Where did my money go?

After college I worked for a BioTech company in the Napa Valley. My husband and I were just starting out and we wanted to be as smart as possible with our money. I opted into my employer’s 401K retirement program and made the maximum contribution. When I left a year later to be a stay-at-home mom I had a total of $4772.70 in my retirement account, which I rolled into an IRA. I split the total evenly between two mutual funds so I could rate their performance. One was aggressive and one was more conservative. I was sure the aggressive fund would perform better. It didn’t. Neither one did very well. But, mutual fund hindsight is 20/20.

Whenever I got a statement, the value of my account always seemed to hover right around $5000. The high of my account corresponded to the high of the market at the end of 2007. Since my account was showing a small gain it never occurred to me to look more closely at the economy overall. It got up to $5663.38 at the height of the market.

Since setting up my IRA account I heard about and started to read a book about money called, “The Creature from Jekyll Island”. The name sounds like horror fiction since it always makes me think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Money has always seemed to me an overly complex subject, but reading about its history suddenly put it in a light of simplicity and clarity. I learned about the gold standard and how it created some of the most prosperous and longest lasting economies in the world. For example, the Byzantine Empire flourished as the center of world commerce for 800 years with the gold standard at its economic bedrock. The Founding Fathers were careful students of History. They included in the Constitution that only gold or silver could be used as legal tender (Art. I Sec. 10 Cl. 1). Historically gold is the most secure store of value because it has intrinsic value. One downside is that gold is heavy and cumbersome to carry around to make day-to-day transactions. As a solution paper certificates were issued which represented a specific weight of gold held in the bank safe. The certificates themselves were only as valuable as the paper they were printed on. The value was not in the bank note, but in what it represented. When we went off the gold standard in 1971 people still had all the same paper in their wallets. However, since then the price of gold has soared. Is it because gold is more valuable? No, it is because our dollars are less and less valuable. Without a standard the Fed can print more and more dollars and dilute the purchasing power of every other dollar in circulation.

Paper money has value because we think it does. After reading that part in the book I went shopping at the mall. The woman in front of me paid in cash. I actually laughed out loud when the cashier pulled out her special pen to make sure the bills weren’t counterfeit. Oh my GOSH are you SERIOUS!?!?! It’s ALL counterfeit!!! I didn’t say that, of course, but the reality of that fact just struck me as a darkly hilarious irony. Yes, you check that money. Make good and sure it’s not fake!

Have you ever wondered why on the news when somebody finds some hidden store of cash they always say something like, “Back in 1940 when they hid they money, it would be the equivalent of hiding X amount of dollars in their wall.” That X amount of dollars is always some astronomical amount and much more impressive than what was actually found. The reality is that while the cash was walled up in the house hidden from everyone, it was being stolen. How? In the absence of a gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation.

Armed with a new understanding of money, value, and fiat currency I went back and looked at the price of gold and the value of my retirement account. When I opened my account with $4772 gold was trading at $274.05 per ounce. The value of my account was 17.415 oz of gold. At the height of the market my account was up to $5663.38. An ounce of gold was worth $724.75 meaning that the value of my account had fallen to 7.814 ounces of gold. Up in dollars, but down in purchasing power. Then the economic crisis happened. I have my own opinions about the driving force behind the crash, but that is another topic altogether.

Today my account is worth $3532 and gold is trading for $935.50 an ounce. The value of my retirement account has fallen to 3.776 oz of gold. I’ve already called my CPA who said that if I withdrew the money I would only get 40 cents on the dollar of what’s left after government penalties and taxes. That’s a 91% overall loss. Lovely. It occurs to me now that it is incredibly easy to put money into a 401k but getting the money back out again is quite the fiasco…even when you have reached the age of retirement. So much for being smart with our money.

I am a huge advocate of saving, but given what I know now about the loss of value over time I would NEVER save in dollars. Let me illustrate why. Today 17.415 oz of gold would be worth $16,291. Let’s be clear. It’s not more money. It’s the preserved value of my labor and represents the EXACT SAME purchasing power.

Unfortunately, inflation does not only affect savings and retirement funds. As the value of the dollar plummets, people who have negotiated salaries whereby to support their families are being compensated the same amount in dollars every month, but they have less and less in purchasing power until their next pay raise. All the while people think that milk and bread are getting more expensive.

