General Question

Steve_A's avatar

Can you tell me more about this quote?

Asked by Steve_A (5130points) September 11th, 2010

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”—Henry Ford.

Do you believe this true?
Is it still relevant today?
What does he mean or what is he talking about exactly?
Can you elaborate?

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24 Answers

Ben_Dover's avatar

Yes, this is true. It is more relevant today than ever before. He means that the banking system is a cutthroat, thieving institution designed to enslave us all.

Ben_Dover's avatar

Just in case you didn’t know the Federal Reserve is a private company of bankers with twelve branch banks that confiscate our money and they have been doing this for almost a hundred years,—- this time! They are not part of the United States Government. Yet today they collect hundreds of billions of dollars from American taxpayers every year.
Congress illegally granted the Federal Reserve the right to mint money. this is simply wrong and unconstitutional.

Steve_A's avatar

@Ben_Dover Our brains must have been on the same wave length there because I literally while searching for this quote ran upon this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw9jXppiQEo&feature=related

Interesting.

llewis's avatar

http://www.brainyquote.com/ attributes this quote to Henry Ford. Cool site, which I would never have found without your question! And he said a lot of good stuff- worth reading!

And, yes. Our monetary system (world-wide) is run by people who love money more than they love anything else (no surprise), so of course it’s designed to get them as much money as possible. Greed is what determines most laws and regulations. And what @Ben_Dover says is true – the people who regulate the currency of the United States are not part of the government. Although, I don’t know if that would be any better… <sigh>

pdibble's avatar

Henry Ford was many things including an anti-semite. One wonders if his comment on banking was a slam on the image of banking as a Jewish enterprise. I agree with what he said but I worry that his motivations for saying it pre-shadows the Tea Party.

Ben_Dover's avatar

The present Federal Reserve System is the third…THIRD Fed…The first two were abolished and Andrew Jackson actually says, ” “You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God I will rout you out,” to the 2nd Fed.

But in 1913, many huge changes occurred in the USA Yes, another conspiracy, this time by the money elite…The 3rd Federal Reserve System is set up…And Income Taxes are created…

Henry Ford’s quote is anything but anti-semitic…

Steve_A's avatar

I hope this isn’t a dumb question but is the federalist party formed back in the 18th and 19th century related to the Federal Reserve?

Ben_Dover's avatar

Uncertain as to the relation of the Federalists and the Federal Reserve system, but it does sound convenient.

As of March 6, 2006, the national debt stands at 8.2 trillion dollars. The American taxpayers have paid the FED banking system $173,875,979,369.66 in interest on that debt in just five short months, from October, 2005, through February, 2006. Since this article was written a couple of years ago the national debt has now risen to 10.7 trillion dollars, and since the economic meltdown that figure has risen dramatically and will continue to rise. The United States will never even be able to pay the interest on the loan,let alone the principle. So in actuality the Federal Reserve owns the United Statses and our elected officials are beholden to the bankers, not the American people. The Feds are the unseen “shadow government” , they are the ones who are governing our once great Republic. They control both houses of Congress and also the President, and no-one dare oppose them. they are all powerful because they control the money supply. No con artist or group of con artists in history has ever perpetrated a scam that even approaches the scope of this one.

Steve_A's avatar

Who/how was it decided that the Federal Reserve would decide to regulate currency?

If they are not apart of the government are they still held under the full effect of the law?

Ben_Dover's avatar

Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve system into law. 1913.

In December 1913 while many members of Congress were home for Christmas, the Federal Reserve Act was rammed through Congress and was later signed by President Wilson. At a later date, Wilson admitted with remorse, when referring to the Fed.“I have unwittingly ruined my country”. Same citation as those above.

Article One Section 8 of the US Constitution….“The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;”

And…“To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;”

Ben_Dover's avatar

1913 was a black year in the history of the USA…Apparently a small group of the wealthiest of the wealthy elite (read illuminati) got together at a secluded location and decided to try again to set \up a Federal Reserve system…and to establish the income taxes we now think we are obligated to pay…

They were successful.

tranquilsea's avatar

I think the outrage is the fractal banking system, that and the fact that the U.S. Federal Reserve is private. Thankfully, our “Federal Reserve” here in Canada is owned by the Canadian people.

Steve_A's avatar

I got work tomorrow and kinda need my sleep heh. :D But I did find this and couple other things.

I want to discuss this more though for sure!

I just read through this quickly and will do so again to get a better grasp when I wake up. This is not mine by the way, so if you can validate it that would be helpful.

“It isn’t that simple. That is the problem with attempting to explain to someone a complicated structure in the space of a few minutes.

Claims that the Federal Reserve is private is a MYTH. “Ownership” of the Federal Reserve is misunderstood by most people. The Federal Reserve is actually controlled by a 100% governmental agency known as the Board of Governors. Each member of the Board of Governors is appointed by a President and confirmed by the Senate. If you actually listen to the video, the man states this.

