Money and debt. (Cover Story: At a Glance).Because the U.S. dollar is fiat currency In economics, fiat currency or fiat money is money backed by government demand for it as legal tender in payment of legal liabilities, such as taxes. It is often associated with paper money because legal liabilities are created and settled by documents which are usually , there is no limit to how much can be pumped into the economy via the banking system. The biggest debtor One who owes a debt or the performance of an obligation to another, who is called the creditor; one who may be compelled to pay a claim or demand; anyone liable on a claim, whether due or to become due. : The U.S. government. Currency con: Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress "to coin money, [and] regulate the value thereof...." This statement refers to "Commodity Money," such as gold or silver. Until relatively recently, banks -- including those in the Federal Reserve System -- issued "Receipt Money," which could be exchanged on demand for gold or silver. The banking cartel then subtly introduced "Fractional fractional size expressed as a relative part of a unit. fractional catabolic rate the percentage of an available pool of body component, e.g. protein, iron, which is replaced, transferred or lost per unit of time. Money" -- currency issued in excess of the amount of gold in reserve, and redeemable Redeemable Eligible for redemption under the terms of an indenture. only to a fraction of its face value. Eventually Americans became saddled with Federal Reserve Notes -- "Fiat Money fiat money (fī`ət, fī`ăt), inconvertible money that is made legal tender by the decree, or fiat, of the government but that is not covered by a specie reserve. " untethered Unattached to any data or power source by wire or fiber; in other words: wireless. Contrast with tethered. from gold, backed only by government force. The surpluses that weren't: If the recent annual "surpluses" claimed by the federal government were genuine, then they should have reduced the size of the gross federal debt. Yet, as these charts show, the gross federal debt continued to climb even during the period of claimed surpluses. Gross Federal Debt (at the end of fiscal year) Fiscal Year Trillions of Dollars 1997 (-5.370) 1998 (-5.479) 1999 (-5.606) 2000 (-5.629) 2001 (-5.770) 2002 (-6.137 est.) 2003 (-6.526 est.) Note: Table made from line graph Annual Surplus/Deficit Fiscal Year Billions of Dollars 1997 (-22.0) 1998 (69.2) 1999 (125.5) 2000 (236.4) 2001 (127.1) 2002 (-106.2) (est.) 2003 (-80.2) (est.) Note: Table made from bar graph |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion