This article was originally published here at the Cotton Report.
The CoronaVirus has hurt Americans more than just medically.
With the economy in a recession and countless businesses closing down leading to skyrocketing unemployment, the American people have looked to the government for answers to their financial problems. This has been a grave mistake, which is evidenced by the stimulus checks and the seemingly never-ending stream of cash printed by the Fed, which has led to rising prices, meaning the value of the US dollar is being diminished even more.
In June alone, the Federal Reserve printed $864 billion worth of US cash. That is larger than the total debt incurred from 1776 through the end of 1979. If we struggled due to inflation severely at times during that 203-year period, imagine how bad it is going to be when the current inflation hits, and with a much higher population than ever before.
The dollar is only being hurt more by the fact that the use of it is waning in foreign markets. In the first quarter of 2020 alone, the share of the dollar fell 50% for the first time in trade between China and Russia. Only four years ago, the US dollar accounted for over 90% of the trade settlements between the two countries. Along with this comes a major trade deal between China and Iran where China will invest $280 billion USD into Iran’s oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors. For China, this allows them to purchase oil at cheap prices while also deferring payments for two years. They will also be able to make these payments with soft currencies (whose value fluctuates due to political instability in the countries they are from) they have received from other countries in their trade deals. For Iran, this means they will be able to stand tall against US sanctions and prosper in spite of them, while also taking US ally Saudi Arabia’s spot as the king of oil production in the Middle East.
It does not stop there however, as China and Russia will also sell upgraded weapons technology to Iran’s anti-air defenses and air force. Are these three countries preparing for possible military retaliation from the US government? Who could blame them, as the Trump Administration has seemed interested in war with Iran, and the recent trade war with China has given these two countries plenty of reason to be skeptical of how America might respond to their undermining. A war with these three countries could also be induced by Neocons within the Trump Administration who could potentially persuade Trump that war means money and that a war would help America bounce back from our economic troubles which CoronaVirus hysteria has only made worse. Of course, this money being made from war is neither honest nor sound, and the economic surge from a war would only be temporary if there was to even be a surge. But this means nothing to a man seeking votes, and voters love a wartime president. And it means nothing to a bunch of ideologues who are hellbent on trying to consolidate their power through the president.
Is war a potential symptom of the CoronaVirus hysteria induced by its proven symptoms of economic ruin? While this possibility may never manifest itself, for which we should hope, it is a grim possibility that is showing its face.
Another potential symptom of the CoronaVirus hysteria which could plague Americans for the foreseeable future is absolute financial tyranny. In congress at the moment, there is interest surrounding a potential cryptocurrency that would allow the Federal Reserve to add dollars of a particular account belonging to an American citizen that is created and maintained by the Fed itself. It would also allow for the Fed to share information of your financial transactions with government agencies such as the IRS or FBI.
This digital monopoly money, which is being called “Fedcoin”, was included initially in the first CoronaVirus spending bill before being cut from the final version. However, in June the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee held hearings about Fedcoin, making this hyperinflationary prone cryptocurrency even more of a potential reality.
This could crowd out private cryptocurrencies, which would lead to lesser use of these inflation-protected cryptocurrencies in the American economy, which only helps limit American citizens more when it comes to trying to protect themselves from inflation caused by the Fed.
The ability to keep up with financial transactions at a high rate in such a convenient manner, along with the crowding out of other cryptocurrencies, makes it increasingly more possible for governments to limit our purchasing of goods and services disfavored by certain politicians. If you thought crony capitalism in America was already bad, just think about how worse it could get when it becomes easier for bureaucrats to micromanage the system in their favor even more.
Is there anything we can do? Yes, there is. If citizens simply channeled the soul of America itself, a country which was conceived in liberty, and adopted some of the principles and practices which brought about that conception, they could practice civil disobedience and open up the economy themselves simply by opening up shop and getting to work. Then there would be no need for Americans to look to the government any longer for answers to financial problems they caused. Perhaps then, as natural as the law of economics itself, the American people could start to pull themselves away from potential war and financial tyranny.
Gold has also hit an all-time high near the end of July, being valued at $1,943 per ounce. Gold is a shining example of honest and sound money and is protected from inflation brought upon by the Federal Reserve. Again, if Americans can channel the spirit of this country and adopt the same principles and practices of the great people who made up this nation after its founding, they will turn to gold. And they will thank themselves, for while the value of the dollar keeps diving, the price of gold keeps rising.
Poverty is the default state, nothing can create it. However, destruction can lead us back into poverty. War is the destruction of not only civilizations and cultures but also of economies themselves. Government monopoly on our money is the destruction of our financial securities, and thus the destruction of our human prosperity. Let us save ourselves while we can.