A little bit of history re-printed from an article posted on Vassar's website should shed some light on what is going on now in the U.S. It has always been a war between East and West. The "Big Bankers" in the East (read that New York City and Hartford, CT) want to dominate our economy. We in the West would like to control our own destiny.

The Eastern Establishment includes the media that supposedly reports on the economy and what is happening, when in fact they are pursuing an agenda to affect the economy in ways that benefit them.

Right now they are reporting all kinds of negative things about the housing market, the sub-prime mortgage market, and the over-all health of the economy.

Is it believable? Should we "buy in" to this story? Or should we be looking for the truth?

It is still true that most of the capital of the United States is concentrated in Hartford (insurance, commercial mortgages, and retirement funds) and New York (stocks, bonds, and ETFs). Out West we take what they "offer" and try to make the most out of it. And every time we do find a way to benefit they pull the rug out from under us.

They did it this time by raising interest rates when it was obvious to all that to do so was counter-productive.

In the U.S. they define inflation by price level. If price level increases then we have inflation. Inflation actually means increasing the money supply. Too much money chasing too few goods results in an increase in the price of those goods. May be the same thing, maybe not.  No matter what, when the Fed increased interest rates it "caused" a lot of foreign held dollars to come flooding back to the U.S. We are definitely experiencing "inflation." So why is the housing market in disarray? Shouldn't everything be great?

If CNN and The New York Times reported the truth about the economy then everything would be great. But if they did that could the Democrats win next time around?

I say that we need to maintain a positive attitude, and we need to learn our lessons from history.

16 to 1 was the movement for the "free" coinage of silver dollars at a ratio of 16 silver dollars equal to one ounce of gold. The Eastern Bankers saw this as shifting the control of the economy to the West where we had virtually unlimited sources of silver.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Easy credit for home purchases fuelled an amazing real estate market. We were just getting too rich. It had to end.

If you buy into their lies about the economy it will end. They call it self-fulfilling prophecy.

Turn off CNN. You owe it to yourself.