Peter Koenig and Thomas Moore recognize the problems of an indebted nation. They've seen the problems first- hand.

Koenig served as a World Bank economist for 30 years, where he specialized in water resources and witnessed the bank indebting developing countries at the hand of multi- national corporations. And Moore served as a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, a Pentagon official during the Reagan administration, and a policy director at The Heritage Foundation.

Moore believes our pillars of society are broken and beyond repair from education to our ruling two- party system, which many people say isn't really made of two distinct parties any more. He talked about these problems at a June 27 Patriot Expo in Columbia, where Koenig also spoke. "Follow the money," said Moore. "The system goes to the highest bidder."

And Koenig said the U.S. is no longer of the people, by the people, and for the people. It's ruled by the corporate elite, he said, even the office of the U. S. president is a servant to corporate interests.

Koenig is also critical of the Cap and Trade legislation that passed in the U. S. House in June. He said the legislation would lead to a "carbon futures" bubble, where corporations profit from polluters who buy carbon credits to offset their own over- pollution. "The Western economy is an economy based on bubbles," he said. But no matter who profits from these bubbles, and no matter who is caught holding them when they burst, they benefit corporate interests.

Koenig said he respects the environment, but strongly opposes "sucking dollars out of your pocket for a system that is not going to work." Instead he suggested conservation projects such as incentives for reducing emissions. These alternatives don't benefit Wall Street, he said.

Though the system is flawed, Koenig has hope. He offered suggestions to solving our problems with debt and to helping other nations indebted by the World Bank. In addition to avoiding the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the bank's sister organization, Koenig identified education as a solution to the cycle of debt. "If you are informed," said Koenig, "you know what's going on and you can stand up for your rights."

Moore echoed the need for education. "No one is more greatly enslaved than he who is enslaved, but believes he is free," he said.

A free people must have access to nutritious food. Moore talked about his concerns with corporations interfering with our ability to eat well. Monsanto is one corporation that some critics say interferes with this ability. The company is known for patenting seeds, genetically modifying food supplies, and creating hybrid seeds that don't reproduce reliably.

But Moore has developed the Southern Institute for Sustainable Living, a non- profit organization that develops heirloom seed stocks and plans to teach people how to grow their own food supply.

Today, Moore and Koenig both educate people through their writing.

Koenig's latest book, Implosion,

is based on his experiences with the World Bank and on the ways he has seen the bank exploit developing nations' natural resources.

Moore wrote the novel, The

Hunt for Confederate Gold,

which revolves around this question—what happened to the Confederacy's gold reserves in 1865? Readers can find out more about these stories or purchase them at amazon.com.