The Tycoon Report

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33. Len (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Excellent article.

32. sreck1 (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Can anyone help explain the difference between Chris Rowe's Trend Rider service and Teeka Tiwari's Point and Profit service? Both seem to be very good, but I am trying to determine if one has a trading style that would be closer to my own. Also, can anyone comment on performance history of the model portfolio for both? Thanks.
    
    
    
    Steve

31. ARMIN (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Chris, Dylan and Teeka,
    
    
    
    I was looking for a way to communicate with you guys and lo and behold - I found this.
    
    
    
    I just wanted to say that I love to read your articles and your's is the most-flagged email in my inbox. Not only are you guys knowledgeable about your subject, but also are sincere in extending (or should I say over extending) advice to mortals such as I who are new to investing/trading at the ripe old age of 50. I can't help but admire the prolific writing styles each of you has. I can truly appreciate this as I myself am gifted to a degree when it comes to the written word. Unfortunately, I have never found a gathering of such intellect and aplomb such as yours, in which to participate.
    
    
    
    Keep the emails coming my friends and my most sincere gratitude to all that you do for the common Joe out there.
    
    
    
    Armin F. Dastur
    
    Atlanta, Georgia
    
    
    
    PS: My sincere prayers for George S. for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery, Amen.

30. Sharon (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Hello All,
    
    
    
    George, please remember that you are not alone, all of us here at Tycoon wish you the best. I understand your concern, my husband underwent implantation of a heart defibrillator/pacemaker 18 months ago. The uncertainty was very stressful. Trust God, your doctors and yourself.
    
    
    
    Jason: I believe in helping the poor, but wouldn't be better to teach a person to fish than give that person a fish?
    
    
    
    Jennifer: Agree with giving those of us who pay taxes the break we deserve.
    
    
    
    John Mahler: You are right. We need to go back to Gold being the Standard.
    
    
    
    Microsoft and Yahoo? A good deal for both. Will wait till things shake out a bit, but will definitely put them both on my watch list.
    
    
    
    Best to All,
    
    Sharon Myers-Ring

29. John (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    I do a lot of internet searching for several purposes. I rarely use Yahoo, but when I match up Google to MSN, the results from Google are always superior to the results from MSN. Until I see some changes with that, I am keeping my money in Google.

28. mike (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Excellent comments. You make sense.

27. Bob D (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    As in your article, I see this general statement in many articles:
    
    ==============
    
    In the short term, if they want to stimulate the economy then they should send checks to lower income people. Lower income people are more likely to spend their checks quickly relative to higher income people.
    
    =============
    
    I really don't get that. Regardless of who gets
    
    a check and even if that money is placed in a savings account or some other equivalent way,I can't see how it wouldn't get spent pretty fast.
    
    
    
    The only situation I can imagine where it wouldn't be spent is if one kept the money under their mattress; And that could happen if we wind up in
    
    a negative interest rate position that Japan
    
    found itself in for a time.
    
    
    
    I would like to understand the logic behind that
    
    statement.

26. Helmut (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Our best wishes are with George. Look at it this way - a trade that has only 1 in 17 chances of going sour is a good trade to take.
    
    
    
    Jason, you forgot to mention in your comments on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy that the depository institutions have borrowed $mil52,545 from the Fed in less than two months (see my question "What does it mean?").

25. Linda (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Thank you for your mention of George S. I do not know him, however, I want to say that we are praying for him too for good results on his upcoming surgery. We believe the power of prayer is strong and it has been proven many times.

24. John M (1 year ago) Is this Spam?

    Greetings George S.
    
    I wish you the best with your heart surgery. However, don't focus on survival in the 3D body; you're short selling yourself. I am a many time NDE (near death survivor). If you die in this world, you live on in a much better place in the next. I have been there many times but always had to come back here. Here sucks! You are in a place now where we all are as we watch our money go to hell in a hand basket when a trade goes against us. I have no fear of death. I do have fear of sour trades. I wish I could go to my eternal home every day. To discover what I am seeking to tell you, please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo8u4ApUxVE&feature=related
    
    Then watch all the Pam Reynolds videos; there are four. Trust me, you can't lose no matter which way it goes. You probably have to copy / paste the URL above into your address bar. There is no click-able feature on this forum. I am 61 years of age and suffer sleep apnea which led to heart damage and the NDEs. I have been lucky enough to avoid heart surgery so far.
    