As the government passes more bailouts and trillion dollar stimulus packages, remember they are not borrowing money from the Fed. The Fed is simply printing more money out of thin air and stealing the purchasing power from everyone in America with a dollar. From now on my husband and I WILL be doing the smart thing: saving in gold and other real assets with intrinsic value and opting OUT of the 401k plan. An ounce of gold is still worth an ounce of gold.

Hurray for Capitalism

Ethan has a new molar erupting in his mouth. He's already had a shard of tooth come through and fall out, last night he had another piece of tooth break off. We looked in his mouth and the tooth looks like it's coming through the gums broken and rotten. How exactly that happens is beyond me, except that I know he grinds his teeth at night.

Our first thought is....KA-CHING! This is going to be expensive! The kids have a dental plan they got as a free addition to the medical plan they're on which provides full coverage on dental work. The most we would have to pay is $25.

It occurred to me that his regular dentist might take this new insurance even though they're not on the list, but I'd have to ask. I called them this morning and explained what was going on and asked if they took this particular insurance. Unfortunately not. It's through a state sponsored program and this very good dentist that we've been seeing does not accept any state sponsored insurance.

We looked over the provided list, did some homework and picked two candidates.

I called the nearest one and the stupid that came over the phone was deafening. She said that Ethan's tooth sounded like a normal eruption. WHAT!?!?! She also said I couldn't come to that office unless I was assigned to them. Kind of like we're assigned to our government school that can't turn out literate students after 13 years? Oh ****, if that doesn't sound like a precursor to a communist bread line....

I called the DeltaCare 800 number and was first greeted by a recording asking me to pick my language preference. They had mandatory government messages I had to get through, but I finally figured out the office to which we were assigned; Smilecare. Sounds like the Supercuts of the dental industry. I called them and was told that they wouldn't accept Delta....

"Oh, no. I just called and this is the office I've been assigned to."
"There is only one dentist who accepts that insurance and she is on maternity leave until January. No one else here will accept that type of insurance."

right.

I called back to Delta to get assigned to a different office. The automated system even in English was barely intelligible. If I didn't already know they were saying "Smilecare" I would have no idea what this computer was saying. I got on with a live person and explained that my son needed to be seen today and my "assigned" dentist wasn't available until January. The woman who took my call said that we were assigned to Smilecare.

AUGH! Did you not just hear what I said?!?! I repeated the situation...my ASSIGNED dentist is out until January on maternity leave.

"Well, you're going to have to stay on the line while I call them."
"I JUST talked to them. Nobody else at that office takes Delta. I need to be assigned to another office."
"I'm going to have to call them"
"WHAT!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I'LL JUST GO....(couldn't get the rest out but I meant to finish 'to his regular dentist') I'll PAY FOR IT MYSELF!!!" I hung up.

This is what we have to look forward to with universal health care. There's no competition with assigned providers therefore there is no incentive to innovate, streamline, build in efficiency and cater. The dentist we have been seeing, Dr. Nutter, has a whole room full of kyosk video games for the kids, movies playing on TVs all over the place, several wall mounted busy boards for the younger children. Everything is clean, inviting, well decorated and put together.

But even incompetent dentists need love too so they'll play into the state and government programs.

I called Dr. Nutter's office back and spouted off about the ridiculous run around I got with the state program and how much I FEAR universal health care just based on my experience today. The receptionist empathized with me and said that whenever they've had a patient transfer over and she's tried to get the records it's been so bad that she's finally like, "Look, I don't want them anymore." And yet, all of the politicians think such an atrocity will save the world. More like lower the standards so that everybody has to get crappy care.

I told them I'd pay for it out of pocket. They got me an appointment for 2:30. I guarantee that's better than the other crappy Delta socialist system could have provided.

Hurray for Capitalism!

Post Note: Apparently Ethan has what's called a bony sequestrum, or "island of bone". As his molar came through the jaw bone it made a little island of jaw bone in the middle of the tooth. As the tooth erupted through the gums that piece of bone just fell out. The dentist said that it's REALLY rare and he was completely baffled when he first saw it. The good news is, that his tooth is fine, we didn't get charged for the office visit and only ended up having to pay for one set of x-rays.

Messes for sale!

Last year I started listening to Free Capitalist Radio and learning all about the principles of Capitalism. It was fascinating! I started applying the principles at home and teaching the boys things I was learning. Thus began the Recycling with Ethan saga.

