Good morning,

CNBC has a catch-phrase for every occasion. Today, with the "first quarter" a disaster and in the rear-view mirror, it's time to look ahead. And, what better way to close one quarter on positive note than to give the last day a name:

"Super Monday".

And, it's not just "Super" because the quarter ends today. No, it's "Super" because we get to hear Henry "Hank" Paulson (Mr. Secretary, to you and me) our Treasury Secretary (Goldman Sachs alum? You don't say?) argue that it's time to give the federal reserve some "sweeping new powers".

Now, say, that is SUPER.

However, before I discuss that, there is one message you've not heard, yet. And, you certainly won't hear it today. A phrase. A selection of words chosen to evoke action.

One small phrase. A phrase with many iterations, for sure, but one phrase that could change the course of our economy.

"Pay down your debt, save money, and, live within your means."

Look at your own life. Look around you. Look at all the junk you have piled up in closets, sitting on shelves, collecting dust under your bed.

Imagine your life without that extra car payment. What would you be able to afford now if you had not spent that extra $5 a day on fast food for the last 5 years? Think of the debt you would not have if you did keep your kids in "new clothes" every year.

What about the trumped-up "holidays" that are used as excuses to get you to "buy" (I'll deal with this "buy" concept in a moment) stuff? Christmas, birthdays, Valentine's day, Memorial Day (etc), are all used by corporate America to take more money out of your pocket.

Who is behind this cash grab?

It starts at the very top. Remember September 11, 2001? Maybe you do. (yes, that was sarcasm)

I bet, though, you don't remember what President Bush said in his State of the Union speech on January 29, 2002:

The "way out of this recession" is to find a way to get people to spend more money. For the "sake of American workers?"

Those word were chosen by the Bush Administration with great care. Those words, as Rush Limbaugh famously notes, MEAN THINGS.

Think of it this way: You are told that spending money is the solution to a problem CAUSED BY SPENDING TOO MUCH MONEY.

Here we are today, at another critical juncture in a history that's just too long in the tooth, now. I feel it. I feel the times are coming where we'll sadly remember what could have been.

I'm just so very tired of the bullshit, double speak, misdirection, misinformation, and, outright deception.

Just very tired.

But, not tired enough yet to stop.

Do you wonder why I'm telling you all this? Do you wonder where I'm going with it all?

This is not an out-of-the-blue essay on the rampant consumerism in America. Nor is this a moratorium on spending "per se". This is something else.

You see, today, Henry Paulson, the United States Treasury Secretary, will announce the need for MORE powers for the federal reserve. Powers that the New York Times says will allow the fed to use "SWAT teams" to raid investment firms, hedge funds, and other "financial institutions" they (the fed) deem "a threat" to the "overall stability" of the economy.

This comes at a time when our "overall stability" ain't so stable.

So, this new plan will seem - to the unthinking masses (who, really, couldn't even tell you the difference between Hank Paulson and Hank Aaron) - as a wonderful new way to bring more "stability" back to THEIR lives.

However, the only way to get more "stability" is for you to get out from under the crushing, shoulder-breaking, load of debt.

That's what this is all about.

If you - and other tapped-out Americans - began to view yourself as PATRIOTS, as AMERICANS, and, HUMANS instead of rat-faced, junk-horders called, "the consumer" you could avoide the pain of any future "recessions".

The truth is that the current "crisis" was constructed by a group of people who's only goal is ENSURE that YOU are financially enslaved. This group includes: the federal reserve, banks, and, "corporate America".

1) Who was it that told people to sink their money into all those "dot com" stocks from 1998 to 2000?

2) Who was it that raised interest rates during that entire market mania, thereby, making it "more attractive" to invest in stocks than "real estate"?

3) Who was it that then began to drop interest rates for 3 years? And, who was it that began to promote this notion that "every American" should be a "home owner"?

4) Who also began to promote these "risky" loans, and, practice "predatory lending practices"?

5) Who was it that argued you should be buying stocks at "all time highs" in 2006 and 2007, ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP?

6) Who was it that said when they lower interest rates, the market will go higher, and that you should just keep on buying, and keep on holding those stocks you bought at "all time highs"?

7) Who was it that said we would not have a "recession" and that the US economy was just fine and that people should just keep on spending?

8) Who was it that said it was GOOD that we had shipped our manufacturing jobs overseas?

9) Who was it that said that investing in gold, silver, and, other precious metals was silly, and, that the only "asset class" with "long term value" was stocks and REAL ESTATE?

10) Who was it that said it was a GOOD thing that the dollar continued to get hammered day after day?

11) Who opened up the coffers of our tax base to BAILOUT banks, mortgage companies, and, investment firms?

12) Who is it that pacified America with a $600 welfare check to be - SPENT - and to help "stimulate" our economy? This money, by the way is OUR MONEY. The federal reserve and the Treasury Department are only GIVING BACK a tiny fraction of what was stolen in the first place... With the hopes that you will...

SPEND IT. Put it BACK in the pocket of CORPORATE AMERICA.

And, WHO IS TELLING YOU NOW THAT WE NEED TO GIVE MORE POWER TO THE FOLKS THAT WERE BEHIND ALL THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Henry Paulson. Ben Bernanke. George Bush.

Henry Paulson (Investment Banks). Ben Bernanke (Deposit Banks and our entire economy). George Bush (a complicit federal government).

All those investment firms that promoted the "dot com" bubble? Why, they are being bailed out by YOUR TAX MONEY now. All those banks that made "risky" loans?

Hey, they get bailed out, too! The administration who presided over this "mess"? Heck, they're about to give even more control to the federal reserve!

Look, you have kids that depend on you. And, maybe not even your OWN. Stand up today and choose to change your life. Hold your children close and feel the trust they have in you. It's time for you to do what's right. It's time for you to say, "ENOUGH".

You need to contact your congressman. You need to cut up your credit cards. You need to stop spending money TODAY. You need to get your financial house in order NOW.

You will lose the immediate gratification that comes from spending money you don't have, but, you'll gain the long term freedom our founding fathers died to place at your feet.

You see, the only way all this works today is if YOU continue to buy the lie that YOU MUST KEEP SPENDING MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE. As long as you continue to do that there will be, by design, "CREDIT CRUNCHES" and financial "crisis".

Sincerely,
Don Harrold