They’re Going to Kill the Fed
They’re going to kill the Fed.
Tentative last safe date to get your Bernankes traded for something of intrinsic value is the end of the first quarter, 2010.
Well…you you could just take my word for it and save both of us some valuable time, but you probably want enough details to know how I made this dizzying leap a couple of weeks ago. My landing spot has been confirmed to my satisfaction by what Chris Dodd is up to.
It is the usual combination of what the dogs did not do in the night, how I would solve the problem if it were mine and I were a Statist, and wisdom accumulated from my gracious hosts at Agora Financial and a lot of time reading obscure articles and foreign newspapers. (English papers can be far more informative than ours.)
I am supposing that you are aware of the money-laundering scheme which funds the current regime? Congress raises the debt ceiling, Treasury Timmy burns out bearings on the printing presses and funnels the money over to Benny Big Bucks; the “money” swooshes through the system several times to US and foreign banks and corporations, including that which is smuggled over so that other governments can “buy” treasuries with the newly-created money substitute, sticking to assorted fingers in copious amounts. Fiat currency is rather like depreciation on your house, as interpreted by your insurance company which does not recognize that the value of a thing is what it costs to replace it. Every time fiat money changes hands it is worth less for the reason insurers give: it’s older.
In the meantime, the Fed has been very busy buying up sliced and diced materials to have sausage to hang in the window. (Okay, call them “toxic mortgages,” but while I’m telling you the roof is really going to fall in this time we may as well indulge in a little flippancy.) Ostensibly, the Fed is rescuing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and assorted banks who have no idea who holds title to many properties any more, and being the savior of what Hillary refers to contemptuously as “the little people” and their underwater mortgages. Right.
If you insist drearily on having that in dignified macroeconomic terms, the Fed is buying up GSE’s by the trainload. The Fed has also announced that it will purchase another 1.2 trillion (yes, TRillion) in treasuries in the next quarter (and a mere two or three hundred billion more before the end of the year) and that it will buy no more after that–which was why I gave you the 31 March deadline. It is busy taking on all the debt it can…but has warned it will not continue to do so.
In the meantime we have learned from a censorious Congress that the Fed cannot account for umpty trillions and that it declines to say which banks it “bailed out” because that would jeopardize those banks’ standing and gravitas, as well as making us all as mad as fire.
Congress, outraged on our behalf, gathered 285 sponsors for a bill to Audit The Fed. Gasp, what an idea, particularly since it hasn’t been done honestly in nearly a century. So…how is it that that sort of power and support cannot pass the Bill and send a team of auditors trotting over? Once again, what the dogs did in the night was nothing. In speech they support the idea, but not with deeds.
Still got your eye on the wrong shell, huh? I doubt the pea has been under any of them for over a decade–to be generous. We can’t audit the Fed because it isn’t time. There are those who are connected who haven’t finished closing out their positions in greenbacks, long a derogatory term. Why can’t we audit? Oh, you modern generation. Because as soon as the Bill passes a lot of foofurraw will be kicked up, and the dead cat will drop half as far again, judging from the laws of physics, at least. When the team announces even a preliminary conclusion in Congress assembled, we’re going to see a mass version of Captain Renault in Casablanca: “We are shocked to learn that gambling has been going on in this establishment!”
Hang on, Sweeties, because it gets much better from the perspective of the big boys. What happens to corporations that have no assets and shocking debts? Okay, so some of them are anointed solemnly as “too big to fail,” but in general they declare bankruptcy. Most of the proletariat is unaware that the Fed is and has always been a private corporation, but we Shooters are better informed. WE know that the Feds (note the “S”) can wash their hands of the Fed at any time! By definition the Fed cannot be “too big to fail.” “Look!” the government will cry. “It already has!”
Now, if the Fed is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings while Bernanke heads for some area that never heard of Federal Reserve Notes for his health, how will the government continue to fund junkets, pay off voting blocks, and send out pay checks? Obviously, there has to be some sort of money, and Congress and the Auditors will have established that the Fed’s version is suitable only for the board game, Monopoly, and putting in the Chic Sales. Whatever shall we do?! You there, in the back of the class?
Very good. The king is dead, long live the king. The Fed will be dead, but fortunately Chris Dodd, in his foresighted way, arranged recently for the three functions of the Fed to be transferred to new departments of the FedS. Besides, it says right there in the devalued Constitution that it is the responsibility of Congress to decree what money is. Son of Fed is born…and what happens?
Well, anyone who didn’t know about the scam in time to flee with his stored value is going to take a brutal kick to the codpiece. The stock market crash and housing bubble will be regarded fondly as “the good old days.”
