Page 109 of The Atlas Maneuver

The silver denarius was minted for use during the first two centuries of the empire. A four-gram coin in 60A.D.was composed of ninety-five percent silver. Within fifty years that dropped to eighty-five percent silver. Another sixty years passed and the denarius was only seventy-five percent silver, then sixty percent after another forty years elapsed. By the year 270 it had been reduced to a mere five percent silver. Not long after that Rome abandoned using silver in their coins altogether, switching to bronze. Toward the end of the 3rd century, prices of goods inRome were seventy times what they were two centuries prior, most of that increase coming in just over ten years. What began as a steady devaluation became a rapid destruction of the Roman currency.

It was actually easy to debase in the beginning. Shave a little silver here. Add a few more coins there. What’s the big deal? The problem was that currency debasement is a lot like heroin. The first time you use it is the most potent. Afterward, you’re constantly trying to take more and more just to find the same high. In the end you always overdose. The same is true for currency debasement. In the end the denarius simply collapsed.

What’s shocking is the striking similarities between the Roman silver content decay and the balance sheet of any central bank in the world today. The rate of decay—or in today’s language, the reduction in purchasing power—follows a similar path. The problem with currency debasement is that it is a hard habit to kick. Even worse, those engaging in it don’t even realize that it’s bad.

They just do it.

This held true in Rome, it held true in Germany during the 1920s, in Argentina in the 1970s, and it still holds true today.

Currency debasement is a one-way street.

Downhill.

Nations today simply cannot turn off the money printers. Just last year the United States Federal Reserve printed forty percent more new money, which instantly devalued the rest of the money already in existence. This move was done in lieu of other, more painful options. If they attempt to slow down inflation by raising interest rates, within months, if not weeks, bankruptcies rise, unemployment increases, and a recession takes hold. The government, and by extension the banks, find themselves backed into a corner, which was exactly what happened in Rome nearly two thousand years ago.

No one willingly chooses inflation.

But few take the steps necessary to protect themselves from it.

The video ended.

She stepped back to the microphone. “Tonight, we will discuss the steps that each and every one of you can take to protect your nations.” She paused. “Without the problems that come from debasement.”

The group applauded.

So many before her had attempted to impose their dominance across the globe. Governments, tyrants, conquerors, syndicates, religions, corporations. All tried, but none ever succeeded.

And for one reason.

They all openly tried to imposetheirwill and desire on the unwilling. She would be doing the opposite. Providing the willing what they themselves desired.

Here that desire was simple.

They all wanted freedom from America, China, Russia, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Which was understandable. Smaller nations were treated with utter disrespect. All of them were deeply in debt. So much so that they were forced to do business with people they despised. She’d heard the same complaint from one country after another. Thankfully, she harbored no politics, possessed no ties to any ideology, and cared for nothing but the pursuit of her own endeavors. Her task was ridiculously simple. Just provide information, all true, from which others could make an intelligent choice for change.

She focused on the faces staring back at her.

Eager men and women from around the world.

The applause subsided.

“Please,” she said, “enjoy dinner and, afterward, we will discuss the future.”

CHAPTER 61

AIKO FOLLOWEDMALONE’S INSTRUCTION AND FLED THE CAFÉthrough the kitchen and out the back door. Her man came with her. He was not a PSIA-trained operative. Just local hired help. Which explained the panicked face.

“I was not paid enough for this,” he said to her in English.

She could not care less. “Finish your report.”

“I want my money.”

“You’ll get it. After you report.”

“I don’t want to die. Pay me now.”

She stood her ground.

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