by Jason Hommel, August 17th, 2011

My intellectual curiosity got the best of me, and so, I attended the Lake Tahoe Summit 2011, the 15th Annual event sponsored by CA Senator, Diane Feinstein…

Read the complete article here…

Ever wondered what a million dollars looked like? How about a billion, or even a trillion? With all the talk of “raising the debt ceiling”, why don’t we get a visualization of what this astronomical sum REALLY looks like:

A Visualization of U.S. Debt…

“(NaturalNews) What would all the world’s experts and authorities say today if the Titanic were sinking but nobody was willing to admit it? The U.S. economy, after all, is sinking and taking on an unprecedented volume of water (i.e. debt), yet virtually no one is willing to admit the obvious fact that this ship is sinking. And much like with the Titanic, most “experts” continue to claim the U.S. economy is unsinkable, despite the obvious evidence that we might want to start heading for the life rafts.

So in the spirit of comedy — which is, after all, what we are witnessing in Washington these days — imagine The Titanic hitting an iceberg in 2011, followed by a string of experts all trying to spin the story their own way. Here’s what they might say:”

Read the full article…

Bible Verses on how to Manage Money

“Silver is one of the best-returning assets of the last 12 months. I believe the recent run in silver is just the beginning. Keep in mind, during similar financial times (for example in the 1970s), silver prices shot up 3,733%.”

Read the full article…

 
One of the current trends in baby gifts is to buy savings bonds or other investments for the little one. Giving a child a gift that will have value twenty years from now is not a bad idea. However, I would argue that typical investments are not the best gift that we can give children. I believe that precious metal, especially silver, is the ideal investment to give a child. There are a few reasons for this.

Silver is a good investment for anyone, adults and children. Silver is increasing in value at a better rate than other precious metals. If we look at charts illustrating how the value of silver has changed in the past thirty years, we can see what a good investment it is. If you had been given an ounce of silver when you were born, compare how much it would have increased in value over a U.S. Savings Bond. Which would you rather have in your safe?

Silver is also relatively inexpensive, making it a good choice for gifts. For the cost of an overpriced “boutique” baby gift, you can buy several ounces of silver. A five ounce bar of silver looks quite impressive, and its inherent value is unmistakable. It is also easy to add an ounce or two of silver to a gift basket of diapers or other baby items. That small amount of silver will be valued long after the baby is out of diapers!

Another excellent reason to give silver is for the educational opportunity. The more people who understand the real value of precious metals, the better our chance of seeing good economic changes. It is easy to overlook the importance of teaching our children about real wealth from an early age. This is at least partly because the economic “experts” claim that financial principles are too complex for the average person to grasp. This is nonsense. The concepts of real wealth are simple, and children are capable of understanding them earlier than you may think!

For example, my two-year-old daughter has been calling silver “real money” since she learned to talk. She can tell the difference between silver and non-silver coins; she prefers silver! We did not have to explain to her that the silver she held in her hands was worth something, it was apparent to her that it was. Interestingly enough, she places no more value on paper currency than she does a blank sheet of paper. There is no difference between a $1 FRN and a $100 FRN to her. However, show her one ounce of silver versus five ounces, and she can immediately tell which is worth more, and therefore, is more desirable. The value of silver is obvious to her.

Think beyond just baby gifts when it comes to silver. There are so many occasions in a child’s life when silver is an appropriate gift. We give our children silver on their birthdays rather than savings bonds. By doing this, we are contributing to their future financial stability, as well as taking advantage of a great teaching opportunity. Kids love to take silver out of their special bank and count it. It is something tangible that they can hold in their hands, and they recognize the value in that. Besides, whoever had fun counting their savings bonds? Shiny silver is so much more fun to count!

All parents want their children to have a good future. By giving them the gift of silver today, you are contributing to their financial health as adults. We are creating a better economic future for them.

Some mints offer engraveable silver products for special occasions. For example, Northwest Territorial Mint has one ounce bars of silver that are custom-engraveable for a variety of special occasions. These may be of interest to you, but truly, silver is a wonderful gift on its own.

So, the next time you give a gift to a child, take the opportunity to give something of real value. Take the time to teach them about the value of precious metals, and your gift will be appreciated long after the toys are forgotten!

Precious metals have practical applications outside of their use as currency too. They are used in jewelry, art, commercial industries like electronics, and scientific fields. Though the value can fluctuate depending on supply and demand, they will always have a high value because of their many uses.

By their very nature, precious metals are a hedge against inflation and war. They are a just weight and measure. About 2000 years ago an ounce of gold would buy you a very fine toga, hand crafted belt, and a pair of sandals. Today that same ounce of gold will buy you a custom tailored suit, hand crafted belt, and a pair of shoes. A silver dollar in 1950 would buy you over five gallons of gas at 18 cents per gallon. As of May 1, 2011, the national average price of regular gas is $3.943 and the melt value of that same silver dollar is worth $34.6292. Even after rising gas taxes that would still buy you 8.78 gallons of gas today; in fact, you could buy two gallons for a silver quarter and get change back! Gas is cheaper than it has ever been! What happened to rising prices you ask? Most have not really risen. Your fiat paper money has failed you and is losing value.

