U.S. Treasury to issue debt-free U.S. Notes.  The Tea Party wants lower taxes.  Debt-free money can lower taxes.  The Tea Party hates the national debt.  Debt-free money can lower or even pay off the national debt.  As far as I know, these are the two main issues that the Tea Party is against.  So, they should support me.  With this in mind, I challenge all Tea Party politicians to immediately introduce legislation calling on the Treasury to begin again issuing debt-free United States Notes.  How much money and where the money should go is specified elsewhere on this blog.  If any Tea Party politician writes to me at PO Box 815, Coraopolis, Pa. 15108, I will explain in detail exactly what he or she has to do in order to implement Constitution-based, debt-free monetary reform.             

  

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The cruel reality of the national debt

In 1968, in order to get more money to pay for the Vietnam War, the politicians “unified” the federal budget.  This means that social security money was spent on a war that had nothing to do with national security and everything to do with global capitalism.  At least two million Vietnamese and fifty-eight thousand American military personnel died in what Ronald Reagan called a “noble cause.”  Today, Vietnam is a hot investment location for American investors/capitalists and businesses looking for cheap labor and new markets.  Was Vietnam a noble cause or a capitalist atrocity?  What do Vietnam veterans think of their jobs being shipped to Vietnam?

As far as I know, there has never been an accounting of how much social security money was stolen up to the time of the Reagan/Greenspan Commission of 1983.  The theft was big enough, however, to gut the social security system to the point of bankruptcy.  In order to “save” social security, Reagan rolled House leader Tip O’Neill and the weakling Democrats into cutting benefits, raising the retirement age and raising the payroll “tax.”  At this point, I must repeat again, the FICA payroll deduction is NOT A TAX!  It is a premium payment to a government administered insurance program.  Anyone who calls the FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) payroll deduction a tax is either ignorant, stupid or a liar.  For some reason (ignorance or stupidity or corruption), nobody demanded that the politicians stop stealing the money and repay what they stole and spent.  This outrage continues to this day and because the stolen money (IOUs) is added to the national debt, the politicians claim that this “justifies” the bi-partisan attack on “entitlements.”  What a grotesquely perverse and diabolical argument.  Politicians can’t seem to grasp the fact that American workers are entitled to the “trust fund” money because it is OUR MONEY!  I demand that every penny be repaid with Treasury issued, debt-free United States Notes.  Also, I demand that the FICA payroll deduction be subsidized with U.S. Notes so that older workers can retire with dignity and enjoy the last years of their lives.

Incredibly, the American people have accepted the notion that stolen trust fund money can be “replaced” with future tax dollars and money borrowed from China.  This is a myth because that only compounds the theft.  Several years ago I asked my Congressman, Tim Murphy, why the politicians don’t replace the money raided from the trust funds.  He said: “I would have to raise your taxes to do that.”   How nice, a politician tells the truth.  But it is an ugly truth that people can’t seem to grasp.  The politicians are robbing Peter (taxpayers) to pay Paul (social security beneficiaries) the money that was stolen from the social security “trust” fund.  When will the American people demand that the politicians STOP STEALING OUR MONEY?!  After Wall Street wrecked the American and world economies with the subprime mortgage disaster/global credit crisis, FICA payments went into the red, and the shortfall is made up with tax dollars.  And since there is a budget deficit, social security benefits are paid partially with money borrowed from the credit markets.  What a scam!  The ugly truth is that our free market “Christian capitalist” (according to televangelist Pat Robertson) system never paid the American workers enough money to properly fund the social security and Medicare systems.  Incidentally, I would like to remind Pat Robertson that Jesus said: “loan not expecting to get it back.”  Obviously, Jesus proposed an act of kindness, not a blood sucking “business.”  Business, the finance “industry” and the insurance “industry” fought social security and Medicare from the first day that they were proposed.  Now, the national debt gives them the weapon they need to slowly kill what they always hated.

The average monthly social security benefit is $1,230.  In a land where people pay $12.5 million for a 1957 Ferrari and $40 million for a painting, $1,230 a month stinks.  Contrary to popular belief, America is not a rich country.  It is a poor country where some very rich people live.  A subsistence retirement after a lifetime of work proves that our “Christian” capitalist system is fatally flawed.  That’s why I propose using Treasury issued debt-free money to significantly RAISE social security and Medicare benefits to a level that provides dignity to old age rather than a financial nightmare.  And, while we are at it, we must fully fund the Medicaid system.  The elderly poor desperately need this financial support.  If our politicians can’t figure out how to do this, they can write to me a PO box 815, Coraopolis PA 15108.  I will explain exactly how it can be done.        

