“It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”

- Henry Ford

Ever wonder why no one ever mentions that every time the Fed cuts rates, it weakens the dollar? Wall Street always hails this action as a positive step - a boost to the economy - but no one ever seems to mention that each such rate cut is yet another transfer of wealth from your pocket into the pockets of Wall Street Bankers and Fed members.

How can this be? It’s quite simple, really. A rate cut is generated via an expansion of the money supply - basically printing money. Bankers love this, because it provides them with more liquidity to lend out at a profit. Businesses love it for similar reasons. Yet no one speaks of the consequences: devaluation of the currency.

Consider this - the last time the Fed cut rates, did you get a raise? How about the time before that? Or the time before that?

Chances are the answer is no. In fact, the opposite is most often true. How can that be? Well, let’s say you earn $75,000. The Fed cuts rates, and your salary remains at $75,000. Yet because the fed has devalued the dollar via its actions, that $75,000 is actually worth less than it was before.

There’s no better example of this than the price of gas. Gas has gone up 300% in recent years, right? Yet if you price gas in gold, it has been flat for over a decade. Gas has not actually become more expensive, the dollar has gone down. And when the dollar goes down, so does your salary. After all, who cares if you earn $100,000 a year if a potato costs $1000?

Look at the staggering pace at which prices for every day essentials like gas and food are going up. Food is up 15% so far this year, and it’s only getting worse. Yet on May 1, the Fed chose to exacerbate the problem by cutting rates yet again.

The next time you see news of a rate cut, and watch as the stuffed suits celebrate, I want you to repeat the following mantra to yourself: “I just got a pay cut.” Because you did, along with every working American. And all of that money went straight into the pockets of those same stuffed suits that are trying to convince you that this is a good idea.

It is imperative that the American people educate themselves about the monetary system, and understand how near we are to a total collapse, because nothing will change unless we demand it.

How cool is this?

In case you’ve had your head in the sand today, there has been a massive world-wide sell-off in stocks, spreading from Europe to Australia, Canada, and elsewhere. While the U.S. markets took the day off (Happy Birthday, Dr. King - we sure could use your help right about now), overnight futures in U.S. indices have taken a massive beating.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the old Chinese curse: “may you live in interesting times.” Well, tomorrow looks to be a very interesting day indeed for the markets. Chicken littles all over the Internet are forecasting “Black Tuesday,” a massive market crash the likes of which we haven’t seen in a generation. Meanwhile, Ben Bernake has been frantically pressuring overseas central bankers to inject cash into the markets tomorrow to prevent that very scenario. He might even turn on the printing presses and funnel funds into the market to help maintain some artificial strength.

The upshot is, while no one knows for sure what will happen in the markets tomorrow, one thing is clear: the U.S. economy is starting to show its soft underbelly, and the steps the Fed is taking to mitigate the problem will only serve to exacerbate its true source - overindulgence in cheap liquidity.

So whichever way the wind blows, the best strategy will be the same - the same as it has been for some time now. Hold assets with real intrinsic value that is not linked to the value of any particular currency. There are plenty to choose from - infrastructure, precious metals, and commodities, just to name a few, but my personal favorite is also the most renewable - Timber.

If there’s a broad market sell-off, I’d take a close look at timber stocks in the aftermath. Timber has already taken an unwarranted smackdown because of fears over the real estate market bust. Guess what? The U.S. is not the only country in the world that uses timber. China faces a massive shortage, and Canada’s timber producers are facing a crisis due to the Northern pine beetle. Any lull in the timber market will be temporary, and a big market crash would be a fantastic opportunity to pick up some bargains in the sector, which you can then hold forever. If you’re sitting on some uninvested cash, watch the fireworks tomorrow, then start shopping.

Further, there are a number of timber companies out there that focus exclusively on harvesting cultivated trees, and are good stewards of our forests. Cultivating trees is actually a great way to combat climate change, by the way, as the trees pull carbon from the air, which we can sink into our houses and construction projects. I know many of my fellow environmentalists are used to thinking of loggers as the enemy, but not all of them are. Stay tuned for picks of our favorites.

Stay calm tomorrow. Whatever may come, this too shall pass.

If you’re looking to invest in individual stocks, we’ve identified what we believe are the three hottest sectors of green stocks for the years ahead. Each of these sectors has experienced explosive growth in 2007, and we are confident the boom is just getting started. Rising oil prices are a great burden, but also a great opportunity, as the higher the price of oil gets, the more economical alternative energy sources become. It’s time to buy. Read Article.

The following video is likely to be the most important you will ever watch. It’s an academic lecture that explains why the current energy policy and economic growth model of the United States is unsustainable. It’s a bit technical, and there’s some math involved. Watch it anyway.

There are eight parts to this video. You can find a link to the next part in the menu that will show up at the end of this first part. (Look for “The most important video you will ever see - Part II,” and so on.) We urge you to watch all eight parts. Do it with someone you love. Do so, and you may finally begin to grasp the magnitude of the challenge that faces us.