PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE
The Empire With
the Invisible Throne
By David Whitehead
T
he United States has a schizophrenic nature when it comes
to the word “empire.” This nation spent the first half of its
existence defending itself against imperial domination. Then
it spent the second half building an empire of its own. As a result,
Americans are not comfortable hearing their nation characterized
as an empire. Most prefer to think of their nation as a republic that
occasionally issues imperial directives to defend its interests. When
pontificating fails to persuade, the empire enforces global economic
power through a curious combination of economic and conven-
tional warfare.
America was drafted into the imperial club by the old empires
of Europe when their taste for imperial adventure was soured by
two devastating world wars. A bankrupt United Kingdom had no
choice but to relinquish its imperial role to the United States. The
Bretton Woods agreement was the formal acknowledgment of this
power shift.
The new imperial throne is invisible. There are no formally ac-
knowledged vassal states, although subordinate powers are expect-
ed to know who they are and act accordingly. And like all others
that came before, America’s empire is destined to bankrupt itself if
it holds to this course. Only the shadowy financial empires, which
control capital that builds and destroys political empires, are in a
position to capitalize most of the time.
The founding fathers sought to avoid this fate for our nation and
fought hard to keep old world imperial structures out of the Ameri-
cas. However, the Monroe Doctrine proved a complete failure as this
nation succumbed to the seduction of grandeur driven by treachery
from dark corners in the financial world. We incorporated our new
imperial position into our emerging nationalism. In the most con-
voluted way, America professed its republican values while denying
16 S o u t h B a y B u s i n e ss I n s i d e r M a g a z i n e
the actual dynamics of its empire and how it affects the rest of the
world. I think this explains many of the moral contradictions that
divide this nation politically. It also places us in a very dangerous
position. Dangerous because of the empire’s long-term implications
and more so because its existence is virtually ignored by most of the
American people.
Whose Throne is It Anyway?
The invisible empire took its current form in the early seventies.
The Nixon administration, under the orchestration of long-time
Rockefeller family colleague Henry Kissinger, re-invented what ap-
peared to be a collapsing U.S. economy. America became the spear-
head for the emerging global economic order.
During this period, most nations transitioned from self-sufficient
to interdependent. Economies that once depended on their own
sinew to leverage their resources while defending their sovereignty
through balanced trade succumbed to a system that made them de-
pendent upon one another.
Arcane monetary policy was key to the emerging order. It’s one
thing to have global reserve currencies backed by the wealth and
economic output of a sovereign nation to help stabilize the global
economy. It’s quite another to create internationalized currencies
like the Euro representing unions of less-than-sovereign nation
states. And should the shifting paradigm lead to the further inter-
nationalization of central banks to restore order to the global fi-
nancial system, a dollar that is genuinely sovereign may no longer
be possible.
To put the financial crisis facing the U.S. in perspective, Richard
C. Cook, a former analyst for the U.S. government and frequent
contributor to the website GlobalResearch.ca, recently juxtiposed
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some shocking statistics regarding the impact of the nation’s aggre-
gate debt:
“During fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Treasury is on track to pay over
$500 billion just in interest payments to finance the already-exist-
ing debt. New debt this year will likely exceed a trillion dollars. The
total debt burden on the economy as a whole could reach $70 tril-
lion by 2010, with annual interest payments for individuals, house-
holds, businesses, and all levels of government likely to reach $3
trillion out of a $14 trillion GDP that is now in sharp decline.”
First, the $500 billion in interest payments just on the existing
debt cancels out a good chuck of the $787 billion stimulus, which
by the way will accrue its own compounding interest down the
road. The trade deficit, which peaked at over $750 billion in 2006,
has dropped markedly due to the decline in demand for consumer
goods. However, the U.S. has not reported a positive balance of
trade since 1975! The reported federal deficit reached above the
$10 trillion mark this past year and will undoubtedly rise more as
the war in Afghanistan escalates. However, according to Cook, the
combined obligations of the nation are approaching $70 trillion.
This is $5 trillion more than the planet’s annual productive output
of $65 trillion! That’s why economists with the courage to acknowl-
edge the math are getting apocalyptic with their forecasts.
The Dawn of Radical Intervention
The last time the central bank forced the economy to make a radi-
cal correction on its own, it caused The Great Depression. You could
say The New Deal was the first radical intervention to alleviate this
kind of calamity. But few questioned how radical it was in 1971
when the U.S. went off the gold standard while the dollar remained
the world’s reserve currency. I personally had to do a great deal of
reading to understand why this was a dangerous position for the
U.S. economy. To be fair, I would have to say many financial experts
at the time would have had difficulty knowing why this was danger-
ous themselves without the benefit of hindsight. The financial com-
munity pushed the limits of abuse far beyond what any reasonable
person could have imagined 38 years ago.
