LaRouche Addresses Town Hall Meetings: Rescuing the Future
[PDF version of this transcript]
Lyndon LaRouche spoke by simulcast to town hall meetings in Boston and Detroit on March 31. What follows are excerpts from his opening remarks and an edited selection of the questions and answers. Bill Roberts, candidate for the Democratic Congressional nomination from Detroit, hosted the event. The video is available at http://larouchepac.com/webcasts/20120331.html.
The issue here is this: We're on the verge of general warfare, thermonuclear warfare, which has to be prevented, because it would mean the virtual extinction of the human species—maybe not entirely, but virtually—which is about to be launched by Obama on behalf of the British monarchy. That's the way it goes.
We need an immediate action, which is to restore our economy to its original intention, to a fixed-exchange-rate system, and on that basis, we can be assured that this nation will survive. We're now at the point if that does not occur, we're finished.
We will also put in Glass-Steagall. Glass-Steagall is absolutely essential to prepare the way for a fixed-exchange-rate system, and we are going to, in that way, eliminate the other kinds of problems.
But the key thing that's going to make this work, is we're now in the process of launching a NAWAPA [North American Water and Power Alliance] program. The NAWAPA program which we've now prepared, in terms of a design to go with, that program will be the recovery program of the United States, and be the assurance of the existence of our United States....[1]
Our leading six candidates will not be treated as individual candidates—they will be individual candidates in this coming election; but they will also, at the same time, be a team which puts through the reorganization of the national economic system of the United States, to a fixed-exchange-rate system, a credit system, and that will be the foundation.
In order to get the credit system into order, we have to first of all re-establish Glass-Steagall. That means we will eliminate the greatest part of the Federal debt of the United States, today, which is a gambling debt! And under Glass-Steagall, as under the original Constitution, the United States does not pay gambling debts of banks or anything else. That's a key part.
The other part of the thing, is that once we establish Glass-Steagall, we will eliminate the obligations to the banks, the swindler banks that are looting the U.S. population. Those forms of banking will be locked out of Federal responsibility, which means we will have banks which are functioning; under a Glass-Steagall system. Glass-Steagall will, by eliminating debts which should not be paid, which are contrary to our Constitution, will save the nation and prevent the general collapse which is now ongoing, the blowout.
However, it will not be enough. Therefore, we have to go back to a fixed-exchange-rate system as our international policy, but we have to go back to the original system of our Constitution. That credit system will ensure our ability to launch major projects which will lead to an actual, general recovery. Without that reform, you can not have a general recovery of the U.S. economy now.
On that basis, then, we will launch a massive amount of credit, and the keystone of all this credit launching will be NAWAPA. The NAWAPA program will be the major prompting program for the recovery of the United States, under our Constitution.
Everything we're going to do should be centered on these two things. Glass-Steagall is constitutional in its character, and the cancellation of it was a crime against the nation. That's a part of our original Constitution. Going to a fixed-exchange-rate type of system, in terms of other nations, and going to the original constitutional system in the United States, would mean a general recovery for the United States.
These are the measures which must be taken. Without these measures this nation does not have a chance of surviving. With these measures, we can do just fine.
And so, I think, with that said, with this old geezer saying this, this is where we stand. You probably have a lot of questions to ask and I'll respond to them.
Dialogue with LaRouche
Q: Hello, Lyn. I have been talking with a lot of people about the need for Glass-Steagall and the Hamiltonian credit system and the National Bank, etc. Most people still follow the line that they get out of the news media. The news media does not talk about the "futures market," they use the term "speculators." A lot of people still believe that there's a stabilization in speculation, and I'm maintaining to them, that only through the credit system can farmers and manufacturers achieve parity. How can I get this cleared up in talking with them?
We Will Not Defend Gambling Debts!
LaRouche: I don't think that any person who has any competence whatsoever in economy would have any defense against Glass-Steagall! It's impossible. Not restoring Glass-Steagall would be an act of insanity.
