Non-fiction books about the monetary system and banking rarely sell well. Most people don't read them. Focusing on the perils of fractional reserve banking has never successfully reached Mr. and Mrs. Average American. Fractional reserve banking has so much complexity and inscrutability that the average person just gives up.

I took a different approach. I decided not to emphasize fractional reserve banking at all. Instead I broke the whole issue down to two, very simple concepts:

1. Debt-Based Money
2. Legalized Fraud (which takes three main forms)
   1. Banks lending money that does not belong to them
   2. Banks lending money long-term using short-term money
   3. Banks or governments issuing paper and electronic money in greater quantities than they possess in commodity money (such as gold or silver)

I contend that these two concepts... debt-based money and legalized fraud... caused every financial crisis, panic, recession, and depression the United States has ever suffered, including the present crisis.

Banks have long loaned out money that does not belong to them. Checking, savings, CDs, and money market accounts belong to the customers, not to the banks. Lending them out without the express permission of the owners of that money is fraud. If you or I do that, we get arrested, while bankers get rewarded for the same behavior.

Similarly, banks have for generations loaned money long-term (mortgages, business loans, car loans, etc.) using short-term (checking, savings, CD, money market) funds. This kind of lending policy must eventually lead to disaster, and it always does in the long run.

Finally, both banks and governments have a long history of debasing their own money supplies. This is why we need to make it illegal to issue money that is not 100% backed by precious metals or other commodities that are easily convertible and retain their value over time.

That's the message I want to implant in every human consciousness in America. If we can get everyone talking about legalized fraud and debt-based money, I know the entire debate about the financial crisis, the monetary system, the Federal Reserve System, and how to fix the problem will change dramatically... in favor of the freedom movement.