China is obviously in on the plans (see Hillary’s latest negotiations), and probably everyone who “counts” knows. They may not have told the upper levels of Bangladeshi, Icelanders, or the Yemeni…BRIC, OPEC, and the EU will all pretend to be furious, but most countries have been very busy attempting to devalue their currencies without anyone else recognizing that they’re doing it. Trade balances, and that sort of stuff. It may be amusing to watch the scramble to refloat first.
Don’t break out the champagne too early celebrating, because there is just one other little point to this exercise.
I already pointed it out: we have to have something we call “money.” Obviously no one has anything as rash as gold in mind, and I can’t help wonder how many of the golden ingots in Fort Knox–if, indeed, there are still any there, that being another place that doesn’t get audited–may turn out to be genuine gold-plated tungsten. How convenient to have another metal with the same specific gravity as gold.
And this means? Yes, you there? Absolutely. It means that we must have a new currency to differentiate between new and improved genuine United States funny money and the disgraced notes of the Federal Reserve, which was neither holy, Roman, nor empire.
It doesn’t matter whether they call it “the Amero,” “the Globo,” or “the Obama” in honor of a man who deserves precisely that sort of adulation and appreciation for his accomplishments. Snicker; think of it as America’s version of the Nobel Peace Prize. Would that it were that harmless. Anyone who expects to get a 1:1 swap for his greenbacks leave quietly now, please.
My most sanguine guess–and it is only a guess–is that we’ll turn them over for 30% of face value. And that was “sanguine” meaning “hopeful.” It would not surprise me at all if you are offered ten per cent., or even one per cent., at which point I suggest they would make great wallpaper. Those still holding traditional dollars will be exsanguinated. My bet is on the Amero, since I don’t think the coins I have seen were stamped “D” to indicate that they were turned out by the Franklin Mint as collectors’ items. There were plausible reports that China received a shipment of eight billion of them already…and perhaps more, who can say? Oh, I know, I am such a conspiracy theorist. Other fringe benefits include claiming that the new currency will fight the drug war and smacking those whose assets are stored overseas as dollars still. Can’t bring ‘em home without exchanging them and explaining where you got them.
One of the pigeons devalued currency will kick into the fire is a large increase in the price of items with the lowest cost. Do you really suppose anyone is going to round down on a can of soup that costs $1.12 in debunked FRN? No, indeed, my friends; the rounding will be up and–just as tires soared immediately on news that future tariffs will be levied on the Chinese–those items will probably see hasty increases before the fact. That’s where the big money is going to be on the exchange! Lower case “e.” And, uh…who are the most famous purveyors of low-priced “goods?” Do I have to do all the thinking around here? Aren’t these things pounding you thud, thud, thud? Wal-Mart and thousands of “dollar” stores full of geegaws from China, of course. The one I use has excellent merchandise and an honest policy. It changed from “Everything A Dollar” to “Everything $1.09″ a few months back. Given their choice of reducing quality or accepting that their costs had increased 9% (that being a fine example of “There is zero inflation.”) they chose to raise prices. Sensible folks. Excellent value for the money. Their version of Vick’s Salve is every bit as good as Kroger’s $4.39 generic and Mr. Vick’s original product which was up over seven the last time I looked. They sell a great many everyday objects which are sturdy and well-designed.
Okay, Sugars, you got all that? The debt is all being loaded onto the Fed, those in the know are scurrying to invest in kukui nuts, baht chains, ink cartridges, whatever they can find that is tangible, and in the fullness of time Mary Renault will be shown right again because The King Must Die.
You heard it here first, and if you don’t get your money out of the mutuals, your CD collection, the Market, banks, and treasuries on your bottom line be it. I stopped to muse gently on the fate of T-bills, but concluded they will “merely” be revalued. Which doesn’t mean there is not a way to repudiate them, only that I have not thought of it yet. Wahoo, would the FedS enjoy that even more than confiscating your 401(K) and replacing it with a genuine Government Retirement Account backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, a project still in the works.
Killing the Fed like Caesar on the floor of the Senate is the perfect solution for everyone except those of us who are in line to become destitute. The government is off the hook for gazillions with a face-saving explanation for why they replaced the currency. “Devalued” it? Never!
Bernanke won’t even murmur, “Et tu, Obama?” If my analysis is correct, he knows what is coming and helped arrange the biggest coup since FDR confiscated private gold.
Regards,
Linda Brady Traynham
December 3, 2009
Q&A Time:
“Mrs. Traynham, what if you are wrong?” You had the fun of reading my prose and getting out of FRN’s is the most sensible course for many reasons.
“Are you never serious?” What’s more serious than telling you the bottom is about to fall out of the basket you put all your eggs in? It doesn’t matter how you have diversified your assets if they are all denominated in dollars. If they are revalued in a new currency you have no choice of rejecting you’ll discover that broken eggs on pavement aren’t good for much, although they may go well with splattered stock brokers of lesser rank.