I declared an end to the recycling season with the first rains last year and sent out a letter to the neighbors thanking them for participating. Ethan has been asking me to start recycling in the neighborhood again. I've been putting it off. Ethan has decided to not be a victim to my procrastination.

He has been rather resourceful and has come up with plenty of other ideas in which he can create value and make some money. We drove by some kids in front of their house selling lemonade. He was fascinated with the idea and started mixing his own lemonade first by pouring lemon juice into the sugar and then sugar into straight lemon juice. I helped him dilute the second batch, but he insisted on setting up a lemonade stand in the living room using every glass in the cupboard. You could tell where he had walked carrying his product because the floors were sticky and made noise as your shoes lifted out of the stick.

This morning Ethan set up another food vending venture. He came into the bathroom and proudly announced to Michael and I that he was open for business selling real food and he expected real money. I went into the living room to find a fort (his store front) built out the trampoline, bins and blankets and the opened shredded wheat bag inside his store. Hunter decided to be his competition and poured out several piles of shreded wheat directly onto the carpet. Elle, the only customer in sight seemed to prefer the easy access of Hunter's store.

I let the children finish eating the pile of shredded wheat off the floor but confiscated the opened bag that Ethan was stocking his store with.

Undaunted, Ethan made a sign with the numbers 10 20 and displayed it in front of his still standing fort. He said that the numbers were how much it cost to go in his fort. He went through the rationalization of Hunter's financial capacity and then told me that I had to give Hunter money for the entry fee since he didn't have any. $10.20 seemed rather steep to me so I gave Hunter 10 pennies, which was satisfactory for Ethan to let Hunter in. As a gesture of good will Ethan announced that babies did not have to pay the entry fee and gave Elle free access to his fort.

Since Ethan was in the mood for lessons in Capitalism I thought we'd continue his game. I called the boys for breakfast and gave Ethan his menu and the prices for each item. A bowl of cereal is 5 pennies. Milk is 2 pennies. A vitamin is 1 penny.

Ethan paid the 5 cents for his cereal and the one for his vitamin. He was torn over splurging for milk, though. He finally relented and paid the extra 2 cents for milk. What struck me about the whole thing is that he showed enormous respect and manners at breakfast. He answered my questions about his "order" by using ma'am and was extremely polite when he asked for a napkin. He didn't finish his cereal, but I didn't feel compelled to make him eat all of it either since he paid for it.

Huh.

Consecration, Sacrifice and Wealth

A wealthy young man came to Jesus and asked: “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” Our Lord’s answer was the same as the prophets have given through the ages. It was: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”

The next question was: “Which commandments?” Jesus listed them: “Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

Then came this response and question—for the young man was a good man, a faithful man, one who sought righteousness: “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” We also might ask, “Isn’t it enough to keep the commandments? Is there more than the law of obedience?”

In the case of this rich young man there was more. He was expected to live the law of consecration, to sacrifice his earthly possessions. Jesus’ answer to him was: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

As you know, the young man went away sorrowful, “for he had great possessions.” (Matt. 19:16–22.). Many people use this instance as scriptural justification as to why having material possessions and wealth is contrary to the heavenly order. But there is another part of the story that is often overlooked.

Using the experience as a teaching opportunity for his disciples, Christ explained:

“And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mat 19: 24)

This statement has served to confirm the assumption that riches are evil and has been the coup de grace to most Christians hopes of being both righteous and materially prosperous. They naturally assume that Christ was referring to the eye of a sewing needle. However, there was a well-known gate in Jerusalem called Needle's Eye. After the main city gates had closed for the night if a traveler arrived to the city after dark they could still gain entrance through the Needle’s Eye which was just big enough to fit a man. It was built so low that a camel could only pass if it entered kneeling and unencumbered with baggage.

A camel is not emotionally attached to their baggage and would make no protest to removing it. The stance of humility, or entering on their knees was also easily achieved since no pride has to be overcome in achieving the position.

A rich man with great wealth and material possessions would have a harder time entering the kingdom of God if his heart were on his riches instead of God. Yes, consecration is required to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, which is to give all to the Lord and withhold nothing.

