Cassandra Anderson, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

Many disenfranchised people at the 'Occupy Wall Street' protest and protests in other cities are confused about the cause of our crashing economy.  If you are interested in sharing this brief summary about the reasons for our failing economy, please download this PDF file to print flyers for the 'Occupy' protests.

The videos below the article explain in more detail the points made in the downloadable flyer.  This is another valuable tool that can help you spread the word.

The only way we are going to emerge with prosperity from the meltdown is through the education of enough people who will take action -- thanks to all activists who are spreading the truth!

THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR ECONOMY

CAPITALISM

CAPITALISM is an economic system that allows ownership of private property and the ownership of the means of production for creating value.

Communism is the termination of private property.  Josef  Stalin's socialist collective farms enabled the Holodomor man-made famine that killed 7 to 10 million Ukrainian people.

CORPORATE crony capitalism sucks.  It is privatization of resources through monopolies, usually by multi-national corporations.  Monopolies prevent competition in the free market and can only exist through government regulations and enforcement.  An example of a corporate crony monopoly is the massive failure of the banks and the government's use of taxpayer money for the bailouts to protect the banks.

FREE MARKET capitalism is the opposite of corporate crony monopolies; in free markets there is no interference by the state.  Free markets favor customers because businesses must compete, which means that customers get the highest quality goods or services for the lowest prices.  True capitalism rewards people who are productive.

All people who live in a capitalist country have property, starting with their bodies and including any justly acquired stuff.

The #1 source of freedom is property ownership because it allows the individual to be self sufficient in producing food and other resources that are independent of government control.

Free markets and competition are the key.

CRIMINAL BANKS

Central banks such as the US Federal Reserve System consolidate power at the top.  Criminal banking FRAUD is at the heart of our economic problems, but this has nothing to do with private property ownership.

FIAT MONEY: money that has value only because the government says it has value.  The value of fiat money is enforced through the threat of fines and imprisonment.

FRACTIONAL RESERVES: banks issue receipts (paper money/dollar bills/I.O.U.s) for assets, usually gold and silver, held in reserve.  But the banks write receipts (money) for more gold than they actually have in reserves.

Hundreds of years ago, people wanted to store their money with goldsmiths in vaults.  Goldsmiths wrote receipts for the gold.  The receipts acted as I.O.U.s for the gold and was used as money for exchange- it was believed to be "good as gold".

Over time, the goldsmiths who became bankers discovered that people only withdrew their gold 10% of the time.  Bankers began writing more receipts (money) than available gold.  The increase in money supply caused inflation.  The bankers charged interest on the fraudulent receipts (money) that were loaned out.

The cure for inflation and criminal money printing is to return to asset backed currency: money backed by gold and silver.  Because precious metals require labor for extraction, this prevents printing money out of thin air.  The Federal Reserve System is a money monopoly that must be ended in order to return to asset backed money and prosperity.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Why is unemployment high?  The US has plenty of raw materials and a willing workforce.  What happened?

1.  Almost all wealth is derived from the land and natural resources.  Government regulations and red tape prevent development and prosperity.  For example, if you want to grow food to sell, it must be permitted and inspected by the government, and farms are also regulated through agricultural zoning.

2.  Many people don't realize that the federal government owns/controls about one third of the land in the US!  Most of this land is in the Western States and the resources and land have been locked down.  Conservationism was the excuse given for this power grab that created monopolies over resources.

3.  High taxes prohibit economic development.  Government permits are also a form of taxation.

4.  The minimum wage disparity between countries is also a problem.  If the US minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, but the minimum wage in China is 10 cents an hour, obviously it is cheaper to manufacture goods in China.

5.  Tariffs, or taxes on imports and exports, have been used in the past to equalize minimum wage differences between countries.  However, the US gave control over tariffs to the United Nations World Trade Organization and other UN treaties (like NAFTA) that work against the US.

6.  Market manipulation, perpetrated by large corporations that get special treatment from the government in the form of subsidies and tax breaks can easily skew markets and drown out small independent businesses.

TAX THE RICH

"Tax the rich" is a trick: the unconstitutional income tax was sold to the public as a tax on the wealthy elite, but the public is the real victim.  Because people were envious, they supported the income tax on the rich and the tax was later levied upon them.

The favored wealthy people found loopholes to avoid or minimize their income taxes.  For example, most of Warren Buffett's income comes from capital gains, so he pays only a 15% tax.

If the income tax was eliminated, the government would shrink and people could keep the money they earn.

SOLUTIONS

1.  End the criminal banking monopoly -- End the Fed!

2.  Replace fiat money printed out of thin air with asset (gold & silver) backed currency.

4.  Free markets break corporate monopolies by removing government interference.

5.  Government officials and corporate heads must be held accountable.

6.  Remove prohibitive government regulations from businesses (except those that protect people's lives, liberty and property).

7.  Remove US membership and support from the UN.  Cancel UN treaties.

8.  End the unconstitutional income tax.
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KEY EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS FOR 'OCCUPY' PROTESTERS
(Morph City grants permission to burn the video of 'G. Edward Griffin on Individualism & Capitalism vs. Collectivism & Monopolies' to DVD for distribution)

CAPITALISM


More here: http://www.activistpost.com/2011/10/liberty-action-kit-for-occupy.html