Columnist Charley Reese's "Idle Thoughts On The Road To Understanding"

Here are a few random thoughts that might help you to figure out the world in which we are currently living:

The U.S. dollar is backed up by nothing and is convertible to nothing. It is a medium of exchange, and compared with the Euro, the currency of the European Union, it has lost 30 percent of its value since 2001. This is bad news for those of us whose investments, savings and life insurance are denominated in dollars. These dollars are exchangeable for less and less in goods and services. If the value of the dollar completely collapses, we will all be ruined.

The American citizen has no control over the purchasing power of the currency. That is in the hands of the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve banks, by the way, are not government. They are privately owned central banks, owned by commercial banks. They serve the banks, not the people.

Cash is not wealth. Remember, money is a medium of exchange, and how much we can exchange it for is out of our control. True wealth consists of assets — land, buildings, tools, vehicles, knowledge, skills, etc. — unmortgaged, of course. Anything you owe money on is not really yours, no matter what some shyster tells you.

There are 30,000 to 40,000 lobbyists and representatives of special-interest groups in Washington, compared with 435 members of the House, 100 senators, one president and one vice president. Ever wonder why it's so hard for your voice to be heard?

For every intelligent, educated voter, there are probably 1,000 or more functional illiterates, apathetic people and ignoramuses. By enfranchising the functional illiterate, the apathetic and the ignorant, politicians are in effect disenfranchising the intelligent and educated. Most Americans haven't figured that out yet, but it explains election results.

How is it that under a supposedly liberal Democratic president, we went from federal deficits to federal surpluses, and under a supposedly conservative Republican president, we have gone from federal surpluses to record federal deficits in two years?

The words "conservative" and "liberal" have become largely meaningless. We have two major political parties, and each party has two wings. The Republican Party has a Rockefeller wing, which is liberal Republican, up East, old money; and an opportunist wing, which is largely located in the South and West. The Democratic Party has a socialist wing and a smaller opportunist wing.

Since it now requires hundreds of millions of dollars to win a presidential race, both parties cater to big business and to the super-rich. As the old bank robber used to say, "That's where the money is." Neither party adequately represents the working men and women of America, and both major parties go to great lengths to make sure no third party will ever get the chance to challenge their dominance.

The real question is not whether we are conservative or liberal, but whether we favor a small government with defined and limited powers or a large government with unlimited power. Whether they call themselves "conservatives" or "liberals," a majority in both parties favors a large government with unlimited powers. The correct term for such people is, in my opinion, "Jacobins." The name derives from the radical democrats of the French Revolution. Today's presidential candidates debate details of the same policies rather than principles or different policies. We have, in effect, one-party rule. "Republican" or "Democrat" is a mere label for factions of the Jacobins. Both are going to give you big government with unrestrained power domestically and imperialism as a foreign policy. They differ only on the details, the competence of their administrators and the people to whom they owe patronage.

I don't foresee much improvement until more Americans learn that being a patriot means more than being willing to kill a foreigner.

Whether they call themselves "conservatives" or "liberals," a majority in both parties favors a large government with unlimited powers.

This can't be emphasized enough.

You're right. No one's listening or cares, however. Just look at the support here for Arnold who yesterday said the "government must supply everything".

I don't know what it'll take to change the entitlement mentality other than a real depression that will cause these ever-growing social and environmental policies to collapse onto themselves. We need to show people the government cannot be depended on for your well-being.

Thanks for the post. Love Charley. If the dollar has lost a third since 2001, then it's only worth 6 cents. Perot said it was worth only 9 cents some time ago. One reason I farm. At least I can eat what I produce.

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