However, once we have gained entrance into the kingdom Christ concluded his lesson by promising, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Mat 19: 29)

The erroneous assumption of many Christians is that Heavenly Father requires sacrifice because He expects His righteous to go without certain things, or to exist in a state of deprivation. The exact opposite is true. When His children are righteous Heavenly Father blesses them with riches and prosperity. The scriptures teach, “it is the will of the Father to give [riches] unto you.” However, the scripture concludes with a warning, “but beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39) The problem arises when those blessed stop looking to their benefactor and instead focus on the blessings they have received, “Ye have set your hearts upon [your riches], and have not hearkened unto the words of Him who gave them unto you.” (Hel 13:21) God uses the law of sacrifice as a tool in order to keep our minds and hearts on Him.

Another oft quoted scripture in Matthew says: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt 6:24) Mammon is defined as riches or wealth. In other words, Ye cannot serve Heavenly Father and money. One is the true and living God, the other… just one of many inanimate objects used as the focus of idolatry.

On mount Sinai the Lord addressed this issue by issuing as the first of the ten commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them” (Exod 20:3,5)

This commandment applies to anything that would take our hearts away from the true and living God. Idol worship comes in many forms. People will worship, money, cars, houses, boats, or jewelry. The idol doesn’t even have to be an object. Sports, hobbies, and even the airwaves viewed on television have taken precedence in some people’s lives. It is not to say that having or doing any of these things is inherently wrong. No thing can be bad. Things are tools. How a person uses them is where the sin or righteousness is determined. A hammer can be used to build a house or smash a finger. The difference is in the utilization of the person holding it. Money is no different. Money is a tool. How a person uses and views money in their lives will determine if they are a good steward or an unrighteous idolater. “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.” (Proverbs 11: 28)

God requires sacrifice and consecration as a demonstration that our hearts and minds are on Him and not the blessings He desires to pour out in our lives. The Lord Himself has proclaimed, “the rich have I made, and all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.” (D&C 38:16) God is the author of prosperity, not the author of poverty and want. He will bless all of His children equally with prosperity and wealth, as each are obedient to the commandments upon which those blessings are predicated.

Covered next time: True wealth determined by wisdom and knowledge. Sharing wealth with others. Blessing the poor temporally. Production vs. idleness.

Learning the Principles of Prosperity at 4 and 2

Rick has said, “Money is the conceptual realization of value”. I chewed on that for days and after finally having that “ah HA” moment (catalyzed of course by a conversation with Rick) I came up with the following flow chart. (You can click on it to see it better)

This is the third version that has been posted online and The Free Capitalist hasn’t given any feedback on it yet, so please accept it with a grain of salt. For me, however, it’s been very helpful.

Our family has had quite an adventure with using different forms of money and I thought all the parents out there might appreciate the story.

Ethan has already earned more than $20 from recycling with our family the last two weeks and from a church member who got wind (through proud Grandma, People are Assets) of what he was doing on our block and wanted to participate so she left big bags of recyclables on the porch. On Saturday I helped him divide up his money into tithing/saving/spending and then took a trip to the toy store for the parachute he’s been talking about for the last few days.

He saw lots of other things that he liked and wanted but he discovered that many things we’re out of his price range. We couldn’t find a parachute, but he found a shiny plastic sword ($6) that he liked a lot and that he could afford. He was so happy that he wanted to get something his brother would like too. He picked out a little red matchbox convertible ($1). I asked him, “Is this a present for your brother, or are you just going to share it with him?” Share. He made the transaction himself by handing the cashier his dollars (I helped him count it out, of course). On the way out of the store he used the rest of his spending money (50 cents) for a ride with his brother on a stationary car that bounces up and down. (Value=Money->Currency->Fiat->Dollars)

When we got home I gave Hunter (2 yrs old) a treat. Ethan took it away, and I promptly restored it to Hunter. I suggested that if Ethan wanted the treat, why not give Hunter something that he wanted. Ethan traded his new car for the treat and then consumed it all. Hunter was upset after the fact when he saw Ethan enjoying the treat, but he didn’t want to give up the car to get the treat back before it was gone. After the treat was gone and his car had been traded away, Ethan decided he wanted the car back. I told him he couldn’t just take it. So Ethan took his very valuable (to him) sword and traded it for the car. Hunter was eager to make the exchange. (Value=Money->Currency->Barter)