    
    
    As for you Mr. Jason Jovine,
    
    You really need to forget everything you ever learned in college / street about the economy. It is all false. What I am going to share with you below is not some fringe lunatic UFO believer wind bag opinion. This comes from a credible mainstream Swiss banker. No matter what your opinion of Kenesian-o-phobes might be, read it all because it is precisely why the economy will most likely slide into recession, depression, and complete failure much worse than the 1929 depression. I was hoping against hope this was not going to happen. If the DOW had held at $12500, we would have had a rebound. Now, all bets for a bull and recovery are off the table. In 1929,the "rich" had something government could steal. Now, we are all rich and have nothing but fiat currency based on debt. Even government thieves won't take it. If the wage earners go belly up, so do the tribute slaves. That's what really has you by the short arm; isn't it? UNTIL GOLD IS AGAIN THE STANDARD FOR CURRENCY, EVERYONE IS A SLAVE OWNED BY CENTRAL BANKS; NOT A SOVEREIGN CITIZEN. THE ECONOMY WILL NOT BE HEALED UNTIL GOLD RETURNS TO BACK CURRENCY AND CURRENCY WILL AGAIN BE SOUND.
    
    
    
    John Mahler
    
    
    
    CHECK IT OUT:
    
    
    
    Swiss Banker Tells How Gold-Backed Currency Hinders Wars
    
    
    
    December 18, 2002 10:09 p.m. PST
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Hello Dear Friends and White Knights,
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The White Knights are well aware that by using gold, silver, and platinum
    
    
    
    to back our new U.S. Treasury currency, this will help to reduce wars.
    
    
    
    Below is an article written by a Swiss Banker who explains why precious
    
    
    
    metals backed currency hinders those who want to wage wars. This speech
    
    
    
    was given during a conference in Austria which ran from August 30 to
    
    
    
    September 1, 2002..
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    My sources tell me the fact that NESARA is due to be announced was known to some of the people at this conference. Why else would a Swiss Banker
    
    suddenly give a speech about gold-backed currency hindering waging wars?
    
    (Ed: NESARA=URL: http://nesara.org/main/index.htm)
    
    
    
    WHY would a respected Swiss Banker discuss THIS topic when there is NO
    
    
    
    other activity to get currencies backed by gold, except the true NESARA
    
    
    
    law. ONLY the true NESARA law is causing countries to go back to
    
    
    
    �gold-backed� currencies. Clearly, this speech by a Swiss Banker is in
    
    
    
    SUPPORT of the true NESARA law.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    If you still don�t �get it�, let me explain it this way. When a speaker is
    
    
    
    asked to address a conference, the speaker is expected to discuss a
    
    
    
    RELEVANT topic. The speaker would only be discussing gold-backed
    
    
    
    currencies as a deterrent to war BECAUSE there ARE current activities which
    
    
    
    are moving certain countries to actually having gold-backed currencies in
    
    
    
    the NEAR future!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    There are ZERO other activities anywhere which are calling for various
    
    
    
    countries to return to gold-backed currency. ONLY the true NESARA law is
    
    
    
    doing this. This speech is another one of the PROOFS that the world�s
    
    
    
    experts in banking and monetary systems DO KNOW about the true NESARA law.
    
    
    
    NESARA Yes!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Blessings and Love,
    
    
    
    Dove of Oneness
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    
    
    
    http://www.fame.org/HTM/Why%20Gold-Backed%20Currencies%20Help%20Prevent%20Wars.h
    
    
    
    tml
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    (Lecture by Ferdinand Lips delivered at Humanitarianism at the Crossroads
    
    
    
    Congress in Feldkirch (Austria), August 30 - September 1, 2002 and
    
    
    
    translated from German).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    WHY GOLD-BACKED CURRENCIES HELP PREVENT WARS
    
    
    
    [By] Ferdinand Lips, of Lion Capital Group in Zürich, [Switzerland]
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The context
    
    
    
    I will start my talk with an allegation. You have gathered here for a
    
    
    
    specific reason. You have come because the gold standard was given up in
    
    
    
