Thom1776
08-07-2007, 11:09 PM
OK, I posed this question about a week ago. I've been formulating this idea for many years now. Today, I unveil it to the world.
With the recent tragedy in Minnesota, now is a good time to bring up an issue that Ron Paul could take to heart.
We all know how the Federal Reserve is a big scam that saps the wealth of our nation. We also know that, once upon a time, gold and silver backed our Dollar. However, while gold is "tangible" and globally recognized as a valuable commodity, its value can still be manipulated by both foreign and domestic influences.
Money is nothing more than an accounting tool used to keep track of commercial transactions in a universally accepted unit of currency. In our case, it is the Dollar, or, to be more specific, the Federal Reserve Note (FRN).
Our infrastructure is what keeps our economy going. We need bridges and tunnels and highways and railroads and air and seaports to transport goods and for both business and personal travel.
The Minnesota bridge collapse alone is going to cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars to clean up and reconstruct. But how much money on top of that will be lost because the normal traffic flow will be disrupted during this time? Commuters and commercial transporters will spend more time and burn more fuel traveling, since they now have to take a detour from their usual route. This will also contribute to accelerated depreciation of their vehicles in the form of increased wear and tear, maintenance and replacement. This may also be hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. That is how important our transportation infrastructure is to our economy. Transportation IS our economy.
A well-built and well-maintained infrastructure allows the economy to operate at a higher level of activity and efficiency than a poorly built and maintained one, not only the transportation infrastructure, but the energy, utility and communication infrastructures, as well.
This is why it makes sense to have our money tied directly to the quality and value of our infrastructure. The very health of our economic activity depends directly on the quality and efficiency of our infrastructure.
In 1973, Congress created The Federal Financing Bank (FFB). It is a government corporation, under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury. The FFB was established to centralize and reduce the cost of federal borrowing, as well as federally assisted borrowing from the public. The FFB was also established to deal with federal budget management issues that occurred when off-budget financing flooded the government securities market with offers of a variety of government-backed securities that were competing with Treasury securities. Today, the FFB has statutory authority to purchase any obligation issued, sold, or guaranteed by a federal agency to ensure that fully guaranteed obligations are financed efficiently.
The following is by Wally Kaufman:
http://www.pww.org/past-weeks-2001/HR-1564-Rebuild%20U.S.htm
HR-1564 is the "most significant piece of legislation to be introduced in Congress this year," according to Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Steve LaTourette, the bill's bipartisan co-sponsors.
This bill, which will create a Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization, is the product of a massive effort to prevent the collapse of the nation's steel industry after the loss of tens of thousands of union jobs. But it goes much further.
"Our country's infrastructure is sorely in need of repair and rebuilding, with some sectors in a crisis state," said Kucinich in announcing the bill. LaTourette noted, "One billion dollars in infrastructure repair will create 42,000-plus jobs."
HR-1564 draws on the conclusions of a special panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in a report that indicates America's infrastructure is crumbling. The panel estimates that taxpayers at the federal, state, and local level need to invest $1.3 trillion in the next five years to remedy "wide ranging bottlenecks" in infrastructure. The ASCE say the country's roadways need $437 billion.
"If we can't get goods to market or people to jobs, our country is going to have a real serious problem," said Robert Bein, president of the 123,000-member ASCE.
Aviation is in a sad state with a 37 percent increase in traffic and a 1 percent increase in capacity.
A study by the Water Infrastructure Network states that the cost of building, operating, and maintaining drinking water and wastewater facilities is $86 billion annually for the next 20 years, for a total of 1.72 trillion. Schools need $127 billion, according to the National Center for Education Studies.
HR-1564 presents a solution to a monumental problem by creating interest-free loans to states and municipalities for investment in infrastructure. "This will cut the cost of most projects in half," Kucinich said.
The loans will be administered by the Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization, (FBIM), to be established under HR-1564 as an extension of the Federal Financing Bank under the U.S. Treasury.
Loans will amount to $50 billion annually over 10 years, with 20 percent earmarked for schools. In order to provide money for the loans, the Federal Reserve Bank would transfer some of its Treasury securities to the FBIM
Kucinich and LaTourette don’t realize it, but they have come tantalizingly close to the solution for wresting control of our financial destiny back from the hands of the private bankers who control the Federal Reserve.
All we have to do is eliminate the Federal Reserve and introduce new money directly into our economy through infrastructure projects. We already have the mechanism in place in the form of the current FFB.
Our infrastructure is the ultimate “hard asset”, the very “hard asset” that Ron Paul should embrace as his answer to getting rid of the Federal Reserve.
I first got this idea about 15 years ago after reading about the Isle of Guernsey in Dr. Jacques Jaikaran's book, "The Debt Virus".
