401(k) as Dangerous as the Dollar
Jun 26th, 2009 | By Linda Brady Traynham | Category: Featured, Morning Whiskey
Prophets are famous for being without honor in their own country, and it isn’t any fun being Cassandra. We’re considered alarmist nuts until what we have foreseen comes to pass–and repulsive thereafter if we say “I told you so!”
Well, we told you so about a lot of things, including the plans that the Obama Nation has for your 401K.
To be brutal, the rape artists are moving on their plans to hijack your 401K and replace it with a handsome certificate suitable for framing which says you got a Guaranteed Retirement Account in return for one of your old, unsafe means of preparing for the grim future. Actually, I made that part up. You probably won’t get a certificate large enough to frame and hang over your computer as a constant reminder never to trust government with your money, or not to change the rules on you. What you’ll get is a dud IOU.
Given the speed with which the Left Wing Congress and the “I just sign what they send me” President move, you have at most days to contemplate what is left of years of thrift and deferred gratification. Those people don’t mess around when they have prey in their sights.
I’m no expert on how a 401K can be restructured, but if I were you I’d be on the ‘phone to my CPA or financial advisor immediately to see if there is any exemption anticipated, any way to get your meager security th’ hell outta Dodge. What I would really do–and did two years ago–is pay the penalty and close the position out. You’re going to have to pay taxes on those funds eventually anyway, and far better to snatch two-thirds or so of the prize away before it gets dumped into the general fund and is spent on housing for Hamas, the snail darter, uniforms for the Obama Youth, excruciatingly bad modern “art,” or more perquisites for Congress. Even half a loaf will be better than none…if you turn it quickly into objects of intrinsic value, such as gold, silver, diesel oil, and emergency rations.
This freight train is building up speed, folks, and actions which were objects of scorn two years ago can be discerned now quite clearly. Here are some serious warnings:
1. Empty out your safety deposit box. Your bank manager will confirm that if there is a Friday surprise he can not guarantee that you will ever have access to it again.
2. Start pulling your cash out of banks. Again, turn as much of it as possible into real property–which does not mean “real estate”but tangible assets. It doesn’t matter if the banks crash before the bond market does or whether the dollar crashes or is devalued first. The interests rates are so low it is very inexpensive insurance to remove your personal wealth from sinking Bernankes and store it in metal, C-rations (sorry, MRE, “meals, ready to eat”), or cowrie shells. I’m famous for saying, “The worst that can happen is…” and the worst that can happen is you will lose the premium you paid for gold coins (there are better ways to buy metal), forfeit the 1.13% your funds are accruing in the bank, and have to pay the premium to sell silver ingots back much later. Don’t stand there like a deer caught in a jack light, and don’t expect any sympathy if you go to the bank one day and see signs that say “Bank holiday. Closed until further notice.” or “Daily withdrawal limit $300.” There are proposals for those very restrictions floating around, and that limit is going to include transferring funds between banks. Mr. Paulson asked for permission a while back to post SWAT teams to prevent bank runs.
3. You’ve been warned repeatedly to accumulate a bare minimum of three months’ supplies of food, water, and Sudoku puzzles, those representing whatever you, personally, would not wish to be without in times of stress and crisis. Don’t forget the Tullamore Dew.
4. If the dollar is devalued again history shows that the usual amount is on the order of two-thirds. If you want to risk getting roughly thirty-three Amero coins for a Bernanke, you keep your innocent faith that this is “just another bump in the road” and that Mr. Obama couldn’t possibly do what Roosevelt and Nixon did. When the dust settles from what at best will be a controlled demolition you have watched go whoomp-whoomp-whoomp-whoomp-whoomp in a series of rapid shocks you will take what you are given on any assets you haven’t squirreled away in hard money of various kinds including tobacco, soap, fifty pound bags of rice and pinto beans, and canned corned beef.