Once Ethan had the car again he realized that the sword was much more valuable to him. Ethan offered the car back for the sword and Hunter refused. Ethan offered his superheroes (whoa!), his favorite motorcycle shirt, but much to his dismay he couldn’t offer his brother anything that he wanted more than the new sword. (Value=Sentimental Value) At the moment of his ultimate frustration I suggested, “Why not offer him a ride on your bike?”
“Hunter, do you want my bike?”
“No, no, honey. Not your bike. A RIDE on your bike.”
“Hunter, do you want to go for a ride on my bike?” (Perspective Determines Action)

Hunter was very excited to go for a ride on his big brother’s bicycle so he immediately gave the sword to Ethan (Value=Money->Promise->Future Usury). Ethan was SO elated that he hugged his brother, told me he loved me and then (most surprising of all) told his brother he could play with his sword when we got home. Wow!

Hunter kept on trying to peddle backwards so the ride on the bike went only about 10 feet before Hunter decided he was done. We took the bike home and went to the park anyway. While we were there Hunter jumped in as many puddles as he could and the deeper the better. (Agency implies stewardship) Ethan ran around vanquishing abandoned sandcastles and heroically battled all the bugs in the grass with his new sword. There was another family there with us whose children gazed LONGINGLY at Hunter jumping in the puddles. Who do you think had more fun? Who got to experience the consequences of their OWN choices? Was Hunter wet? Yes. Did he seem to mind? No, not really.

When we got home I took Hunter upstairs to change his clothes. When I came back down Ethan was nowhere to be found but my bedroom door was suddenly shut and locked. When I went inside Ethan was under my bed.

I told him to come out.

He did.

....You know that look of guilt on a child’s face?

“OK, stick out your tongue.” Chocolate.

“Is there any more under there?”
“No”
“Can I look?”
“No”
“I’m going to look”
“I don’t like you”

I sent him under the bed to retrieve the rest of the chocolate and while he was under there he took another little bite hoping I wouldn’t notice.

After lunch we broke out the scriptures and went over the Ten Commandments in Exodus. I explained how he broke 3 of the ten. Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. According to the law he had to repay 5 times what the chocolate bar was worth. If he had been able to return it unopened he would only have to repay 2 times what it was worth.

Just to be clear. If he had taken the chocolate bar and sat at the kitchen table and said, “Hi mom” when I came downstairs, he would have only been spoiling his lunch. However, because he took it into my bedroom locked the door and hid under the bed I knew that in his own mind he was violating a principle and felt guilty about it.

I had his sword, car and bag of savings money on the table. I explained how the chocolate bar was worth $1. He paid $6 for his new sword, but now it was used so it was probably only worth $5. I told him that the sword now belonged to me as restitution for stealing the chocolate bar. When he started to cry I explained that these were the natural consequences of stealing the chocolate. At that he seemed comforted in the ruling but still upset at himself.

It’s two days later and Ethan wants the sword back. So, today he has been doing loads of laundry for me. I’ve been supervising as he’s gone through the sorting, hauling baskets to the laundry room, putting the clothes into the washer and then into the dryer, pushed all the buttons, put in all the soap and even cleaned the lint trap. At the very beginning when he was sorting he started complaining about how it was too hard and he didn’t want to do it.

“OK, you don’t have to do it”
“Can I have my sword?”
“The sword belongs to me”
Look of frustration
“If you want to do the laundry for me I’ll give it to you”
“I want to do the laundry”

After the fourth load he was really getting the hang of it, telling me he knew what to do and he didn’t need me to tell him what to do next anymore. After each load he would ask if he could have the sword and would tell him, “You can have my sword when you’ve finished doing the laundry.” (Value=Money->Dynamic->Creation). After he finished all the laundry he was so pleased with himself for having done it and also happy to have bought the sword back using his own abilities.

Within the last few days Ethan has bought and sold the same sword using four different kinds of money.
1. Bought with Dollars (store)
2. Sold with Barter (car)
3. Bought with Future Usury (ride on bike)
4. Forfeit in restitution for item stolen (chocolate bar)
5. Bought with Creation (doing the laundry)

The terms I am using here and in the flow chart are ones I have come up with myself. I'm sure there are better words to express some of it and I'm open to suggestions.

I think application of the principles is so much more effective in teaching children rather than trying to explain them using only words.

