Takeaways & Timeline

This timeline shows how the modern financial system developed over time, from wages and banking to retirement plans, credit, and Wall Street dependence.

The goal here is not blame, it's to understand it, take personal ownership, and build a strategy with more control.

Key Financial Events 

Chapter 1: The Capture of Wages (1913–1944)

• 1913 Federal Reserve created 

  • Created debt fueled machine that gradually decreased the financial power of average Americans 

  • 1913 Income Tax integrated via the 16th Amendment; capturing more of Americans' wages 

• WW1 all countries used the gold standard; one could turn in gold for money

• 1929 Stock Market Crash / Great Depression

  • Contributing factors include the Federal Reserve bailing out the Bank of England from war debts 

• 1933 FDR enacted "emergency action", executive order 6102; all Americans were forced to turn over their gold; faced prison or fees if they did not

  • Order executed to help with outfall of great depression

• 1935-1937

  • Planning and execution of Social Security; further capturing American wages 

Chapter 2: The Capture of Retirements (1944–1971) 

• 1944 Bretton Wood Agreement

  • After WW2, everyone shifted to the American dollar backed system; a Country could still turn in $35 for an oz of gold

  • Only the central bank could turn gold in for money; the people could no longer do so

  • The ability to turn some money in for gold would keep the US in check; if US printed too much money and got too inflationary, people would sell for gold and it would stabilize

• WW2 Finances 

  • During World War II, the US government gained extraordinary control over the financial system. Wage and price controls meant employers couldn’t freely raise salaries, so companies began offering pensions as a substitute benefit to attract workers.

    • After the war, this pension model expanded, and by the 1950s–60s, pensions were the dominant form of retirement savings. 

• 1965 Medicare & Medicaid launch

  • Capturing more of Americans funds to leverage

Chapter 3: The Plunder Continues with Savings (1971–) 

• In 1971, Nixon cut the gold standard; no one could turn in dollars for gold

  • This was fueled by the deficit from the Vietnam war and the social welfare programs

  • This triggered an inflation spiral; we could print with no limit; no one was going to control inflation via turning in dollars for gold

• 1978 Creation of mutual fund infused retirement accounts (401k in 1978; IRA 1974)

  • Corporations found pensions costly and risky. Enter government-approved retirement accounts (IRAs in 1974, 401(k)s in 1978), which shifted responsibility from employers to individuals—while still keeping retirement dollars locked inside Wall Street’s system

  • People were nudged to put their retirement/savings accounts in Wall Street by the creation of IRAs & other retirement accounts; Wall Street leverages these funds out and if the investment fails, they are bailed out by the Federal Reserve (eventually paid by via the taxpayer)

• 1979 FTC & organizations deliberately slang mud at whole life insurance saying it’s a bad asset & tool to shift Americans allocations to Wall Street; added fuel on the fire for the hatred of the concept

  • UL came in as ties to the stock market were booming; UL was predatorily marketed leading many to lose money. The infinite banking leverage concept is supposed to have a solid, secure foundation for leverage, NOT the stock market as UL, VL, and VUL build upon. 

    • After 1971, life insurance was seen as less stable since it was paper-money backed; wisdom shifted to "put your savings on wall street"

  • 1950, 19% of individual savings was in life insurance, then in 1985 it drooped to 2%, while stocks was 13% in 1985

  • Government causes a problem, says they have the solution to the problem which ends up capturing your wealth

• 1986 Tax Reform 

  • New codes made to taxes; cut rates drastically; went from 15 tax brackets to 2 tax brackets

  • Limited deductions on real estate & many other inflation shelters -> also, you couldn’t reduce active income with your passive real estate losses! (only real estate agents can do this now)

• 1987 Black Monday happens; due to rolling deficits from War & social programs, tax code 1986 reform, and more; 1986 reform lead to real estate becoming less valuable

  • Triggered move for the rich to go back to whole life insurance for something stable & guaranteed

  • 1980s recession triggered due to the removal off the gold standard

• 1988 TAMRA ACT Government enforces more strict regulation around life insurance as people we abusing the system; enforced the MEC standards; reduced the tax advantages of whole life policies

  • Once policy is a MEC, you can't undo it -> essentially limits how much money people could put into whole life polices

  • 7 pay test: enforced policies not to be paid up in less than 7 years

• 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley decision 

  • Ends Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (separated commercial banks from investment banks), unleashing megabanks and setting stage for 2008 financial meltdown

Key Takeaways 

• 1913 → Wages Captured

The creation of the Federal Reserve and the income tax gave government and bankers a permanent claim on Americans paycheck. From day one, your earnings were no longer fully your own.

• 1940s → Retirement Capture Foundation Laid 

Social Security, wartime finance, and eventually Medicare & Medicaid redirected future savings into government hands. Promises of “security” masked the fact that your retirement was no longer self-directed.

• 1970s–1980s → Savings & Retirement Captured

The end of the gold standard and coordinated attacks on whole life insurance shifted Americans into Wall Street products. Mutual funds, 401(k)s, and IRAs became the “only” socially acceptable way to save—putting your future at risk in paper markets you don’t control.

• Post-1980s → Banking Overreach

Deregulation, rolling deficits, and the rise of megabanks forced Americans further from guarantees and deeper into financial products that benefit Wall Street first. The banking function itself was taken from individuals and centralized into an unstable, debt-driven system.

History shows the system was designed to capture your wages, retirement, and banking function. At Generational Growth, we train you to escape that capture and reclaim control

What To Do About It 

• Take ownership. Stop waiting on the government or Wall Street to fix things—they built the walls in the first place.

• Learn the system. Understand how money flows, how policies work, and where the traps are. Knowledge turns frustration into strategy.

• Build your vault. Redirect dollars into a system you control—whole life designed for infinite banking. It’s your foundation of guarantees.

• Leverage, don’t gamble. Use your vault to fund real assets—real estate, business, and opportunities you can touch. Skip the paper casino.

• Think generational. This isn’t about short-term hacks. It’s about building a financial system that outlives you and strengthens your family.