"We Ain't Seen Nuthin' Yet."
Mainstream news media are nearly frantic in their efforts to control the election outcome.  

   Professor Alexander Tytler published a book two-hundred and forty six years ago describing the demise of the Athenian republic.  His conclusion about the stability of democracies was that they can  run for a couple of centuries but eventually collapse when the voting majority will choose the road to ruin  voting themselves financial aid from the public treasury.                                 Cycle of Democcracy

   The writers of the U.S. Constitution knew that  and framed a republic.  ( "...if you can keep it," remarked Ben Franklin.)

    Even the flag pledge mentioned "..the republic for which it stands."  Unfortunately, through the amendment process the Constitution was watered down into a democracy and becomes more so with every election.  With the nominations of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton by the two major political parties one might suspect even the U.S. experiment with democracy shows signs of going seriously awry.  

     Clinton supporters want more government regulation of the affairs of we-the-people while Trump voters are something of a wild card.  They want to take a different path, although they aren't certain where it will lead.  The fact that the race is so close indicates a confused electorate.  

      In their "superior wisdom" mainstream news media generally feel obligated to lead the voting public to choose the  socialist candidates who will spend whatever it takes to enlarge the Nanny state to pay the bills for citizens who lag behind.  It used to be called "the welfare state" but that's politically incorrect in the 21st century.  Euphemisms rule. 

       Liberal media are naturally attracted to the idea that government must referee society, uplifting the poor and penalizing the wealthy for their "ill gotten gains".  Unfortunately, liberal reporters and commentators are usually not very well grounded on fundamental economics and conclude that it's just not fair that some people accumulate financial assets while a substantial number do not.  (Unless, of course, the rich are sports and other entertainment figures.  Media tend to forgive them their wealth.)

        The barrage of opinion masked as "news" will surely shift into high gear next week.  The Clinton-Trump TV debate Monday will probably attract a record audience.  9 - 10:30P.M.Monday  on the TV set nearest you.   

     In criticizing cash, Professor Rogoff once said "It delivers absolute anonymity, portability, liquidity and near-universal acceptance." He concluded these qualities would lead to criminal activity. He would prefer the lion's share of financial activity be conducted electronically so Big Brother can keep better track of things.  For instance, you may be in the habit of picking up a bottle of booze each Friday afternoon on the way home for work. If you make your purchase with cash Big Brother's computers can't detect the regularity of your libation purchases.  As Rogoff himself once pointed out, Cash "delivers absolute anonymity." 

An Orlando physician thinks Hillary Clinton has Parkinson's Disease.
A fact-checking web site examines the allegation and draws a blank.

     "One of the main problems about [Dr. Ted] Noel’s diagnosis is that he doesn’t appear to have any medical training in degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease at all. Online medical records state that he’s worked as an anesthesiologist in Orlando for 36 years — which doesn’t appear to give him any kind of expertise in diagnosing neurological conditions.

     "And a quick glance at the progression of Parkinson’s disease seems to conflict with Noel’s diagnosis that Clinton has “advanced” PD. The fourth and fifth stages of PD, which are considered advanced, bring about limited movements that require a walker or wheelchair, advanced stiffness in the legs that makes it impossible to stand or walk, and hallucinations and delusions, Health Line reports.

      "Clinton’s actions on the campaign trail don’t support that idea that she has advanced PD. Her movements would be far more limited, and there’s a good chance she would be unable to walk or stand on her own.

       "In conclusion, there’s no evidence to support claims that Clinton has Parkinson’s disease — but it’s impossible to definitively prove she doesn’t have it from afar. That’s why we’re calling this one unproven."  FACT OR FICTION 

   By now you've probably already seen the YouTube interview with Dr. Ted Noel of Orlando.    The retired doctor believes Mrs. Clinton is exhibiting several classic signs of suffering from Parkinson's Disease.  If you haven't seen it find the video here.  (Note.  It runs about a quarter of an hour.)

   Critics point out Dr. Noel is a retired anesthesiologist and not a neurologist.  Be that as may it is quite possible he knows more about medical practice than merely making patients unconscious prior to surgery.  

    Whatever the true nature of Mrs. Clinton's health difficulties may be we note that she will turn 69 next month and appears to be worn out from the vigors of campaigning.

                                                  Copernicus the economist

   German born (Royal Prussia) Nicolaus Copernicus died at the age of seventy shortly after the publication of his book about the revolutions of "The Celestial Spheres." He declared the sun was the center of our little corner of the vast universe and the earth and other planets revolved around it, not the popular misconception the sun revolved around the earth. 

   So the world rightly thinks of Copernicus as a pioneering astronomer who made a major contribution to science. 

   He also held a doctorate in canon law, practiced as a physician, classics scholar, translator, diplomat and in other fields. Almost always overlooked, Copernicus was also a first rate economist. In 1517 he introduced the quantity theory of money. Two years later he formulated a version of what later became Gresham's Law. (Bad money chases out good money.) 


   Is it possible economic theories of nearly 500 years ago are still valid? After all, we still subscribe to his notion that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around. Natural law rarely changes and the performance of the planets and sun is an example.  So is the relationship of money, the age old store of value and medium for economic exchange, in the affairs of humankind. 

   To be clear - we're separating the function of MONEY with that of PAPER CURRENCY. Paper notes have always been a promise of payment in money. Until late 1963 Federal Reserve Notes carried the explicit promise they could be redeemed in "lawful money" at any time. People once generally understood that that a written promise of redeemability in money could not simultaneously BE money. 

   The distinction has been lost through the passage of time. Today, even paper notes have lost popularity and the bulk of the so-called "money supply" exists only in the innards of computers. 

   Copernicus, the economist, believed that debasing the circulating currency would inevitably lead to price inflation. In his 1517 "Treatise on Debasement" he wrote:

 " Coinage is imprinted gold or silver, by which the prices of things bought and sold are reckoned. It is therefore a measure of values. A measure, however, must always preserve a fixed and constant standard. Otherwise, public order is necessarily disturbed with buyers and sellers being cheated in many ways - just as if the yard, bushel, or pound did not maintain an invariable magnitude." 

   This passage is a translation of something written nearly 500 years ago and his point may be obscure to the 21st century eye. 

    He speaks in terms of minted coins of gold or silver as money and points out the metallic content of money must be a "fixed and constant standard." It was for this reason the U.S. Congress declared the U.S. dollar would contain precisely 371.25 grains of silver when it set up the Coinage Act of 1792. The dollar was a strict measure of silver, not a paper promise.

    Copernicus thought the marketplace would be really screwed up if certain measures weren't strictly adhered to, such as the bushel, yard, or pound. Imagine the chaos that would ensue if the number of inches in a foot was changed from time to time, causing the measurement of heights and widths to be arbitrary. 

     Debasing the dollar is official policy, now. In fact, the Federal Reserve's goal is to remove at least 2 percent of purchasing power from the dollar each year! To illustrate how efficiently the Fed debases the U.S. dollar - - in only one century since the Fed was founded the  purchasing power of the dollar has dropped from $1.00 to less than a nickel. 

     Nicolaus Copernicus figured it out 500 years ago: Abandoning sound money inevitably leads to social turmoil. Even the most casual observer would agree that the world is not being well served by the present system of fiat currency. If he could be consulted today we feel sure he'd point to the U.S. Constitution and say "The solution is right here. Why not follow it?"  ~John Wrisley, Sept. 18, 2016