The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

by G. Edward Griffin

The Dow Jones is going through the roof as investors empty their checking accounts to buy anything for sale.

The party in power said it inherited the mess. The previous party blamed the current one for dropping the ball. Both parties, however, agreed on the solution: more of exactly the same policies that created the crisis: expanded power to the Federal Reserve, more government control over the economy, more subsidies and benefits, and more international commitments. These were called "emergency reforms" and became law. The same men who created the problem prescribed the solution. The public was grateful to have leaders of such vision and wisdom.

Old silver coins come out of private hoards and a hundred-dollar bill is exchanged for one silver dime.

During the early stages of inflation, people were applying their increasingly worthless dollars to pay down their mortgages. That was devastating to the lenders.

When employees refuse to work for low, fixed wages or to take the jobs assigned to them, they are placed under arrest and convicted of anti-democratic activities. Given a choice between prison or "volunteering" for the UN Full Employment and Environmental Restoration Army (FEERA), most of them chose the army. They are now doing the work prescribed for them in return for food and shelter.

Inflation, therefore, has now been institutionalized at about 5% per year. That has been determined to be the optimum level for generating the most revenue without causing public alarm. Five per cent, everyone agrees, is "moderate." We can live with that, but we tend to forget it is 5% per year, forever.

1816, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Sam Kercheval in which

Repeal the legal-tender laws.

There is no need to force people to accept honest money.

The amount which was taken should be returned to the private sector as a matter of principle. The rest of the gold supply also belongs to the people, because they paid for it through taxes and inflation.

The government has no use for gold or silver except to support the money

All forms of time deposits should be presented to the public exactly as CDs are today. In other words, the depositor should be fully informed that his money is invested and he will have to wait a specified time before he can have it back.

Inflation is repudiation on the installment plan.

The original value of a silver dollar was determined after centuries of trial and error.

the point of natural equilibrium where the human effort to mine gold and silver equals the effort to create those things which gold and silver can buy.