Our world is a-swirl with forces building hurricane speed, each having an impact on the others. The concatenation of instability in the bond and stock markets, housing and commercial real estate, the mushroom cloud of increased “money” supply, job losses developing in the auto and tobacco industries due to recent legislation, the Chinese and Japanese at least eying manipulating our currency or replacing the dollar as the standard against which other currencies float, and the possibility that the government is going to appropriate the health industry are just some of the warning signs that indicate it is time to head for the storm cellars with the kiddies, the livestock, a kerosene lantern, a good book, and an enormous picnic lunch.
Those are only the more obvious evils building to gale force. Ignore the urgency of the klaxons if you will, but this occasionally fey half-Irish lady thinks she knows “Dive! Dive! Dive!” and “Tora, tora, tora” when she hears them.
Call me Chicken Little if you must, but I’m off to stuff some more silver coins under the mattress. Literally they make lumps which prevent fairy tale princesses from sleeping well, but figuratively you’ll sleep far better if you have prepared for the hurricane before it makes landfall. It may yet turn and blow away at sea, but a big one is right off your coast, and others are lined up clearly visible on radar.
Take care,
Linda Brady Traynham
June 26, 2009
[...] about History as of June 26, 2009 Posted on Friday, June 26, 2009 in Post about History 401(k) as Dangerous as the Dollar – whiskeyandgunpowder.com 06/26/2009 Prophets are famous for being without honor in their own [...]
The excruciatingly bad modern “art” comment really hit the spot. It has been a pet peeve for some time when I see magazine articles raving about the crap masquerading as art by some current darling of the art world’s powers that be. Just another instance of the Emporer has no clothes.
[...] bet is that there is nothing but gold dust laying in the vaults. As Proof from The U.S. Mint 401(k) as Dangerous as the Dollar – whiskeyandgunpowder.com 06/26/2009 Prophets are famous for being without honor in their own [...]
Silver and MREs, my favorite picks for 2009.
Linda Brady Traynham,
I like your way with words.
Douglas C Trant
THANKS, Anita, for writing:
“The excruciatingly bad modern “art” comment really hit the spot. It has been a pet peeve for some time when I see magazine articles raving about the crap masquerading as art by some current darling of the art world’s powers that be. Just another instance of the Emporer has no clothes.”
None of us is (or “are,” depending upon whether you think “none” is singular or plural) ever going to forget Bobby Maplethorpe’s magnificent and meaningful suspension of a cross in urine. Wow, talk about depth, philosophical meaning, and a superb exposition of the artist’s personal values? Right up there with fingerpainting in fecal matter. It was a privilege to pay for it. Right.
I fell in love with a painting at first sight while on vacation a couple of months ago. A new artist was having his first gallery showing in a small tourist town, and the only thing that saved me was the “sold” sticker. I really can’t afford (bah) to buy $4,000 paintings (plus another $325 in taxes), but if this man isn’t a Texas Turner… exquisite. REAL art, and he’ll earn his place in history the old-fashioned way. Irresistible, if it had been available.
Please write again, Anita. My dream for Morning Whiskey is to get real dialogues going on amongst ourselves. Happy smile…several recent articles on MW came about because I responded to comments privately. Thus encouraged, the authors came back with their personal philosophies and comments, I said “Wow! More, please expand!” and the next thing you know great essays emerged. Emily Matthews, take another bow for the fantastic comments on life in the emergency room and your life in the UK. If any of you missed it, go hunt in the archives. What’s funny is that Emily’s original laughing comment to Gary was, “Tell Linda that John Deeres are green!” I know that, but she was right that my comment about trying to decide whether to sell “Big Red” or the youngest child, coming hard on the heels of a comment about a Deere, made it sound as though I didn’t know what I was talking about…maybe I shouldn’t count Richard Marmo, a long time friend? If you like Richard in print, you should hear him READ satirical comments aloud in his rich baritone voice! I suggested to Gary that we need an audio version for the blind! If we can ever get “rich text” here I’m going to put up some of the hysterically funny exchanges Richard and I have had for years, but they require the ability to write in different colors, fonts, and text sizes to make it clear who said what.