“Did you come up with this all by yourself?” No, for once I did not. A very bright friend brought me the first few pieces and asked what I thought. I admire his grasp of things political and economic, the floor shifted under my feet, and I went looking for more straws in the wind and found a couple. He prefers to remain anonymous. Thanks again, fellow.
“How do I tell if the gold I have is real?” Pour aqua regia on it and wait until the acid has dissolved a hole a quarter of an inch deep? For centuries people bit gold coins. Don’t do it; dentists are very expensive. Besides, what are you going to do if you whack a bar briskly with a heavy carving knife and discover that beauty is only skin deep? My guess is that the longer you have had it the more likely a bar is to be genuine, and you will lessen the numismatic value (if any) if you cut into coins. Best answer? Assume yours is real because you can’t do anything about it. Don’t buy any new gold from less than impeccable sources and think carefully about further new coin purchases. I’m sure coins can be minted in tungsten and gold-plated. Kick yourselves for not buying sterling silver table ware; that isn’t likely to turn out to be tungsten. Oh…go ask Byron King!
Linda Brady Traynham
Linda Brady Traynham is a former editor and analytical project report writer and is now a Whiskey & Gunpowder field correspondent on a ranch in the Republic of Texas. She studied Counseling at Boston University and got her Masters degree in Philosophy from the University of Hawaii.
ShareThis
So why didn’t I mention North Korea joyously? Because I wrote this three weeks ago! Wow, I’m as bright and far-seeing as the dear leader, huh? Take all the money up, give back one new won for three old wons, figure out who has money you can tax and who has been engaging in the black market, and/or render useless anything over 100,000 new won. Brilliant. Blame it on having to control the black market (drug cartels in our case.) Of course, the entrepreneurial spirit that leads to black marketeering when there is no other choice will come up with some friends, relatives, and employees to exchange some of their excess holdings. Anything not exchanged becomes fire starters. Hmmm…if there is a provision in there to limit redemption of debts, particularly debts to foreigners, to the same maximum…that would really solve a lot of problems. So long as Kim Jong Il has already purchased all the fissionable materials he wants…
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ron Simon, emma m. emma m said: They're Going to Kill the Fed: The Fed will end soon, but that means that dollar will rapidly devalue. Wh.. http://bit.ly/5ztr8y [...]
Good work Linda,i do not think i could add anything to what you said. If the fed dies the crooks that run our nation will just pull more slight of hand and who knows where America will be in the future,WW 3? I guess we DO live in interesting times! [sigh]
So what happens if you have FRN’s in mining sector stocks if/when this takes place?
“You heard it here first, and if you don’t get your money out of the mutuals, your CD collection, the Market, banks, and treasuries on your bottom line be it.”
I guess I’m having a senior moment – are you saying cash out all my mutuals and CD’s, pull everything out of the Market, clear everything out of the bank and do what? All paper will be no good? What are the options?
Also, how will outstanding loans (car/house/etc) be revalued under the new currency?
Hi, Tennessee. Always good to see your name. I think most of us have been expecting devaluation or a currency exchange for quite some time. Either will solve a lot of problems for the government, and an Amero–a currency in use in the USA, Canada, and Mexico–mimicking the Euro is a dream of those who want to see the three united as District X, I believe, under the UN. (X = 10) This is purely speculation on my part–although analysis is a nicer way to refer to it. If that isn’t what’s on their minds, WHY is the Fed purchasing so much toxic debt? Why has the Fed announced that subsequent to the end of the third quarter of ’10 it will purchase no more treasuries, after saying it will sop up another 1.5 trillion in the next four months? WHY did the Chairman of the Banking Committe transfer responsibilities? How can over half of Congress not bring a resolution up to vote on? Dear old Occam’s Razor is still sharp, and mine is the simplest solution I can see to account for such behavior. Do pitch in ideas any time you have them! I have a series of articles coming up on what might become of these united states “after” an event that destroyed the food distribution system. Regards, Linda
It all makes sense, and Joe Sixpack loses his stash. Would debts have to be paid in new dollars, thus reducing all debtors to slave status? Better yet.
Thanks Linda
I had to chuckle reading your article. What ever happens happens, but your view and presentation almost makes me look forward to it.
My dog didn’t bark the night of the crime, either.
The “anonymous” Tipster who put you onto this caper STOLE the plot from Ian Fleming: Bond, James Bond, was to save the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street from just such a fatal thrust.
However, Ian was not allowed to publish; G. Brown, then Exchequer, declared it Treason.
God Save The Queen!
Hasn’t The Tipster published this prognostication himself?
But: he GUARANTEED it would happen “this Fall”…
Aha: so now he has enlisted an accomplice to stretch The Truth into March, next (that’s British for: next March).
Has he made an innocent writer an April Fool?
And: where would you expect The Irregulars to sit? The front of the class?
No! they are in the back! with Toby.
And: they have done their homework!
