Note: Part 1 is some backstory behind European financial history to give some context
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"Those who desire convenience over privacy deserve neither."
One could think that was said by some Founding Father of the United States over 250 year ago. They would be mistaken though, seeing as I said that, today, on May 13, 2023. Times have changed since they created the idea of the American Republic.
Those days are long gone, but there are still remnants of the old rebellious nature that permeates the population. No longer will Americans of working, family-starting age, revolt at the mere thought of a 2% tax on tea. Now, they accept 37% on the highest-valued portions (upper end) of their income, and many do so with total compliance on their mind.
Anything but an audit. I can't afford to get audited, they waste my time and demand I explain every single purchase I made in the last 5 years. They'll make all these demands of me and force me to use my time to, most likely, pay a lawyer to help me defend myself against the onslaught of the IRS.
The Internal Revenue Service was not Constitutional when the republic was founded. It was not Constitutional when the last glimmer of a Republic ended, in 1871. How was it made Constitutional? Congress passed it into law with the Income Tax Act.
This came after the privately-owned US banks took over responsibility of regulation of their own business dealings, power granted to them under their own Federal Reserve Act, passed in 1913. There is a train of thought that supposes World War I wasn't possible, without the creation of the Central Bank of the United States.
That same train of thought also leads to the idea that neither would the Second European-focused World War be possible - without the creation of the Central Bank. Preceding the creation of the fractional-reserve banking system, there were a series of devastating bank-runs. Perhaps you recognize a recurring theme, a pattern presenting itself...
Manufactured financial crises always seem to lead to further consolidation and centralization of power. There are no exceptions to this rule, going back to 1871, and one could argue there was already an attempt by the British Empire to retain military control over the North American colonies, with the War of 1812.
Washington, D.C., the "federal" capital that was built in an entirely non-American internationalist entity called the District of Columbia, was burned by the British as they attempted to assert control. They lost that war ultimately, and the last chain wrapped around the colonies, was one of money.
You see, war is very expensive. You have had to pay your troops, buy weapons and ammunition, purchase fuel to power your vehicles, and make sure you have financing setup with the banks.
That last part in there is meant to be a wake-up call, because the banks ultimately survive whatever war(s) are being fought on that [nation's] soil. Isn't it strange that no one ever asks where Gaddafi's gold is now? Or perhaps, where Eastern Europe's gold went during the 1930s and 1940s. No one is asking, why is Russia's central bank buying mountains of gold bullion, adding it to their FX reserves, and dumping US Dollars?
Because financial privacy goes hand-in-hand with sovereignty. If you have wealth that can't be taken through sanctions and financial war, you are able to exercise your own foreign policy without threat of losing funding. The banks back the government's actions, hence why the US government does whatever it wants, wherever it wants, with no concern whatsoever with the consequences of such unbridled aggression.
This is not to say the British Empire wasn't the prime example of unbridled aggression - they were, and still are - because they have used the global financial system to exert control and influence since they handed over their military role to the US.
World War II resulted in the end of British global military dominance. 3 years after, India declared independence, and proceeded to splinter into multiple separate countries with no plan of how to recover their productivity and improve living standards. Pakistan and India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have all fought famine, environmental destruction, and poor political leadership for generations, one could even argue, since 1948, but they only adopted ideas from their British imperial rulers.
Before the British came and looted India's gem and precious metals wealth, India was the crown jewel - pun intended - of South Asia. We can see the same thing happening right now, over 200 years later. India is regaining its economic power that allows it to dictate its demands to others. This is how the global game of Risk is played.
The same applies to China, in many of the same ways, too.
The British spent hundreds of years fighting the Chinese in the South China Sea, and over control of Southeast Asia's natural resources treasure trove AND its labor force. Isn't it convenient the current conflict being orchestrated in that region is by the United States Navy and the Pentagon? It's over the same exact area that the British and French spent decades exploiting in their desire for global empire. It's the same exact area the French fled in the 1950s, which then led to the period of time that many Americans would prefer to forget.
The Invasion of the Gulf of Tonkin was an offensive maneuver carried out by the US military. That subsequent war and occupation cost tens of thousands of American troops their lives, and even more Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian people.
Who profited off those wars? Not the businesses that left, but the businesses who moved in to...wait for it....
Rebuild the war-torn area. At a profit, lots of which is financed through exclusive government-backed construction contracts, and is considered the golden goose of clientele for war profiteers. The rebuilding efforts in any country involve privately-owned banks, construction companies, energy companies, heavy machinery manufacturers, healthcare providers, factory-farmed food-crop cultivators, and the list goes on.
Lots of people benefit financially from inciting, prolonging, and ending wars.
It isn't an accident that the first phase of the Fed-financed European War resulted in the deaths of two generations of people, including but not limited to British, French, Italian, German, Russian, Austrian, Hungarian, Slavs and Turks. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were 4 major empires in Europe. Do you notice anything eerie?
They were all targeted for dissolution except one: the British Empire. For reference, historically, the European bankers have long dreamed of gaining control over Russia. First politically, splitting it up into Balkanized republics destined for generations of war, then exploiting its resources, and finally, siphoning off as much productive capacity from the people as possible, before Armageddon.
Why do you think Russian gas company, Gazprom, worked so hard to get Nord Stream 2 online?
Because it represents the first direct connection made between the German state and the Russian state, and this was the penultimate fear of the British and the French. When combined and aligned with common interests, the German and Russian militaries would bury Europe under their rule for a long time, no worldly power could stand in their way.