U.S. Inflation Calculator

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the U.S. Dollar has lost 95.6% of its purchasing power. The paper dollar today is now worth only about 4.4 cents and is still dropping in value. Directly related to this is the rise of our federal debt which has sky rocketed to 14 trillion, since all these Federal Reserve notes must be borrowed into existence. It’s actually 113 trillion if you consider unfunded liabilities such as social security, prescription drugs, Medicare, etc.—that is nearly TWICE the gross domestic product (GDP) of the ENTIRE WORLD!!! It can never be paid off and is not designed to ever be. Our money today is based on debt instead of gold or silver. Ironically, if we did pay off our debt, we would have no money.

U.S. Debt Clock

Americans need to understand what real wealth is and return our currency to a gold and silver standard. Our fiat money is silently robbing us daily. Every succeeding generation has less to give to their children. I encourage you to do your own research and invest in precious metal coins and bullion. We use Silver Saver.

Silver Saver

Here are a few more charts to ponder.

Consumer Price Index

Kitco Gold Charts

Kitco Silver Charts

The Congress shall have power… To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures…

United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8

 

No state shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts…

United States Constitution, Article I, Section 10

 

DOLLARS OR UNITS–each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver.

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 9

 

And be it further enacted, That the standard for all gold coins of the United States shall be eleven parts fine to one part alloy; and accordingly that eleven parts fine to one part alloy; and accordingly that eleven parts in twelve of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure gold, and the remaining one twelfth part of alloy; and the said alloy shall be composed of silver and copper, in such proportions not exceeding one half silver as shall be found convenient…

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 12

 

And be it further enacted, That the standard for all silver coins of the United States, shall be one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts fine to one hundred and seventy-nine parts alloy; and accordingly that one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts in one thousand six hundred and sixty-four parts of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure silver, and the remaining one hundred and seventy-nine parts of alloy; which alloy shall be wholly of copper.

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 13

 

And be it further enacted, That if any of the gold or silver coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint shall be debased or made worse as to the proportion of the fine gold or fine silver therein contained, or shall be of less weight or value than the same out to be pursuant to the directions of this act, through the default or with the connivance of any of the officers or persons who shall be employed at the said mint, for the purpose of profit or gain, or otherwise with a fraudulent intent, and if any of the said officers or persons shall embezzle any of the metals which shall at any time be committed to their charge for the purpose of being coined, or any of the coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint, every such officer or person who shall commit any or either of the said offenses, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death.

Coinage Act of 1792, Statute I, Section 19

 

You shall do no injustice in judgment, in measurement of length, weight, or volume. You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin…

Leviticus 19:35 & 36, NKJV

 

You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure…

Deuteronomy 25:13-15, NKJV

 

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

Proverbs 11:1, NKJV

 

Honest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 16:11, NKJV

 

Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

Proverbs 20:10, NKJV

Our founding fathers understood the value and importance of real wealth, and a “just weight”. They based our currency on a denomination called a dollar and gave it a definition of 371.25 grains of pure silver or 24.75 grains of pure gold, with anything else punishable by death! These laws have never been repealed and still stand today.

In 1913 Congress unconstitutionally delegated its authority to regulate the value of money to the Federal Reserve, which is not a part of the United States Government. Federal Reserve Notes are also a fiat currency, meaning they are NOT backed by gold, silver, or any other form of tangible property or wealth and they do not represent just weights or measures, real money, or lawful currency. Before the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 our paper currency used to say “Dollars in Gold Coin Payable to the Bearer on Demand”. It was a certificate or title of property and real wealth that could be claimed at any bank or the U.S. Treasury. In 1914, after the Federal Reserve was created, a bank note said “Secured By United States Certificates Of Indebtedness Or One-Year Gold Notes, Deposited With The Treasurer Of The United States Of America”. It was redeemable in Treasury debt, but not gold. In 1934 gold as bullion or currency was unconstitutionally outlawed and made illegal for Americans to own (these restrictions were abolished in 1975). Also in 1934, the Federal Reserve Note was changed to say “This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts Public And Private And Is Redeemable In Lawful Money At The United States Treasury Or At Any Federal Reserve Bank”, proving that Federal Reserve Notes are indeed NOT lawful money, but Americans had no choice but to accept it as such since lawful money was “outlawed”. Today our “money” simply states “This Note Is Legal Tender For All Debts Public And Private”. Federal Reserve Notes are backed only by the “full faith and credit of the U.S. government” and nothing more. Here is a good site with pictures of our paper money and the changes it has gone through since the creation of the Federal Reserve:

www.the-privateer.com

Because our currency is no longer tied to a gold or silver standard, there is nothing preventing the Federal Reserve from simply printing more money and causing inflation. It’s like doubling the money supply of every player in a Monopoly game, all it really does is cause the cost of the property to go up since the value of each player’s money has gone down. No real tangible property has been added to the game.

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve our money has lost 98% of its purchasing power due to inflation. The Federal Reserve Notes are not worth the 4.2 cents it costs to print them! So the next time someone holds up a $1 Federal Reserve Note as evidence of a dollar, consider this: how happy would you be if you ordered a coke at a fast food restaurant and they gave you an empty 20oz cup with no fountain machine in sight, saying the measurement WAS your soda?