Well…at least some of them claim to have read the countervailing argument that the International Re$erve Currency is not to be devalued like the Korean won or Vietnamese dong, but will just drift lower, …and lower, …and…
Now: I can understand how the USA, being bankrupt, would like to kill the Fed and liquidate all those FRN’s.
Then: they could tell their Bond and Note owners, “Dollars? They are SO…yesterday.”
But: the Fed has brilliantly distributed almost every such Bond and Note to—other banks, foreign gov’ts and (formerly?) rich individuals and trusts. Ouch!
The Fed, by no means in tall cotton, nevertheless, as you say, has been buying LOTS of “sausage”.
So: what does the Fed own?
The urchins in the back of the class: “Mortgages! Loans secured by cars, trucks, chattel, and cattle!”
But: that stuff is all toxic, right?
Urchin #1: “Right! Totally toxic!”
Urchin #2: “But, secured!!—by houses, farms, crops, medical centers, malls, office buildings, vehicles, equipment, and other…stuff. Real STUFF.”
They are also of the opinion that Benny Big Bucks runs the presses and gives the money to Treasury Timmy, for “full faith & credit” IOUSA’s, which Benny then swaps for…”stuff”.
My dog didn’t bark the night of the crime, either.
The “anonymous” Tipster who put you onto this caper STOLE the plot from Ian Fleming: Bond, James Bond, was to save the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street from just such a fatal thrust.
However, Ian was not allowed to publish; G. Brown, then Exchequer, declared it Treason.
God Save The Queen!
Hasn’t The Tipster published this prognostication himself?
But: he GUARANTEED it would happen “this Fall”…
Aha: so now he has enlisted an accomplice to stretch The Truth into March, next (that’s British for: next March).
Has he made an innocent writer an April Fool?
And: where would you expect The Irregulars to sit? The front of the
class? No! they are in the back! with Toby.
And: they have done their homework!
Well…at least some of them claim to have read the countervailing argument that the International Re$erve
Currency is not to be devalued like the Korean won or Vietnamese dong,but will just drift lower, …and lower, …and…
Now: I can understand how the USA, being bankrupt, would like to kill the Fed and liquidate all those FRN’s.
Then: they could tell their Bond and Note owners, “Dollars? They are SO…yesterday.”
But: the Fed has brilliantly distributed almost every such Bond and Note to—other banks, foreign gov’ts and (formerly?) rich individuals and trusts. Ouch!
The Fed, by no means in tall cotton, nevertheless, as you say, has been
buying LOTS of “sausage”.
So: what does the Fed own?
The urchins in the back of the class: “Mortgages! Loans secured bycars, trucks, chattel, and cattle!”
But: that stuff is all toxic, right?
Urchin #1: “Right! Totally toxic!”
Urchin #2: “But, secured!!—by houses, farms, crops, medical centers, malls, office buildings, vehicles, equipment, and other…stuff. Real STUFF.”
They are also of the opinion that Benny Big Bucks runs the presses and gives the money to Treasury Timmy, for “full faith & credit” IOUSA’s, which Benny then swaps for…”stuff”.
Fascinating speculation, Tickmeister…but I can’t see the bulk of the population standing still for having their debts tripled, say, if the official exchange rate were 3:1 but mortgages and credit card balances stayed the same, can you? Talk about a hidden cost, though, having to recalculate everything in Ameros, Obomas, or Omertos. When every transaction past, present, and future will have to be converted, at the very least we’re going to spend a great deal of time. We can’t suppose that the IRS rules won’t be scaled down, for one thing! I will be speaking in the near future of wage slaves–there is a reason we call them that–and the Welfare Plantation. As I said to Lou, how long can we rely on Social Security and pensions to retain current purchasing power–or even to continue at all? Y’know what’s scary? Telling you what I think and do and why. Obviously I believe I’m right, but if I’m not…all we can do is our best. Read what everyone says and see what makes the most sense to you. I wish all of you had a place in the country where you could ride out hard times, but if you don’t, what makes perfect sense for my darling Charles and me may be impossible for you. If I were a lady and alone and had to stay in the city, I don’t know what I’d do, other than buy food, silver, and shotgun shells. Keep reading, keep thinking, and good luck. Linda
Thank you very much, Jim. I LOVE to write, and I’m fond of saying that just because something is fun and easy to read and understand does not necessarily mean that it is not perfectly correct.
