Silver Price Fixing Shows Lack of Wisdom. Valuing Resources Properly Leads to Wealth and Well-being
Embracing True Value: How Responsible Resource Management Cultivates Prosperity and Reduces Waste.
In today's world of excess, we find ourselves surrounded by ever-growing consumer products. The latest iPhone 16 and Windows 11 vie for our attention, while retail giants like Target and Walmart showcase massive TVs reaching up to 115 inches.
Refrigerators have become so large that homeowners must remodel to accommodate them. This relentless pursuit of bigger and better material possessions is driven by pervasive advertising across TV, print, and the internet, promising fulfillment through purchases.
However, as we fill our homes with these oversized items, we must question whether they truly satisfy our deepest needs. Perhaps the answer lies not in accumulating more things, but in cultivating emotional maturity, personal growth and focusing on what truly matters in life which is our interpersonal relationships.
Curbing Consumption and Materialism another way to say “Don’t be a Pig”
The stark disparities in global resource consumption and living standards are staggering:
• 85% of the world's population has never experienced air travel.
• 4 billion people live in spaces smaller than 10 square meters, less than a Western prison cell.
• A single hot tub in Breckenridge, Colorado, can use more electricity than an entire African village of 40 people.
• The United States, with only 4% of the global population, consumes 30% of the world's resources.
• Westerners own 17 times more cars and use 10 times more plastics than the poorest 4 billion people.
• In 2023, the U.S. military's energy consumption surpassed that of several industrialized European countries combined, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Spain, and Portugal.
These statistics highlight the extreme inequality in resource distribution and consumption patterns globally, raising urgent questions about sustainability and equity.
The historical pattern of resource exploitation and depletion, from ancient Rome to the Industrial Revolution and our present day, reveals a consistent theme of civilizations overestimating their resource abundance and underestimating the long-term consequences of their consumption.
In ancient Rome, the demand for bronze, an alloy of 88% copper and 12% tin, was primarily driven by military needs. The empire required vast quantities of bronze for helmets, shields, swords, chariots, and even the battering rams at the front of ships.
This extensive use of bronze, mostly for warfare, led to significant deforestation as wood was needed for smelting the metals. The Romans' sophisticated trade networks allowed them to import wood from distant sources, demonstrating both their logistical prowess and the extent of their resource demands.
During the Industrial Revolution in Britain, coal became the lifeblood of industrial growth. The demand for coal skyrocketed, with annual production increasing from 5.2 million tons in 1700 to a staggering 62.5 million tons by 1850. This massive expansion in coal use powered various industries:
Factory owners relied on coal to fuel their steam engines and power machinery.
The rapidly expanding railroad industry depended on coal to power locomotives.
Textile mills, particularly in cotton, linen, and wool production, required coal for their steam-powered machinery.
The steel industry used coal extensively in the form of coke for smelting iron ore.
As easily accessible coal deposits were depleted, miners had to dig deeper, increasing extraction costs and risks. This affected various sectors:
Factory owners faced rising fuel costs, potentially reducing their profit margins.
Railroad companies saw their operational costs increase unexpectedly.
Iron and steel manufacturers, heavily dependent on coal and coke, became vulnerable to price fluctuations.
Textile mill owners experienced rising production costs due to increased energy prices.
Today, we face similar challenges on a global scale, with energy-intensive technologies like electric vehicle manufacturing, battery production, defense industry manufacturing, cryptocurrency mining, AI, HVAC systems, supply chain strain to transport “cheap goods” for Target, Amazon, WalMart, WayFair ,construction and military operations consuming vast amounts of resources.
The moral argument that emerges from this historical pattern is clear: just as Rome depleted resources primarily for warfare and Britain exhausted coal reserves for industrial growth, we continue to allocate significant energy resources to military conflicts and unsustainable economic practices.
If gas and electricity were priced so cheaply that they seemed almost free, how would this affect consumer behavior? Consider the following scenario:
When you tell your children to turn off the lights or be mindful of the thermostat setting, what valuable lessons are you imparting?
Are you teaching them about the importance of conservation and responsible resource use?
Are you helping them understand the concept of a household budget and financial responsibility?
How might these lessons change if energy costs were negligible?
How would nearly free energy impact our daily habits and long-term attitudes towards resource consumption?