Tom Sheehan, August 8, 2007.
With the recent tragedy in Minnesota, now is a good time to bring up an issue that Ron Paul could take to heart.
We all know how the Federal Reserve is a big scam that saps the wealth of our nation. We also know that, once upon a time, gold and silver backed our Dollar. However, while gold is "tangible" and globally recognized as a valuable commodity, its value can still be manipulated by both foreign and domestic influences.
Money is nothing more than an accounting tool used to keep track of commercial transactions in a universally accepted unit of currency. In our case, it is the Dollar, or, to be more specific, the Federal Reserve Note (FRN).
Our infrastructure is what keeps our economy going. We need bridges and tunnels and highways and railroads and air and seaports to transport goods and for both business and personal travel.
The Minnesota bridge collapse alone is going to cost hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars to clean up and reconstruct. But how much money on top of that will be lost because the normal traffic flow will be disrupted during this time? Commuters and commercial transporters will spend more time and burn more fuel traveling, since they now have to take a detour from their usual route. This will also contribute to accelerated depreciation of their vehicles in the form of increased wear and tear, maintenance and replacement. This may also be hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. That is how important our transportation infrastructure is to our economy. Transportation IS our economy.
A well-built and well-maintained infrastructure allows the economy to operate at a higher level of activity and efficiency than a poorly built and maintained one, not only the transportation infrastructure, but the energy, utility and communication infrastructures, as well.
This is why it makes sense to have our money tied directly to the quality and value of our infrastructure. The very health of our economic activity depends directly on the quality and efficiency of our infrastructure.
In 1973, Congress created The Federal Financing Bank (FFB). It is a government corporation, under the general supervision of the Secretary of the Treasury. The FFB was established to centralize and reduce the cost of federal borrowing, as well as federally assisted borrowing from the public. The FFB was also established to deal with federal budget management issues that occurred when off-budget financing flooded the government securities market with offers of a variety of government-backed securities that were competing with Treasury securities. Today, the FFB has statutory authority to purchase any obligation issued, sold, or guaranteed by a federal agency to ensure that fully guaranteed obligations are financed efficiently.
The following is by Wally Kaufman:
http://www.pww.org/past-weeks-2001/HR-1564-Rebuild%20U.S.htm
HR-1564 is the "most significant piece of legislation to be introduced in Congress this year," according to Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and Steve LaTourette, the bill's bipartisan co-sponsors.
This bill, which will create a Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization, is the product of a massive effort to prevent the collapse of the nation's steel industry after the loss of tens of thousands of union jobs. But it goes much further.
"Our country's infrastructure is sorely in need of repair and rebuilding, with some sectors in a crisis state," said Kucinich in announcing the bill. LaTourette noted, "One billion dollars in infrastructure repair will create 42,000-plus jobs."
HR-1564 draws on the conclusions of a special panel of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in a report that indicates America's infrastructure is crumbling. The panel estimates that taxpayers at the federal, state, and local level need to invest $1.3 trillion in the next five years to remedy "wide ranging bottlenecks" in infrastructure. The ASCE say the country's roadways need $437 billion.
"If we can't get goods to market or people to jobs, our country is going to have a real serious problem," said Robert Bein, president of the 123,000-member ASCE.
Aviation is in a sad state with a 37 percent increase in traffic and a 1 percent increase in capacity.
A study by the Water Infrastructure Network states that the cost of building, operating, and maintaining drinking water and wastewater facilities is $86 billion annually for the next 20 years, for a total of 1.72 trillion. Schools need $127 billion, according to the National Center for Education Studies.
HR-1564 presents a solution to a monumental problem by creating interest-free loans to states and municipalities for investment in infrastructure. "This will cut the cost of most projects in half," Kucinich said.
The loans will be administered by the Federal Bank for Infrastructure Modernization, (FBIM), to be established under HR-1564 as an extension of the Federal Financing Bank under the U.S. Treasury.
Loans will amount to $50 billion annually over 10 years, with 20 percent earmarked for schools. In order to provide money for the loans, the Federal Reserve Bank would transfer some of its Treasury securities to the FBIM
Kucinich and LaTourette don’t realize it, but they have come tantalizingly close to the solution for wresting control of our financial destiny back from the hands of the private bankers who control the Federal Reserve.
All we have to do is eliminate the Federal Reserve and introduce new money directly into our economy through infrastructure projects. We already have the mechanism in place in the form of the current FFB.
Our infrastructure is the ultimate “hard asset”, the very “hard asset” that Ron Paul should embrace as his answer to getting rid of the Federal Reserve.
I first got this idea about 15 years ago after reading about the Isle of Guernsey in Dr. Jacques Jaikaran's book, "The Debt Virus".
Tom Sheehan, August 8, 2007.