If German industrial manufacturing was united with cheap, raw materials from Russia, that would create the single-most powerful economic entity to ever exist. Europe has been drained of its wealth through government extortion (taxes) for decades. These taxes are used to finance war, people in the general public have no authority or control over that money or how it is spent.
But what if you don't tell anyone that you get paid in cash?
Wouldn't the IRS still find out?
No, that's what financial privacy is. Keeping your finances private, not having anyone take a dime. If all your transactions are recorded on a ledger, whether it belong to a credit card service provider OR to a blockchain, your activity can be easily-tracked and traced.
A habits profile is built on every single consumer who uses these debt services. There are no exceptions. Unless you use cash and coin, your transactions are recorded and stored somewhere. That consumption data is then sold to advertisers for a profit, since you give the debt service provider the information for free, by using their service.
If this sounds nefarious to you, that's because it is. If your credit card company knows what you're spending money on, so do the advertisers who buy that information. So too, does the government of any state or the federal Politburo in DC. The reason is simple: By using a service, you agree to the TERMS OF SERVICE & USER AGREEMENT.
This terminology has been used ad nauseam by advertising companies with Internet cookies for a long time. Whenever you install software on your computer or mobile device, you have to agree to their ToS, otherwise, no app for you.
Think about that:
Give us your data by-default or else you don't get to benefit from our service. Ignore the fact that Facebook makes more than $32 off their average user every 3 months, which equates to approximately $245 Billion per year. Yes, that's Billion with a "B," not Million, not Thousand, but BILLION.
To the average person, a million dollars is a lot of money, and the statistics tell the same story, most people in the world don't possess $1 million worth of assets, let alone, in say, cash.
Imagine what the average person could do if they have $1 million in cash and could buy anything they wanted, without anyone other than their merchant knowing. Now imagine how much more money would be spent on commerce and food.
The problem isn't that people spend too much on consumption, the problem is that the government has been siphoning off wealth from everyone, for over 110 years in the United States. By taking wages from workers, workers suffer. The government doesn't suffer, because it doesn't produce anything. It takes money earned by people to pay their corporate donors for the right contracts at the right time.
Do you think anyone who earns over $1 million per year, reports every penny to the IRS?
No way, not if they have an accountant worth a damn in the 21st century. It's extremely easy for the wealthiest people to hide their money because they take advantage of a system that was originally designed, only to affect the uber wealthy.
Since the federal income tax system only came into existence in 1917, it hasn't made it to its 110th birthday yet, but since it siphons off over $4.6 trillion dollars from American individuals and businesses, it should be clear to you how its possible for war profiteers to not face funding shortfalls.
They have an unending spigot to take loans out with. It's called the American worker, who spends 40-70 hours a week working to earn money that loses purchasing power and value, every single minute of every single day of the year. So the money they earned last week isn't as valuable as it was last year when they earn the same amount.
Even with some wage inflation, the inflation in food, energy and living costs far exceeded any growth in wages in the US. So why does financial privacy matter when it comes to the IRS and the government? Shouldn't you just pay your taxes you owe to the state for your privilege to be alive?
Well, that depends on what your morals are, what ideals you hold sacred.
Do you like being extorted under threat of punishment by the state?
Well, maybe you don't care about privacy at all - but that doesn't give you the right to deny other people that right. It only means YOU do not care, and YOU are not the type of person who would be reading this, either.
(To Be Continued in Part 2)
I don't give a shit what any government, constitution or bill of rights says I can and can't do. I quit paying taxes over a decade ago and I refuse to support anyone who supports a government. Voting for someone to force your will onto me is not moral and I will never vote to have my will forced onto you. It's a zero sum game. The sooner people realize that they were born free, and government is just a religion, by definition, the sooner we will have truly free markets once again.
Transparency and Privacy. Together they bring balance. Where there is darkness, there is also light. Yin and yang.
#disobey #agorism #donoharm #coexist #homeschool #permaculture
Woh! this post is full of history and interesting topics. You made me think about the war. Sometimes it doesn't matter how it ends, but the important thing is that while it's there it moves capital and that wars are made with citizens' money anyway
"War is a racket" - Smedley Butler
Even here in Italy taxes are exaggerated, especially the taxes that companies pay. Wages have grown the fastest in the last 10 years, but taxes and inflation have grown so much !PIZZA
And on top of that, standard of living has declined
Standard living is deceeased in Italy too especially for young people. I believe that in the future we will also have to get our own energy, it will be increasingly difficult for people in the coming decades to depend on external energy sources because these will be increasingly expensive. but this is a personal idea
You aren't wrong at all, Stefano. The issue is that Russia is the best source for cheap fuel for all of Europe. The NATO cartel does not want Russia having any economic connection with Europe, Eastern or Western, despite that historically being the norm. Natural gas imported from the US to Italy is overpriced as hell, and it's price-gouging 101, when there's a much cheaper, more reliable source nearby (TurkStream, anyone?)
You have excellent knowledge of the world economy. My compliments. It's really a pleasure to deal with someone like you. !PIZZA
Wow, thank you Stefano, my good friend, that means so much to me. I only wish to help other people see what i see..which is...a lot, and it's overwhelming 99% of the time, but once I get my thoughts organized, I can breakdown any topic you throw at me, and while I do tend to get bogged down and delayed with getting the content out, lemme add a lil analysis of Italy, added to my writing queue :P
I would appreciate it if you also took a look at how the Italian economy is doing !PGM
From what the Italian newspapers report, it seems that Italy has made an agreement for the supply of gas with Algeria !BEER
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