    1914 at the beginning of World War I.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Looking at the program, I see that all of the topics with which we are
    
    
    
    going to deal are in some way related to that event. World history proves
    
    
    
    that there is a close relationship between monetary systems and war and
    
    
    
    peace. It is also evident that there is a close relationship between
    
    
    
    monetary systems and ethics and morals.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Unfortunately, it is not widely known that the 19th century was a period of
    
    
    
    prosperity and economic growth without inflation. It strikes us like a
    
    
    
    fairytale when we discover that in those days the most important currencies
    
    
    
    were stable over a long period. The French franc, for example, remained
    
    
    
    solid for one hundred years. It was the era of the gold standard.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The Life Span of Currencies
    
    
    
    French Franc 1814 - 1914 ��..100 years
    
    
    
    Dutch Guilder 1816 - 1914 ��..98 years
    
    
    
    Pound Sterling 1821 - 1914 ��.93 years
    
    
    
    Swiss Franc 1850 - 1936 ���...86 years
    
    
    
    Belgian Franc 1832 - 1914 ��...82 years
    
    
    
    Swedish Krona 1873 - 1931 ��.58 years
    
    
    
    German Mark 1875 - 1914 ��...39 years
    
    
    
    Italian Lira 1883 - 1914 ���...�31 years
    
    
    
    (Pick's Currency Yearbook 1977 - 1979).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    How the gold standard worked
    
    
    
    The basic rule of the gold standard was a fixed amount of gold for each
    
    
    
    money, i.e., each money was defined as a specific weight of gold. Paper
    
    
    
    currencies were redeemable into gold at any time. A nation's monetary
    
    
    
    reserves consisted of only gold. On an international level, importing and
    
    
    
    exporting gold was unrestricted. All balance of payments deficits were
    
    
    
    settled in gold. (Balance of payments: the sum of all transactions between
    
    
    
    the homeland and other countries).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    In this way, gold had a disciplining influence on a national economy. It
    
    
    
    limited public spending. It provided citizens with money that maintained,
    
    
    
    and even slightly increased, its purchasing power over time and was
    
    
    
    internationally recognized. If a balance of payments deficit developed,
    
    
    
    gold automatically transferred out of the country. As a consequence, prices
    
    
    
    began to decrease. Exports became competitive again and the balance of
    
    
    
    payments reversed. If a country had a balance of payments surplus, then
    
    
    
    gold entered the country and the economy was able to expand. Upward
    
    
    
    revaluations or devaluations were unthinkable. The system maintained its
    
    
    
    stability automatically. This is one reason why politicians do not like
    
    
    
    gold. Gold forces them to balance their budget.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The 19th century gold standard, the highest monetary achievement of the
    
    
    
    civilized world
    
    
    
    The gold standard was neither conceived at a monetary conference, nor was
    
    
    
    it the brainchild of some genius. It was the result of centuries of
    
    
    
    experience. Great Britain was the architect. At the height of the gold
    
    
    
    standard at the beginning of the 20th century there were about fifty
    
    
    
    nations, all of them leading industrial nations, which participated in the
    
    
    
    gold standard. It was one big clearance community, and it worked.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    In his book Währungen am Scheideweg (Managed Money at the Crossroads -- The
    
    
    
    European Experience), Prof. Dr. M. Palyi wrote in 1960:
    
    
    
    "For the first time since Rome's prime did the civilized world succeed in
    
    
    
    creating a monetary unit. The commercial and financial integration of the
    
    
    
    world was achieved without the help of a military empire or a dreamy
    
    
    
    utopia. In theory and in reality, this monetary unit was accepted and
    
    
    
    recognized as the only rational currency system. Due to the automatic
    
    
    
    mechanism and the discipline to which the monetary institutions were tied,
    
    
    
    fluctuations in the exchange rates were very limited if not altogether
    
    
    
    impossible. This was the incalculable advantage of a gold currency. Trade
    
    
    
    and industry were able to plan ahead. Especially the automatic mechanism
    
    
    
    and the 'rules of decent behavior' in monetary affairs observed at the
    
    
    
    time, liberated the value of money from the impact of the governments'
    
