Looking Back At America - Conclusion

This is Part VII, and the conclusion, of the Looking Back At America series, which presents the perspective of what today's America might look like to historians 100 years in the future. This series of articles is most easily understood by starting with the first installment.


The picture presented here was painted with broad strokes. In order to paint the big picture, it was necessary to give only superficial treatment to many of the underlying causes and conditions, and to leave out numerous other contributing factors.

The Federal Reserve System is a subject on which hundreds of volumes have been written, and it is certainly worthy of in-depth scrutiny, but for the purpose of this account, suffice it to say that the Fed exists to serve the banks. This fact has been kept from the general population by cloaking the financial systems in mystery, using esoteric terms that serve to confuse rather than enlighten. By design, We the People are not supposed to understand the banking system and the nature of money. As Henry Ford was quoted as saying, “It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

Very little attention was given to the deficit spending by the government, or so-called stimulus spending, facilitated by the Fed and the Treasury. This policy attempts to fix a debt problem by piling more debt upon it. Mathmatically, it cannot succeed. In 2010, the deficit was $1.7 trillion dollars, more than 12% of GDP, and growing. This stimulus spending is hiding the fact that the real economy is contracting by almost 10%, with no relief in sight.

The collapse of the housing market and the magnitude of the foreclosure crisis was discussed, but this part of the story is worthy of the volumes being written about it now.

The flight of manufacturing from the U.S. to other countries deserves more attention than it was given here, and the pathetic condition of the American public education system was not even mentioned, though both of these factors are greatly responsible for the situation in America today.

The political system in the United States is broken. The very qualities required for the average politician to organize and fund an election campaign are the exact opposite qualities that are required for an honest political system. Politicians of all stripes are bought and paid for during the campaigns, and once elected, do not represent the people, they represent the corporations and special interests that made the biggest monetary contributions to their campaign.

The two party system is a scam that is perfectly suited to the interests of the financial cartels. They can purchase both Democrats and Republicans for virtually the same price, and this system keeps the American population focused on wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage, while the critical issues facing the nation are kept hidden from view.

The complex federal tax code serves to drive American businesses overseas, which accelerates the deterioration of employment conditions in the U.S. The tax code also creates pockets of special interests that further corrupt the integrity of the political system.

The mainstream media is complicit in the deception. Many of the mainstream news outlets serve as the public relations channel for the collusion between the federal government and the banking cartels, keeping the American people distracted and therefore marginalized.

At this critical point, the remaining options are not attractive, but the opportunity still exists to steer away from the cliff and avoid catastrophe. This would require an awakening of the population and a demand for honesty and integrity in the financial system. This would be painful, as many people and institutions would be bankrupted, but it would allow the system to purge the bad debt, cleanse the economy of inefficiencies, and provide a foundation for recovery. But if the difficult decisions continue to be avoided, the outcome will be determined by the markets, which cannot be deceived forever. This would be The Great Collapse. If that happens, God help us all.