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Universal Healthcare

Today, October 30, 2013, politicians and the mainstream media are in a frenzy over the Affordable Care Act aka “Obamacare.”  If they would talk to me, I would tell them that there is a simple debt-free money solution to the healthcare crisis.  An expanded Medicare system in conjunction with an expanded IRS would subsidize qualifying businesses for full healthcare coverage for all of their employees from the first day of work.  Based on their tax filings, the IRS can easily determine which businesses need the subsidy.  No Treasury robbing, government destroying tax breaks would be part of this plan.  The subsidies would be paid with U.S. Treasury issued, debt-free United States Notes directly to the healthcare providers.   The subsidies would be based on strict, fair but generous guidelines.  The government can afford to be generous because it doesn’t have a profit motive or greedy, non-productive shareholders.  The debt-free money, government funded, full employment program that I propose elsewhere on this site would virtually eliminate unemployment because all Americans desiring work would be employed.  Thus, if you are employed, you have full healthcare coverage.  The full employment program would use U.S. Notes to pay the wages, salaries and benefits of the new people hired for the Medicare system and the IRS.  The full employment program would also fund an expanded and properly staffed SEC, CFTC and many other well paying government jobs.

It is a national disgrace that the Democratic Party’s effort to get universal healthcare exploded into an ugly national debate.  I find the “pound of flesh” ideology of the conservative politicians disgusting.  I disagree with the market-based approach of the Affordable Care Act, but at least it is something.  This is infinitely better than the Republican, conservative, free-market “alternative,” which is NOTHING.  That adolescent for the ages, Rush Limbaugh, perfectly defined the purist right wing approach to the healthcare problem.  He scorned Republican talk of an alternative to the ACA.  He said, “Just say no.”  There you have it, nothing.  I know, the Republicans make vague references to health savings accounts.  From my personal experience, I say a health savings account is the same as nothing.  It was a self-imposed death panel and a paperwork nightmare.  I hated it.  Of course, the conservatives love HSAs because they can rob the government of tax revenue.  Something this diabolical had to be dreamed up by a conservative “think” tank.  I wonder what kind of healthcare “American” multinationals provide for their sweatshop workers in emerging market economies like Vietnam.  Whatever it is, I assume it is the conservative ideal that they would like to impose on American workers.

Global debt-free monetary reform

Constitution based, debt-free monetary reform can reduce or even eliminate poverty and unjustified income equality not only in the United States, but all over the world.  The solution is simple: pay people for work based on its value to society.  This flies in the face of free market capitalism.  In the debt based capitalist system, someone can instantly become a millionaire, multimillionaire, billionaire or multibillionaire just for being born.  No work is required.  You just have to be plugged into the financial/debt market.  The money managers will do the rest.  Obviously, it is stupid and dishonest to call our economic system a “meritocracy.”  What a cruel myth!    

Unlike the debt based free-market capitalist system, the debt-free government funded supplemental system that I propose would be generous.  The government haters, conservatives, Republicans and many neoliberal Democrats will say, “You can’t be generous to the workers, that will cause inflation.”  Let’s examine this stupid statement (that is taught in every economic text book in the world).  If this statement is true, global poverty is necessary for monetary stability.  I don’t accept that vicious, greedy logic.  If a government paid workers good wages and benefits, with debt-free money, why would that cause inflation?  The cost of doing business wouldn’t go up.  So, why would prices would go up?  If they go up, it would be because under our current free-market system, we have a systemic problem that I call Greed Inflation.  This is the real cause of inflation, and it has nothing to do with printing money.  I explain this fact in detail elsewhere on this blog.   