    
    
    whims. They substantially stabilized it on a worldwide basis. Despite all
    
    
    
    assurances by the monetary reformers, no reasonably equivalent replacement
    
    
    
    has been found in the meantime."
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Economist Ludwig von Mises wrote in his book Human Action:
    
    
    
    "The gold standard was the world standard of the age of capitalism,
    
    
    
    increasing welfare, liberty, and democracy �. In the eyes of the free
    
    
    
    traders its main eminence was precisely the fact that it was an
    
    
    
    international standard as required by international trade and the
    
    
    
    transactions of the international money and capital market. It was the
    
    
    
    medium of exchange by means of which Western industrialism and Western
    
    
    
    capital had borne Western civilization into the remotest parts of the
    
    
    
    earth's surface �. and creating riches unheard of before. It accompanied
    
    
    
    the triumphal unprecedented progress of Western liberalism ready to unite
    
    
    
    all nations into a community of free nations peacefully cooperating with
    
    
    
    one another �. The gold standard is certainly not a perfect or ideal
    
    
    
    standard. There is no such thing as perfection in human things. But nobody
    
    
    
    is in a position to tell us how something more satisfactory could be put in
    
    
    
    place of the gold standard."
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The era of the gold standard during the 19th century was the golden age of
    
    
    
    the white man. During this period, after Napoleon, there were only seven
    
    
    
    wars of any importance.
    
    
    
    Post-Napoleonic Wars During the 19th Century
    
    
    
    1855 Crimean War
    
    
    
    1861 - 1865 American Civil War, abolition of slavery, Abraham Lincoln
    
    
    
    1866 Prussian-Austrian War, Königsgrätz, North-German Union
    
    
    
    1870 - 1871 German-French War
    
    
    
    1877 - 1878 Russian-Turkish War, Congress of Berlin
    
    
    
    1894 - 1895 War between Japan and China
    
    
    
    1895 - 1898 Spanish-American War
    
    
    
    1900 2nd Anglo-Boer War in South Africa
    
    
    
    And furthermore: There was no terrorism of the scope we know today.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Contention
    
    
    
    My claim is that, had the gold standard been maintained, the warring
    
    
    
    nations would have had to observe the rules of the gold standard, and,
    
    
    
    therefore, World War I would have been over in a few months. Because of the
    
    
    
    automated mechanism and the prevalent "rules of decent behavior," financing
    
    
    
    the war on credit in a Keynesian style would not have been possible.
    
    
    
    Parenthetically, except for Karl Marx, Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt
    
    
    
    describes Keynes as one of the great destructive forces in world history.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Soon after the onset of World War I, the moment came when the world turned
    
    
    
    to monetary fraud. Political pressure to finance the war with money created
    
    
    
    out of nothing made a sane monetary structure futile and led to the ruin of
    
    
    
    currencies -- and a war lasting four years. The world lay in ruins and a
    
    
    
    young, hopeful generation was lost somewhere on the battlefields.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The collapse of the international monetary system provokes the demise of
    
    
    
    the old world order.
    
    
    
    The result of World War I signified the fall of the Old World. Reading
    
    
    
    Stefan Zweig's book Die Welt von Gestern (The World of Yesterday), you will
    
    
    
    be able to see what the world looked like then, and how cruel it is today.
    
    
    
    As we are in Austria today, we should remember what the Austro-Hungarian
    
    
    
    Empire represented and denoted how orderly the situation in Western,
    
    
    
    Central and Eastern Europe was in those days. One of the most senseless
    
    
    
    things to happen in world history was the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian
    
    
    
    Empire and everything that was connected to it.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Of course, there is no such thing as a perfect world, but cross the
    
    
    
    Hungarian border from the Burgenland and enter the next bigger city,
    
    
    
    Körmend, and then you will know what I am talking about. A few years of
    
    
    
    communist rule has laid the land in ruins. Financing the war is what mainly
    
    
    
    ruined Germany, then the most thriving country. The Reichsbank financed a
    
    
    
    large part of its war effort on a short-term basis, i.e., not with
    
    
    
    long-term War Loans like the British. This fact, in addition to the
    
    
    
    Versailles Treaty and unreasonable reparation payments, led to
    
    
    
    hyperinflation, destruction of the middle class and, finally, Hitler. It
    
    
    
    set the stage for World War II.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The monetary tragedy of the 20th century
    
