By Money Metals News Service

In 1977 the Eagles spoke to us about “Hotel California.” Lyrics are here.

A few lines from the song

“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair

Up ahead in the distance I saw a shimmering light…

Then I was thinking to myself this could be Heaven or this could be Hell

Welcome to the Hotel California

Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

They’re living it up at the Hotel California

We are all just prisoners here of our own device

Relax, said the night man, We are programmed to receive,

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.”

The lines have been rewritten to fit the Federal Reserve – the hypothetical “Hotel Marriner Eccles:”

“On a dark digital highway, QE rewarding my pals

Up ahead in the distance I saw a burning pyre of debt

I was thinking to myself this should be Heaven but it’s Hell

Welcome to the Hotel Marriner Eccles

Some pontificate to remember, some lie to forget

They’re living it up at the Hotel Marriner Eccles

We are all just prisoners here of our own device

Relax, said the chairman. We are programmed to deceive

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave”

Thanks to the efforts of the Federal Reserve:

• US national debt in 1913 was $3 billion. Today it exceeds $20,000 billion. There is no plan to reduce or eliminate debt.
• Money supply has grown similarly. Debt has grown far more rapidly than the economy which must support the debt. This model is not viable in the long-term.
• The debt will never be paid in today’s dollars, and debt cannot increase forever.
• Hence the debt will default via outright repudiation or default via inflation. Both will be painful.
• Who in their right mind believes that an economy can solve an excess debt problem with more debt? The “powers-that-be” don’t want the excess debt problem solved – THEY WANT MORE DEBT!

Like the Hotel California, the debt based currency system lives on, and we can never (without a traumatic reset) leave it.

Dishonest money created by politicians and bankers is profitable for the financial elite. It may look like heaven but it is HELL for the poor and middle class. The elite want the economic skim to continue. The rest of us must protect ourselves. Gold and silver come to mind.

The econometric models that supposedly guide the Fed are reminiscent of that edited line: “Relax, said the chairman. We are programmed to deceive. You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.”

In the financial world, where actions eventually have consequences, debt is growing explosively, fiat currencies are continually devalued and currencies are issued by insolvent central banks and insolvent governments.

There will be a reckoning. The reckoning will be less traumatic if we are prepared:

1. Understand the consequences of decades of bad monetary and fiscal policies.
2. Trust hard assets instead of promises.
3. Have gold and silver safely stored in a vault.

“We are all prisoners of our own devices.”

The Money Metals News Service provides market news and crisp commentary for investors following the precious metals markets.