Besides putting our grandchildren in deeply in debt, the government stimulus was an attempt to solve the economic problems of this nation by throwing money at them. Has it succeeded or failed? The answer depends on whom you listen to, but the truth is that it did both. The GDP actually rose three percent (3%) the first two quarters of 2009, but how much of this was due to the stimulus spending? The stimulus money that went to state governments got spent on small, “shovel-ready” projects and prevented massive lay-offs which had been planned for early 2009. Larger projects will not occur until early 2010, so they will not impact the economy until then.

In a recent article in The Sovereign Society’s Offshore Letter, guest writer Chuck Dolce equated the practices of the Federal Reserve, our central bank, to those of The Godfather, Vito Corleone, whom he quoted, “Give this job to Clemenza. I want reliable people, people who aren't going to be carried away. I mean, we're not murderers, in spite of what this undertaker thinks...” - Vito Corleone. It is Dolce’s contention that our banking system operated much like Mafia loan-sharking.