One thing, one fact, one truth that we all know, without any question, is that history records and proves we Americans do not learn anything from history.  Someone once said that those who fail to learn anything from history are bound to repeat it.  Oh that is such a true statement!

Haven’t you heard people say that as you grow older you should be getting smarter…wiser…have more wisdom?  Sure you have.  Knowledge and experience are wonderful things…unless… you are an extremely slow learner, or unless you have a hidden evil agenda that you are trying to push forward regardless of the facts, or unless you just don’t care and are willing to ride this horse you are on all the way to the bottom of the ocean and disappear without a trace.

For the very reasons I have just mentioned, we sadly find ourselves today in the very same position or situation that many other countries found themselves in throughout the world at some point in time, sometime before today.  Depending on how these other countries handled and resolved their difficult situations, they either satisfactorily solved their problems before it was too late  and then moved back into a position of great influence,… or they simply self destructed or deteriorated themselves to the point of insignificance and impotence on the world stage.  

Great empires, sects, or civilizations are cluttered across the pages of history with nothing still existing but fallen ruins of buildings, cities, and towns and the bleached bones of the inhabitants of those destroyed structures.  How could that happen?  How could the great and glorious nations and kings and rulers of the ancient past have had such complete and total control of all the people and resources of regions, and then suddenly disappear from the face of the world?

In some cases, it was an act of God that destroyed them. In other cases it was natural disaster.  Many times is was disease and other pestilences.  All too often destruction came at the hand of their own unwillingness to learn from their own or from other’s past mistakes and stupidity.

It is always better and much less painful to learn from the mistakes of other people than it is from our own foolish decisions.  I must warn you, however, that to learn from the mistakes made by others, requires a person to have and to exercise a certain degree of intelligence.

And so it is as regards the financial mess that exists and continues to grow bigger and worse throughout the world today.

Whether you agree with the next statement or not , whether you like the next statement or not, whether you understand the next statement or not, really makes no difference.  It is unquestionably true!  God’s Word, The Holy Bible, is God’s personal instruction to all people and to all nations and their leaders as to how they are to live and conduct their affairs in order to be and to remain successful.

Regarding the areas of economics and financial transactions, God’s instruction is plain and very simple.  He established for all of mankind the use of His created resources of Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones as the basis on which to value all the other valuable and useful items of commerce.  Economic values were to be based on the Gold standard of value.

Now one must remember that there was no paper or printing presses at the time of Creation.  When Adam and Eve were roaming the Garden of Eden, America had not been established as a nation, and the Federal Reserve System was not even a thought in a human mind at that point.  Since Cain slew his own brother, Abel,  the fact was established that man simply could not seem to get along well with his fellow man.  War, small or large scale, was just one of those things in life that seems to be inevitable among mankind.  How much has really changed over the last 7,500+ years?

Now let’s get back to our original topic…..England Adopts The Gold Standard……I want you to think about the current state of financial affairs within America and the rest of the world today as you study through this entire discussion.

At the end of the 18th Century, Western Europe suffered from a scarcity of silver.  Increased trade with Asian nations that had little use for European goods drained silver from European communities, and the era’s continuous warfare resulted in greatly devalued currencies.  Does any of this sound familiar as of today?

Silver coins were issued in smaller amounts; alternative methods of payment such as “token coins,” bills of exchange, and banknotes proliferated.  The shortage was so pronounced  in Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars that the government ordered the Bank of England to suspend payment of gold or silver for banknotes as a means of maintaining their precious metal reserves for military expenses…… Remember, the Viet Nam War,…President Nixon removing our nation from the gold standard, and no longer permitting the banks of America to pay off paper “Silver Certificates” in actual silver bullion coins?

In 1810, The House of Commons established the Currency Commission also known as the Bullion Committee, to “enquire into the cause of the High Price of Gold Bullion, and to take into consideration the state of the Circulating Medium, and of the Exchanges of Great Britain and Foreign Parts.”  The Committee found that so many banknotes had been issued that the value of the pound had been depreciated…..this is the very thing that is presently happening within the United States economy…..The Committee’s recommendation was:  Allow the Bank of England to once again redeem banknotes with gold!  Cash drains related to the wars delayed the implementation of the committee’s recommendation, and inflation continued to climb….Surprise, surprise,…..get ready America.  This is going to be history repeated.

In the years following the French Wars, one of the British government’s main problems was finding a way to stabilize the currency.  In 1819, Parliament passed the long awaited “Act for the Resumption of Cash Payments,” which allowed free trade in both bullion and coin.  The Gold Standard, which tied the country’s paper currency to the cost of a specific weight of gold, was established on May 1, 1821.

Immediately the gold standard improved Britain’s foreign exchange position, but just as quickly caused short-term economic hardship at home.  A rapid reduction in the number of banknotes issued brought  a fall in commodity prices and widespread unemployment……get ready America……Many found it difficult to pay rents and to repay loans that they had taken during the period of  depreciated currency.

By the end of the nineteenth century, all the major powers used the British gold standard for national and international payments.  The system disintegrated during World War I because European governments once again restricted the gold trade for wartime necessities.  Following World War II, the International Monetary Fund replaced the gold standard as a mechanism for managing currency exchanges.

Be that as it all may be,…Almighty God always has and always will know what it best for his finest creation, mankind.  God wants man to use the gold standard.  That is because it is truly what He wanted man to use to keep his financial affairs under proper control.  Remember, God created gold and silver….man created paper.  History proves that whenever man or man’s governments try to direct and control what God has given man for his own personal control and use,…there are always problems, misery and suffering.

There is no government body or entity of any kind that can do a better job than can God Almighty.  Therefore you should always be very careful who you vote for to represent your best interests.  Make certain they really know and have learned the lessons of history before you cast your vote.  We are always better off whenever we obey the guidance and instruction of our Creator.

Learn More, Know More, and Become More……….

Sample from Did You Know section