You readers are so great that I’m sure ALL of you have something pertinent to say that the rest of us would like to read. Gary mentioned yesterday how much he appreciates those who comment frequently and the space problems he has, to say nothing of days when his e-mail runs in high triple digits. We don’t have that constraint over here on MW, so y’all write, huh? So long as there are enough hours in the day, I will respond. I’m no Gary, but I’m growing under his tutelage.
I know how you who write Gary feel when he features you in The Parting Shot (Lordy, how I love that!) having been there myself. You do not know that the “pay” I get for writing articles is your comments and Gary’s approbation, more than adequate recompense. Chuckle. I write for sheer joy, but the emotional pay-off isn’t the “ego trip” (as one Grinch put it) of appearing in W&G, it is knowing that I touched a chord with you enough for you to take a moment out of your busy lives to say so.
The Lord bless and keep all of you–and all of you continue to accumulate supplies and buy a diesel vehicle, okay? My darling Charles (which I really ought to start abbreviating “MDC” since I always describe him that way. A true prince among men!) is off to pick us up a handsome ‘83 Mercedes SD300. For a thousand dollars! True, the price was lowered this week when she blew the compressor on the AC, but she will be well worth fixing up. She’s only got 135,000 miles on her, and the record is 1,000,000 miles before the owner agreed reluctantly that his Mercedes might need a new engine. Or at least a rebuild.
I’m the happiest little old lady in the whole USA, surrounded as I am by love, wide open spaces, and critters, but W&G is my intellectual stimulation, as necessary to my well-being as goofy goats, hilarious hounds, and crazy cows. An old rule of thumb is that for everyone who writes a hundred others feel that way. Please believe that I am delighted by every last response (including those that are less than laudatory) and that if you write, I’ll answer.
Again, my thanks, Anita. You added a shine to an already gorgeous day.
Regards,
Linda
DEAR Stinging Nettle, you adorable goof:
Silver, yes, MREs, no! I applaud and agree with the succinct (something I am only rarely) sentiment, but there are much more satisfying ways to solve the problem of “What’s for dinner when we go back to the Dark Ages or at least the anti-Industrial Revolution?” for those of us with sybaritic urges.
If you want to discuss how my darling Charles and I are preparing for the problem, please write me at ranchLT4@gmail.com, the “dedicated” site for W&G members and no one else. I’ve lived, eaten, breathed, and slept this issue for over two years, and I’m always glad to share solutions we’ve found. Hint: if you suspect the government doesn’t want you to have it, stockpile it! Including incandescent lightbulbs, nutritional supplements, and heirloom seeds.
If you have lots of money and aren’t picky about what you eat, an MRE is a quick, easy answer but they are certainly no gourmet treat. They may be the best solution for city dwellers who haven’t made preparations for the Greater Depression, poor souls.
You know me: find at least a friend or relative in the country, or form a consortium with friends if you can’t afford to set up your own operation (roughly as expensive as waging war in a small Balkan nation) and make what preparations you can. Accumulate staples, livestock, seeds, ammo, fuel, trade goods…
Our latest “upgrade” is a pair of saddle horses and a buggy, in addition to the guard donkey who can pack 150 pounds in times of need! Yes, indeed, this nation is getting back to “get a horse!”
Thanks a lot for writing, Stinging Nettle, and I would appreciate knowing how and where you pick up silver. I consider it almost saintly of me to tell all of you that I continue to get OURS off e-Bay, in the form of sterling flatware (which holds some combination of intrinsic, historic, and/or artistic value. I pick and choose carefully and get ours at less than spot frequently. My goal is to swap it for land when the prices there are depressed enough…) although we keep a close eye on Craig’s List, as well. More and more the pinch of economic conditions forces people to “eat” the treasures they accumulated in the past. I recommend thoroughly keeping up with the mood of the public through those two and timing your purchases as various valuables become available. A little time put in “research” pays off handsomely. Last year we accumulated farm machinery and rvs/motor homes at $50/running foot. Fine china and sterling table ware are terrific buys now, as are cars with many hundreds of thousands of miles left in them. We bought horses when the price came down to 2/3 of the price and our magnificent little herd of Irish Black Dexter cattle at half price.
