Politics and Religion
Debt-based money has been in existence since the first monger was called-on the pay for the fun he just had enjoyed. The concept and practice got its biggest shot in the arm with the creation of The Federal Reserve (1913) and has been snowballing out of control ever since in the form of ungodly national debt levels, many wars manifested to pay these debts and a culture of corruption now seen in nearly every nation's government.
Prior to 1913, America was able to function from the income derived from tarifs charged on goods entering the country. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 stopped the Constitutionally established power of Congress to create interest-free money and placed the strings of America's purse in the hands of the Fed, a group of 5-6 privately owned mega banks who charge the US Treasury interest against every dollar they are "authorized" by the Fed to print.
It is thus impossible to ever pay-off the interest charged by the Fed to loan us the money in circulation. Therefore, anyone using Federal Reserve Notes as a medium of exchange is an unwitting 'debt slave,' with this fiat currency losing approximately 7 to 10% of its value everytime one of the frogskins changes from one hand to another. Since the creation of the Fed, the dollar has lost 95 to 97% of the purchasing power it had before the Fed.
The Fed is history's largest Ponzi scheme and is theft on such a grand scale that Ponzi himself would blush in his envy. The income tax started shortly after the Fed started and is another example of the theft and corruption inherent in the fiat currency system. The banks owning the Fed have accrued enough wealth to pay for the finest politicians money can buy in every country usuing the Central Bank system. It is these politician who have accepted their payoffs from the bankers and are more than willing to stick it to whoever elected them by raising taxes on every possible whim in order to pay-off "THE NATIONAL DEBT" to the very people who created it out of thin air.
Iceland was recently the recipient of threats from various offshore banks to pay-up "or else." Or else usually meaning that the government receiving such an ultimatum is then expected to institute a program of austerity within their nations in order to pay the debt to the bankers. "Austerity" being a euphemism for raising taxes and confiscating the assets of previously funded pensions to give to foreign, private banks. When push came to shove in Iceland the people rebelled and said, "hold on hoss-not so fast!"
The dirty laundry went on display and it was seen that 95% of what was alleged to be owed by Iceland was actually debt owed by the large banks from all the bad risky bets they had made (mostly in the derivatives market). Icelandic voters kicked a load of shit assed politicians out of office and have repudiated much of the debt they were said to owe.
It now appears that Greece is on the verge of debt repudiation. Bankers like to hear "debt repudiation" about as much as mongers like to hear "the condom broke." Accordingly, they are reacting to new developments in Greece with the usual threats; "Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sparked criticism in Greece after saying that Greeks needed to start paying their taxes, with Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos accusing her of "insulting the Greek people." (from the CNBC article linked by Mrnogood).
In short, our governments have and are selling us and our labor to the bankers as "Articles in Commerce" in order to satisfy the bankers and to keep their own slimy asses in office.
I hope that clears it up for you a little?