Of course it wasn’t a thousand cuts, but it’s been just as debilitating. Remember the good old days when you wrote out a check to pay for a bill, put it in a provided envelope, or just as often, your own envelope, put a stamp on it and dropped it in a mailbox. So, people had to wait until – OMG - the endorsed check cleared the bank. WAH!

Strangely, ever since personal checks were invented, transactions have been handled that way, with laws covering the writing of rubber checks and any other illegalities. I believe TPTB have painted us into a financial corner without most of us being aware of it. With every new method of financial transaction, we are told we will have more control over our money. But, we actually have less. We’re told it is safer this way. How many banks have been hacked and patrons personal information stolen? We’ve been told it is more convenient. So, we are trading safety for convenience?

Speaking of stolen, how many of you use the banks safe deposit boxes for valuables? I did until I had 1 ½ ounces of gold and several silver certificates stolen. I think they need to change the name. One of the women who works there, has been a friend for many years. She swears they don’t have any way to get into someone else’s ‘safe’ deposit box. She can swear until she is blue in the face. I know what I put in it and I know it was gone when I went to take it out for a safer storage place. The bank was family owned and I will guarantee you the son had a master key to open boxes looking for valuables. They couldn’t even find the card I was supposed to sign and had to write out a new one. When I screamed “Where in the F is my gold, everyone in the bank came running. And, yes, I did try to file a police report and the officer laughed at me. He had a point. You and the bank put your keys in at the same time and unlock the door. Then, they hand you the long unopened box and you go off privately to open it. I could have pocketed the gold and the silver certificates, then cried wolf. In other words, I couldn’t really prove what I was saying. But, if my story can keep anyone else from losing valuables, it will be worth my loss.

So, back to the bank. What happens when the banks freeze accounts? Is your social security check, for instance, direct deposited? When the banks reopen, we will be forced to accept the new digital currency coins. I doubt we will be able to say, “No, I don’t want those. I prefer fiat dollars.” If you want your money, you will be forced to accept the new digital currency with the Chinese style surveillance that goes along with it. Your privacy will be a fond dream in the past. Right now, if your social security money comes as a check, you can at least cash it at a big box store or a grocery store. That is why you were either encouraged to go with direct deposit or told you had to agree to that.

Believe me, I argued with them. Not everyone has a bank account. How do they get a check? Of course, some don’t but you used to be able to have a P. O. Box at the post office. Perhaps that is how they receive it or it is delivered to a family member or friend. I looked at my, what I call budget books. Books with pouches for bills and a place to write down your transactions. Five years ago, I was writing out about eight checks for monthly bill paying. I now write two checks a month. And believe me, the two that I pay by check are constantly hounding me to do auto pay. In your dreams!

My two insurance premiums are set up for auto-pay. They won’t accept payments with personal checks. I had to decide if their low premiums were worth it. For now, yes. What happens when you can no longer receive cash from the bank, worthless as it is.? I hope people are stashing away some cash for smaller purchases now. If you can afford physical gold and silver, that would be great too. But, I don’t want to have to use precious metals for a can of peaches or a loaf of bread. Which is why you need to have enough food, water and medicine, both prescription and OTC, as well as a certain amount of cash. There is still some freedom associated with the fiat currency for a while. And, while I’m on that subject, does anyone know what our coins are worth? The gold Sacajawea dollars, the silver Susan B. Anthony dollars, Quarters pre-2013, when they said they were going to take more precious metal out of the newer quarters, maybe nickels and dimes as well.

And if you are too smart to accept the new digital currency that will be tied to your behavior/political beliefs/purchases/donations, what will happen to the money that is rightfully yours? Will it just build up indefinitely in your account or will it have a ‘shelf life’? I read that the rules of banking have been changed. That once you deposit money in your account, and probably any money deposited for you, it is considered the banks money. Was this the idea all along, set in stages to trap us? And how much do you set aside for purchases? A trip to one of the big box stores used to hover around $100.00. Now, it is $200.00 for even fewer items, no matter how much you try to budget.

More and more countries are joining the BRICS nations that buy and sell with each other without having to use the U.S. petro-dollar. No one wants to be left holding worthless currency when the bottom completely falls out. What will you use to buy necessities when that happens?

So, basically, from the time of the Federal Reserve being established, the American people have been getting more and more of the shaft, while the owners of the privately held Federal Reserve (no it isn’t federal and they have no reserves.) got ever richer. I agree with my four favorite presidents, either don’t allow central banks to get a foothold in the first place or refuse to renew their charter when it comes due. That cost one of them their life, another one an attempted assassination. More than likely, there have been several attempts on Trump, many we haven’t heard about. And for those who say, “Oh, he has Secret Service protection, I would remind them that JFK’s Secret Service detail stood down the day he was killed. Trump can afford his own security, thankfully.

And for those die hard Never Trumpers, I would ask them to take an honest look at how good they had it under Trump’s presidency and how bad it has been under Biden. And, don’t even be tempted to say Trump inherited a wonderful economy from Obama. The script was for Hillary to ‘win’ in 2016, followed by war with Russia. In no way would our lives have been as good as it was under a Trump administration.

Anyone who isn’t mainlining the fake news on a daily basis, will have to admit that the 2020 election was massively stolen. But, with as many states changing election laws to make it more difficult to cheat, I think the American people have a good shot at having their president back in the White House for another four years. How the country would go about rectifying the years stolen from Trump will be up to people smarter than me. I have no faith left in the Supreme Court after some of the goofy decisions they’ve arrived at. But, I will be happy with another Trump term. After that? Maybe the American people can find another person who loves this country more than their political ambitions.