Life is about seeking an EDGE always, and while the Left is busy cutting up the carcass of America we can keep our eyes on what is important for survival. In due time the dollar will crash, along with bonds and stocks, and true luxury will be as I have defined it: “A sustainable supply of food and energy and the ability to protect them.”
Thanks again…and write at greater length, please, dear? In my inimitable fashion I will always hold that everyone I meet knows or can do something I would like to learn, and that if I’m nice to them they will tell me or show me. You covered in 8 words what I rambled on for paragraphs about.
Cordially yours,
Linda
“I like your way with words.
Douglas C Trant”
Dear Douglas:
Aren’t you a darling?! So do I–like my way with words, that is! Sheer joy is writing, especially for an appreciative audience. I’m worse than the Louis L’Amour’s description of cowboys reading the labels on peach cans if nothing else is available. Reading and writing are two of life’s greatest pleasures.
Alas, the constraints of space and attention spans make it necessary frequently to do as I do when writing analytical project reports: I whip out the original draft joyously and then take out all the fun before sending the final icily pragmatic results to those who commission my time. How dull!
Here on Morning Whiskey we have the luxury of humor and hyperbole, and I want you to know that a comment such as yours is the “non-physical tiara” (as Lillian Reardon remarks in Atlas Shrugged) that I wanted. Such as yours are the shining accolades that reward me for spending fourteen and more hours a day researching and writing. (Again, Gary: dang it, what do I have to do to talk Mike into “rich text?!” That would have been so much more emphatic had I the luxury of underlining, bold-faced type, and color changes…)
I wonder, frequently, if you readers understand what it means to us when you respond, or what an honor I feel it is to be able to address you, or how deeply I treasure Gary’s indulgence and support. 240,000 had the opportunity to read this article, but only four of you have responded thus far. I’m a great believer in being so far over on the bell-shaped curve that we’re horizontal, and you, Douglas, certainly demonstrate that quality. Now…what do you know that I don’t know? Will you tell me, now that I am asking pretty please with molasses on it?!
Hugs, Linda
Linda,
The mindset you write about is crucial going forward. I’ve tried to enlighten friends and acquaintances that signs warning us of disaster are everywhere……some glaringly obvious and others grind away just below the surface. I tell them to hold a 10oz bar of Silver, then pull out their “paper or plastic” and ask, “Of these, what feels true?” As you mention, it’s surreal how fast CONgress and the Administration are speeding things through. These donkeys are galloping at full tilt; they even have a few misguided elephants in tow. The urgency to prepare grows with each passing day (at least, it should for some) as it seems we get closer to the inflection point. It’s time to act now, cause as a wise Chinese proverb states wonderfully, “One foot cannot stand on two boats”.
What a delightful vision, a mattress filled with silver coins!! Keep up the great writing and I look forward too your next masterpiece!!
Hey, CoinSniper! Just found you over on another essay. Thanks!
You wrote
“Linda,
The mindset you write about is crucial going forward. I’ve tried to enlighten friends and acquaintances that signs warning us of disaster are everywhere……some glaringly obvious and others grind away just below the surface. I tell them to hold a 10oz bar of Silver, then pull out their “paper or plastic” and ask, “Of these, what feels true?” As you mention, it’s surreal how fast CONgress and the Administration are speeding things through. These donkeys are galloping at full tilt; they even have a few misguided elephants in tow. The urgency to prepare grows with each passing day (at least, it should for some) as it seems we get closer to the inflection point. It’s time to act now, cause as a wise Chinese proverb states wonderfully, “One foot cannot stand on two boats”.
What a delightful vision, a mattress filled with silver coins!! Keep up the great writing and I look forward too your next masterpiece!!”
Hey, a fellow wordsmith and believer! What a great letter, and I’ll hope to hear from you again.
Giggle. Remember Scrooge McDuck?! Would we had a swimming pool full of silken silver dimes we could dive into as he did…bobbing for an occasional ruby the size of a pigeon’s egg…unearthing a forgotten box of (Hold on, I’m trying to think of what would thrill me most when supplies ran out) Probably books!
