Editor's note: This is the 3rd in a series of letters being sent daily to PM Stephen Harper by Ms. Wild. All letter sent by Ms. Wild will be posted in a new section here on The Cumberlander called "Dear Stephen". Click HERE to access it.

Dear Stephen,

May I call you by your first name? As I begin my third letter to you, I feel a developing friendship. You may call me Teresa, if you like.

I have just finished watching (for the second time), the movie "Oh Canada", and I am once again struck by the strange situation we have found ourselves in. We, as in The People of the World.

Somewhere back in the distant past, some very wily folks made up a banking system where they came up with the idea of usury. Many wiser folks saw the evil in this idea, but the proto-bankers hired some proto-propagandists to convince everybody that keeping their gold on their necks or under their mattresses was just inviting thieves, and that it was much safer to keep it these "banks". After enough gold was turned over to these banks, the bankers started lending it out in small amounts, even lying about how much they actually had. They could see that people were sufficiently paranoid that they would never demand a complete withdrawal of their gold, and that they could tell everyone that they would lend out "money" whenever the need arose, but a small percentage would need to be paid back to the banks for the "service". They printed out notes representing the gold, so they didn't even have to part with it at all, and these IOU notes were only good in their banks. The idea really took hold, and soon the banks were lending out way more than they actually held in the vaults.

Now, right there, I think this was the end of sustainable economies. Logic would tell us that, because money is only a symbol of wealth, and not a real commodity, a medium of exchange of real goods only, that making money on its use is "money for nothing". How long can you actually fool the People into accepting this idea? Well, as it turns out, several hundred years. It is a pyramid scheme, really. As long as there are new people joining the ranks of depositors, and the banks hold onto most of it, passing out loans and charging interest, the illusion of wealth can be maintained. But wait, there is more!

The banks were lending out way more than they actually had in the vaults, however. No one really questioned how much real stuff (gold) was actually there, because everyone had accepted the idea that the paper IOU notes issued by the banks was real wealth. It was decided that there would be a limit to the amount that could be lent out on the actual stuff held in the vaults, to give the money "value". The actual stuff was called the "reserve", because it was held in reserve, so the bank could still maintain that it was providing a banking service managing cash and assets. For a long time they lent out ten dollars on every one that they held in reserve. This reserve system had a a set lending proportion, as I understand it, up until the 1980's, when the limits started to be extended, and then, virtually removed all together. Now the banks could actually lend out imaginary money! So, I ask you this, Stephen, why, in heaven's name don't we Canadians make up our own money? It's a no-brainer!

Well, I know you and almost all the other politicians believe that keeping these big banks, most of them international, is what keeps the world economy running. But I am telling you that we the People, the ones who have been sold this banking paradigm, are actually the ones who are keeping it all running by exchanging this imaginary money for real things, like the sweat of our labours, to be exact. The bankers are doing nothing but creaming off the profits of this scheme, and living the life of the rich and famous. Very little of it gets shared, as the poverty levels will show. The real economy is about commodities, and the money economy is about bankers--their investments, their profits, their crashes, their failures. None of this has a lot to do with the real world.

Now I know this is just a simplification of a very complex concept, but sometimes, when you live in such a mess as the "economy", you lose sight of the simple facts of it. That is why I am sharing this viewpoint with you. I am also saying that I see through it. I no longer want to play this debt game. I am sick of living "beyond my means", yet below the poverty line. The elitists of the world, the ones that think they deserve more than most everyone else, would have me feel guilty for just wanting a roof over my head, and three meals a day, while they worry about how they are going to take over the bank next door. I hope they choke on their caviar... I've never really tasted caviar. What is it like, Stephen?

I urge you to bring our money system back to the Bank of Canada, if you really want to help us out of this economic crisis. If you need currency, print it here at home, and lend it interest free. And make sure that the paper notes represent real stuff, which we have lots of, by the way...at least we did have, before you representatives sold it to the international banks in exchange for their worthless chips, so you could play their poker games. On and on....

Sorry, but this makes me mad. You folks in government have really lost sight of what is most important in life. Wealth is not money. Have a good day.

Sincerely, Teresa Wild