Public Infrastructure Bank - Rebuilding America With Interest-Free Money

by Kent Welton, November 9, 2008

   “Interest-free loans for public infrastructure have been deployed several times, even in this country. It was done by the Colonies, by the founding fathers. Later, during the prolonged depression of 1837-43… Abraham Lincoln issued similar interest-free notes during the civil war. More recently, the Federal Reserve cooperated with the Treasury during World War II to yield virtually the same effect, when the government borrowed money at less than 1 percent interest.”

                                                                                                   E. Ray Canterbury

   “The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of Government, but is the Government’s greatest creative opportunity. By adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest”

                                                                                                     Abraham Lincoln

    “HM Treasury should alleviate the effects of the recession and prevent the continued escalation of debt by matching the amount of money created through quantitative easing by the Bank of England with interest free cash for financing works in the public interest, thus addressing the enormous imbalance between interest bearing credit and interest free cash in the overall money supply.”

                                                                                                     New Proposal in UK

   It is becoming apparent to Americans that our country is trapped within the banker’s “Federal” Reserve cartel, with its private debt-money creation entitlement manufacturing our virtual imprisonment and bankruptcy.

   As the economy spins downward due to immense private, unproductive, debt-money creation and lack of credit for consumers it is high time we escape from the clutches of the bankers who effectively run our economy, politics, and media to suit their own debt-money interest and fee generating purposes.

   Congress must act to free the nation from interest-bearing debt not issued by our Treasury department, and dedicated to productive purposes – like rebuilding our sagging infrastructure. It is time for a Public Infrastructure Bank using interest-free, Treasury-created, money and loans.

   The price tag for repairing our crumbling infrastructure has reached a figure of two trillion or more. The interest paid to private “Fed” debt-money bankers for this amount would be astronomical, as it already is for all our continually rolled over national debt. We cannot go this route, we must issue our own money and put our people back to work… in productive, useful, enterprises that bequeath paid-for benefits to future generations.

   We have the Constitutional “purse” power to create our own money and fund our own projects. However, only Congress currently stands in the way of our freedom and rescue from financial ruin and slavery to bankers – who have no interest in the public interest, unless they loan us their debt money.

   The scandal today is seen in cities and counties who have been whipsawed by the economy and whose falling tax revenues put their bond interest payments in jeopardy and thus their credit ratings and ability to refinance. Today, we are seeing municipal bond refinance quotes as high as 15-20% interest – terms sure to bury cities in bankruptcy and ensure depression. This is a scandal and the reason we are already seeing a partial nationalization and bailout of banking in this country, all in order to save us from the mess the banking industry and Fed have created with their monetary policy. The debt-money game is up, we cannot have more of the same.

   A national infrastructure bank is needed, but not the one proposed by former Senate Banking Chairman Sen. Christopher Dodd and Sen. Chuck Hagel. The Dodd-Hagel National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 was claimed to be a “bipartisan” (does that mean the people join with the ruling elite?) measure that addresses the critical needs of our country’s major infrastructure systems. They claim their “legislation establishes a new method through which the Federal government can finance infrastructure projects of substantial regional or national significance more effectively with public and private capital.”

   This is a bill which has emerged specifically to fight off the attempts to regain public financing powers. Moreover, the “new method” in their bill does not mean with our treasury money creation powers, but simply another high-interest, debt-money, structure funded by the same old “Federal” Reserve cartel which, over the long haul, forces us to pay for everything two or three times over due to interest incurred. You can be sure appointments to this “national” bank will be the same old beltway bankster hacks and ruling-elite controlled insiders.

   As with our national debt, and to the extent this borrowed infrastructure money is never paid down, the interest slavery is perpetual – as it is on our sixteen trillion dollar “public” debt. Interest alone on “our” debt absorbs evermore amounts of our tax revenues, necessitating yet more borrowing for criminal wars and banker bailouts while the economy is further exported under an undemocratic “free trade” regime.

   We borrow and spend, let the rich pay lower taxes, and continue to pay the debt-money interest… until the collapse. We then screw generations to come with yet more such debt leading to a currency collapse, and the further enrichment, control, and power of the Wall Street investment bankers who own the Fed.

   When are we going to wake up and escape from this prison? Is there anybody in Washington not working for the bankers? Are there any elected representatives who intend to actually represent the people and free them from the debt-money cartel – if only to fix our bridges and railways?

   As a long-time advocate of a constitutional Public Central Bank (see PublicCentralBank.com) I am appalled at the lack of even a mere discussion of the idea. With the exception of Ron Paul, no one in Congress or the major media seems to have either the balls or the intellect to take on this challenge. (exactly the reason we must separate major media ownership from editorship – see EditorFreedom.com).

   While there are many good and smart people in our chambers, debate on the debt-money issue in earnest has yet to emerge. Why?

   Must we wait for the “Greater Depression” to do anything? Can we not act now to take back the money power our founding fathers gave to us – precisely to prevent the interest-bearing private central bank debt ruin experienced in Europe for a century before 1776, when our founders rebelled against the “Bank Of England” cartel.

   Clearly, the 1913 Federal Reserve act remains a symbol of what “democratic” corruption can do to us, and how our representatives can be bought off to do anything big money tells them to do. It is almost a hundred years now since that unconstitutional calamity and now we are staring in the face of a catastrophic, predictable, debt-money-driven, demise – i.e., one already underway with the collapse of our currency due to idiotic “free trade” policies serving to carve out our ability to pay our debts, maintain our economy and independence, and force us to pollute the earth with fossil-fuel delivered “goods” traveling many thousands of miles from market.

   Can we get anymore stupid or irresponsible… or enslaved?

   A public or national infrastructure bank, with labor and capital equally represented, along with state governors, overseen by Congress, and funded via the Treasury Department can be established and financed under the powers of Congress. Congress may authorize it to create Treasury funded monies for the sole purpose of financing approved infrastructure projects – the direct costs, the inputs, and all functions related to accomplishing the job.

   In these efforts we will then have examples of Treasury-direct loans (whether no-interest or low-interest) actually creating productive assets, improving the quality of our lives, and where any interest paid comes back to the treasury and not to private bondholders. This in contrast to private banking cartel debt-money loans (backed by the full faith and credit of the taxpayers) given to Wall Street speculators and hedge funds for predatory and utterly unproductive purposes – all of which screws up the marketplace by rewarding the gamblers and not the producers, and serves to steal and ruin the savings of the American people.  Have we not had enough of this bankster predation?

   We’ve done this before, and there is no reason not to begin again – free of the Federal Reserve debt-money machine. During the depression years, we built a massive amount of infrastructure in the form of bridges, schools, water systems, roads, and parks – all of which we still enjoy today. Today’s needs are much the same along with mass transit, mag-lev trains, and energy independence projects. All we need is the will, the leadership, and interest free financing from our own treasury.

Kent Welton,

www.PublicCentralBank.com

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Public-Infrastructure-Bank-by-Kent-Welton-081109-370.html