    
    
    The return to the gold standard after World War I was a fait accompli. But
    
    
    
    it lacked wisdom and power on the part of those in charge. In 1922, at the
    
    
    
    Conference of Genoa, the gold exchange standard was introduced. Please note
    
    
    
    that it was not the gold standard that was reestablished, it was the gold
    
    
    
    exchange standard that was launched. This meant that, apart from gold,
    
    
    
    national banks could also use dollars and pounds, i.e., the currencies of
    
    
    
    the triumphant nations, as reserves. Suddenly, dollars and pounds were
    
    
    
    equivalent to gold. That was inflationary, because dollars and pounds were
    
    
    
    now accounted for twice: first, in the country where they were issued; and,
    
    
    
    second, in the country that held them in reserve.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Furthermore, it should have been known that paper-ticket currencies were in
    
    
    
    no way immune to loss of purchasing power. Therefore, they could not be
    
    
    
    permanent and generally valid yardsticks. Gold always keeps its value -
    
    
    
    paper currencies do not. Today, it is generally accepted that increased
    
    
    
    credit formation was the reason for the uncontrolled speculation in the
    
    
    
    real estate and stock markets during the 1920s. Their collapse paved the
    
    
    
    way for the crisis of the 1930s. The same thing can be said for the present
    
    
    
    stock market crisis. It is also due to immense credit formation over the
    
    
    
    past twenty years and lack of monetary discipline provided by the gold
    
    
    
    standard.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Central banks, banks and the war
    
    
    
    When the gold standard was abandoned, central banks were the last barrier
    
    
    
    to rampant money creation as long as they were able to maintain their
    
    
    
    independence. However, in the meantime we have learned from bitter
    
    
    
    experience just how ineffective these so-called keepers of stability were.
    
    
    
    An excellent example for this is the US Federal Reserve in 1913. This
    
    
    
    fateful institution was founded even before the war. Since, the dollar has
    
    
    
    plummeted to about five percent of its former value. Central bank
    
    
    
    independence was not what it was cut out to be. Central banks became
    
    
    
    compliant pawns of governments and their constituent banks. In today's
    
    
    
    non-system, it is precisely central banks that, in conjunction with banks,
    
    
    
    make financing of wars of adventure possible by means of unlimited credit
    
    
    
    formation. There are no brakes anymore.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    In his book Jenseits von Angebot und Nachfrage (The Social Crisis of Our
    
    
    
    Time) economist Wilhelm Röpke said: "One can venture the claim that
    
    
    
    governments very rarely had complete control over their currency without
    
    
    
    abusing it." In today's age of the welfare state, the probability of such
    
    
    
    an abuse is greater than ever before.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The tragic decisions of Bretton Woods in 1944
    
    
    
    The world had not learned anything at all. At the close of World War II, it
    
    
    
    was decided to introduce the gold/dollar standard. A direct result was
    
    
    
    inflation in the 1970s. Again, notice the subtlety. After World War I, we
    
    
    
    went from the gold standard to the gold exchange standard with dollars and
    
    
    
    pounds. After World War II, we proceeded to the gold/dollar standard. The
    
    
    
    pound had lost its previous stature in the interim, and, next to gold, the
    
    
    
    dollar remained the only valid reserve currency and, then, only because the
    
    
    
    dollar was convertible by foreign central banks into gold on demand. It was
    
    
    
    a sign of the increasing economic power of the US.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The structure created in Bretton Woods gave Americans the appalling
    
    
    
    monopoly to settle their debt with paper-ticket-token money they had
    
    
    
    printed. Nobody could have resisted such temptation. When this structure
    
    
    
    collapsed on August 15, 1971, we moved to a system of floating exchange
    
    
    
    rates. That fully opened the floodgates for creation of money, credit,
    
    
    
    deficit spending and speculation.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Today's international order is a consequence
    
    
    
    In a speech on August 7, 2002, President George W. Bush said the following:
    
    
    