Economies can function off the gold standard if the agency en-
trusted to issue currency ensures money supply has a rational rela-
tionship with GDP. Currency should be issued in quantities neces-
sary to facilitate commerce while retaining a stable value that also
facilitates beneficial trade free of mounting deficits.
... should the shifting paradigm lead to the further internationalization
of central banks to restore order to the global financial system, a dollar
that is genuinely sovereign may no longer be possible.
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Because the Federal Reserve is owned by private investors and
operates for profit, conflicts of interest develop at many levels that
favor ultra-wealthy financial speculators and ultimately do great
harm to the American people they are entrusted to serve. And as
the issuer of the world’s key reserve currency, foreign investment
frees the Fed from keeping the money supply closely tied to the
nation’s real productive output. Instead, they leverage the wealth
of nations who must hold dollar reserves to function in the global
marketplace. This allows the Fed to expand the money supply to
irrational levels while incurring mounting debt along the way. De-
veloping nations in turn play their currencies off those of the con-
sumer nations in the West. This radically altered the way many of
us earn our livings today.
The process the Fed uses to create money via the nation’s banking
system also creates interest, as does the leveraging of foreign invest-
ment. The debt gets packaged and repackaged again in countless
ways that make it questionable whether it can ever be repaid. The
process used to get currency into the market is more of a lending
process than a reflection of the nation’s actual wealth. Whoever
thought it was a good idea to package the debt of people and insti-
tutions operating in this kind of environment as investment instru-
ments to be sold back to many of these same indebted consumeroids
was either not paying attention or deliberately creating a massive
Ponzi scheme.
In the wake of 9/11, most people barely noticed when the Federal
Reserve bottomed out interest rates. This occurred right after the
dotcom crash at a point when the economy was due for a correc-
tion. Instead of letting some overdue austerity set things right, the
economy was flooded with easy cash. People in a position to capital-
ize speculated their way to the good life.
This is the system of the last 38 years reaching its apex and it is run-
ning out of steam fast. The current bailout strategy is more about
repackaging and expanding debt to astronomical levels, which won’t
create real prosperity. The system must change and change soon.
But to what?
Putting Humpty Together Again
First I will address what we can’t do, which is business as usual. If
we let the dollar implode, the American people will not be in a posi-
tion to regain control of our money supply and ultimately our des-
Continued on page 24
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PUBLISHER’S PERSPECTIVE
Continued from page 17
tiny. However, globalization advocates care more about the destiny
of the global economy than the national interests of any particular
nation state. This is important to note because whether it happens
after the current stimulus strategy burns out or a few years from
now—depending how long it takes for the system to completely
fail—expect people in high places to propose an internationally
controlled central banking system, ostensibly to restore stability.
For the United States, that will probably mean something like the
proposed North American Union, but they could try to disguise
this by linking existing central banks and letting individual nations
keep their currencies, at least in name.
This is inevitable because most nations of this world issue cur-
rency from privately-owned for-profit central banks based on the
1694 Bank of England model, which, operating as separate entities,
are designed to provide a money supply for self-sufficient nation
states—not the interdependent unions of nations we have become.
The U.S Federal Reserve is actually a privately-owned bank that
lends money to the government at interest. It has little or no ac-
countability to anyone except its own private investors who transact
most of their business secretly away from public scrutiny. Imagine
an internationalized central bank empowered to do the same thing
for the entire world. The potential for abuse would be enormous,
and if we find ourselves under its heels, there would be no way to
escape it.
We can’t go on forever allowing deficits to mount exponentially,
creating boom/bust economic cycles that have grown so ferocious
they are now tearing the nations of this world apart. “The [central]
bankers are on the run, feverishly trying to use the collapse of the
current system to steer us toward an ‘Amero’-style North American
currency, or a one-world private banking system and privately-is-
sued global currency that they and only they control,” Ellen Brown,
J.D., author of the book Web of Debt, recently stated in a letter to
President Barak Obama calling for a return to Lincoln’s monetary
policy of issuing currency interest-free from a U.S. Treasury that is
not controlled by Wall Street. “We the people will not accept those
solutions, however, no matter how bad things get. We demand real
solutions that empower us, not further enslave us.”
I would expect further internationalization of the central banking
system to be laid out as the only possible solution in the midst of an
enormous crisis while anyone bold enough to stand up for the au-
We don’t want central banks issuing currency for profit any more than we
want the military starting wars for profit. Fiat Money is an
instrument of law, and we get on dicey ground when we empower a
privately-owned institution to originate law from which it profits.
24 S o u t h B a y B u s i n e ss I n s i d e r M a g a z i n e
tonomy of their nation will be ridiculed and discredited. But don’t
believe there are no viable options available and don’t let the media
spin (which I expect to be brilliant wordplay at its finest) shut you
down from analyzing this. There is simply too much at stake to let
our initial fears dull our sensibilities to the that point we passively
hand our country over to the global financial system and whoever it
is that actually runs it.
