Governmental policies may have screwed up, but you fellas need to evolve.

http://www.brettonwoodsdollar.com

Cheerio,

N

“Gary,

“Here’s an idea for you. Instead of just complaining about the expanding dole, why don’t we refuse to accept the benefits? Most of us scream (sometimes pretty loud) about Uncle Sam sticking his hand into our pocket for others, but how many of us refuse to accept the loot he snatched out of someone else’s? Who refuses Social Security payments or Medicaid once they’re eligible? All of a sudden, “I’ve been taxed,” turns into, “I paid into it!” Bah! A Ponzi is only a Ponzi, and what was paid in is gone — there’s no claim that justifies keeping it running ‘til some younger victim gets left with the bag.

“And that principle is true of most government largesse. When we’re like a litter of puppies down there with our eyes closed pushing each other away from a teat, nothing’s going to change. We need to open our eyes, go through the dog door, and go feed ourselves in the streets. Remember the days when it was an embarrassment to be on the dole, and act like we remember. It really should be an embarrassment!

“Maybe then when we scream it will sound like outrage, instead of like we didn’t like the division of spoils.”

I like it! I get pretty damned sick of people accusing me of using the stuff paid for by the taxes I hate. So I try to avoid using them. I don’t even use streets and highways! I instead lurk in alleys and live just a few feet from the Whiskey Bar. If you tuned in yesterday, you already know how I feel about counting on the government for retirement money.

A Shooter sends a plausible vision of the future:

“Could not help commenting on Mr. Kunstler’s predictions for the demise of suburbia the flight of its inhabitants to small city centers/towns or rural areas. As we speak, the inhabitants don’t realize what is coming. If they were to be airlifted to the outskirts of Peshawar or Ulan Bator or Caracas they would truly see their future. The suburbs won’t be deserted and the majority of inhabitants won’t flee. No, they’ll stay put and transition to a rather austere and very different existence. Houses with their suburban “yards” will convert to walled mini-compounds with gardens and some sort of livestock, just as in suburban third world locales. As municipal or county agencies gradually curtail or withdraw services, neighborhood based councils will gin up voluntary services to replace them. Hey, it’s not all that bad! E verybody gets together on occasion and has a few home brews and breaks bread. You get to know your fellow citizens and you all will pitch in to survive, just like they do in other countries. Cheap, unregulated bus/van/jitney service will spring up, just like rural Jamaica, Brazil etc. You won’t be needing that car much; maybe you’ll even share a car on your block. You’ll come to find out that home raised eggs and chicken and rabbit and fresh vegetables with lots of garlic and onions really is better than expensive, highly processed supermarket “food,” not to mention the pleasures of home produced beer, wine and spirits. Did I forget the smell of home-baked bread wafting over the walls in the morning? You’ll convert that 2-car garage to living quarters for the family members that just can’t make it on their own. “Third world” living standards are coming to a suburb near you!

“Thanks so much for having Mr. Kunstler on your site!”

You’re certainly welcome! But not everyone agrees…

“Gary,

“James Howard Kunstler needs to lay off the NASCAR-loving, tattooed country folks in IOUSA. We are the backbone of this place. We didn’t get caught up in the housing bubble, or stock bubble, or anything else. It is JHK and his left wing buddies who are the problem. I love W&G and would never stop my FREE subscription. However, if JHK keeps insulting me, I will just delete it when I see his name. I don’t care how good of a writer he is or how accurate he is, the backhanded insults aren’t worth it.”

Sorry you feel insulted, Shooter, and thanks for speaking up. Actually, we in the Whiskey Room care very much about how good a writer Jim is as well as his impressive grasp on the confluence of debt, energy scarcity and impending collapse…but I take your point.

Say! You could tell us what you really think about James Howard Kunstler and the Whiskey bartenders to our faces.

We’re planning to have our own little Tea Party in Vancouver again this year…and this one is really special. It’s the Tenth Anniversary of Agora Financial’s flagship newsletter, la belle The Daily Reckoning. An entire Decade of Reckoning, Shooters! There will be a slew of Agora Financial editors and special guests…and, of course, your mainstay Whiskey editors.

If you secure your spot now, you’ll get the early bird special: $300 off the regular admission price.

Hope to see you there.

Till tomorrow…

Regards,
Gary Gibson