What sort of preparations are you making? That’s more a question of how much time you have to devote to the project, although a knack for knocking over the 7-11 would come in handy. Some days I feel like a character out of a Robert Heinlein novel (I’ve loved him since I was small, and so does MDC) trying to plan a small colony on a new planet, or Lazarus Long treking across the pass with his bride. So MANY things are needed…so many things to consider…so much that could go wrong…so many uncertainties…
We can but do our best and–I hate to say this–practice hardening our hearts. That is particularly difficult for me because all my life I have given as generously as I could of goods and my time. I continue to do so as we ramp up for the hard times. Starting a farming and ranching operation, even a small one, develops unevenly by necessity. We’re at that awkward stage where there are far too much goat’s milk, far more eggs than we can eat (best eggs you ever tasted, since they dine on disgusting things that hop, wriggle, jump, and crawl!), more roosters than can be tolerated (the wretched creatures gang rape the hens which upsets them and can even kill them), and more young buck goats than we know what to do with. There is too much to consume, but not enough to begin to be worth the effort and bureaucratic nonsense which would be required to sell things, so we give them away joyously. In June we gave away about fifty roosters ready for frying or baking, probably 40 dozen eggs, milk to a family that loves it but cringes at the $14/gallon it costs in the store (particularly with three growing kids, two of them boys), and a goat to the numerous older relatives of the fine men who work for me (they’re 50 and 54) and someone whose wife worked for my mother long ago. Lonnie is 80 and Annie is 70. Talk about devastating reality? The old couple lives on tiny SS amounts, and they were desperate enough for Lonnie to come over and ask politely if he could fish as he used to when Miz Helen was alive. Can you imagine being so hard up that all you can think of to do is go see if you are allowed to fish because your wife worked for the family FIFTY YEARS AGO? Thank God we live in the South. That was a talisman that commanded instant, smiling permission down here. We fixed him and an older lady up with pens the fellows built in their spare time so that they could use the dozen birds as needed…and I sent four hens to the matriarch of Asia’s family. Not only does she have fresh food, but it has given her life new meaning because she “has to go feed my chickens!” Show me a welfare program that does as much good or spreads as much happiness. I’m no saint, but I refuse even to consider taking such things off my income tax. That’s not “charity” for profit, like claiming Bill Clinton’s worn out underwear was worth two dollars a pair; that’s taking care of FAMILY.
NOW it does my heart good to know that all that wonderful, delicious, nutritious food is going to those in need who are both grateful and delighted to have taste and quality increasingly unknown since they were children.
When the evil times come I will not have that luxury and neither will anyone else. Food will be something to be hidden and protected. We will have to band together as families, clans, or groups of friends, and let the grasshoppers find their own forage. Just this once it will not be possible to allow them to eat what the thrifty ants toiled to put away–and what many of us have been mocked for. That is, if the government doesn’t swarm down brandishing EO 11921 and confiscate what you, I, and others like us have set aside.
Ah, well, enough of THAT for now. In the meantime there is W&G, and lively new friends to correspond with. Chuckle…my “family” here says I will fall apart when they take away my Internet!
Thanks again, CS, hope to hear from you soon.
Linda
Dear Coin Sniper:
Your heads up that I’m going to hold a contest. So why do you get advanced notice if you find it? Because if you looked here to see if there were any further comments, you earned it! That’s how the world works.
The subject is: the Jeffersonian Agrarian Republic.
Make of it what you will. No length restrictions in either direction.Originality does not count, nor does grammar and spelling (not that our readers need the field “leveled” in that manner), although additional points will be given for humor, since this is a contest for excellence in political writing and thought.
The decisions of the judges are final, with mine being the most final of all, because that’s the way the world works, too.
Will look forward to receiving your entry. I will be quite surprised if you do not enter.
I have suggested that the Gary Gibson Prize (I appointed him judge, but I expect he’ll accept. Hey, we could get as big as the Bulwer-Lytton contest.) be publication in Morning Whiskey, but I can’t promise that because HE is the final judge of what appears here. The GRAND Prize (there will be as many as the Head Judge deems merited, because THAT is the way the world works, too, subject to availability) will be an invitation to visit Mildew Manor.