    "There is no telling how many wars it will take to secure freedom in the
    
    
    
    homeland." With this comment Mr. Bush announced that there might not only
    
    
    
    be a war against Iraq, but many wars around the globe. He did not define
    
    
    
    when a war would be considered won or lost. This means that these wars may
    
    
    
    continue indefinitely. The consequences of these wars are very clear. Trade
    
    
    
    and investment activities will suffer great damage in such an environment
    
    
    
    of insecurity.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    I will now take a closer look at the question of how the US will be able to
    
    
    
    pay for these wars. In principle, the US is bankrupt. It has been like that
    
    
    
    since August 15, 1971. That was the day America escalated its war against
    
    
    
    gold. Not unlike a banana republic, the US defaulted on its sovereign
    
    
    
    obligation to redeem dollars for gold as agreed upon in the Bretton Woods
    
    
    
    system. Theoretically, the US cannot be warring at all, i.e., under the
    
    
    
    strict discipline of the gold standard it would not be possible.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Because of the nation's deficit, there would not be any money left to spend
    
    
    
    on an unproductive and destructive war. The US's foreign debt is enormous.
    
    
    
    Until the early 1980s, the US was a creditor nation. Now it is a debtor
    
    
    
    nation, including a catastrophic balance of trade, which is running up an
    
    
    
    annual deficit of $450 billion. And still the US is conducting wars, which
    
    
    
    it is paying for with paper-ticket-token money, which basically is the
    
    
    
    equivalent of counterfeit. The Americans are creating this funny money
    
    
    
    themselves - and everybody has accepted it since 1971. Ever since then, and
    
    
    
    for the first time in history, the world has been living on a system of
    
    
    
    irredeemable paper-ticket-token money. So we may note that if the world
    
    
    
    were on a gold standard, the US could not be conducting any wars. Why?
    
    
    
    Because then they would have to pay for them in gold. Gold, therefore, acts
    
    
    
    as a braking mechanism. Putting on the brakes has a disciplining effect.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Who, then, actually pays for these wars? The answer is simple. We all do,
    
    
    
    out of our savings and our promises of future payment, e.g., our pensions!
    
    
    
    It was no different for Kennedy's and Johnson's Vietnam War. We were all
    
    
    
    footing the bill by eventual world inflation leading to rapid devaluation
    
    
    
    of our currencies.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The 20th century
    
    
    
    Contrary to the 19th century, the 20th century was a century of inflation,
    
    
    
    hyperinflation, trade and currency wars, waves of speculation, military
    
    
    
    conflicts, two world wars, hundreds if not thousands of local wars,
    
    
    
    hundreds of millions dead, annihilation of entire nations, mass migrations,
    
    
    
    economic ruin, and, finally, the decline of civilization.
    
    
    
    Why are there wars? Without a doubt, economic reasons weigh in as the most
    
    
    
    ponderous in any string of motivations for international conflict that
    
    
    
    ultimately lead to war. They range from primeval struggles for hunting
    
    
    
    territories, pastures, salt mines and fertile valleys, to predatory attacks
    
    
    
    and conquests of the seafaring and trading nations, all the way to modern
    
    
    
    battles for living space, sales territories and, the most important
    
    
    
    motivation of all, access to natural resources. Internal political problems
    
    
    
    also play a major part. Often wars are started to divert attention from
    
    
    
    problems on the home front. In the Middle East, both aspects are involved:
    
    
    
    the control over oil resources and the distraction from the disastrous
    
    
    
    condition of the US financial system. Saddam Hussein is only a pretext.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    These wars continue to contribute to the destruction of currencies'
    
    
    
    purchasing power. While a gold coin from the times of Alexander the Great
    
    
    
    or Julius Caesar still shines as it did then, it is the fate of the
    
    
    
    purchasing power of paper-ticket-token currencies to revert to their cost
    
    
    
    of production, and that is nil. The Germans can tell the US a thing or two
    
    
    
    about that. A total loss after World War I, another total loss after World
    
    
    
    War II, and finally admission to the European currency system, the Euro.
    
