If you had any doubts about the moral bankruptcy of the American Government, look no further than the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (“BEP”) , a unit of the U.S. Department of Treasury. Last fiscal year, BEP printed 3,000,000,000 $100 bills. That is $300 billion of printed money. As we all know, $100 bills are not used in everyday consumer transactions. They are the currency of choice for graft, tax evasion, smuggling of all types (weapons, drugs, people), gangs, terrorists and rogue nations.
The BEP claims that 90% of new bills replace old bills. I don’t believe them.
Why would the United States Government pump $300 billion of liquidity into the black market? Why would our moral government and sanctimonious politicians bankroll corruption, human trafficking, drug cartels and dictators? Is it a sly way to hide the true size of the budget deficit? Would the budget deficit have been $300 billion higher without this “golden goose” printing press? Would the Federal Reserve have been able to send $77 billion of profits back to the Treasury Department without it?
To put $300 billion in perspective, it is larger than the Greek economy, slightly less than Iran. Right now the Greek economy is threatening the future of the Euro Zone, while Iran is disrupting the status quo in the Middle East with its nuclear program. Only 32 countries out of approximately 220 economic entities tracked by the World Bank had a larger Gross Domestic Product in 2011 — so printing presses in Washington DC and Fort Worth, Texas create more wealth than millions and millions of people working and living in Egypt, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Ukraine or Nigeria. The opium trade in Afghanistan which provides 90% of the world’s non-pharmaceutical opiates is only worth $4 billion per year; hashish production in Afghanistan only brings in $100 million per year for the locals.
3,000,000,000 $100 bills deserve explanation by our government. Do we have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” or it is a front for just another corrupt elite lining the pockets of criminals, rogues and cronies.