"Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion...when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing...when you see your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you...when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice...you may know that your society is doomed."

--"Atlas Shrugged"

Bloomberg is reporting that the US Treasury/Federal Reserve has now provided $7.4 Trillion worth of bailout money to ease frozen credit in the market even though Congress only called it a $700 Billion Bailout plan. Basic economics tells us that increasing the money supply decreases the value of the dollar. All of our savings will be eroded even faster due to this increase in the inflation rate.

According to the New York Post, "People around the world are demanding so many of the valuable coins that government mints are having difficulty filling orders." Bill Murphy, chairman of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, says "Today the public is buying gold like crazy, but the US government and the banks that hold bullion are intentionally keeping the price down."

Interestingly, the article also mentions the high level ties between the Treasury Secretary and large Wall Street banks:

"...current Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is a former Goldman chairman, as was Robert Rubin who headed the department during Bill Clinton's presidency.

And more Goldman execs are being mentioned for the Treasury job in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

Specifically, Grassley is concerned about a tax code change that paved the way for the acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo. An ex-Goldman executive was leading Wachovia at the time of that deal."

T. Boone Pickens is one of the most successful oil men in the world. He is incredibly smart and a great investor. He has a number of great ideas for America to reduce it’s dependence on foreign oil and use alternative sources of energy. Click here to watch 5 minute video where he explains how America can reduce it's dependence in the next 10 years.

The BBC is reporting that China now has more than 253 million people on the Internet, compared to 223 million people in the US. This is more than any other country. About 95% of Chinese net users have a broadband connection. The penetration of Internet users in the US is 71%, but only 19% in China.The Chinese economy is about the size of Germany's economy which makes it the 3rd or 4th largest after the US and Japan. As the average standard of living for the masses in China increases, China will have the largest economy in the world in a few years.

Bill Phillips spent nearly 50 years in the US oil and gas industry; most of his career was with the Phillips Petroleum Company. Bill is a descendant of Frank Phillips. Frank Phillips, along with his brother Lee Eldas (L.E.) Phillips, Sr., founded the original Phillips Petroleum Company in 1917 in Bartlesville, OK. Do you remember Phillips 66 gas stations? Phillips Petroleum Company merged with Conoco, Inc. in 2002 to form the current ConocoPhillips oil company.

So, when Bill talks about oil and gas issues, listen very closely. You will find Bill's thoughts and facts very revealing, very compelling and very difficult to argue with. Click the "read more" link to read Bill's explanation of the current price of oil.

Economist Jeff Thredgold thinks that the high prices in oil, gold, and other commodities is just another investment bubble like the previous DotCom and Real Estate bubbles. He says these bubbles are created by "monster money" from "hedge funds, pension funds, Wall Street and global commercial banks and investment firms, insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds" seeking the best returns. He predicts that commodities will rise a little higher and then fall sharply just like the previous bubbles. He also predicts that the next bubble will be in stocks again. Very interesting theories...

This website has an interesting idea for combating rising gas prices, it allows you to pre-purchase gas using a credit card and then redeem it for gas later when prices are higher. Unfortunately, it has a $29.95 annual fee for the service and of course will only provide benefit when gas prices rise.

How can we go back to a gold standard when there's not enough gold to back all of the currency?

 There is no need for an amount of gold to back the number and value of all the dollars currently in circulation. Any amount of currency backed by gold would immediately be recognized as extremely valuable. Its value can be gauged by realizing that today's price for an ounce of gold now exceeds 800 Federal Reserve dollars. Currency backed by gold would dwarf the value of the currency we are forced to use today. What is needed is a competitor--or many competitors--for the Fed dollars. Also, advocating a gold standard does not mean that gold-backed currency would be issued by a government or a quasi-government agency. The argument based on the relatively small amount of gold in the world overlooks the fact that, in the years prior to FDR taking our nation off the gold standard, a high percentage of transactions in America were compete using silver and silver-backed currency. Nor does the nation have to be committed to gold alone to back currency (although gold would be the best) because any worthwhile commodity will suffice as backing for honest currency.

The IRS has a website which will tell you how much your stimulus check will be and when you will be receiving it.

The New York Sun is reporting that some stores are beginning to ration the purchase of rice, wheat, and oil around the US. The cities mentioned are located in New York, New England, and California.

Glenn Beck had an interesting segment on CNN about the cause of the current wheat shortage.

The price of wheat is rising and the USDA predicts that our nations reserves of wheat will be at the lowest levels in 30 years by June.

NOTE: I don't normally read the World Socialist Web Site and strongly disagree with the editor's blatant plug for central state planning over free markets.

With the high price of gasoline recently, I found this article about the price of gas worldwide from CNN/Money interesting. Prices in US dollars per gallon range from $5.64 in the UK to 14 cents in Venezuela.