Déjà Vu

"History is a people's memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals."

Malik Shabazz

As the projects are destroyed and the people herded to the burbs, some never to be seen again, I remember Jackson’s charge through Georgia and Alabama and the run to Florida. As I see the rise of interest only mortgages and highly leveraged financial instruments I remember 1837.

From Wikipedia:

The Specie Circular (Coinage Act) was an executive order issued by U.S. President Andrew Jackson in 1836. It required payment for public lands be in gold and silver specie.

It was a reaction to growing concerns about excessive speculation of land after Indian Removal. Most of this speculation was being done with "soft money"; Jackson issued this order to protect the settlers who were being forced to pay much higher prices for land. As a result of this action, however, much paper money was instantly devalued, and the economy was destabilized.

The order contributed to the Panic of 1837.