This set of pieces came into being to answer the need for simple, concise, accurate summaries of how our present system works, what its problems are, and how we fix them. Nothing more, nothing less. My underlying concept is quite simple, and can be summarized as "Know the facts: vote the facts." If we do this, all will be well. So much of what passes for "debate" in our modern world is really just pointing in very vague terms to problems that are not defined well, and then trying to fix blame. Were the economic problems of 2008 the fault of the Democrats or the Republicans? That's all most people want to know. They don't want to know how our system is built, or why that meltdown was inevitable, and why we will quite certainly have more, if nothing changes. Here is the truth: in large measure, Republicans and Democrats pursue the same policies, take money from the same people, and achieve largely the same, mediocre results. This is not necessary. Our problems can in fact be fixed, but only if our politicians feel safe in taking the radical steps needed, in our common interest. We the people have a responsibility: we were intended to run this country, and we have been slacking. We have not been forming a "more perfect Union." We let patent nonsense pass over and over and over. We do this so that our party, the "good guys", can stay in power, and prevent the other party-the "bad guys"-from doing anything. This dynamic serves some interests quite well. Not everyone really cares who is in power, as long as neither side looks into certain areas that are kept in carefully crafted darkness. The task here is not to fix blame. It is to ask how things should be working, and how they actually are working; and if they aren't working right, how they should work. Some footnoting will be attached, but this is not intended to be a thoroughly documented academic essay. There are plenty of those, and most of them are worthless, at least in my view. I know of nothing like this treatment anywhere. My task is quite simple: I want you to think. If you dispute a fact in here, look it up and if I am wrong, email me (bearachtraining@yahoo.com). If you dispute a use of logic, figure out a better one, and email me. Note that both of these activities involve interacting with my ideas. Bigotry is the substitution of a label for dialogue, and as such comes in many forms, and is found on all parts of the political spectrum. As things stand, if you are a liberal and want to find a book to justify your views, you can do it. It will be thoroughly annotated, and the evidence apparently unimpeachable. If you are a conservative, and want to justify the precisely opposite views, on nearly any topic, you too can find a book written by an "expert", which tells you all the reasons you should conform to his or her way of thinking. It will cite hundreds of sources, and appear utterly authoritative. What people who deserve freedom do, though, is create their own sense of the world. Perhaps the most interesting and important work of "art" in anyone's life is a unique perspective. Anyone who reads internet blogs knows that such a thing is increasingly rare. People simply pick sides, then start firing. This is worse than useless: it actively damages the possibility of actual, shared problem solving. We don't need to hate each other. We need to work together. We need to value community and mutual respect. The following pages will present some rather startling conclusions, including that we need to abolish the Federal Reserve, and that we can eliminate much of our debt simply by cancelling it. The reasoning behind these proposals will be presented clearly and concisely. Please follow along with at least suspended disbelief as data points are gathered, then summarized. Many years of thought and study went into this composition. Each chapter will offer an understanding of a particular topic or aspect of a topic, such as the Federal Reserve System, the nature of money, or how banking works. The intent is to include enough analysis that you can develop deeper understandings, and then communicate them. Room is also provided for the formation of your own viewpoints, as you may disagree with the author's conclusions, which is perfectly fine. Please argue with me. The best readers are people who are also writers. I have tried to keep the chapters relatively short, such that a group can meet, read a section, and then discuss it. Some of them are necessarily longer than others, but you should be able to cover most in 5-10 minutes. In the process of thinking about what I have to say, please use at least the following four sets of questions. Since this is my own system, the actual analysis will include answers to these questions, but the method needs to be made explicit so you can expand your own ideas. I will repeat: please argue with me. Details: How many facts do I know about this issue? How well can I summarize how things work in a detailed way? If you find you don't know the answers, some will be provided in this piece, and some you may need to research. For almost all of us, we know less than we think we do once we start digging deep. For example, how much of your check, percentage-wise goes to Social Security? What is your employers co-pay? When was it founded? How is it funded? Keep in mind that assumptions are not the same as facts. Abstract Intent: How is this system supposed to work? What is the ideal? What problem is it supposed to solve? What are the benchmarks we would look for to see if it was working properly? How would we measure it? For example, how would you frame the purpose of Social Security? If we frame it as a system for helping the elderly avoid poverty, do we place the onus for that end on the elderly themselves-should they pay their own way, such that they are merely spending their own savings? Should the system retain traditional arrangements where the children care for the parents? Is it better that the elderly no longer live with their children, as happened in almost all societies prior to our own? Is the combination of Social Security and the group home ideal? Please be as wide-ranging as you can. Actual Effects: How does the system actually work, compared to the stated intent? Have there been any effects which were unintended? How effectively does Social Security reduce poverty among the elderly? Can you live on it? What effect has it had on retirement savings? Can we afford it forever at the current rate of growth? If we run out of money, what happens? Alternatives: Having stated the problem, what other approaches could we take? How can we place this issue on a continuum? The continuum is a marvelous perceptual tool. With respect to Social Security, for example, we could draw multiple continuums. We could "anchor" one with the idea that the individual has NO responsibility for his/her retirement, and claim that the whole thing depends on the community or State. On the other end, we could claim that the individual has COMPLETE responsibility, such that if they don't have the foresight to provide for themselves, then they will literally be allowed to die in the streets. Would we want the State to have complete power over our retirement? If they did, would there be any requirements on their part, for example behavioral and political conformity? Alternatively, would we want a world where no one cared for us? Could we not draw a line from the family to the government? What is the role of the family relative to the State? Is it not an intermediate institution, consisting of concerned people, presumably with some resources, who could be tasked (explicitly by the State, or implicitly through the State's silence) with responsibility? Does the value of the family diminish in proportion to the ability of the State to substitute for it? Alternatively, you could draw a continuum from the Federal Government providing all Social Security to individual States providing it all. Or from the Federal Government all the way out to individual cities or counties. Where is the optimal balance? Should each block in a city be responsible for its own? Should all power over everyone be invested in one person in a corner office somewhere? These are a few of many possible perceptual angles. You will find the continuum to consistently generate creative insights. Thought Exercise: Please apply the above set of questions to the issue that worries you the most. If it's big and overwhelming, still try. Many solutions are forthcoming in this text, so if you can't come up with anything, keep reading. It might be useful to write things down on a notepad, or whiteboard/chalkboard. 1) How many details do you know about this topic? Recite them, as if you were talking with a person completely ignorant about the topic, or better yet a professor lecturing a group of students. Did you find any gaps? 2) How is it supposed to work? What concrete problem is it supposed to solve, and how do we know if it's working? 3) Is it working? 4) What other possibilities exist? How can this issue be placed on different continuums? Please click on the flag below. That will take you to a brief discussion of the importance of economics, and then to links to a set of expository arguments, which end in a radical but workable solution to our own economic problems, as well as those of our allies overseas.

Saving America: an economic analysis and study guide