Money, money, money, what is going on with the money? Where are the two+ trillion dollars coming from that are funding the Care’s Act and other bailouts are funding? Knowing the answers to this question is crucial, so we can make wise decisions in preparing every needful thing. 

First, what is money? It is any object that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic situation. As a general rule, there are three basic types of money:  commodity moneyrepresentative money, and fiat money. The U.S. dollar is fiat money. Unlike commodity money that has value in and of itself or representative money that represents something of worth, fiat money has no intrinsic value. Its only perceived value is that which the U.S. Government says it is worth. That is until the people no longer believe that it has any value.

History provides us with a view of the cycles that fiat money goes through. Dinar Dirham has written a concise description of these cycles. In his essay “The Rise and Fall of Fiat Currencies,” he refers to a study of 775 fiat currencies. The average life expectancy of a fiat currency is 27 years. The oldest fiat currency is the British Pound which has been around for 319 years. The problem is that it has lost more than 99.5 percent of its value. Now it can only purchase 1/200 or 0.5% of its original value.

In America, during 1933 the US Government started to abandon the gold standard and totally disconnect from it in 1971. President Richard Nixon was responsible for that change. From 1971 forward our purchasing power of the dollar began to erode at an ever-increasing rate. In 1933 the average cost of a loaf of bread was 9 cents, in 1971 it was 25 cents. Today it is $3.50. Today’s dollar has approximately 2 ½ cents worth of the purchasing power it had 87 years ago. 

The problem lies in the fact that when we lost one penny of purchasing power in 1971, we lost less than 5% of the purchasing power. Today, when we lose that one penny of the original purchasing power, we will lose 40% of our remaining purchasing power in a matter of days. This is called hyper-inflation. So, what is the cause of this inflation? It is the government putting more money into circulation that has no intrinsic value. Today, they create more money with just a computer entry. This is a simple explanation of a complex house of cards. The cards are falling with all of the money being created out of thin air. Without any intrinsic value, creating more money just devalues the money until the population loses confidence in that medium of exchange and refuse to honor it anymore.

An example: If you have 100 seats on an airplane and you sell those seats for $100 each, you have created a viable exchange rate. There is an established value for each ticket. Now, if you start selling more tickets than seats, people will stop paying the $100 per ticket, because they no longer can trust that a ticket will ensure a seat on the plane. In fact, when you realize that they are now selling over 2,500 tickets for only 100 seats, you will refuse to do business with them. As with the U.S. dollar, there has been so much money created with no backing, and you take in to account all of the debt associated with it, we can now see history repeating itself over and over. The United States is financially headed, via inflation, the way of WWII Germany with their wheelbarrows of money to buy a loaf of bread and modern-day Venezuela where they have a shortage of bread and other foodstuffs.

The by-product of this inflation is the ongoing erosion of savings accounts and retirement accounts. Another by-product will be that the cost of necessities, such as food and fuel will skyrocket. The pandemic has provided the perfect storm to collapse the food production supply chains and the bankruptcy of many of our energy suppliers. The banks and financial institutions that rely on the paper currency will erode to nothing. History has proven this with all fiat currencies. 

 

One solution would be placing one's resources into food-producing properties that rely on solar or wind power. These and other sustainable energy sources will become the gold standard of the future. Those who control the food sources will control the populace. I highly encourage individuals and families to become truly independent food and other resource producers, with the goal of making more than they consume.

God speed,
Philip J. Gleason
Director

THURSDAY, APRIL 30 @ 7 PM MST

THE BASICS OF COWS

Why would owning cows be beneficial?

Are different breeds for different things?

What does cow ownership really entail?

You've got questions, and we've got answers! Join us this Thursday!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR OUR LIVE WEBINAR*

*Please note that after you register, you will receive an email invitation with a website link and info with instructions on how to view the live webinar.

Do you have a gift, talent or experience with being self-reliant that you could share among us?

