Where the Money Went

It used to be that “they” would blame the Jews when things started going south (http://tinyurl.com/3mqtj2) – and some still do. But at least we’re not alone; this time, there are dozens of possible culprits, from the Chinese (http://tinyurl.com/54×99a) to the British and/or Icelanders (http://tinyurl.com/3gomr9) to free-spending housing line of credit consumers to (http://tinyurl.com/3qtrtj), of course, the government (which one? take your pick!)

Things just seem to be going from bad to worse, and by now, even Mrs. Cohen from Hadera is an expert on the roots of the mess (if she isn’t, direct her to http://tinyurl.com/4sgwq7 for details on the initial mortgage fiasco that kicked off the tsuris we’re dealing with, and to http://tinyurl.com/4y6yev for information about the far more serious credit crisis that is threatening to bankrupt everybody). But who am I to discuss the technicalities of the financial crisis the world finds itself in? For that you have armies of commentators and pundits, who all have their own ideas and theories about the why and how of the mess, and what to do about it. My purpose here is to document developments that have accompanies the crises on the internet.

Once upon a time, some of this stuff would have been dismissed as conspiracy theory junk. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary ideas, and if you could believe even half of what’s been going on in the world of finance in the last few months – and especially the bailout plans proposed over the past couple of weeks – it’s not such a stretch to believe some of what the theorists say the government has in mind for us.

For a conspiracy theory to hold water, it has to follow some basic rules, like the ones listed at http://tinyurl.com/3soxrj. The main question in any good conspiracy theory is, of course, who stands to benefit? Then, you furnish the appropriate evidence – a quote, a document, etc. – “proving” your point. And then you just fill in the details with articles from the internet. You need some facts and quotes – after that, it’s up to you how to spin them, or whether to accept or believe someone else’s spin.

Let’s start with the Chinese: They have lots of money, and according to some sources, China has threatened (http://tinyurl.com/4gcrkm) to cause a run on the dollar by dumping the hundreds of billions they have accumulated, courtesy of American consumers. Last year, a bestselling book in China fingered the Jews as the world’s shadowy currency manipulators, and the Chinese lapped it up – with even those in the top echelons of society subscribing to the idea that a group of Jewish bankers, led by (who else?) the Rothschilds, controls the world’s currencies. But check out this quote by the book’s author, Song Hongbing: “People in China are nervous about what’s going on in financial markets but they don’t know how to handle the real dangers. This book gives them some ideas” (http://tinyurl.com/4bbt86). Ideas – as in how to use the methods attributed to the Jews to manipulate the world’s currencies themselves! Why? In order to become the dominant world power. Motive, opportunity, and means – clearly it’s the Chinese!

But to be fair, the dominant theory on what caused the crisis rests on the motives of the U.S. government. According to http://tinyurl.com/47l84p, “some members of our Congress were intimidated into voting for corporate welfare with the understanding that if the measure didn’t pass – it was likely President George Bush would have to declare Martial Law.” (this claim is attributed to an official of FEMA, which is empowered to deal with national emergencies in the U.S.). Why martial law? It’s part of the plan to institute Continuity of Government (http://www.continuityofgovernment.org/) in the U.S. in the event of a major catastrophe (like 9/11, when the regulations were first enacted). If it was felt that the “situation” was too unstable – like riots outside banks by panicked depositors demanding their money – the President could declare a state of emergency, effectively suspending the constitution for as long as it takes to “restore order.” And according to the theorists, Bush and company cooked up this crisis in order to be able to declare martial law at some point, and remain in office beyond January 20, 2009, the inauguration date for the new president (http://tinyurl.com/4rgzem).

But how will that solve the financial crisis, you ask? It’s all part of the plan. The first step would be to declare a “bank holiday” in the U.S. – closing down all banks and preventing withdrawals for a few days, similar to the Bank Holiday of 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt closed the banks from March 6 to March 10 to keep depositors from bankrupting the banking system by withdrawing all their money. Given the recent runs on several banks and the low liquidity in many others, it certainly is a possibility, some say (http://tinyurl.com/5xejq5).

Then comes a revisal of the entire currency system – really the whole point of this exercise. Dollars will be phased out, and a new currency, called the Amero (as in “American style Euro”) will move in. You see, the master plan is to create a single world economy in the long run – the easier for the powers that be to control everyone – but before that, they’re working on regional economies. The Amero would unite the U.S., Canada and Mexico in a single unit of exchange – much like the Euro does in Europe – allowing greater unity between the three economies, a sort of extension of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement).

Conspiracy theories, as we said earlier, are built on a sprinkling of facts with a big dose of speculation as to what those facts mean. But unlike the wild idea that the government controls the economy, the Amero is not a figment of some nut’s imagination – in fact, it has its own Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amero). The idea has apparently been supported by a number of policymakers in all three countries, and while many “legitimate” sources ridicule the idea (http://tinyurl.com/2bhlz9), this Virginia congressman (http://tinyurl.com/4vngsv) confirms that there is an official government plan to create a North American Union modeled after the EU, with all that the term implies – like a common currency. The financial crisis is designed to knock America and Europe down a couple of pegs, putting the overpaid and overpampered Western worker more in line with their counterparts in the developing world – and leaving even more of the world’s fortune in the hands of the big shots. Suffice to say that the exchange rate of dollars for Ameros won’t be one for one, according to the theorists,.

While it all may sound ridiculous, remember that the idea of ostensibly capitalist governments buying out banks in part or in whole would have sounded like Communist propaganda not too long ago. So, anything can happen. And maybe one day, this Nigerian-style e-mail scam message (http://tinyurl.com/4rnkp6) from none other than the head of the U.S. Treasury may even appear in our inboxes!