For example, look at our system now: Look at Wall Street! Do you realize that this whole system of the United States, as long as we do not enact Glass-Steagall, the United States is hopelessly bankrupt? Do you think that there's anything to cover the debt of the Federal Reserve System? There's nothing! Do you think that Europe, or the British themselves, have any margin for actually covering their debt? Do you think that situation of the United States and of Britain, and of most of continental Europe, is any better than the case of Germany in 1923, with hyperinflation?
In the trans-Atlantic region, we're all living under the greatest rate of hyperinflation that the planet has ever known. These debts will never be paid, because they never could be paid. They're vast, and there's nothing to cover them.
The only way to do it, is to go to Mr. Speculator, the crooked banker, the Wall Street type, and say, "Gentlemen, you have your debts. You own your debts, but we don't pay any of them!" Now, that would mean, simply, a very practical measure: The United States Constitution does not pay gambling debts! If you've got a gambling debt, kiss it goodbye. Or don't kiss it goodbye, probably a better idea; just get rid of it! Never pay it!
The United States is not to be destroyed by foreign debts which are gambling debts. So without Glass-Steagall this nation can not continue to exist. Anyone who is not putting Glass-Steagall foremost, is either insane or criminal, because there's no way this nation can continue to exist under those conditions.
Now, you say, these guys are going to go bankrupt. Well, not all are going to go bankrupt, because what we will do with Glass-Steagall, obviously, is divide the debts in banks into two categories. One category which is our traditional banking. Those accounts in those banks which are not this crooked type, those honest debts, will be covered by Federal guarantees, as under Glass-Steagall originally. But other kinds of debts, gambling debts, will not be covered by the Federal government. So that means that you go to these systems, we're not going to pay 'em.
We're going to defend the banking system, that is, the commercial banking system of the United States, as we used to under Franklin Roosevelt. We'll continue to do that. The problem is this: There will be not enough wealth left in the banking system, even after we clean it up and stabilize it; there won't be enough to keep the nation going.
So therefore, we have to do something else: We have to go back to our original system, a credit system, under Alexander Hamilton's banking system, for example. Under those systems, we can issue credit—not banking deposit, but credit, U.S. Federal credit—and that Federal credit will be used to launch large-scale programs, of which the typical example would be what we're going to do with NAWAPA. We obviously are going to completely restore the intention of our space program, that must be restored. We need it, because we need defense against the things that threaten humanity from nearby space. We do have the knowledge of the technology which is required to do that. So we must defend NASA, restore it and defend it.
But the key thing is, we've got to create a project which is big enough, under a credit system, to save the U.S. economy and get the growth going again. You realize, most of you, that we no longer have any industry in the United States, to speak of. It's been shut down! When the auto industry went under, that was it! It blew everything out. We were working on this, at the time when the crisis came in the auto industry, back some years ago, and we counted all the space that was controlled by the automobile companies, all the potentialities there, and related companies, and we had a map, showing that with a Federal program designed for this purpose, we could have maintained a diminished auto industry—the debt was too much—but by transferring the production capability from the auto industry, where we had too much capacity, to other industries, which we need, for which we had the floor space, we had the people with the skills, and the technology skills who could be brought back into play, we could have had a revival of our industrial might in the United States.
That has now been destroyed! Under Bush and under this President.
So therefore, what we need is a project which will take us out of this whole problem. NAWAPA is the greatest project ever attempted by mankind! NAWAPA is fully designed; there are changes that would be added to the process, now, but NAWAPA would be a full revival of the industrial and related potential of the U.S. economy. It would also be a major focus of cooperation with other nations. It would mean the restoration of this nation. It would mean that the unemployment would stop! What's happening to our people will stop!
We're going back into a real economy, of the kind we used to have before John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and before bunch of characters up there covered up the assassination. And also, John F. Kennedy would not allow the war in Indo-China, nor would he have allowed the other wars into which we're throwing our citizens as cannon fodder, just to be murdered for perpetual wars, in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere.
