Debt, Demographics & Debasement are Destiny
Debt, Demographics & Debasement are Destiny
BY KURT KASUN | FEBRUARY 04, 2008 | 8:46 PM |
Historical Perspective...Where We've Been and Where We're Going: Three Landmark Years Have Marked Our Course
Historical Perspective...Where We've Been and Where We're Going: Three Landmark Years Have Marked Our Course A. 1913
1. United States Revenue Act of 1913 (from Wikipedia)
The United States Revenue Act of 1913 imposed the first federal income tax following the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment. The incomes of couples exceeding $4,000, as well as those of single persons earning $3,000 or more, were subject to a one percent federal tax. Further, the measure provided a progressive tax structure, meaning that high income earners were required to pay at higher rates. It would require only a few years for the federal income tax to become the chief source of income for the government, far outdistancing tariff revenues. Less than 1 % of the population paid federal income tax at the time.
2. Federal Reserve Act (from Wikipedia)
Created in 1913 by the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, The Federal Reserve System (also the Federal Reserve; informally The Fed) is the central banking system of the United States is a quasi-public (part private, part government) banking system composed of (1) the presidentially-appointed Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C.; (2) the Federal Open Market Committee; (3) 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks located in major cities throughout the nation acting as fiscal agents for the U.S. Treasury, each with its own nine-member board of directors; (4) numerous private U.S. member banks, which subscribe to required amounts of non-transferable stock in their regional Federal Reserve Banks; and (5) various advisory councils. "How do open market operations actually work? Currently, the FOMC establishes a target for the federal funds rate (the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans). Open market purchases of government securities increase the amount of reserve funds that banks have available to lend, which puts downward pressure on the federal funds rate. Sales of government securities do just the opposite-they shrink the reserve funds available to lend and tend to raise the funds rate. By targeting the federal funds rate, the FOMC seeks to provide the monetary stimulus required to foster a healthy economy. After each FOMC meeting, the funds rate target is announced to the public."
B. 1933
1. Executive Order 6102: The Gold Confiscation Of April 5, 1933, subsequent dollar devaluation and abandonment of the gold standard. (Wikipedia)
In an attempt to address the causes and effects of the Great Depression, Executive Order 6102 was signed on April 5, 1933 by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It prohibited the "hoarding" of privately held gold coins and bullion in the United States. The Order was given under the auspices of the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, as recently amended. The government required holders of significant quantities of gold to sell their gold at the prevailing price of $20.67 per ounce. Shortly after this forced sale, the price of gold from the treasury for international transactions was raised to $35 an ounce. The U.S. government thereby devalued the dollars (which it had just forced citizens to accept in exchange for their gold) by 41% of its former value ...
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