Change Hard to Come By
March 5, 2008 6:35 am > MAUI TODAY, > Maui Yesterdays |
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Mother-in-Law Day
HAWAIIAN WORD OF THE DAY — Ha’awi no ka manawa: Loan PIDGIN WORD OF THE DAY— Mani: Money HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY — “Money-opihi shells from foreign lands.” HAOLE SAYING OF THE DAY — “Money is paper blood.” (Bob Hope)
WEB SURF SPOT OF THE WEEK — Greener Gadgets Design Competition WEB VIDEO OF THE WEEK — Poi Poundahz PODCAST OF THE WEEK — NPR-National Public Radio BLOG OF THE WEEK — The Huffington Post
March 5th, 1933: This was the last day for nearly a week that you could go to a bank on Maui and cash a check, or get change, or ask for a loan, or even - a not uncommon practice all those years ago - change your dollars into gold. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered that all banks be closed for four workdays as he restructured the banking laws, and in one big hurry: he had been sworn in as president just yesterday. The changes allowed quick legislation which insured all deposits through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. FDR went on radio and calmly told citizens that their money was safe, they could believe in themselves and their government, and the government would insure their money. He was so successful that, when the banks reopened the following week, deposits outnumbered withdrawals in most major cities for the first time in nearly a year.
Today, the U.S. banking system is in peril. The dollar continues to fall in value overseas, making goods manufactured outside the U.S. (which account for nearly 80% of what citizens now buy in their country) more expensive. Rising prices have created the recession now taking place.
The U.S. has long been off the “gold standard.” Richard Nixon made that change in the early 1970s.
And this year the FDIC will have its hands full. In any given year, the U.S. experiences an average of 4 bank failures. The federal government is prepared to handle twice that many, as a precaution. Several Wall Street firms have quietly been moving their capital and currency investments to the Eurodollar during the past two years. The reason? In the next 18 to 24 months it is predicted that between 100 and 200 U.S. Banks will fail.
There is no federal plan in place to deal with such astronomical amounts of lost money. The only thing the government could do is print more money, making what is already floating out here even more worthless.
I think the great social philosopher Bette Davis is appropriate to quote here, in conclusion: “Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
HISTORICAL EVENTS ON THIS DAY — March 5th- 1616: Copernicus’ “de Revolutionibus” is placed on the Catholic Forbidden index
- 1623: The first American temperance law is enacted (Virginia)
- 1770: The Boston Massacre occurs when British soldiers, taunted by a crowd of colonists, open fire, killing five people
- 1868: The U.S. Senate is organized into a court of impeachment to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson
- 1923: Montana & Nevada become the first states to enact old age pension laws
- 1924: The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Corporation becomes IBM
- 1946: Winston Churchill delivers his “Iron Curtain” speech 1953: Soviet dictator Josef Stalin dies at age 73 after 29 years in power
- 1963: Country music singer Patsy Cline is killed in the crash of a private plane near Camden, TN
- 1982: Comedian John Belushi is found dead of a drug overdose in Hollywood at age 33
BORN ON THIS DAY — March 5th
- 1853: Howard Pyle, illustrator/painter/author
- 1908: Rex Harrison, actor
- 1934: James B Sikking, actor
- 1936: Dean Stockwell, actor
- 1935: Philip K Chapman, astronaut
- 1939: Samantha Eggar, actress
- 1952: Alan Clark, keyboardist
- 1953: Russel D Feingold, Senator (D Wisconsin)
- 1955: Penn Jillette, magician
- 1958: Mark E Smith, singer/songwriter
- 1961: Dan Stuart, singer/songwriter
- 1974: Kevin Connolly, actor
- 1989: Jake Lloyd, actor
