By Stephen Buller
‘Tis the season to give thanks. I have many things to be thankful for; some I often take for granted, like a roof over my head and food on my table. Some that fill me with gratitude every day, like my wife and children, and some I feel lucky for, like being born to loving parents in the wealthiest nation in the world.
To that last point, there are some things we can’t control – like the past, or organizations and institutions so large and corrupt that they take on a life of their own. That’s why the biggest thing I’m thankful for in this moment is the freedom of speech and The Vashon Loop for allowing me to share my ideas with my community.
I grew up on Vashon, graduated VHS in 2003, and then escaped the Island’s black-hole-like pull for a couple of decades, building my career, exploring the world, and (hopefully) growing as a person. After the disaster that shut down our country for two years and feeling all kinds of fear and insecurity, I brought my family back to Vashon.
The Island is special in so many ways, but most of all I love the community. The mix, personality, and size, leads to diverse views, fun events, and a place where (almost) everybody knows your name. It’s just the kind of place I want to put down – or reinforce – roots.
Therein lies the problem. Home ownership has become increasingly difficult to achieve. What used to be considered The American Dream has become a pipe dream for many. Historically, the average home in the US cost about three times the average annual income; it is now seven times.
As it gets harder for people to enter the housing market, the wealth gap widens. At the same time as housing has been blown into a bubble, other assets owned disproportionately by the wealthy – such as stocks and bonds – have also been inflated through currency creation, manipulated interest rates, and other central planning mechanisms, rather than allowing the free market to adjust.
Assets rise and fall in value for many natural reasons. But when the Fed began creating currency at rates never seen before to help (or paper over) the housing crash during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008, these assets abnormally skyrocketed in price. All the while, people said there was no inflation.
Prices were going up, just not at the grocery store. Newly created currency blew bubbles into these assets, and the Fed has been blowing them bigger ever since – with a few bumps as the free market fights back. Those who were smart or lucky enough to own these assets gained tremendous purchasing power.
Alas, the chickens must come home to roost. Unsustainable government spending, exponential currency creation, and derivatives of real assets (think stock options) have created a fragile system, a house of cards just waiting for one wrong touch. We even invented a new “asset” called cryptocurrency, which served as a pressure relief valve to the tune of $3 trillion.
If I’m thankful for my voice here; I’m thankful for anyone who reads it. I’m also an amateur fantasy writer, and people seem to be having a difficult time distinguishing between reality and fantasy these days –understandably, in a world of such high technology. I believe it wise to think very hard about what is real.
The US dollar is not real money. If the tool we use to measure value of all other products and services in society isn’t real, then prices lose meaning. The dollar has lost 99% of its purchasing power since the founding of the Federal Reserve in 1913. They are working hard to evaporate the last 1%.
Maybe I’m just a man with a hammer, so everything looks like a nail. But if The American Dream is to return, I believe it will come on the back of sound money – that’s gold and silver.
Another sentiment drilled into every American (I hope) is the concept of life, liberty, and property. It took me a while to understand why property (or estates) was included in John Locke’s “Two Treatises of Government” (a foundational work of liberalism which rejected the monarchy), but my education in sound money gave me perspective: If you can’t leverage your hard work for a better life, why bother?
“You will own nothing and be happy,” then, does not make sense. Property is part and parcel to our happiness. The ability to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor is essential to a peaceful and prosperous society. Our Founding Fathers knew this, and their translation of “property” became “the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence.
I don’t think I will persuade anyone at the Fed, but I’m thankful to live in a country founded on principles so wise and true that I can see through the smoke and mirrors to what is real. What else can I do? I can work hard, cooperate with others, and share my vision for a better future.
There are two ways to own the nicest home in town: You can build it, or you can tear the others down. We can build more together than apart. Let’s (continue to) build something to be proud of, together.
Thank you, Vashon.