I can’t BELIEVE Gary edited me, for once! I had put “Regards, Linda Brady Traynham” after the first two sentences! I thought that was cute. Well…that’s what I had to say. “They’re going to kill the Fed, get out of $$$ by the end of the first quarter, SY, etc.” I commented, too, that a lot of countries were jockeying to be among the first to devalue, and North Korea did it beautifully. Ve shall zee vot ve shall zee, and it MAY not be that we are facing devaluation with or without replacement of currency, but I have been betting otherwise for three years now. Some of you will remember six months or so ago when every time I said “Go on e-Bay and buy sterling silver flatware.” At any given time SOMETHING is a bargain because prices rise and fall unevenly. Ammo was 18 months ago. Now? Flour and sugar; cooking oil is coming down. Thanks for the compliment–do write again! Linda
I suspect we are watching a power struggle play out. The fed has been busy soaking up “toxic assets” however are they really so toxic when you get to print the coupons everyone else uses for exchange and get to pick up real estate in return. One other thing besides real assets to pick up is “skills”, that way when you see a good deal on a lathe you know what to do with it.
Chad, let me try again, since my first answer didn’t post. Thank you for two really excellent questions. US mortgages would be converted I can only suppose…but what would that do to interest rates, if anything? If they are Australian or South African mining stocks…you would still have the same number of shares, surely…but if you sold them you would get converted USD? Could they be sold in a different country? It might be you could do well on such an exchange, but probably not. Usually governments fix it so that there aren’t any good loopholes for private citizens–but they make mistakes. We’ll just have to see, although the bit the dear leader came up with limiting the amount that can be converted might appeal to a lot of governments. He blamed it on the black market; Obama could claim it was to destroy drug money. There are a lot of instances being reported these days of travelers–particularly by POV (sorry; Privately Owned Vehicle) being stopped in small towns and having cash confiscated. I don’t know, but I don’t expect us to make money on a forced exchange. Linda
Dear Lou: My first answer to you didn’t post either. I won’t recant my analysis that the dollar will be crashed one way or another and that killing the Fed appears probable to me, but I must remind you that I AM NOT A LICENSED INVESTMENT COUNSELOR. It is surely against the law for me to give personal advice. I CAN tell you what I do and why. My darling Charles and I are a special case since we are building up the ranch I inherited. If WE are wrong, the worst that will happen is that we will have to live on pensions and Social Security and what the land produces. If you are a widowed senior citizen with no contact in the country, who must stay in the city…that’s a far different situation. If I were in it I don’t know what I’d do except turn my funds into food, silver, and shotgun shells. I made my decision while I was a widow, but I had family land to live on. The best I can suggest is to look around and see what you think will hold value better than greenbacks. If YOU think your mutual funds and CD’s are safe, “put nothing above the judgement of your inviolate mind.” I think the dollar will crash and possibly far worse will befall–you all know I’m a grade A Doom & Gloom type–and that value should be stored in items of intrinsic worth. Prices go up and down unevenly; at any given time some things are a bargain. The time to buy silver was last spring. The time to buy guns and ammo was 18 months ago. Right now what looks good to me is flour, sugar, and cooking oil. You could try asking Gary North, care of Agora. Not too long ago he offered kindly to answer basic questions for free if you told him your age, whether you were retired or not, and your goals. I was immensely tickled because I told him what we had done and asked if he could think of anything else. I got a succinct, “No.” Don’t sell because I say so. Get out only if those you trust most advise the same thing. I hope that helps…Linda
My
dog didn’t bark the night of the crime, either.
The “anonymous” Tipster who put you onto this caper STOLE the plot from
Ian Fleming: Bond, James Bond, was to save the Old Lady of Threadneedle
Street from just such a fatal thrust. However, Ian was not allowed to
publish; G. Brown, then Exchequer, declared it Treason.
God Save The Queen!
Hasn’t The Tipster published this prognostication himself?
But: he GUARANTEED it would happen “this Fall”…
Aha: so now he has enlisted an accomplice to stretch The Truth into
March, next (that’s British for: next March).
Has he made an innocent writer an April Fool?
And: where would you expect The Irregulars to sit? The front of the
class? No! they are in the back! with Toby.
And: they have done their homework! Well…at least some of them claim
to have read the countervailing argument that the International Re$erve
Currency is not to be devalued like the Korean won or Vietnamese dong,
but will just drift lower, …and lower, …and…
Now: I can understand how the USA, being bankrupt, would like to kill
the Fed and liquidate all those FRN’s.
Then: they could tell their Bond and Note owners, “Dollars? They are
SO…yesterday.”
But: the Fed has brilliantly distributed almost every such Bond and
Note to—other banks, foreign gov’ts and (formerly?) rich individuals
and trusts. Ouch!
The Fed, by no means in tall cotton, nevertheless, as you say, has been
buying LOTS of “sausage”.
So: what does the Fed own?
The urchins in the back of the class: “Mortgages! Loans secured by
cars, trucks, chattel, and cattle!”
But: that stuff is all toxic, right?
Urchin #1: “Right! Totally toxic!” Urchin #2: “But, secured!!—by
houses, farms, crops, medical centers, malls, office buildings,
vehicles, equipment, and other…stuff. Real STUFF.” They are also of
the opinion that Benny Big Bucks runs the presses and gives the money
to Treasury Timmy, for “full faith & credit” IOUSA’s, which Benny
then swaps for…”stuff”.