Beneath the Board of Governors are twelve Federal Reserve district banks. Each district bank does have “stock”. However, this stock is significantly different than the stock of a regular corporation. First, the stock is not “sold” to just anyone. Only a bank with a national charter or a state charter can hold this stock (these would be U.S.-based and not mostly foreign owned). National banks are required by law to subscribe to the stock. The amount of stock a bank must hold is set by law and the Board of Governors as a percentage of the bank’s paid-in capital. A state bank may subscribe to the stock if the state bank meets certain requirements. The stock can be thought of as representing a bank’s membership in the Federal Reserve system.

Each share of stock has a set par value and that does not change. Each member bank pays the par value for the Federal Reserve district bank stock. The stock of a Federal Reserve bank does not confer any rights of ownership in the bank. The only benefits of the stock are: 1) pays a 6% dividend; and 2) each member bank has ONE vote for the district bank’s board of directors. The dividend is to recompense the bank for the loss of use of it’s capital. Each member bank gets one vote for six seats on the board of directors regardless of the number of shares that it holds. The other three seats on each bank’s board of directors are selected by the Board of Governors. The Chairman and Vice Chairman of these boards of directors are selected by the Board of Governors.

The board of directors for each bank are responsible for overseeing the operation of the district banks on a daily basis. This makes them similar to the board of directors of a regular corporation. However, since three of the nine are selected by the Board of Governors and the chairman and vice-chairman are two of those three, this gives the Board of Governors significant input into the district bank operations.

If a Federal Reserve bank were to be dissolved, the member banks would be paid back the amount they paid for the stock plus any unpaid dividend regardless of the value of the Federal Reserve bank. All assets and liabilities would then become the responsibility and property of the U.S. Government.

There have been a few claims that courts have ruled that the Federal Reserve is private. These claims take the court’s rulings out of context and misconstrue what the court actually says. In most instances, the court was determining the legal standing of a Federal Reserve district bank and not the entire system. Also, some claims leave out portions of the court’s statement. For example, in one such case, the court ruled that a Federal Reserve district bank was a private entity in regards to the Federal Tort Claims Act(FTCA) only. The court also said that a Federal Reserve district bank has been properly held to be a Federal instrumentality in other situations. The FTCA allows individuals to sue the U.S. Government if an employee of a federal entity caused the tort. However, the FTCA does not apply to those entities that have a process for handling tort claims within the legislation governing them. The Federal Reserve Act contains a section regarding tort claims against district banks, the Board of Governors, or any other part of the system.

All of the above is in accordance with law. See 12 USC Chapter 3. I could explain all of this in detail, but there is not enough space provided in Yahoo!Answers.

BTW, if you want to learn about something, take college courses or read books about economics and money and banking. An Internet video is not a reliable source of information. Videos can also be manipulated, just look at all the complaints from people that were “interviewed” by Michael Moore for some of his “documentaries”.

EDIT: “Money Masters” is where you get your banking education from? ROFLMAO! Here’s an idea, if you want to learn about money and banking, ASK AN ECONOMIST. Not a single one of your sources has any training in economics or banking. I guarantee that I know more about this than you do or the maker of the Money Masters conspiracy theory nonsense video.

The author of “Vile Acts of Evil” is not an economist either. I believe that he is a nurse from San Francisco.

Owners of stock of a corporation, whether it is publicly traded or closely held, have a choice on how much of the stock they want to own, if any. National banks DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE in regards to Federal Reserve district bank stock. Each bank with a national charter is required to subscribe to a certain amount that is set as a percentage of that bank’s paid in capital.

Re: “big deal, preferred stock”.
No, it is not preferred stock. As I said, the stock does not confer any rights of ownership. Currently, the member banks have paid in approximately $25.6 billion for the twelve district banks. If a district bank were to be dissolved, once the member banks were repaid, all assets and liabilities would become the responsibility of the U.S. Government. If it were truly a private corporation, excess assets would become the property of the stockholders.

Re: “board of directors made up of governors”
I never said the board of directors is made up of governors. I said that three members of the board of directors of each district bank are selected by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve system. Also, no, a member of one of the district bank’s board of directors may not be a governor. In fact, there are restrictions on who can be on the board of directors of a district bank. At least three of them cannot be shareholders, officers, or even employees of ANY bank.

Re: Woodrow Wilson quote
The quote is fake. There is no evidence anywhere that he spoke or wrote the first part of that quote. The rest of the quote was taken out of context from his book, “The New Freedom”, which was published in 1913, BEFORE THE PASSAGE of the Federal Reserve Act. Also, the quotes were actually from campaign speeches he made in 1912.

Now, what were you saying about ripping apart my answer? You should get your information from RELIABLE sources and sources that actually know what they are talking about. So far, the only thing that you have done is shown that you do not know how to investigate things you want to learn about. Instead, your “investigation” consists of finding anything that fits in with your preconceived delusions instead of questioning those sources to see if they are correct.