Would we be more likely to leave lights on unnecessarily, overuse heating and air conditioning, or generally become less mindful of our energy usage?
Furthermore, how might this lack of financial incentive to conserve energy affect our broader understanding of resource scarcity and environmental impact?
Would it hinder the development of a conservation mindset that's crucial for addressing global environmental challenges?
Silver and Our Finite World
The manipulation of silver prices through paper derivative trades and naked short selling by bankers and industrialists artificially suppresses the metal's value, leading to unintended consequences.
Derivatives, financial instruments deriving value from underlying assets, are used to create an illusion of silver selling off.
This intentional underpricing of silver results in its reckless and wasteful use in various industries.
For instance, thousands of ounces of silver are squandered in torpedo batteries due to its artificially low price. This manipulation distorts the true value of silver, encouraging irresponsible consumption and hindering conservation efforts. Just like your kids would never turn off lights or never be mindful of the thermostat artificially suppressed silver is the path of ruin and leads to depletion and robs future generations.
The disconnect between paper and physical silver markets, with estimates suggesting 400 ounces of "paper" silver for every physical ounce, further exacerbates this issue.
Such practices not only impact investors but also lead to unsustainable use of a finite resource.
Another Sunday Silver Sermon
This dysfunctional pattern of resource depletion, often driven by military, over-consumption, materialism and economic ambitions, calls for a reevaluation of our priorities and consumption patterns. As the Bible teaches:
"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." (1 Timothy 6:8)
"Give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." (Luke 12:33)
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." (Acts 2:44-45)
These verses encourage us to reconsider our resource use, prioritizing sustainability and shared well-being over unchecked consumption and conflict. The lesson from history is clear: we must learn to live within our planet's means and allocate resources more wisely to avoid the fate of civilizations that have collapsed due to resource depletion.
The Bible contains numerous verses that condemn excess wealth accumulation at the expense of others and emphasize economic justice. Here are three additional relevant verses:
"He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty." (Proverbs 22:16)
This verse warns against exploiting the poor for personal gain and catering to the wealthy, suggesting that such actions lead to spiritual poverty.
"Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages." (Jeremiah 22:13)
This passage condemns those who exploit workers by withholding fair wages, emphasizing the sinfulness of unjust labor practices.
"Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." (James 5:4)
James strongly criticizes wealthy landowners who defraud their workers, indicating that such injustice does not go unnoticed by God.
Usury, the practice of lending money at unreasonably high interest rates, is specifically condemned in the Bible.
Proverbs 28:8 states, "Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor." This verse suggests that wealth gained through exploitative practices will ultimately be redistributed to those who show compassion to the poor.
These teachings collectively emphasize that economic justice is not just a social ideal but a spiritual imperative. They call for a reevaluation of economic systems and personal practices to ensure that wealth is not accumulated through the exploitation of others or at the expense of responsible stewardship of resources.
Two paths lie before us, each leading to vastly different futures:
Avoid The Path of Ruin:
This road is paved with fiat money printing, quantitative easing (QE), fractional reserve banking schemes and the artificial suppression of precious metals like silver.
It's a path of short-term gains and long-term devastation, where:
• Unchecked money creation enriches a privileged few.
• Inflation erodes the savings and purchasing power of the many.
• Resources are recklessly consumed due to distorted price signals.
• War and conflict are easily financed through monetary expansion.
This path leads to economic instability, environmental degradation, and social unrest.
Choose The Path of Divine Light:
This is the beacon of hope, illuminated by humility, contentment, and wise stewardship. On this path:
• Sound money principles restore true value to resources.
• A proactive lifestyle of simplicity reduces unnecessary consumption.
• Communities thrive through stewardship, cooperation, saving resources and mutual support.
• Environmental conservation becomes a natural outcome of respecting true costs.
• War becomes less feasible as it can't be financed through monetary manipulation.
The Divine Light guides us towards a sustainable future, where we find fulfillment not in excess, but in sufficiency.
It's a path that honors the biblical wisdom: "But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that" (1 Timothy 6:8).
The choice between these paths will shape not just our economic future, but the very fabric of our society and the health of our planet. Will we choose the fleeting illusion of abundance through monetary manipulation, or embrace the enduring light of simplicity and sound stewardship?