The debt-free money deniers and the Bond Vigilantes will say, “If the government prints more money, that devalues the currency.”  The so-called law of supply and demand says: if you have more of something, it is worth less.  Is this true?  In the case of United States Notes, the answer is NO.  Why?  U.S. Notes are not a commodity.  They are a medium of exchange and the supply is unlimited.  The concept of supply and demand does not apply.  In the case of U.S. government debt backed Federal Reserve Notes, the supply is limited by the amount of money that can be bled from the American taxpayers.  (This situation does not apply to quantitative easing because the Fed only increases its balance sheet.  Don’t ask where the money goes.)   Also, dollars are not a commodity because they have no intrinsic value other than the value of the paper.  Dollars get their value from the law and the law gets its authority from the U.S. Constitution. 

But, the deniers and the Bond Vigilantes will say the currency traders will drive down the value of the dollar in the global currency markets if the Treasury issues debt-free money.  Really, on what authority could they do that?  The Constitution says that only Congress has the authority to control the value of the dollar, “regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin.”  This means that only Congress has the authority to regulate the value of the dollar, domestically and relative to foreign currencies.  In defiance of the Constitution, Congress gave their power to control the value of the dollar to Wall Street!  Can Congress give away their authority to currency speculators without a Constitutional amendment?  The answer, of course, is NO.

I explained on this blog over and over and over that the national debt is a scam and a scandal.  I explained that we don’t have to be debt slaves.  I explained that the politicians are stealing our “trust fund” money.  I explained that politicians stealing tax dollars and/or borrowing money to pay social security benefits doesn’t replace the stolen money, it only compounds the theft.  I explained that the only way to truly, actually, really replace the stolen trust fund money is with Treasury issued, deft-free United States Notes.  Over the last nine years, I’ve gotten this populist message out to thousands of people.  I ran for public office twice, and I was even interviewed on the radio twice.  But, the results of my effort are non-existent.  I’m astounded by this lack of public interest.

I watch televised Congressional hearings, and I hear the Wall Street moles who run the SEC and CFTC give the excuse that the world financial system blew up in 2007/2008 because they were/are under staffed and underfunded.  Since June of 2004, I have been telling politicians that they can fix all government funding problems with Treasury issued, debt-free U.S. Notes.  No government borrowing or tax increase is required.  The response has been DEAD SILENCE.  Nobody can be that stupid.  There must be another explanation.  Could the chance for a six or seven figure “job” at Goldman Sachs, some worthless “think” tank like the Heritage Foundation or other “delayed compensation” keep the politician’s mouths shut?  I wonder what “heritage” the Heritage Foundation is promoting, the legacy of the Robber Barons or the Roman Empire or both?

I said debt-free monetary reform can reduce or even eliminate poverty and unjustified income inequality all over the world.  How can this be done?  The debt-free monetary reforms that I propose for America can be implemented by any country with a central bank and a constitution that authorizes the government to issue money.  The money can go into the banking system and the government can spend the money directly into the economy for the benefit of the citizens.  This can be done without a major disruption to the economic system.  The money supply can be increased with no inflation as long as the government controls the Greed Inflation.  The smaller and emerging market countries will be dependent on outside money, as they are now.  (The dollar would remain the world’s reserve currency.)  But, debt peonage could be eliminated because the money can be spent by the government directly into the economy without incurring any debt.  Also, banks and the governments could make loans with low or no interest because they are getting money debt-free from the world’s central banks.  Of course, banks could charge fees for their many services.  The size of loans would depend on the ability of the borrower to pay back the money.  Risk would not change the interest rate.  Risk would only determine the size of the loan.  The purpose of the loans would be to justly reward work and enterprise, not usury.  The debt-free monetary ideas that I propose would not overthrow the global capitalist/banking system.  Debt-free money would only reform a private sector bureaucracy that has spun, totally and dangerously, out of control. 

Well, I’ve established that the politicians are stupid, or worse.  I’ve established that the national debt is a scam on us taxpayers and a national scandal.  I’ve established that U.S. Treasury issued debt-free United States Notes are the solution to our national economic and fiscal problems.  I challenged the Tea Party to support me so we can lower taxes and reduce or eliminate the national debt.  And I outlined how debt-free monetary reform can be implemented anywhere in the world to reduce or eliminate poverty and unjustified income inequality.   If any reputable pundit, politician, policy maker or academic would like to dispute anything that I have written in this blog Update or anything on this web site/blog, please send a rebuttal to PO Box 815, Coraopolis, Pa. 15108.  I will publish the rebuttal on this blog.  We will then debate the issues publicly.  Everything will be in the historical record.