We have in our power, as citizens, if we mobilize as citizens, we have the power to prevent the threatened thermonuclear war, which is hovering over humanity as a whole right now. We also have the understanding, the design, and the resources, which, if we mobilize, we can rebuild this nation and rebuild other nations in similar kinds of problems. This is a choice for us, as citizens, that we, as citizens, must mobilize to take charge of our nation once again by a popular demand for those measures which will solve this problem.
And, in NAWAPA, we have the greatest project ever attempted on this planet. It is essentially designed. It has been designed to go, for decades now, and it's been improved upon by our people who have been working on the improvements and the design necessary to bring the whole thing up to date. The greatest project that has ever been attempted on this planet is NAWAPA, and we're in a position, if we get this bum out of the White House, and get a different program going, where NAWAPA can be the key to economic revival, not only of the United States, but of other parts of the world, which can solve the essential problem that faces us today.
NAWAPA's National Reach
Q: How is the NAWAPA going to affect Detroit and the Midwest? NAWAPA is benefitting the West Coast, but how does that benefit anyone here, who doesn't just pick up and move out West to work on the project?
LaRouche: How many train and railway systems do you think are going to be required throughout the United States, as in Detroit, for example, Michigan generally, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois? How many places that used to build automobiles and airplanes and things like that, machine-tool-design equipment? Do you think that NAWAPA, which is largely in the western part of the United States, up into Canada, and up into Alaska, do you think that they're going to do this all by themselves?
Where do you think they're going to get the machine tools? We've got people in Detroit, we've got people in Ohio, we've got people in other places, who are virtually running out of the age group that they can still do machine-tool design. But they're still there; and they may not be able to work as hard as they used to, but they have the brains and knowledge to know how to teach others how to do it!
What NAWAPA will be, over a period of say, 20 to 30 years, will be the greatest project you ever saw, and every part of the United States will be involved in it. There's no section of the United States that would not benefit immensely from the installation and development of the NAWAPA program. It's the greatest project which has ever been attempted by any nation, including our own! And it would mean the immediate revival of the United States, to what it once was ... and better!
Obama and Netanyahu: British Puppets
Q: You stated a couple of weeks ago, when Benjamin Netanyahu was here to see President Obama, that they had a secret agreement, that President Obama would back Israel. Just this week, I read in the New York Times that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have come to an agreement that they do need to strike Iran. Could you elaborate on that?
LaRouche: There's no such need whatsoever. This was a British operation, these guys are British stooges, that's all they are. The majority of people who I respected in Israel—some of them are still alive, there—have opposed this nonsense as insanity. But the British interest which controls these guys, owns them—like Netanyahu, who is nothing but a puppet of the British.
So, he with the backing of various interests, including Saudi interests for example, are involved in trying to get this thing going. But the majority of the leadership I know in Israel which is reasonable—they're not always reasonable, but they're reasonable on this question—know that this is insanity, the worst thing you could possibly do.
So, the point is: This should never happen! And we hope that they would throw Netanyahu out. The guy is no good anyway! He should have been thrown out by the Israelis, because, as many of them know, he's a threat to the average Israeli. His operation is a threat. They have no need to be involved in a thermonuclear war, and that's what this is. The Israelis may not have thermonuclear weapons—they have nuclear weapons—but they have no interest in such an adventure. They're only British puppets.
I don't know how hard some of the people I know about in Israel have fought against them, but I know they've fought against them. And this thing should not be tolerated, at all.
You can imagine, if this were to happen—and most of our leading generals know this, as well as other relevant people: If you were to make an attack on Iran, by Israeli forces, do you know what would happen? What countries would be involved? Do you know what kind of weapons would be involved, not just by the Israeli forces, but by others? Do you know what the alliances are throughout Asia? Do you know what happens if this will come as a surprise attack? In other words, somebody's not going to declare war, and then march troops in, and then start to act; they will not tell you when the attack is to occur. They will not tell you! You will have no control over it. You have a President of the United States who's behind this, under British direction; the British are running it. You will not be told.
