Aidan's Independence Day Decorations

As Matt Taibbi’s article points out, the problems in our banking system aren’t anything new. In fact, the system has been corrupt since…the beginning. Andrew Jackson said this about it: “If the people only understood the rank injustice of our Money and Banking system, there would be a revolution before morning.”

Now consider the origins of our July 4th holiday. One of the biggest problems the colonists had with the King was that he taxed them excessively and didn’t give them any say in how that tax money was spent. In 1773 they dressed up in disguises and dumped over-taxed imported goods (tea) into Boston harbor. That touched off the Revolutionary War which ended in the birth of our nation. Of course, the war was about more than just money, but my point is that Boston Tea Party was to the Revolutionary War what Rosa Parks was to the Civil Rights movement. Someone finally did what everyone else had been afraid to do, and that ignited the courage and resolve of the less bold.

So this 4th of July I’m looking for, hoping for, a hero who confronts the economic tyranny we are under. But I don’t see any heros on the horizon. The new government hasn’t done anything to hold banks accountable for their monumental swindle mistake. The previous administration did even less. Maybe we need a grass roots movement? But short of pulling our money out of the banks and stuffing it in our mattresses, what can we do? I’ve been writing this blog thinking that the little things would be enough. That if we could learn to consume less, then our greed would atrophy and our culture would shift its focus. But when I think about the enormity of the problem and the powerlessness of “ordinary people” like me, I get overwhelmed and discouraged.

The Declaration of Independence

I know this sounds boring and kind of depressing, but that’s what I’m thinking about on this July 4th – economic freedom – how do we get it? I’ll take heart by reminding myself that against the odds the founders of our country declared their independence from tyranny, won that independence, and started a new kind of nation.

We need a new declaration of economic independence. Anyone have ideas?