Speaking of darkness, in this world of plenty, the 7 Billion humans that inhabit it are at the mercy of decisions made by a handful of entitled individuals. Their perceived authority dictates to the rest of the world how we function in the societies in which we live. A major part of the control is dictated by the control of the money we earn to maintain the lifestyle we choose.

Consequently, money that is printed and backed by governments is only as good as the stability of the government that issues what we refer to as currency. At one point, each dollar that the Government minted, was backed by assets, namely precious metals. For example, in America, within the time period of 1878-1964, the Banknote issued stated, ‘Silver Certificate’. This meant for every dollar printed, was backed by an ounce of Silver.  The money supply was controlled and contained, therefore the value was maintained.  With simple logic, if there is a limited number of any commodity, its’ value would be dictated by the laws of supply and demand.

In the 1970s, the Gold Standard was abandoned and the printing presses kept printing money to build infrastructure and support war efforts. It is the Central Banks that profit at the expense of the Governments, because the more money they issue, the more interest they earn. Logically, the higher the rate, the more they make. There never seems to be consideration of the ramifications because when a government has power, they also control the decisions made at the taxpayer’s expense. It is taxation, that fuels the Ponzi scheme that has seen the deficit in the United States, balloon to $34 Trillion.  An insurmountable debt, that continues to grow as spending continues to fuel the inflation the world is experiencing at the moment. I use America as the example but almost every other Nation is using the same template. Unfortunately, power breeds greed and greed leads to corruption. 

But within the darkness, there is light and one country that has reinvented the wheel of finance took a huge gamble and won. The country of El Salvador introduced Bitcoin as its legal tender. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), urged the country to abandon its decision. In January of 2023, El Salvador had an $800 million dollar loan due to be paid off or face bankruptcy. The IMF would come in and sell off the country’s assets, threatening its sovereignty and controlling its people. The outcome from executive decisions made by the El Salvadorian administration resulted in the loan of  $800 million being paid off in full. This was of course to the dismay of the IMF ready and willing to pounce on the wounded victim. A real triumph that will not be discussed or heard about in mainstream media. An actual triumph of an administration making beneficial decisions for the betterment of their people and Nation.

Keep in mind, the  IMF was involved in the European Union debacle and Greece was asked to relinquish territory as part of its restructuring but didn’t. Also do not forget, they imposed a 10% tax on bank accounts in Cyprus, taking money directly away from deposit holders to pay the nation’s debts that were about to have defaulted. That is until, Russians dissuaded the head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, to rethink their decision before someone was going to get hurt. She is now the head of the European Central Bank, I am not sure if she was even elected or just appointed.

This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell spoke and his words alone rallied the USD. He mentioned the need to keep rates high for the foreseeable future, as a result, the USD Index continued its reversal by surging from below the 101.0 level toward the 104.0 level. The USD could struggle to maintain its dominance especially if the economic numbers don’t continue to improve. Remember, public service employment is not a good gauge of measurement because it depends on the taxpayer to be sustained.  After last week’s incredible jobs report, and drop in the Unemployment rate, keep in mind it happened prior to the State of the Union Address to the Nation, just stating a fact. Yet today the Jobless Claims report rises to 196k vs (190k) expected, meaning more people looking for work. In my opinion, all smoke and mirrors paint a picture of something positive when you feel it just doesn’t feel right.