Recycling with Ethan

My son Ethan (4) has discovered that in order to get things he wants from the store he needs money. I explained to him that if he recycles bottles and cans that he would be helping the environment. That was valuable to people and so they would give him dollars for it. Our first trip recycling he got $2.01. He was THRILLED! He's very interested in getting as many bottles as he can so I suggested that we ask our neighbors to participate. I've made up a flier for him to hand out to the neighbors on our block.

Quote:

My name is Ethan and I am 4 years old. I want to help the environment. Rather than throwing your bottles and cans away I want to recycle them. I am starting a recycling program on my block. Every Tuesday I’m going to pull my wagon around the block with my Mom collecting plastic, aluminum and glass cans and bottles. All you have to do is leave your recyclables in my “Recycling for Ethan” box on your porch on Garbage day and I will take them away for you.

My mom is also teaching me about money. Forty percent of all the recycling profits will go directly into my saving account for college. Ten percent will be donated. I am going to learn money management with the remaining fifty percent. Every so often I’ll leave a note and let you know about my progress.

We've got some other things to get done before handing the fliers out next Tuesday (04/11), so before then I'd really appreciate some feedback on the flier, wording, percentages and strategy in general.

Thank you!!!!

Revolution of the Stripling Capitalists

Children are much more apt to learn and internalize things they are taught. Just imagine what the next generation will do based on the truth that we will teach them.

I am a stay-at-home mom with three children. Already I have applied the principles that Rick talks about in teaching them and I have seen a WORLD of difference at home.

Personal liberty requires private property Nothing belongs to the whole family. A toy either belongs to an individual child (or if it was a gift intended for all of them) it belongs to me and I decide to share with who and when. We do not force anyone to share. Sharing is completely optional.

What I’ve observed: There is a LOT less fighting over toys. Property rights are established and protected. With this security in personal property the children are much more eager to share their toys because they know they’re going to get it back and sharing promotes getting shared with (exchange creates wealth). The toys are getting much better taken care of now that individual children have also accepted stewardship over their toys (agency implies stewardship).

When we go over to another child’s house and their mothers force them to share their toys (Force Destroys Freedom and Prosperity and in the case of both parents Collective Action Has No Unique Moral Authority) there is a lot of resentment and the child isn’t that anxious for their “friends” to come play again.

Get what you incentivize I used this one just last night. Somebody did something inappropriate and we brought everyone in to look at the evidence. I told them, either you can confess and get 1 punishment or nobody tells me and everybody gets 2 punishments. The guilty party confessed and was happy about not getting two punishments.

Relevance of The Naked Communist in 2005

The American people will recoil in horror at programs clearly labeled with the red banner of Communism. Unfortunately, most US citizens are ignorant of the communist agenda, fearing it only by reputation without recognizing that it has already infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives. Earl Browder, former head of the US Communist Party stated, “America is getting socialism on the installment plan through programs of the welfare state. Americans may not be willing to vote for a program under the name of ‘socialism,’ but put it under another party label -- whether liberal, Republican or Democrat -- and they're by and large in favor of the idea...” (1). Communism (International Revolutionary Socialism), Fascism (Corporate Socialism), Naziism (National Socialism) and Democratic Socialism are all forms of the same system. The communist agenda, according to Cleon Skousen’s The Naked Communist, is outlined in a list of 45 goals. Rather than dissecting every point and its relevance today, let’s focus instead on the two pillars that our Founders and Marx agreed to be the most fundamental. The first pillar is Christianity. John Adams proclaimed, “The general principles, upon which the Fathers achieved independence, were…the general principles of Christianity” (2). The second pillar is the right to property. “The Founders said we should especially concentrate on the preservation of [the right to property] because all other rights are related to it” (3). Contrast this with Marx’s objective in life to “overthrow God and destroy capitalism” (4). God is central to Christianity; and Capitalism is the facilitator of private property. These two pillars of American prosperity and virtue could never be easily overthrown, but conspiring men wrapped in the robes of American law have been chipping away at them for nearly a century. James Madison warned, “I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations…This danger ought to be wisely guarded against” (5).