Linda, Another great read… thank you. It almost makes me want them to keep the FED Zombie on life support a little longer. Alas it will only make the crash bigger, longer and more painful. In addition to Chris Dodd, Bernie Sanders and Jim Bunning are throwing Bernanke under the bus. Gary may have edited you but he did give you a big mention in his post script on the daily email.
Tickmeister, Debtors are already at slave status. Ask your coworkers who have a mortgage, on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely they are to come to work and tell their boss to “take this job and shove it” This is not a new idea, it has been around for well of over 2000 years Proverbs 22:7 ” and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
Somebody set up us the bomb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg
As a bank, the Fed is “leveraged” and could have a “little net worth (negative equity) problem” tomorrow, if not sooner.
I see many of the same pieces, but get a different picture when I start seeing how they fit together.
Before I get into that, I think Benny and Timmy might have gotten switched. See what you think; makes more sense to me if you switch them around, though.
I have seen the US $$ devaluation scenario elsewhere on the www. As I recall, the person who I think originated this scenario was CERTAIN it would happen by now. As we think along these lines, the questions and implications soon become extremely complex, if not outright mind-boggling, as the comments and questions show.
To add to the confusion: the best rebuttal I have seen to the main question is that the US $$, as the int’l Reserve Currency, is not to be devalued like the Korean won or Vietnamese dong. [Oh! This IS fun!] Rather, the loss in value will be gradual, as in a downward sloping Dollar Index. Lower…and lower…and… WE’RE not going to admit that it’s valued too high, WE are for a strong dollar!
Recently, we’ve been thusly devaluing the $$ so fast, that other nations are publicly discussing the need for them to support it, themselves! China, with its currency pegged to ours, is being internationally castigated for undervaluing their whatchamacallit–yuan. Other nations have printing presses, too. In the “race to bottom”, look out!–it’s USA! USA! USA! The guesstimates I’ve seen for the 1-year drop in the $$’s value are 7 to 12 percent. So, why do we need a “new” currency that’s worth less? This one’s doing just fine!
Besides, now that both parties have taken turns looting the Treasury, and Congress is borrowing more money than can ever be repaid, I think it’s the US that’s broke. If the US wants to default, sure, they (we?) could bring out a new “devalued” currency. How about the “Brie”? They could tell EVERYBODY with FR $$ Notes or US Debt: “Dollars? They are SO…yesterday… Would you like some Brie?” BUT: almost every such $$, Note, and Bond has been brilliantly distributed to other banks, foreign gov’ts, (formerly) rich individuals, foundations, and trusts. Ouch! The Fed, as you point out, as been stuffing itself with “sausage”. What DOES the Fed own? Mortgages! Loans secured by cars, trucks, chattel and cattle! Toxic? Yes, but SECURED–by houses, farms, crops, medical centers, malls, office buildings, vehicles, equipment, and other…STUFF.
Now: who’s gonna kill who?
I think you are right on it. As a matter of fact, I alerted my brother about such a scenario, a few ago. It happens that our country, France, just did that in 1960. The Franc, which was worth what the dollar is worth now, was replaced overnight by the New Franc (1 new for 100 old). During most of our youth, in the 60s and 70s, elder people kept on counting in what they called ‘ancient Francs’. I would bet the same will happen with the dollar. Bruno
Bruno, thanks for the memories. I remember the elderly British lady who wanted to know why they couldn’t wait until all the old folks died before they gave up pounds, shillings, and pence…and a party full of Corps Diplomatique types in Germany. The mark was trading at 4:1, then, and a man said to me that he’d like to see it at 2:1. What IS there to say but a sweet, “I guess you would!” Well…he got his wish. Back then you could go to Italy and spend a million lira…and get funny little chits printed by individual cities as change. I’m funny, too. During the Nineties my system was to divide a price by 5 and if that seemed reasonable, to pay it! Interesting thought…if we kick up a big enough fuss here worrying this like a bone, do you suppose someone might change the timetable? Probably they’ll just shrug over losing a few pigeons. For at least 2000 years rulers have been coming up with ways to debase money, so why should we expect anything else? Steverino has good thoughts as usual, too, though. Thanks for writing! Linda
Hi, friend Happy Gulliver: I know Gary plugged me, bless him, but I still say it was cute to drop my bomb and pretend to quit. Y’all all know I can’t say anything in fewer than several pages. Wage slaves have been on my mind a great deal, recently, and if you think it is bad NOW wait until “after.” My prognostication (articles forthcoming) is that the BEST that will happen if we end up with full scale chaos that escapes full-blown dictatorship is this: I have space constraints, so for a precis: the luckiest will end up living in agrarian economies with rigid social structures and little mobility. Those with the most land, livestock, and farm machinery will come out on top. There will be landed gentry, yeoman farmers with small holdings, tenant farmers (and glad to have the opportunity) a few adventurous souls “mining” burned out cities, a small artisan class, a very small merchant class, bandits…and an enormous servant class. THAT is part of what this is about: destroying the middle class upstarts. JHK speaks of most younger people working in the country (see my article on http://www.thetexasring.com for why that won’t work! They don’t know anything and don’t have the right habits and character traits. Real life experiences–they’re funny, you’ll like them.) I think we’re going back to the preponderance of jobs paying room, board, two uniforms a year, alternate Sunday afternoons off, and perhaps 1/3 oz silver a month. NO safety net other than families and perhaps churches. There are variations (zealots of all sorts, dictatorships), but that’s my analysis. Moral: learn a skill useful on a farm or ranch, do whatever it takes to buy a few acres, a cow, a goat, and some chickens, or don’t be surprised if you end up as a footman or a chambermaid. Or pitching manure or scrubbing pots.