If so, we invite you to submit an article to be published in the Academy Newsletter. To help you submit your article, Coleen Gleason, one of our editors, will be happy to assist you. You can contact her or send your articles to her at coleen@academyosr.com. Upon review and acceptance, you will be notified when your article will be published.

Thank you for sharing!

Here's what we've got going on!

Want to learn how to achieve greater self-reliance in our 250-family modern homesteading community? Then check out our Intro Meetings where we discuss what you can do, and where to start!

Would you like a personal tour of the site of a 250-family homestead community being built on the Utah OSR Land Co-op's 1,245-acre Riverbed Ranch in Juab County, Utah? Then join us for our Munch & Mingle Tour! We'll show you what we're doing now, and what we have planned for the future!

For more details and information about each of our events, click the button to visit our Events Page.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR UPCOMING EVENTS

Join us this June for our very first tree planting event!
 
There are several projects happening at the Riverbed Ranch involving planting trees and shrubs to begin regenerating the soil and providing forage for bees in areas around the Welcome Center, the 40 acre Special Projects Center (The Academy Campus, Rescue Home, Therapy Barn, etc.), and eventually the future Green Belt/Waterway. Initial planting projects will begin where water is already available to keep plants alive, and many plants and cuttings are already being gathered to get this started!
 
In mid-June, 2020, we will be inviting OSR shareholders AND the interested public to come to the Riverbed Ranch for a 1-day mass tree planting event. The primary goal of this 1-day event is to plant 2,020 trees and shrubs in one day, and of course, the secondary goals include socializing and gathering public interest in regenerative agriculture and the mission of the Academy of Self-Reliance and Utah Land Co-Op!
 
Crowdfunding and Advertising campaigns are launching soon to gather funds and participants. There is additional help needed, of course! Below is one specific role we are looking to fill, but of course this 1-day event will only be accomplished with many helping hands.

Please contact Sarah Vezzani at loftium4@gmail.com if you are interested in filling the below role or would like to help in other ways.
 
POINT PERSON NEEDED FOR DAY-OF FESTIVITIES:

Responsibilities include planning and coordinating the people-related logistics of the day: checking participants in, distributing water bottles and T-shirts, directing families to different stations (rest areas with snacks, bathrooms, baby changing/feeding area), ensuring everyone has necessary equipment (and training if needed!) to help out, organizing activities for younger children, and entertainment (can simply be music playing - we have a volunteer for supplying the sound system)

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Have you heard? We're building a ropes course!

The Academy OSR Ropes Course will offer a unique series of team-building exercises that will have a variety of activities and programs that will challenge you, your friends, family, coworkers, and teammates to master challenges and conquer fears.

This state-of-the-art facility incorporates a continuous belay system that provides for maximum safety as participants learn and internalize concepts such as:

• problem-solving   • leadership skills   • communication   • self-confidence

. . . and so much more! We truly believe this will bless the lives of the young, and the not-so-young. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

GRANT UPDATE: We have completed the preliminary two steps necessary to qualify for committee consideration for a grant from the State of Utah for the Ropes Course. We finished the application and the final committee will meet May 6-7 to determine who will be awarded for this year.

Are you on social media? Then let's connect!

We'd love to have you join our Facebook Group, where we post about upcoming events and meetings where you and your friends can learn more about what we're doing! It's a great and easy way to help spread the word!

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

We are in the process of providing a discount for solar-energy equipment.  We have selected Sol-Ark as a supplier.

To increase our discounts, we are needing to combine our purchases.  We can get improved discounts if we place an order for 10 or more units.  And at 20 or more units, we receive an even larger discount.

If you are thinking of purchasing solar-energy equipment, whether for your new home, existing home, friend’s home, camping, etc…, please fill out our online questionnaire so that we can combine our orders and get big savings.

This is not a commitment to purchase at this time.  We are only getting a list of potential buyers. 

CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT OUR SOLAR QUESTIONNAIRE
Have a great week! - The AOSR Team
Academy of Self-Reliance
719 W 1650 N, Orem, Utah 840057
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