agaiziunas
09-08-2011, 10:59 PM
All the chat on the media pundit circle, twitter feeds, facebook, even a bit here on the forums regarding what I am calling "fencegate", all point to how Ron Paul mentioned "The Fence" might once be used to keep us in. Most are taking this as the literal fence, evoking the imagery we see on CNN and BBC in some third-world country, refugees kept behind barbed wires and armed guards.
What I think those people are missing from Ron Paul's remarks, and quite understandably because it's tough to fit it all in with a 30-60 second sound byte, are that Ron Paul's point is not just about a physical fence on the border. Thinks like the Real ID, the databases, he refers to all of this as "fence business", followed shortly by how people should be free to move around with their capital; these are but CAPITAL controls and PEOPLE controls.
The "fence business" is dangerous, as we all witness the gradual bastardization of government programs. Social Security Numbers were never originally intended to be any kind of identification number, yet now we virtually all use them as such. Real ID may not originally be intended to restrict legal movement, but what is "legal" can easily be changed and Real ID could be perverted to restrict movement of capital.
Think of the scenarios, if the US economy were in deeper turmoil than today, the government wanted to restrict people from sending too much money overseas. The RealID, with its accompanying database, could be used to restrict or put limits on people moving money around, investing in certain commodities like gold or silver, or other "threats" to the fiat currency. It's not too far-fetched as we have seen previous laws prohibiting "hoarding" of gold..
They could use it to restrict retirees and Social Security recipients from taking the pensions they have paid into all their lives to a more affordable country.
These are all plausible scenarios -- gold confiscation and prohibition has happened in our past, and Social Security recipients today have to go through a qualification process if overseas for more than 6 months.
Here are some quotes I could see happening if things really went to sh*t:
[At the bank] "May I see your RealID?...... I'm sorry sir, but you have reached your $2,000 limit for sending money overseas this year."
[At the airport] "Enjoy your trip overseas, sir, please remember to swipe your RealID when you come back within 4 weeks or your Social Security payments will be suspended"
[At a coin shop] "May I see your RealID?..... I'm sorry sir, but you have already purchased 2 ounces of gold this year, you cannot buy more"
[At a gun shop] "May I see your RealID?.... I'm sorry sir, you already own 12 bullets, please bring me the spent shells if you would like more..."
[At a currency exchange] "I am sorry sir, you must wait 30 days before you can exchange another $1000"
So... is Ron Paul the most eloquent speaker at debates? No. But in forums with more time to get around to things and explain them, he makes perfect sense and we should listen to what he has to say.
It's just like the "I can get you gas for a dime..." comment.. you need to hear the rest of the sentence "How about a silver dime? That $0.10 has $3.00 of silver in it, which buys you a gallon of gas. We used to put silver in the coins because that was part of our Constitution and it protected the value of it. It prevented your savings from being taxed away via inflation. In fact, if you were to have put all your savings in silver dimes, quarters, and dollars in 1950 you would have more value today in the silver content than had you saved it in a bank account at 5% interest."
By the way.. save your pennies. Even a 1982 penny has 2.5 cents worth of copper in it. Pennies minted today have .6 cents worth of copper, I am willing to bet in another decade at the rate we're going even those will be worth more than a cent.
What I think those people are missing from Ron Paul's remarks, and quite understandably because it's tough to fit it all in with a 30-60 second sound byte, are that Ron Paul's point is not just about a physical fence on the border. Thinks like the Real ID, the databases, he refers to all of this as "fence business", followed shortly by how people should be free to move around with their capital; these are but CAPITAL controls and PEOPLE controls.
The "fence business" is dangerous, as we all witness the gradual bastardization of government programs. Social Security Numbers were never originally intended to be any kind of identification number, yet now we virtually all use them as such. Real ID may not originally be intended to restrict legal movement, but what is "legal" can easily be changed and Real ID could be perverted to restrict movement of capital.
Think of the scenarios, if the US economy were in deeper turmoil than today, the government wanted to restrict people from sending too much money overseas. The RealID, with its accompanying database, could be used to restrict or put limits on people moving money around, investing in certain commodities like gold or silver, or other "threats" to the fiat currency. It's not too far-fetched as we have seen previous laws prohibiting "hoarding" of gold..
They could use it to restrict retirees and Social Security recipients from taking the pensions they have paid into all their lives to a more affordable country.
These are all plausible scenarios -- gold confiscation and prohibition has happened in our past, and Social Security recipients today have to go through a qualification process if overseas for more than 6 months.
Here are some quotes I could see happening if things really went to sh*t:
[At the bank] "May I see your RealID?...... I'm sorry sir, but you have reached your $2,000 limit for sending money overseas this year."
[At the airport] "Enjoy your trip overseas, sir, please remember to swipe your RealID when you come back within 4 weeks or your Social Security payments will be suspended"
[At a coin shop] "May I see your RealID?..... I'm sorry sir, but you have already purchased 2 ounces of gold this year, you cannot buy more"
[At a gun shop] "May I see your RealID?.... I'm sorry sir, you already own 12 bullets, please bring me the spent shells if you would like more..."
[At a currency exchange] "I am sorry sir, you must wait 30 days before you can exchange another $1000"
So... is Ron Paul the most eloquent speaker at debates? No. But in forums with more time to get around to things and explain them, he makes perfect sense and we should listen to what he has to say.
It's just like the "I can get you gas for a dime..." comment.. you need to hear the rest of the sentence "How about a silver dime? That $0.10 has $3.00 of silver in it, which buys you a gallon of gas. We used to put silver in the coins because that was part of our Constitution and it protected the value of it. It prevented your savings from being taxed away via inflation. In fact, if you were to have put all your savings in silver dimes, quarters, and dollars in 1950 you would have more value today in the silver content than had you saved it in a bank account at 5% interest."
By the way.. save your pennies. Even a 1982 penny has 2.5 cents worth of copper in it. Pennies minted today have .6 cents worth of copper, I am willing to bet in another decade at the rate we're going even those will be worth more than a cent.