Hi Linda, what is the motive for anyone to do this? Do they really believe in 2012? After this has been perpetrated upon us all, do they think they could find a hole deep enough to hide?
Steverino–great post, as always, and you make some good points. However, I think we can all agree that the housing bubble and the coming one in commercial property (looked at all the empty stores, lately?) do not make buildings good security for loans. Used vehicles? Not a dime a dozen, of course, but there are some great bargains out there–and lots full of new cars that aren’t selling and practical unemployment c. 20%. It COULD be that the Fed has mortgages on farms, crops, and livestock, but…I don’t think so. Not out of Fanny & Freddie. Obamacare puts a moratorium on building hospitals, and the Catholic hierarchy (as I wrote months ago) flat isn’t going to allow abortions to take place in THEIR buildings with THEIR medical personnel. They’ll shut down and relocate, first. THEN what will a hospital be worth? Ah done tol’ yuh Ah likes yo’ mind so bounce in frequently, please. The default rate on mortgages and credit cards is incredible. Last Friday Tractor Supply was refusing debit cards and calling on EVERY credit card! Write and tell me how YOU have bet. The spam filter ate my reply to Happy Gulliver but my first effort was to ensure that we can get through a few weeks of chaos that does not end in dictatorship. My big money bet is that MDC and I are going to end up self-sufficient and able to produce enough extra to barter and be swamped with those working for little more than room and board. When Gary has some space maybe he’ll run my article on how $5,000 spent right now on livestock and an old motor home (IF you have a place to put them) could guarantee your place in a vastly-diminished middle class…”IF.” Maybe I’m wrong and nothing exciting will happen by 31 March. Or possibly another analysis I read is right and the sky will fall before 10 January. Chuckle…that’s what we do here, is read chicken entrails and economic tea leaves. USUALLY my inner Cassandra starts screeching at me in plenty of time…but occasionally she cuts it pretty fine. Beware of Friday Surprises, and be sure to clean out your safety deposit boxes. Hugs, Linda
Daniel…the motive is power. I don’t know how “they” think this will play out, but I’m pretty sure there are those who think we’ll sit down, be quiet, and take it, whatever “it” is. Because that’s what we’ve done for 154 years. I don’t think the Statists grasp how very complicated and delicate even the vestigates of a free market and free society we have are. It can’t be crashed and bounced right back. I was discussing the oil business at a funeral today with a man who works for Schlumberger. (Pronounced “Shlum-ber-ZHAY”) I know two landmen (those who do the research and get papers signed for oil leases) who have been out of work most of this year–nasty, when they used to average $400/day. Mr. X says they have cut 1000 people down to 90 and are working only in Arkansas. Why? Because Texas has been in oil so long we’re crawling with regulations. Life is much simpler in Arkansas. Gee, wonder why?! If your question means “Don’t they know there will be elections in 2012?” well…if Obama declares a national emergency and dismisses Congress for a minimum of six months, no, there won’t be any elections. For at least those first 6 months NO one can question what FEMA and Homeland Security do. How brave will people be if there are curfews, armed troops in the street, and confiscations of food and fuel under Executive Order 11921? I don’t know. I think we’ll go under as quickly as Russia did in ’17. In short…I don’t know! So I suggest we all prepare against what we CAN guard against: hunger, home intrusions, devaluing the dollar…depressing, isn’t it?! Thanks for writing. Linda Traynham
Dear readers: thank you all VERY much for commenting. I really do answer each and every comment personally, but some post immediately, some not until the next day, and some never. Back tomorrow. Kyle, I’m not sure exactly what you meant. I’ll watch the youtube you gave tomorrow, but it’s 4:04 a.m. and I’ve got to get some sleep. Linda
Every time fiat money changes hands it is worth less for the reason insurers give: it’s older.
