article : kill yourself for digits on a computer screen.
You work all your life for money which doesn't actually exist...this is the Illusion that is Money.
If you have a millions pounds, you can lend it to someone. If a bank has a million pounds, it can lend up to ten times that amount and charge interest on it. Therefore you have a scenario of only one million pounds in actual, physical existence, but somehow (?!) the bank is now owed over ten million pounds! Where did the other nine-plus million pounds come from? From an illusion created by the bank, that's all.
When you borrow money from a bank, the bank doesn't go and print new notes, or mint some new coins. The clerk behind the counter simply types figures into a computer screen - that's all. From that moment, you are legally bound to repay back the bank what never existed in the first place. Some say that the figures on the screen represent the value of gold or silver. If that's the case, does the bank have somewhere, a big store full of gold and silver which would total up to the amount of paper money/computer digits they say they have? Of course they don't. The paper money/computer digits are nothing but an illusion.
Now the frightening scenario happens when you can't pay back to the bank this pile of imaginary money (digits on a computer screen) you borrowed in the first place. The bank can now come along and take away your wealth which actually does exist - your house, your land, your car, whatever totals up to the value of how much nonexistent money you borrowed from them in the first place, along with the interest on that imaginary money.
"I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of......"
On a bank note it states "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the
sum of......". What that means is, the bank has pledged to the holder
of that note, that on demand, they will give to the holder, the value stated
on the note in gold or coinage. A bank note is merely an IOU
Therefore you are perfectly entitled by law, to ask for your bank account's
total value to be paid to you in gold or coinage - it states it on all bank
notes and is authorised by the Chief Cashier of each bank. So, that means
that everyone is entitled to have their money given to them by their bank,
in gold or coinage. The only problem is, there is nowhere near enough gold
or coinage in circulation to honour these pledges, which means in effect,
the paper money is worthless.
If you want some entertainment, I suggest you ask your local bank for a £10
to be paid to you in Gold. The look on the young clerk's face will be all
the entertainment you should have for one day.....
Here's
what the Bank of England states....
Legal Tender and the Promise to Pay Legal Tender
The concept of legal tender is often misunderstood. Contrary to popular opinion, legal tender is not a means of payment that must be accepted by the parties to a transaction, but rather a legally defined means of payment that should not be refused by a creditor in satisfaction of a debt.
The current series of Bank of England notes are legal tender in England and Wales, although not in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where the only currency carrying legal tender status for unlimited amounts is the one pound and two pound coins.
Promise to pay
The "...Promise to pay the bearer the sum of ..." on Bank of England notes has nothing to do with legal tender status. The promise to pay stands good for all time and means that the Bank will pay out the face value of any genuine Bank of England note no matter how old.
The promise to pay also holds good for damaged notes, as long as enough of the note survives to prove that it was genuine and no previous claim for it has been received. The Bank's mutilated notes department receives some 25,000 claims a year for anything from fire or water damage to notes eaten by all manner of household pets.
A
Brief History of Banknotes
The first recorded use of paper money was in the 7th century in China. However, the practice did not become widespread in Europe for nearly a thousand years.
In 1694 the Bank of England was established and almost immediately started to issue notes in return for deposits. The crucial feature that made Bank of England notes a means of exchange was the promise to pay the bearer the sum of the note on demand. This meant that the note could be redeemed at the Bank for gold or coinage by anyone presenting it for payment.
These notes were handwritten on Bank paper and signed by one of the Bank's cashiers. They were made out for the precise sum deposited in pounds, shillings and pence.
During the 18th century there was a gradual move toward fixed denomination notes which by 1745 were being part printed in denominations ranging from £20 to £1,000. In the latter half of the century gold shortages caused by war and revolution led to the production of £10, £5, £2 and £1 notes.
The first fully printed notes appeared in 1855 relieving the cashiers of the task of filling in the name of the payee and signing each note individually. The phrasing "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ..." was introduced at this time and remains to this day.
In 1833 the Bank's notes were made legal tender for all sums above £5 in England and Wales.
Time for thought.
Don't kill yourself for digits on a computer screen.