What will happen then? You will have a concateny, once the first weapons are fired, and they will be thermonuclear weapons, not just nuclear weapons, thermonuclear weapons, and the United States has the greatest concentration of these thermonuclear weapons in submarines. When these things go off, they will go off against targets including Russia and China, and possibly India, probably India. What do you think is going to happen then?
The minute those things go off, and somebody detects that this is beyond what's controllable, then you're going to have a reaction by the targeted nations, including nations which are also thermonuclear powers. Do you know how much killing is done, in a war which the United States is involved in, where thermonuclear weapons are involved, and others? Do you know how much of this planet will survive, or maybe not survive, if that thing starts?
Do you realize what's being done by the U.S. military command in trying to postpone this, since last year? And they're not sure how long they're going to be able to hold out against precisely this operation, which our President of the United States is behind. And the intention is to get the United States, under this President, to support this war! Such a war, started, with thermonuclear weapons, may not leave many living human beings on this planet, if any! That's why people are concerned about this thing. They realize what the potential is.
And you see what happened in Libya, to Qaddafi. The Qaddafi model is the model for this kind of approach, and it was done by this President, who committed a crime in launching that war.
So those are the terms you have to consider: We have a President who is prepared to unleash unlawful warfare, putting the United States itself in jeopardy by that act; involving Israel in this, as a puppet, to set the thing off. If it's set off and the target is Russia and China, and also implicitly India, and also other places, if that occurs, then obviously the U.S. Naval forces and other forces are going to launch an attack on Russia and China, with thermonuclear weapons: The minute those weapons are detected as launched, Russia and China will respond, with thermonuclear weapons! The planet will explode with nuclear and thermonuclear weapons and other things.
That's what's at stake with Netanyahu, as the trigger man for thermonuclear World War III.
Closing Remarks
Bill Roberts: Okay, Lyn. I think you've given people a lot to think about. Do you have any closing remarks?
LaRouche: The key thing I would say, as a theme: We're now in possession of the knowledge of what has to be done. There are three things to bear in mind at this point:
Number one, we have to install Glass-Steagall. If you do not install Glass-Steagall now, kiss the United States and yourself goodbye. Because you don't have a chance, unless Glass-Steagall is installed.
Glass-Steagall has limited capabilities, now, because there's so little left of the legitimate banking system, even if we protect it, that it will not give us the means to restore the economy of the United States. And people will die of hunger and other problems as a result. Therefore, we can not stop with Glass-Steagall: We must instantly install Glass-Steagall and accept no opposition to it: If you care about your life, if you care about your nation, you will insist, that every politician of relevance will either support Glass-Steagall or run away and hide someplace. And not be seen again for a long time!
Because that will be the effect: You can have a general breakdown crisis of the United States economy, modeled on what happened to Germany in 1923, hyperinflation. That's ready to go. Therefore, this must be installed; anyone who is not supporting Glass-Steagall should be impeached for failing to do so!
All right, now Glass-Steagall has limited capabilities because we have limited surviving capabilities for handling this problem. The only way we can get enough money, or the equivalent of money, to save the United States economy under these conditions, is to go to a credit system, which is what the original U.S. Constitution system was. The re-establishment of a credit system means that we will be able to generate sufficient wealth, in terms of investment wealth, in order to revive the U.S. economy.
That would mean, largely, you have two things. NASA, obviously has to be restored, because it's strategically crucial. But the big project is NAWAPA. And the combination of a national credit system and NAWAPA, will be the greatest surge for revival for the U.S. economy ever imaginable.
So we have in our hands the things required: NAWAPA, going to the credit system as such, and the program of NASA, these projects will do it. We can save this nation. And there's nothing else much worth doing, unless that's done.
[1] See "NAWAPA XXI: A Great Project To Restore the American System," EIR, March 30, 2012 [../../eiw/public/2012/2012_10-19/2012-13/pdf/04-23_3913.pdf]; for the complete report, see http://larouchepac.com/files/20120403-nawapaxxi-forweb_0.pdf