Allowing globalism to flourish unchecked is not free market capi-
talism. This is what the late Georgetown University historian Car-
roll Quigley described as “monopoly capitalism.” The 1890 Sher-
man Antitrust Act, which has been curiously marginalized in re-
cent years, was implemented to prevent this sort of thing so markets
remain truly free for diverse entrepreneurial activity. It’s ironic to
note that monopoly capitalism has more in common with commu-
nism than genuine free market capitalism. In fact, laissez faire capi-
talists abhor free markets for all but themselves. If you study the
history of global financial power, it reveals the most elite among the
world’s financiers don’t care whether capital is concentrated publicly
or privately so long as it is in a position where they can control it.
“Permit me to issue and control the money of the nation and I care
not who makes its laws,” is a frequently referred to quote made in
the 18th Century by M.A. Rothschild, founder of the famous Euro-
pean banking dynasty.
Politics and Money
In the left/right political debate, we waste a great deal of time
arguing about matters of functional irrelevance while the “hidden
hand” is content to pick our pockets from either side. World Bank
Group President Robert Zoellick recently stated in a speech he
gave addressing the global financial crisis before the recent G-20
summit in London that major international banking institutions
need more power to monitor national policies. “If leaders are se-
rious about creating new global responsibilities or governance, let
them start by modernizing multilateralism to empower the World
Trade Organization, the IMF, and the World Bank Group to moni-
tor national policies,” Zoellick said. “Bringing sunlight to national
decision-making would contribute to transparency, accountability,
and consistency across national policies.”
I’m all for transparency, but here’s the problem I have with this
statement, which mirrors countless statements echoed relentlessly
in the international financial community: It is impossible to cre-
2 n d I ss u e 2 0 0 9
ate meaningful “global governance” without
marginalizing national sovereignty in the Continued from page 11
stated areas of jurisdiction. And what area torney will spend one or two hours preparing for every hour actually in the court-
of jurisdiction is more important to nation- room. This includes writing briefs and evidence motions, preparing exhibits, and
al sovereignty than domestic banking and reviewing testimony and discovery.
monetary policy? The United Nations in Trial usually begins with a conference with the judge over procedural details.
its current form is “global government lite” Next are arguments on “motions in limine” – these are vital, as they determine what
compared to what Zoellick just described. evidence the jury can and cannot see. Sometimes the case is won or lost on these
What Zoellick calls for is global govern- motions.
ment jurisdictions centered on banking Jury selection is next. The judge and both attorneys question the potential jurors
and monetary policy with real authorita- and try to strike from the panel those they feel will be unfavorable. Once a jury
tive power. In this world, whoever controls (usually of 12) is selected, the lawyers give their opening arguments, plaintiff first.
money ultimately controls everything else. The plaintiff must prove his claims “by a preponderance of the evidence” by show-
ing that his claims are more likely than not true. The plaintiff puts witnesses up
That’s why these folks don’t need to micro-
first, and the defense then gets to cross-examine them. When the plaintiff “rests,”
manage everything to influence the outcome
the defendant presents his case. After the defense “rests,” the plaintiff gets a short
of just about every decision we make. They
chance to put on rebuttal evidence.
know this well and they rely on the fact The lawyers then argue the case to the jury, and then the jury deliberates. The
most of us are unaware of their agenda and court will “instruct” the jury--that is, read largely pre-written explanations of the
tactics. The only way for citizens at large to key issues of law applicable to the case. The jury’s verdict requires a 9-3 or better
protect themselves and their nations from vote on each issue.
this closely guarded insider power is to The winning party will then have a judgment in her favor. Note that having a judg-
keep their nations sovereign and to make ment against someone is not the same as collecting a judgment from someone. If the
their governments truly accountable to the judgment debtor has no assets, there is nothing to collect. If the judgment is against
people—something they have not been for
Continued on page 29
a very long time.
It’s as crucial for governments operating
Business litigation is a long, complex process that
by the consent of the people to keep their
monetary system under their control just takes considerable time and money. The key is to
as they would control the military. We
don’t want central banks issuing currency think about your business goals and resources at
for profit any more than we want the mili-
tary starting wars for profit. Fiat money is every step in the process, and to work with a legal
an instrument of law, and we get on dicey
ground when we empower a privately- professional who understands your needs.
owned institution to originate law from
which it profits.
This means the agency entrusted to issue
currency should be a genuine government
agency and no secondary layers of interest
or debt should be tied to the money supply
itself. This would ultimately be better for
honest chartered banks, the business com-
munity and citizens at large. And if we do
this, the rest of the world will stop rolling
their eyes when we espouse our republican
values with each imperial directive. n
David Whitehead is the Publisher of Busi-
ness Insider Magazine. He can be reached by
email at Publisher@BusinessInsider.us.

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