6102

Seventy-eight years ago today, Franklin D. Roosevelt  signed Presidential Executive Order 6102, claiming that the nation was in the midst of an emergency so serious that he was going to make owing more than $100 of a particular metal a felony.

What did this Executive Order of Extreme Importance mean?  It meant that if you possessed gold or gold coins worth $100 or more after May 1^st of that year, you would be committing a crime.

What?  How could that be?  It’s a gold coin.  A tangible way to hold value, used for thousands of years.  A means of buying food, clothing, housing.  And, most importantly it is a legally obtained, privately owned piece of property.  Or at least it was.

Why would the simple act of having gold in your possession be considered illegal?

Because the Feds said so. 

There were of course some exceptions, but not for the “common” folk.  You had until May 1^st, 1933 to turn in all your gold or you would be considered a felon.  You would be “hoarding” gold if you had more than $100 of it in your possession.   And if you were caught in this heinous, vicious, brutal crime, you could be fined $10,000 and put in the slammer for ten years.

Oh, but don’t worry.  The Feds would gladly replace your gold with their paper dollars “equal” to what they said the gold was worth.

What the HELL is wrong with this?  More importantly, have we learned anything since 1933?

Sadly, there are few still alive that remember this.  And even worse is the fact that this isn’t taught to our children. 

So, back to 2011.  Seeing any familiar themes?  Inflation.  Sky-high unemployment numbers.  The Great Depression (Oh, sorry, am I supposed to keep calling it the Great Recession?)  Gold and silver skyrocketing.

Is it any wonder why those precious metals keep going up & up while the dollar keeps going down the drain?  Just in case you’ve forgotten your first lesson in Economics 101; it’s because the morons keep printing more paper money!  Oh wait, we’re calling it Quantative Easing, right?  What are we at now?  QE2, 3 and 4 didn’t work, let’s just keep doing it until it works!  (Actually, I have no idea what QE number we’re at now.)

So what’s going to happen when those pieces of paper start bearing Zimbabwe-type numbers?

People will resort to using the age-old means of trading, and using - you guessed it - gold and silver and other precious metals.  But the Feds can’t have that happen.  And whatever-iddiot-is-in-charge will sign another Executive Order making those of us refusing to use their fiat paper currency into felons. 

So there’s your quick history lesson and  madd-rant for the day.

But what am I supposed to do about it?  What can my family do?

Grow some cucumbers!    Buy clothing at a thrift store!

What the heak do vegetables and second-hand clothing have to do with this? 

I’ll continue my ranting tomorrow.  You’ve been warned.