I will have to dig up what is meant by Kennedy trying to return to the Constitution.
Another overlooked aspect of Kennedy's attempt to reform
American society involves money.
Kennedy apparently reasoned that by returning to the
constitution, which states that only Congress shall coin and
regulate money, the soaring national debt could be reduced by
not paying interest to the bankers of the Federal Reserve
System, who print paper money then loan it to the government at
interest.
He moved in this area on June 4, 1963, by signing Executive
Order 11,110 which called for the issuance of $4,292,893,815 in
United States Notes through the U.S. Treasury rather than the
traditional Federal Reserve System. That same day, Kennedy
signed a bill changing the backing of one and two dollar bills
from silver to gold, adding strength to the weakened U.S.
currency.
Kennedy's comptroller of the currency, James J. Saxon, had
been at odds with the powerful Federal Reserve Board for some
time, encouraging broader investment and lending powers for
banks that were not part of the Federal Reserve system. Saxon
also had decided that non-Reserve banks could underwrite state
and local general obligation bonds, again weakening the
dominant Federal Reserve banks.
A number of "Kennedy bills" were indeed issued - the author
has a five dollar bill in his possession with the heading
"United States Note" - but were quickly withdrawn and destroyed
by Lyndon Johnson after Kennedy's death.
According to information from the Library of the
Comptroller of the Currency, Executive Order 11,110 remains in
effect today, although successive administrations beginning
with that of President Lyndon Johnson apparently have simply
ignored it and instead returned to the practice of paying
interest on Federal Reserve notes. |