Now…to see who, if any, finds this! Hugs, Linda
To, The Judges,
You have tossed a homegrown carrot at me and I couldn’t resist a bit o’ munching. (Not that I’m a “donkey” mind you!) Being a Metal Detectorist, I try to glean insight from history. Never know when you might learn something that leads you to treasure, of the gold and silver kind, or even better, knowledge. As far as “excellence in political writing”, well, I’m not to sure about that. Ya’ll do real outstanding work at Whiskey and Gunpowder. Trust me, in your readership there are far more educated than I. The political thought, now that’s a hefty brew of disgust, stupefaction, and serious concern for the future. On with it then? Ok, Jefferson Agrarian Republic; I read the title and thought, Wow, that could be the US in a few short years!!
The Jefferson Agrarian Republic (or J.A.R) was of course, President Thomas Jefferson’s idea. He once said,
“No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden”.
In 1801, Mr. Jefferson took the helm as the third president of the Great American Experiment. His vision (and I, as well as at least a “few” readers here I’m sure, agree) was that the working man should lead the Country, not be an ATM. It was in the working folk Jefferson saw the “heart and soul” of America. You know the mindset, give us a chance, keep the change…. er…. um….. I mean keep the bureaucratic red tape, and get out of the way. Also, I suspect gratitude was still fresh on the minds of many, being not that far removed from the heavy price paid for Independence.
At the heart of the idea of the J.A.R were the working folk. A self-sufficient breed. Their hallmarks were calloused hands, leather-tough skin, and 5000-calorie meals. (Including beer for breakfast!) They grew their own gardens, maintained livestock, fashioned their own clothes, and every other thing one does on a homestead. All this without a “home improvement superstore”; only with what was locally available to them. Also, thankfully, no GMO seeds.
Another attribute in the J.A.R, (couldn’t resist!) was displeasure with urban decay. Viewing the unkemptness, inequalities, and poverty rampant in Europe’s industrialized cities left an acrid taste on Jefferson’s tongue, figuratively speaking. Thus, there would be no Federal “community development block grants” under his watch. When granted public office, one has a fiduciary responsibility with regards to tax monies, right?
To Mr. Jefferson, the idea of a strong central guv’ment was about as appealing as rancid donkey meat. He quoted “That government is the strongest of which every man feels himself a part”. This truly could only be accomplished at the ‘States level, not Federal. So being a bit of a fitness buff, he applied “exercise” at the Federal level, trimming the fat. He went about trying to put power back into the State governments. The fat to trim was not just guv’ment jobs but also reeling in that behemoth with 9 lives: the National Debt. Wonder if there was a wooden billboard in Times Square “ticking off the dollars”?
There were trying times in those days, France and England were engaged in fisticuffs, Marbury v. Madison, the Embargo Act of 1807, and of course the “vicious campaign” of 1800. Reminds me of an old saying seen on a sign out front of a donut shop, (future candidates, listen up!) “one who slings mud is losing ground”.
The sun shone brightly on the Republic as well. The ‘New, Immense, Unbound World’ came to life in 1803 with The Louisiana Purchase. The grand Expedition of Meriwether Lewis and Capt. William Clark to chart the Louisiana Territory hit the trail in 1804. This being of great interest to Mr. Jefferson, a rich fertile Mississippi Valley would fit quite nicely as the centerpiece of the J.A.R. A side note, the tales told by the Expedition members astounded many. If you’re a fan of the intrepid explorers, the US Mint 2004 Lewis and Clark bicentennial silver dollar makes a nice addition to any AG coin collection.
As I vaguely alluded to at the beginning, this Idea is not so farfetched given the present conditions. Thank you, Linda, for bringing it to the forefront. One could surmise that calories, not dollars, will be the staple exchange in a post-collapse society. Certainly, you could reckon, taking care of one’s own homestead is at the core of this philosophy. That would be the insightful lesson to take out of the J.A.R. As Mr. Jefferson niftily put it,
“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
The Congress may be leaning left but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that the current economic troubles are, of course, the result of 35+ years of right wing rule and conservative ideology, it just so happens it took about that long for the free-market low-tax low-regulation crowd to wring out the last dollops of wealth from our collective country. One cost saving for the Fed government though could be indeed to shrink, and a place maybe to start might be to move the southern border up from the RIo Grande to where present day Texas meets Oklahoma, now that’s what I call a move toward independence!
