Money talks, and with the simple scrawl of a permanent marker, yours could make a bold statement about the United States’ sagging economy and moribund monetary policies.
A freethinking friend of mine, “David” (not his real name) has begun marking his paper money before spending it. On one bill, he wrote, “Since the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913, the dollar has lost 97 percent of its value.”
Another dollar bears the message, “This is the fiat currency of a bankrupt nation.”
“David” explains that it’s absolutely legal to customize your cabbage. To ensure that the altered bills are accepted, however, I’d confine my commentary to the thin white borders around each bank note.
Money-minded citizens held “End the Fed” rallies at Federal Reserve offices throughout the nation yesterday. The movement, backed by the venerable former presidential candidate Ron Paul and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, seeks to eliminate the Federal Reserve and return the nation to currency backed by precious metals.
Ever read one of those novelty price lists often given to an old-timer on his or her birthday? New cars were sold for mere thousands instead of tens of thousands and per-gallon prices for both gasoline and milk were well under a dollar.
Wages were lower, too, but in those days, the dollar had more buying power and the relative comfort and financial security of middle-class life was within reach for just about anyone willing to work hard. Fast-forward a few decades. The minimum wage will soon climb to $7.25 an hour, but for someone not receiving supplemental assistance from Uncle Sam, this barely — if at all — covers the bare essentials of life.
Since I rarely see paper money and swipe my debit card daily — not just for convenience, but because in disputes with merchants over goods or services, banks usually side with their cardholders and issue a chargeback, returning spent money to your account — I’ll have few opportunities to mark dollar bills.
When the occasional greenback graces my wallet, however, I’ll be sure to pass on a little message to the next spender down the line.
1 Comment
November 24, 2008 at 3:50 am
The Federal Reserve is no more ‘federal’ than ‘federal express’. And there are no reserves either. They simply create money out of thin air, then loan it to the American government plus interest.
The fed is nothing more than a privately owned banking cartel that has destroyed all the wealth America ever had.
However, the vast majority of Americans live their lives completely oblivious of this. Worse, many find this information too incredulous to even take seriously, immediately dismissing the entire argument.