Gimmickry: In the Search for More Money [Whatever Works in the $cheme of Things]

Money knows no borders. The U.S. dollar has been the official currency in many countries and the default monetary system world wide. But it didn’t start there and it may not end there. In Gimmickry, Jay Wenderoth explores the history of money, debt, and the relationship between the two, through the creation of the United States to our current financial situation. Using the Congressional Record at the Library of Congress, Gimmickry is a well researched highly detailed book. [Almost 100 pages for the bibliography and index] explaining the situation we find ourselves in.

In our financial history, American debt has ended up purchased by foreigners. The debt is not owed to the citizens, but whoever wants to purchase and fund it. Paper currency provided capitalization and was redeemable in gold, yet often that exchange was suspended by the banks. The banks didn’t make payment during emergencies, frequently causing inflation, increasing the value of gold and decreasing the value of the “money” it supposedly backed. Gold was in short supply. The return to specie payment by the banks “extinguished” the paper currency.

Moving from the gold standard to our current dollar backed by trust in the American economy made transparent what had been going on for years. The supposed strong relationship between the amount of currency in circulation and the U.S. gold reserve was an illusion. The private banking system, legislated by the Congress, was profit oriented and debt based since Alexander Hamilton. It was the public creditor and Government.

Gimmickry brings up little-known, or even unknown facts about the U.S. monetary system and should be required reading for those who want to know what’s going on. In the United States, America and Wall Street represent two economies, one squelching the other. It’s the wealth system. Gimmickry says the 2007 crash was a cyclical repeat of the past.