So the universe as we know it is under threat. However, not from terrorists, cyber-terrorists, nazis, communists, anarchists, jihadists, zealots, fundamentalists, crusaders, racists, imperialists, or any of the other -ists out there. We are under threat from central bankers, global banking groups, large banks, investment banks, hedge funds, market speculators - in short big finance. Their tools? Manipulation of markets, laws, monetary policy, and stock markets.

Since the first bankers issued paper money to a king unable to control his spending, the partnership between bankers and the state has been the same. Milking the consumer like a cow through the mechanisms of interest  and tax works better today than ever. The stock-in-trade homilies used to justify the practice in the face of massive foreclosures is remarkably similar to the NRA following's statement that "people kill people, not guns". The finance community are quick to point out that most people can handle their credit in a "responsible" way. Outlawing rampant credit is therefore like banning guns. It will step all over someone's constitutional right to wreaking havoc.

So if, like guns, we just had a world awash in low-hurdle credit, we could expect the regular creation of soup-kitchen queues (like we now expect regular massacres at schools), but now the game has gone to a new level.

In much the same way as the super powers instigated an arms race that ended up in a strong potential for worldwide nuclear destruction, the financial superpowers have now created a monster which can sink us all into a post-apocalyptic hell. The printing of money for Quantitive Easing combined with the gargantuan greed of players in the economic stratosphere that is banking and financial markets has become a self-perpetuating hurricane which will leave ordinary people unable to function or partake in the essential elements that make us modern humans.

When the financial systems implode - and they will - how will electricity, food, gasoline, water, and services be delivered? If a company cannot be paid - because the monetary unit ceases to have any meaning and the customers have no way of obtaining it anyway - how can the company continue to function and sell its wares? There simply is no standardized bartering mechanism to replace money. A utility company with 5 million customers will not be able to negotiate a swap of skills, time, produce or anything else the customers may be able to offer in lieu of money.

There seems to be a dearth of meaningful solutions. There isn't enough gold to make a dent in the money in circulation, so there is no returning to that standard. Despite democracy the politicians seem too deep in the pockets of big finance to be effective. The best they can come up with is printing more money, raising taxes, protecting banks, and blaming forces they do not understand.

Here's an idea:

If a man pays you with a check, and it bounces, you won't accept it the next time. If the government (read Fed) expects you to accept its check (US Dollars) but by the time you use it (cash it) the money is worth less than when you sold your time/product/skill/asset, it means the check bounced, if only partially. The finance ecosystem predicates its greed and existence on the acceptance, by ordinary people, of its monetary instrument. If that instrument is no longer accepted, they will begin to realize they are broke and need to get a real job (which produces).

Will you be ready to stand up to big finance and their gorilla (government) when they come calling to "ask" nicely that you continue to accept their checks?