Hello Mr. Culver, Happy 4th to you and yours!! I was not around for the first part of the 35+ years you mention and later, well, that involved playing with plastic hammers and slurping Gerber carrots. So I wanted to ask about President Carter, I’m under the impression that he was left, and of the liberal ideology. President Carter is a gracious fellow though, I’ve watched a few Habitat for Humanity programs, and he does awesome work for that organization. Yes, there are some sneaky elephants out there. One was that, donkey turned elephant, Senator Phil Gramm. He helped Hulk-smash the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act signed by President W.J. Clinton. I agree with Prof. Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, in relation to, its time to get on back to Glass-Steagall. But irregardless, this mess still all traces back to The Creature from Jekyll Island. Makes one want to tend to his own homestead like the working folk of Thomas Jefferson’s time huh?
You must be a fan of Mirabeau B. Lamar; he had a similar idea for Texas. Not so good for the Comanche or Cherokee though. That deal would have landed them between sub-prime and Alt-A, with it closer to sub-prime I’d reckon……….
“Left Wing Congress” — ? Is this on another planet in another solar system, perhaps? Certainly not in the US which so many of the people of planet Earth know to fear and mistrust. Left-wing? The corporate-serving crooks in Washington? Get real! What on earth would you call right-wing, I wonder.
Dear Coin Signer:
You just got disqualified. Instead, how would you like to be a judge?!
Linda
Dear Mr. Culver:
You wrote: 11.Robert Culver July 4th, 2009 12:02 pm :
“The Congress may be leaning left but that shouldn’t obscure the fact that the current economic troubles are, of course, the result of 35+ years of right wing rule and conservative ideology, it just so happens it took about that long for the free-market low-tax low-regulation crowd to wring out the last dollops of wealth from our collective country. One cost saving for the Fed government though could be indeed to shrink, and a place maybe to start might be to move the southern border up from the RIo Grande to where present day Texas meets Oklahoma, now that’s what I call a move toward independence.”
Y’know, I think you have the beginnings of a good idea. The only things wrong with your suggestion are that a quick look at a “red and blue” map will show you that the Blues hold both coasts, all of the big cities, and a large hunk of territory along the Southern border; everything else is ours, that is, the Red’s.
Second, in our own quaint way we happen to think that Texas belongs to US, not the U. S. We would not take kindly to the notion of “giving” us to Mexico, but a lot of us would have no trouble with withdrawal of Federal troops, who have occupied the Republic of Texas for nigh on a century and a half.
My apologies for misdescribing the current governing bodies. Gracious, could I actually have said “left-leaning?” Who could stigmatize a nice a bunch of middle-of-the-road “progressives” in such a way?
Please tell me about 35 years of “right wing rule and conservative ideology.” I must have missed it somehow.
I’m glad you enjoyed my article and hope you will write again. Look for upcoming pieces on the on-going battle between the Saxons and the Normans and why some of us–including a Federal District Judge in 2004–think a splendid case can be made that Texas is not, never has been, and never could have been one of the “united” states. I imagine the experience will do you as much good as a week at the seaside, if it doesn’t lead to a crisis of the liver as you French like to say.
Cordially yours,
Linda Brady Traynham
Hey Traynham,
Please head to your cellar immediately and don’t forget to seal it shut with concrete!
You’re funny, little one.
Ms. Traynham,
Do you have any links which validate the concern of government confiscation of deferred tax accounts?
I do not disagree with your position, but rather am trying to gauge current government activity.
thank you,
Gary
This conversation might benefit from a little fact checking:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfa.....g_ira.html
Could you tell me your sources for what you say the Obama admnistration is planning / wanting to do with our 401ks and pensions? I don’t doubt that it could be true, but I’d like to read more about it.
