June 28, 2016
THE BULLETIN
FLORENCE EXCHANGE CLUB
THE OLDEST SERVING SERVICE CLUB IN THE SHOALS BEGINNING JUNE 1921
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Using an audio program, FEC member Bob Larson brought the program of
Money: How the Destruction of the Dollar Threatens the Global Economy
by Steve Forbes, a presentation to students and faculty of Hillsdale College,
Hillsdale, MN.
"[The Fed's] vastly misguided monetary policies are now setting the stage
for a new economic and social catastrophe — one that could rival the financial crisis and horrors of the 1930s,” Forbes asserted to the students and
faculty.
Just like many financial conservatives have advised in the past, notably former UPCOMING
Reps. Jack Kemp and Ron Paul, Forbes said that economic prosperity can
PROGRAMS
come only if the dollar is linked to gold and not printed willy-nilly at inflated
July 5
rates.
Howard Tinsley
"The best way to achieve monetary stability: linking the dollar to gold,” he advocates. “The Fed should have only two tasks: keeping the dollar fixed to gold
and dealing quickly and decisively with panics,” he says.
Forbes has long been a leading conservative voice on the
economy, and his latest stance is likely to revive calls for a
gold standard.
2016-2017
OFFICERS
Bert Bretherick
One Year
Peggy O’Steen
Brian Maples
Vance Persall
Pres. Elect
Joe Patterson
Doug Evans,
Vice President
Two Year
Adin Batson,
B. W. Gibbons
Imm. Past Pres.
Frank Eastland
Laura Williams
Parrish Riedel
Howard Tinsley,
Treasurer
July 12
James Wells
"The refusal of many in the policy establishment to entertain the idea of a return to a gold standard is based on astounding ignorance about just
what a gold standard would mean and how it would work,” he surDIRECTORS
mises.
President
Secretary
July 11
Board Meeting
Noon at
CB&S Bank
He is extremely critical of the Fed, especially former Chairman
Ben Bernanke and current Chairwoman Janet Yellen. "The Federal
Reserve must stop trying to run the banking system and the economy."
Instead, the power of the Fed should be restrained, he said. "In an
ideal world the head of the Federal Reserve would be no more important than the director of the Office of Weights and Measures inside the Department of Commerce."
Among the economic problems Forbes blames on the Fed’s monetary policies:
— The U.S.'s weak economic recovery.
-- Slower long-term growth and higher unemployment.
— High food and fuel prices.
--- Declining mobility, greater inequality and the destruction of personal wealth.
--- Increased volatility and currency crises.
— Larger government with higher debt.
--- Lower levels of business innovation and entrepreneurship.
--- Why a return to sound money is our only hope for a true recovery and a healthy global economy
“Few topics are as misunderstood today as the subject of money. Since the U.S. abandoned a
gold-linked dollar more than four decades ago, the world's governments have slid into a dangerous ignorance of the fundamental monetary principles that guided the world's most successful economies for centuries. Today's wrong-headed monetary policies are now setting the stage
for a new global economic and social catastrophe that could rival the recent financial crisis and
even the horrors of the 1930s.”
Forbes explained why a return to sound money is absolutely essential if the U.S. and other nations are ever to overcome today's problems. Stable money, Steve Forbes argues, is the only
way to a true recovery and a stable and prosperous economy.
Today's system of fluctuating "fiat" money, in which governments manipulate the value of the
dollar and other currencies, has been responsible for the biggest economic failures of recent
decades, including the 2008 financial crisis, from whose effects we continue to suffer. “The
Obama/Bernanke/Yellen Federal Reserve and its unstable dollar policies are accelerating our
course toward disaster.”
A Sound Dollar as Good as Gold: With its ever-fluctuating “fiat” dollar, the Federal Reserve
has blocked a real recovery and is the prime cause of today’s stagnant, crisis-ridden economy.
The answer? Take the dollar out of the hands of the Washington politicians by returning to a
monetary system with the value of the dollar linked to gold.
Mr. B. M. Ingram is awarded the Book of Golden Deeds for 2016.
Brian Maples, FEC Club President Elect, read the documentary of
Mr. Ingram’s years of service to the community and the club.
Most memorable is the slogan Mr. Ingram used in his furniture
business: “I’m going to trade with you on even terms.”
He has been a member of the FEC for 70 consecutive years.
At age 95, he drives daily to the YMCA “to visit his friends.” The only time he misses a
meeting is when he visits with his doctor.
Congratulations, Mr. Ingram!
Did you know New York City has the biggest fireworks display in the United States and that three
U.S. presidents died on July 4?
Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday
in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to
the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13
colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their
independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress
voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the
Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth
of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks,
parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.
On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State
House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence. Amid heated debate,
Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee–including
Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger
Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and
Robert R. Livingston of New York–to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.
On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams
wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding
Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration
should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.” On July 4th, the Congress
formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson.
Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the
day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.
Men who signed the Declaration of Independence
Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they
died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in
the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and
died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.
What kind of men were they?
Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners;
men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty
would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy.
He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He
served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and
poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and
Middleton.
At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over
the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home
was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a
few months.
John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more
than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead
and his children vanished.
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a
few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
Remember: freedom is never free!
The Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games
Think of those who have given and are serving, so that we can celebrate