Not sure if this might be a good place for the posting of general N00B-intro resources, so if I am wrong please do remove
These are a few YouTube clips and articles which have opened my eyes to how things actually work (mostly US centric because, after all, it is, and is going to be, mostly their fault).
Not specifically "Buy Silver Now" messages - more underlying education for those of us who missed out on any sort of economic education growing up (though I suspect, even if my parents had thought that something other than a piggy bank and saving 10% of each paycheque was a good idea, they would not necessarily have contemplated it in these terms);
FIAT currency, Tyranny and Presidents http://www.youtube.com/user/ConcernedCitizen9#p/u
a 3 part series looking at how the US Federal Reserve came into being and how it controls the US fiat dollar (and, therefore, everything)
Economics Simply Explained: Debt Monetization http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdVJtk4V248
following on from the above video(s), a more current look at the practical way in which the US Fed Reserve (with the full consent of the US government it would seem) continues to poke the bear
Quantitative Easing Explained http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k
following on from the above video; an explanation (in equal parts entertaining and irritating CGI character dialogue) of Quantitative Easing (which is what a lot of people on here are talking about when they say"QE" or"QE1,2 or3" ... I think)
and here is a rejoinder to that from an opposing perspective (because I was becoming very uncomfortable with listening to everyone say the same thing):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUxBDdjsCmk&feature=related
You be the judge of what makes more sense.
Wikipedia provides a bit more of an international perspective on the issue (QE is a well used economic mechanism - particularly in times of contracting economy and recession - it seems):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_easing
None of these are particularly scholarly, but I am trying to get my head around the basics of how our system works not write a PHD thesis; By this I mean that I consider these to be valid introductions to these few topics but I do not for a moment suggest that they are complete, nor even sufficient, in terms of making ones self truly 'informed'.
As I read more I will, if it's thought appropriate, put more links to pieces of interest here?