    
    
    All that happened within less than one hundred years.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Gold-as-money is a precondition for freedom
    
    
    
    Not only is there a correlation between gold currencies and war, but also
    
    
    
    between gold currencies and freedom. US Federal Reserve Board of Governors
    
    
    
    Chairman Alan Greenspan wrote a well-known essay "Gold and Economic
    
    
    
    Freedom" in 1966 attesting to this. He recently confirmed that he believes
    
    
    
    this essay is applicable today.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Once we remember that one of the first official acts transacted by Lenin,
    
    
    
    Mussolini and Hitler (and, by the way, also by Franklin D. Roosevelt) was
    
    
    
    to forbid possession of gold, we recognize the context. Even today the
    
    
    
    price of gold is manipulated and kept artificially low. Wall Street bankers
    
    
    
    and their helpers have been at it for quite some time. In the US a lawsuit
    
    
    
    was filed. I cannot say more about this at the moment, but it should serve
    
    
    
    as an impulse to reflect on the present situation. These manipulations are
    
    
    
    described in my recently published book "The Gold Wars: The Battle Against
    
    
    
    Sound Money As Seen From A Swiss Perspective"
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    All we have today is paper-ticket-token money. It is equivalent to
    
    
    
    counterfeit money. It does not offer a citizen any security. He cannot save
    
    
    
    enough money. If he does save, most of it is lost. The situation is worst
    
    
    
    for recipients of wages and pensioners. In the end he is forced into the
    
    
    
    arms of the (welfare) government, and he effectively loses his freedom.
    
    
    
    Politicians will mostly resist the reinstallation of gold-as-money. Röpke
    
    
    
    was right when he wrote in his book Internationale Ordnung - heute
    
    
    
    (International Order and Economic Integration):
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Conclusion
    
    
    
    Today, when "Humanity is at a Crossroad," as the topic of the conference
    
    
    
    characterizes the worldwide political situation, we want to address
    
    
    
    academic faculties. We want to know what they can contribute to finding a
    
    
    
    way out of this and to prevent an unimaginable escalation of suffering. As
    
    
    
    a banker, I implore you to put the gold standard back on the agenda. The
    
    
    
    people understand it intuitively. The gold standard would be my guild's aid
    
    
    
    to bridle the power frenzy of the mighty.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Paper-ticket-token or funny money is like a drug addiction. It takes more
    
    
    
    and more of the drug to satisfy the addiction. Collapse is the final
    
    
    
    result. There is no indication today that this experiment with the
    
    
    
    equivalent of counterfeit money will end any better than earlier, similar
    
    
    
    experiments. Due to the US's economic power, paper-ticket-token money has
    
    
    
    already lasted longer than one might expect.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Allow me to conclude with a quotation from a speech given in Washington
    
    
    
    D.C. in 1948 by Congressman Howard Buffett from Nebraska, father of the
    
    
    
    most successful investor of all times, Warren Buffett. The address was
    
    
    
    entitled "Human Freedom Rests on Gold Redeemable Money":-
    
    
    
    "Our finances will never be brought into order until Congress is compelled
    
    
    
    to do so. Making our money redeemable in gold will create this compulsion
    
    
    
    �. The paper money disease has been a pleasant habit thus far and will not
    
    
    
    be dropped voluntarily any more than a dope user will without a struggle
    
    
    
    give up narcotics. But in each case the end of the road is not a desirable
    
    
    
    prospect �. I can find no evidence to support a hope that our fiat paper
    
    
    
    money venture will fare better ultimately than such experiments in other
    
    
    
    lands. Because of our economic strength the paper money disease here may
    
    
    
    take many years to run its course �. But we can be approaching the critical
    
    
    
    stage. When that day arrives our political leaders will probably find that
    
    
    
    foreign war and ruthless regimentation is the cunning alternative to
    
    
    
    domestic strife. That was the way out for the paper-money economy of
    
    
    
    Hitler and others �. I warn you that politicians of both parties will
    
    
    
    oppose the restoration of gold �. Also those elements here and abroad who
    
    
    
    are getting rich from the continued American inflation will oppose a return
    
    
    
    to sound money �. But, unless you are willing to surrender your children
    
    
    
    and your country to galloping inflation, war and slavery, then this cause
    
    
    
    demands your support. For if human liberty is to survive in America, we
    
    
    
    must win the battle to restore honest money�. There is no more important
    
    
    
    challenge facing the US than this issue - the restoration of your freedom
    
    
    
    to secure gold in exchange for the fruits of your labors."
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    "Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the subtle relationships between freedom,
    
    
    
    money, intellect, war, peace and gold."
    
    
    
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
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