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Dorothy’s silver shoes or the re-monetization of the silver currency of the United States of America
For many years the real reason L. Frank Baum Wrote
Henry M. Littlefield was one of the first to connect the book to the populist movement. Through an evaluation of Baum's works before
In the book, the famed wizard was really just a man behind a curtain. Littlefield suggested that this was representative of the political bosses of the time who were secretly corrupt. He also claims that the yellow brick road is the "gold standard", the scarecrow represents farmers, and the lion represents presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan.
In addition to the Littlefield's startling connections between the book a real life, it is known that Baum was living in the mid-west during the populist movement. This causes further suspicion of the book's purpose as the mid-west was the center of the populist movement. Many suspect that his time there may have cause him to become a "populist sympathizer" if not a populist himself.
On the other side of the coin, most of the evidence that suggests Baum wrote
In "
So the question remains; was
In L. Frank Baum's original story, Dorothy's slippers are silver – not ruby as they are in the 1939 MGM film. In Henry Littlefield's interpretation of
Returning to a bimetallism monetary standard would do away with wars (no country could afford them) eliminate inflation (you can't print precious metals) expose the Keynesian Economists for the toady frauds they are, and put the criminal banksters of the world out of business. If you don't understand why this is so, you ought to be reading "the Bear" more often. :-)
Why not re-monetize the
There are several reasons that make this action possible, and only one that might be considered as an unimportant material obstacle.
In favor:
The
The
A considerable quantity of these silver dollars is owned by Americans.
The
The monetized
In this writer's opinion, a large majority of the American people can see themselves as owners of silver money and, if a poll were taken, one can imagine that most Americans would express themselves in favor of silver money. Not so with gold, towards which the American people have little emotional attachment: gold is seen as the money of the élite. William Jennings Bryan exploited this fundamental attitude of the American people with his "Cross of Gold" speech. (Note: this should not be taken as disparaging gold; it is simply the statement of an opinion about the attitude of Americans regarding gold.)
Against:
The
The branch of government which the Constitution has designated as the agency "to coin money [and] regulate the value thereof" is the Treasury.
If the Treasury were to monetize the
Determining the value of the
How would the Treasury go about determining a quote to regulate the value of the
Suppose the price of
The
$35 X .7734166 = $27.07, the value of the silver in the
The Treasury will quote the
$27.07 X 1.15 = $31.13, rounded up to $32.
The
If the price of silver rose to $37.61, the margin of profit of the Treasury, or seigniorage as it is formally known, would be reduced to 10%; at that point, a new and higher quote would be issued, to restore the 15% profit of the Treasury:
$37.61 X .7734166 = $29.09 value of silver in the
Why "the next highest multiple of four"? Because by doing so, the result would be the re-monetization of the entire silver currency system of the United States as it existed up until the Sixties of the last century.
In the last example, the silver half-dollars would automatically be worth $18 FRNs, the quarter-dollars would be worth $9 FRNs, and the dimes would be worth one-tenth of the
As pointed out in many articles at www.plata.com.mx, in the section in English, the last quote of the Treasury would remain firm and not subject to reduction, just as if the value in FRNs had been re-stamped upon the coin. The Treasury quote would simply take the place of a stamped quote, which cannot be reduced. The Treasury quote would only be raised, to follow the rising price of silver. In this way, the
This program would return the
This program would not cost the Federal Government – or the taxpayers that support it – one single cent! And yet, it would constitute the greatest gift to the American people that any US Congress could possibly invent, next only in importance to the return of the Gold Standard. The restoration of the silver currency of the United States to circulation, in parallel with the fiat FRN, can be considered the prelude to the revived Gold Standard.
By paying the Treasury a premium of 15% over the bullion price of silver, the American people would actually be subsidizing the Treasury's work of monetization. This cost would be a one-time cost of obtaining real money of permanent value and utility, independent of the Fed and the banking system.
The re-monetization of the silver currency of the United States would create a new, vast market for physical silver and drive the price of silver very much higher. Those who might not be able to afford the purchase of monetized silver dollars could purchase half-dollars, quarters or dimes, which would provide the same security: they too, would rise with the rise in the price of silver. The rise in the price of silver would affect gold, which would also rise in price.
In order to facilitate larger transactions in silver, the Treasury could once again issue "Silver Certificates" attesting to the existence of silver held in its vaults.
With regard to the present faux-silver coinage in circulation, the American people are too intelligent to be deceived by it; this coinage may remain in circulation until the Treasury issues new coins for the purpose of making change in small transactions.
Though the restored silver currency may legally circulate, in practice it will be saved in its entirety and only be used in cases of emergency. Its "velocity of circulation" will be effectively close to zero.
Dorothy wore silver shoes, in L. Frank Baum's classic book. Silver shoes on the yellow brick road! Dorothy symbolized then and still does today, the American people. Dorothy was unaware of the magic power of her silver shoes – and the American people are still equally unaware of the magic power of the re-monetized
silver dollar : the power to recover America as the land of Hope and Opportunity!
What are the obstacles to regaining the
The Fed and the banking system will without doubt claim that "silver money is very costly", but they will certainly not mention that the American people will fall over themselves to acquire it and even pay a premium of 15% to the Treasury, for the blessing of owning real money. Nor will the Fed and the banking system ever mention the gigantic costs that the depreciating FRNs have inflicted upon American savers; nor will they wish to recognize that the fiat FRN and the Fed are directly responsible for the present financial and economic destruction of the once great United States of America.
Another objection which will be put forward forcefully is that what the American economy requires is more spending on the part of the public. They will argue that more savings on the part of the American people spells doom for the economy: "More drink for the drunkard" is essential, according to the prevailing Keynesian thinking.
However, the humbug wizard has already been exposed and the Fed has lost its prestige forever. Toto has drawn the curtain!
The present policy is to "kick the can down the road" and postpone the final reckoning. But, the end of the road is already in sight! The condition is one of utter helplessness. The re-monetization of the
The banking system in the United States will be anxious to receive the massive savings in silver of the American people as deposits, but this will only be possible when the price of
Americans are today caught in a financial calamity with no parallel in history. They are being told this every day by every medium of communication. But they watch their crumbling economy in utter paralysis, because there is no alternative to which they may turn. The whole world is a mirror of their plight.
The restoration of the silver currency of the United States of America by the very simple procedure outlined here can provide the life-saving alternative. There is, at present, no other practical proposal for a viable action in the field of money. Perhaps there can be no other practical proposal? Perhaps a return to silver money is the only path out of the present crisis of civilization?
Let us hope that a political leader in the United States understands this message. The popular appeal of silver is universal; "silver shoes" will take that leader far – and the American people will follow him on that road!
http://silverbearcafe.com/private/08.11/silvershoes.html