The American socialist movement began to make inroads in the hearts and minds of the people at the turn of the last century. People began to openly discuss ideas that Adam Smith and his capitalistic free market economy were outdated. The year 1913 saw embodiment of those ideas in the formation of the Federal Reserve and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment establishing the income tax, which according to Thomas DiLorenzo declared that “all earned income is the property of the state, and the state will decide how much income working Americans may keep for themselves by determining the rates of taxation” (6). As outlined by economist Milton Friedman the Great Contraction, or Great Depression, was a direct result of the inept application of monetary policy by the newly formed Federal Reserve. In response to this self-induced crisis the President, with full support of the suffering nation, assumed power and authority not granted him by the Constitution. FDR’s “New Deal” disregarded Constitutional protection of private property “by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land” (7). FDR’s ideas of land redistribution and the Federal Reserve’s involvement in the nation’s economy provided the stage for morphing the 5^th Amendment from protection of property rights to model Communism’s design for the “abolition of private property” with arbitrary governmental redistribution of property on the basis of potential tax revenue as evidenced by the 2005 ruling of the Supreme Court in KELO v. CITY OF NEW LONDON. Ironically, less than two months after this Supreme Court decision, Justice Stephen Breyer found his vacation home in the crosshairs of his own ruling and lamented, “[N]ot all our decisions are right, to tell you the truth”(8).

Men possess the right to LIFE, LIBERTY and PROPERTY as endowed by God, which are “equally sacred from arbitrary interference. …The three rights are so bound together as to be essentially one right. To give man his life but deny him his liberty, is to take from him all that makes his life worth living. To give him his liberty but take from him the property which is the fruit and badge of his liberty, is to still leave him a slave” (9). Marx attested that “the only God of man is man himself.” In the mind of a Marxist atheist it is not possible to encroach upon God given rights for they are imaginary. The problem comes when imperfect human nature tries to administrate a benevolent distribution of equal things rather than equal rights.

Our Founders intended separation of Church and State to protect religious freedom and prevent government endorsement of a particular church. However, that has mutated into a Marxist type movement to completely banish God from Government. In 1942 the Supreme Court found religious instruction in public schools a violation of the establishment clause. This was the first of many Church/State Supreme Court rulings which have since eliminated prayer in public school, the posting of the Ten Commandments, censorship based on religious morality, teaching of creationism or intelligent design in schools and even nativity scenes. More recently Michael Newdow pushed to remove the words “UNDER GOD” from the pledge of allegiance but lost his Supreme Court case on a technicality. Other parents are pursuing a new case. In November of 2005, Newdow began action to remove “IN GOD WE TRUST” from US currency. Eventually, technicalities will not be able to protect American recognition of God. Without God and old-fashioned moral values, we are witness to such things as legalized abortion, homosexual marriages, profanity and obscenity operating under the guise of “free speech”. Marxism has essentially taken perversity and called it diversity.

Awareness is something that Americans now lack as the soft and enticing strands of the socialist agenda are quietly woven into a noose around the neck of America’s freedom. The socialist trend that rose at the turn of the last century has now ballooned out of proportion to create a lumbering monstrosity with an insatiable appetite. God is being unceremoniously escorted from American soil and with Him the rights He has bestowed. Property now belongs to the State since they are the ones who decide how land is developed and disposed of. Mounting government oversight is stifling America’s capitalistic free market. The fruits of our labor will continue to be confiscated in greater amounts to support more “necessary” government programs that serve to enslave not only the people they are supposed to benefit by creating a state of dependency but also the people who have been deprived of their own means. When the government can no longer borrow against the future and the producing Capitalists are overwhelmed with taxes to support the Socialist “needs”, America will either have to use force to increase production, becoming a true Communist nation or abandon the self destructive and morally corrupt socialism we drifted into. Abraham Lincoln said “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide” (10). Wake up America! We will have to decide.

1) http://www.acidink.org/200509archive001.asp

2) John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, June 28th, 1813, from Quincy. The Adams-Jefferson Letters: The Complete Correspondence Between Thomas Jefferson and Abigail and John Adams, edited by Lester J. Cappon,
1988, the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, pp. 338-340

3) The 5000 year leap, W. Cleon Skousen. pg 167

4) The Naked Communist, W. Cleon Skousen pg 37

5) James Madison. Elliot, Debates in the State Conventions, 3:87

6) http://www.lewrockwell.com/dilorenzo/dilorenzo74.html

7) First Inaugural Speech, March 4, 1933 Franklin D Roosevelt

8) http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45711

9) Justice George Sutherland. Principle or Expedient? Annual Address to the New York State Bar Association, 21 January 1921, p 18.)

10) The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum,of Springfield, Illinois (January 27, 1838), p. 109.