BTW, there is no reliable source for the Henry Ford quote either. If you read his book, “My Life and Work”, you would find that he did not like bankers but was not against a business borrowing money when it was necessary and that would require a fractional reserve banking system.

Here are some quotes for you:
“The wealth of the world neither consists in nor is adequately
represented by the money of the world. Gold itself is not a valuable commodity. It is no more wealth than hat checks are hats.” – Henry Ford

“No financial system is good which favors one class of producers over another. We want to discover whether it is not possible to take away power which is not based on wealth creation. Any sort of class legislation is pernicious. I think that the country’s production has become so changed in its methods that gold is not the best medium with which it may be measured, and that the gold standard as a control of
credit gives, as it is now (and I believe inevitably) administered, class advantage.” – Henry Ford

Finally, anti-Fed conspiracy nuts throw around the 95% devaluation of the dollar like it actually means something. There is always some amount of inflation or deflation in ANY economy. Other than the 1970s, the inflation since the 1950s has been rather tame. In fact, since 1913, the worst year for inflation was actually 1920. A 95% devaluation over a period of 97 years would take an average annual inflation rate of 3.2% which is small compared to many industrialized economies.

The Federal Reserve may not have a perfect track record, but the economy has had fewer recessions and depressions (and most were less severe) in the 97 years under the Federal Reserve than it did in the 97 years before the Federal Reserve. ”

Ben_Dover's avatar

The above is a crock @Steve_A

Not you, just the quote.

“On June 4, 1963, President Kennedy signed a Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110. This order virtually stripped the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Government at interest. President Kennedy declared the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. This order gave the Treasury Department the authority to issue silver certificates against any silver in the treasury. This executive order still stands today. In less than five months after signing that executive order President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. ”

Steve_A's avatar

@Ben_Dover Which part exactly? Just to make sure I know which one you are referring to.

Anyways be back later. :)

LostInParadise's avatar

I think that if people understood the way most corporations work they would be none too pleased, especially regarding the way third world people and resources are exploited and the ways that marketing and advertising are used.

CaptainHarley's avatar

@pdibble

The Tea Party is NOT, I repeat, NOT a racist organization! Where do you get this from? Are you saying that I am a racist? Where I come from, that’s grounds for a serious azz-whoppin!

Ben_Dover's avatar

The Federal Reserve is a private organization @Steve_A. That extremely long diatribe you posted appears to be a reply to another response from Answerbag, or another Q&A site.

This question wiil have many different answers, many of which will be hard to prove, as that meeting which took place in December 1913 was a secret meeting and those guys didn’t take notes.
And once again it is a huge conspiracy perpetrated by ruthless thugs whom most folks don’t even believe exist. Illuminati types and all that.

DarlingRhadamanthus's avatar

@Ben Dover…......Thanks for posting about the Federal Reserve. Most people are not aware of this information….they are too busy watching “Jersey Shore”.

@pdibble,....Yes let’s just make the Tea Party anti-Semitic shall we? And while we are at it, let’s blame them for global warming, high taxes, the fires in California, why the Colts didn’t win the Super Bowl, beached whales, high gasoline prices, the demise of the 8-Track tape and my grandmother’s arthritis.

No one supports Israel more…whether you agree with them or not.

CaptainHarley's avatar

@DarlingRhadamanthus

I support Israel. Thanks for the verbal swat at pdibble. I have NO idea what his/her problem is! Well, other than being some sort of lower life form, that is.

Ben_Dover's avatar

@DarlingRhadamanthus I agree with all that except the Colts losing the Super Bowl. Everybody knows that game was fixed in favor of the Saints to help the people of New Orleans build up some positivity after Katrina.
All of us who understand how these bowl games are fixed are paying or rent off the winnings of that one!

P.S. Just kidding about agreeing with the rest of the anti-Semitic stuff.

Ben_Dover's avatar

@CaptainHarley I don’t believe @pdibble was himself being anti-Semitical. He was merely suggesting that Ford is/was an anti-Semite.
However, when he stated that ”one wonders if his comment on banking was a slam on the image of banking as a Jewish enterprise.” He was perhaps being quite accurate. One of the problems with banking is interest. At one time, no Christian banks could charge interest on monies loaned. Only the Jews were doing that. And many people took umbrage at such usurious activities. This was opf course somewhere back in the 15th century.

As for your misunderstanding his Tea Party comment, he said, “_ I agree with what he said but I worry that his motivations for saying it pre-shadows the Tea Party.“_

As such it would sem that he wasn’t disparaging the Tea Party folks per se, but rather merely indicating that Ford’s remarks were somewhat indicative of events yet to occur.

CaptainHarley's avatar

I saw it as a slam at TeaParty Patriots, but if I was wrong I apologize. I need a vacation! : ((

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