Linda,
We’ve far surpassed the hording of Silver and Gold…the only the commodity that will mean anything after the collapse will be Lead…in cased in Brass
I guess my question is this: would these plans for the 401(k) accounts also apply to IRAs? Or are IRAs under some regulations that give them a bit more protection?
[...] from The Economatrix: 401(k)s as Dangerous as the Dollar Get your money out of 401(k)s now! Calls Grow to Supplant the Dollar as Global Currency Peter [...]
[...] To be brutal, the rape artists are moving on their plans to hijack your 401K and replace it with a handsome certificate suitable for framing which says you got a Guaranteed Retirement Account in return for one of your old, unsafe means of preparing for the grim future. Actually, I made that part up. You probably won’t get a certificate large enough to frame and hang over your computer as a constant reminder never to trust government with your money, or not to change the rules on you. What you’ll get is a dud IOU. Read the full article [...]
Day-um! I foresee a spike in the price of good whiskey.
Re “Silver, yes, MREs, no! I applaud and agree with the succinct (something I am only rarely) sentiment, but there are much more satisfying ways to solve the problem of “What’s for dinner when we go back to the Dark Ages or at least the anti-Industrial Revolution?” for those of us with sybaritic urges.” — if you recall the famine in east Africa some years ago, MRE == “Meals Rejected by Ethiopians”
Re “Do you have any links which validate the concern of government confiscation of deferred tax accounts?” — while Mme Traynham can speak for herself, consider the following data, in order of importance (IMHO):
1. There is precedent for this: Argentina did it a year or two ago (NOT during the first peso crisis which resulted in a revolving-door presidency, but during ‘the latest crisis’). Bonus: one might note some similarities between the presidents here and there.
2. There is a *lot* of money tied up in these retirement vehicles. I don’t think it’s enough to actually paper over all the cracks in the current tottering edifice of finance, but it would go a long way towards that.
3. Probably most importantly, there already are .GOV strings tying these vehicles up. It would be much easier to “make some small adjustments to help out the economy” than to explore more obviously unexplored territory such as messing around with the ownership of real estate. Or… “what the government gives, the government can take away”.
There are a number of ways in which such confiscation of investment vehicles would be a Very Bad Idea, but the ones that come to mind can all be surmounted by an emergency of sufficient magnitude. I’ll leave that exposition to someone with more interest.
Horace
I cannot find any supporting data for any “plans to hijack your 401k”…..
I did find this, however, at FactCheck.org. I have no idea if FactCheck.org can be trusted or not, but it’s all I could find. http://www.factcheck.org/askfa.....g_ira.html
The Obama administration is saddling us with massive debt and is definitely pushing us towards socialism and fascism. There are enough valid reasons to complain about this administration without repeating rumors that don’t appear to be based on facts.
I’m not a financial expert, but I can’t see paying a 10% penalty for withdrawing my money out of retirement savings soley based on a rumor such as this. A better reason to do so would be if you fear that the market will tank again and you will need your money before it has time to recover.
Hello Horace,
How right you are!!! Didn’t Rahm Emanuel, President O’s chief of staff, say “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” After reading some of the bovine ejectus in the Cap & Trade, why would anyone doubt the guv’ment taking over your 401k for “regulatory” or some other reason is out of the question?
Articles like this one and the writer should be throw out. The poster above who debunked the article should at least get honorable mention and perhaps a job offer from W/G. I/We expect better from W/G. There are a lot of gloom and doomers out there sounding the alarm to cash everything in and go hide in the woods. Unfortunately this isn’t going to happen. Even if you buy hard gold and silver who are you going to trade it with? Try filling up your tank of gas using gold bullion or coins. Sure they will take it but try getting change back. Gold and silver must be traded back to paper so you can use it.
To kjb
If you cannot find anything other than factcheck to dispute the article and you have no confidence in it may I remind you that the burden of proof remains with the original poster and writer to prove his story true not the other way around. To do otherwise is trying to prove a negative. In your reasoning if you cannot prove something false then it must be true. Prove Santa doesn’t exist. You can’t unless you have been to every nick and cranny of the known and unknown universe.