Fairy tales are...
Fairy tales are something that most of us grew up with and it seems like an ongoing tradition in many cultures. Some pretty widely know fairy tales are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. At what age though do we let the youngsters know that it has all been just a fabricated story to make them feel good?
In our family of four kids the age varied on letting them know. The oldest boy was probably 8 or 9 when he was told Santa Claus wasn’t real but he had a younger brother that was only 5 so he was instructed to keep quite.
That’s part of the growing up process as well; knowing when to keep quiet. Sometimes children figure it out earlier and just play along pretending not to know. Such was the case with Shortie, she figured it by the time she was 5 but didn’t let on because, “it would hurt Mom, she has so much fun with the Santa Claus thingy”.
Here in the...
Here in the USA we have ongoing fairy tale that few will admit too.
Like a lot of fairy tales there might be a factual basis for the story but it gets twisted and turned, exaggerated in some fashion, and then before you know it the end result is nothing near like the truth of the story.
That ongoing fairy tale here in the USA is the history of our country and how the colonists broke free from the Crown of Britain and became our own “free and independent “ nation.
We always think...
We always think of “free “ as being in control of our own destiny or to be able to do as we like, right? I know that is the way I’ve thought in the past.
But ‘free’ has more than one meaning; like in owning something “free and clear” meaning you don’t owe any money. Like with houses and cars you’ll hear the term “free and clear title”, not owing any money that was loaned to you in order to purchase the item. You either paid back the money you borrowed or you never did borrow any in order to buy it.
The 13 colonies...
The 13 colonies ended up borrowing at least $2 million to fight Great Britain in the Revolutionary War. The loans were from the French government and bankers but that amount was even disputed as the government had secretly shipped arms and ammunition before the loans were made. It was unclear if these were “gifts” or “sold goods on credit” but either way $2 million was a big chunk of silver no matter how you looked at it.
We also need to keep in mind that King George III(Great Britain) owned France at the time the time of the Revolutionary war. Can you start to see the picture?
King George III was a...
King George III was a clever bastard in my opinion. He devised a plan to let the colonies have their “freedom and independence” in the colonists minds; knowing full well that they would be in debt up to their ears to him through the loans made to the colonists by his empire in France.
They say, (who ever “they” is) “the first to leave the battlefield loses” and when it came to ending the Revolutionary war the British troops were the first to leave. It was only after the British King had determined in his mind that he had the colonists deep enough in debt that they wouldn’t be able to pull themselves out of that debt.
If there is one thing we hear in life and quite frequently it is “follow the money” and it is important that we know that part of the history.
The new country, United States, was financially broke from the start and struggled severally to make the payments to the French. I think a closer look at Benjamin Franklin should be taken by us since he was the one who arranged these loans from France. Plus the fact he also was involved in the signing of the treaty of Paris in 1783 which said all debts owed by the colonies would be liable for payment by the newly formed “United States”.
If we in fact beat the British we should have been able to tell King George III to pound sand; when does loser ever dictate terms the terms of the agreement?
The only mistake...
The only mistake King George III made in all of this was that he underestimated the United States ability to pay back the loans. The United States did pay back the French but again it was done with borrowed money.
An American banker named James Swan took over the debt of the United States and renegotiated the debt with France; he found both Americans and Dutch banks to finance the loans at lower interest and made some money on the spread.
The British Crown....
The British Crown wouldn’t make the same mistake twice when it came to making sure the United States would fail and revert in ownership back to the Crown.
The American Civil War between the Union States and the Confederate States had a cost of $3.4 billion dollars. That total included around $2.2 billion in bonds that were sold and the majority of those were bought up by the British banks under control of the Crown. Need I say more?
We never have paid those bonds off; we have only paid the interest on those bonds. This is why the income tax exists to today; the tax you pay goes to the Crown as a never ending interest payment. That is why you file a form 1040 each year (the bonds were 10 year and 40 year bonds) and it is due on April 15th each year; which just also happens to be the date on which President Lincoln died from a gunshot to the head the evening before.
This year here in the USA you have until 11:59 PM tonight to file your tax return. I wonder if the Crown is going to charge us a penalty for being late?
So the fairy tale...
So the fairy tale of freedom here in the United States is just that; a fairy tale. In order to be free you need to have financial freedom as well as personal freedom.
If you look at the most recent study of freedom in the countries around the world you’ll find that the United States is ranked #17 of 162 listed.
The number 1 country on that list is New Zealand and even Canada at #5 and the United Kingdom at #8 rank ahead of the USA. Does that surprise any of you in the USA? Freedom Study Link
It’s time that you folks here in the USA know the truth behind the fairy tale known as "land of the free" ; now brush your teeth, wash your hands and face, and get to bed.
Until next time,
Sult
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Photo credits: Sult N Papper
Once again my mind is blown, Sult! I had no idea income taxes came about as a result of those bonds coming due.
Yes, they don't teach this stuff in school or college. But when you do the research it becomes very apparent , the first income tax was 3% on income over $800 . That would be deal right now for those who still pay income taxes.
I don't know why FDR didn't clean up that debt during the run up to WWII. He had Churchill by the short and fuzzies and wasn't shy about breaking the empire in exchange. I guess that may be tied to the fact that the Crown is separate from the people and the country in England.
Which brings me to the Constitution. I've signed up for and have taken the first course in Constitution 101. Looks to be very good. Even though I only hit 7 of 10 on the first quiz...
Thanks for the course and the reminder of the fairy tale. I appreciate both.
Yes a very good course indeed. I can't say why FDR didn't clean it up, most of my studying has been focused on the founding of the country and I've worked my way forward slowly. I am still reading papers & news papers from the civil war right now. We have a lot of untold history in this country.
Your welcome on the course and reminder and thank you for the support.