Absolute nonsense!!!
Dear Linda:
I certainly feel exsanguinated after reading your article. What I still don’t understand is how gold mining stocks and other stock market precious metals purchases would be affected by this change if they are already owned.
The sobering thought that hit me after I read your article was how plausible this scenario could be. Frightening.
I want to thank you in advance for your comments
Dear Todd: Thanks for the comment. I have a fine line of nonsense–but there is always a truth hidden not very deeply beneath it. You are correct that LITERALLY there is no difference between a federal reserve note printed in 1989 and one hot off the presses today. HOWEVER, it is patently obvious that you cannot buy with a twenty dollar bill today what you could with the “same” twenty bill in 1989. I regard what I call a “Bernanke” (a hundred dollar bill) as “the new twenty.” Another way to look at this, and what I had in mind, is that as fiat money ages, or has been in use, the less it is worth. That’s what fiat money DOES. You know Gresham’s Law. Have you a good explanation for why gas was $4/gallon when oil was $147/bl, and is almost $3/gal when crude oil is half that? No, not shortages; the tanks are filled and tankers are still wandering around the briney. Remember what I always say: “Fiat money does not tell you the value of silver and gold; metal tells you the value of paper.” Spot tells you what a lot of people are thinking, and sometimes that there are heavy hands on the scales. Is silver “worth” 50% more than it was six months ago? Of course not. That shining beauty still has the same uses in industry, jewelry, and as a store of value it did last spring. Is an FRN “worth” a third less than it was six months ago? (Work it out: 12 to 18 is an increase of half, but 6 is 1/3 of 18.) Not exactly, because we’re measuring a lot of factors that don’t always correlate well and exactly. It is not that any individual bill is valued by the date on which it was printed, but that the fiat system itself is older. Thanks for reminding me not too skip steps when writing an equation down. Linda Traynham
Dear William: I’m not exactly sure, either, so let’s pick at it. Let’s say that you own ten round lots of Super Gold Stocks, SGS, that you paid $12/share for. You have $12,000 current dollars tied up in it, and that sum will be recalculated in future purchases to $4,000 Obama Dollars, OD 4000. They are still the same stocks in the same company, and you have the same number of them. What has changed is what you will get for them when you sell. If you sell at OD4 what you bought at USD12, theoretically that is an even exchange since it is what you could get if you had USD 12,000. In practice it will surely be worth less (i.e., will buy less) than USD12,000 does today. The REAL problem is…SGS mines in Australia or Africa. If we suppose that dividends are paid in OD that will reflect the then current exchange between Aussie dollars, say, and OD. The only sensible conclusion I can come to–MDC’s advice!–is to establish an off-shore account and take your pay out in the local currency. HOWEVER, steps are being taken right now to limit access to those by U. S. citizens. I’m pretty sure some are still legal, but the gang in charge doesn’t seem to have any problems with ex post facto laws, and I can visualize easily the enactment of a surcharge on overseas assets which are repatriated. Bob Livingston, who is…a client?…of Agora, sent me an offering recently dealing with legal ways to store value in off-shore accounts. My instinct says that we wil lose on every aspect of a currency recall. (I like that phrase! Recall the money, like a faulty automobile.) to be continued
Hi Linda,
If the US$ is replaced by a new US$ as you suggest, what happens to the denomination of existing US treasury bills, bonds and notes? Do they remain in old US$ or are they re-issued in new US$?
Why would the Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Saudis and Brazilians go alongs with this conversion? Would they benefit over an Americans holding similar treasuries?
Bottom line is, would this conversion benefit foreign holders of US paper over American holders? If so, why? Why would the Oligarchy accept a major haircut in the value of their US paper?
thanks
Dear Victor: Y’all sure ask hard questions! Traditionally old currency is destroyed after it is turned in, while some is kept as souvenirs. To simplify record keeping and reduce costs I suppose T-bills and bonds would be left as they are and converted upon redemption…but it is always possible there would be a date after which no more currency could be exchanged. I’m more interested in the stunt North Korea just pulled, limiting the amount which could be exchanged. Couple a limit for literal cash exchanges with a stipulation that the onus is upon the one holding FRN’s to account for how they were come by and drug dealers with rooms full of bank notes and politicians with cash in freezers would have to go on quick shopping sprees or forfeit such funds. BRIC, OPEC, and the EU would have no choice in the matter. They aren’t likely to go to war, and they are already threatening not to lend us any more money. I would not be at all surprised if the countries you named got a better exchange rate than we did. It is even possible that there would be domestic and foreign currency; WWII saw currency with government stamps in at least Japan and Hawaii; if it didn’t have the stamp on it, you couldn’t use it. It is conceivable that there would be a longer period during which funds held overseas would be phased out. Silly us. Why do we suppose that governments think these things through?! I hadn’t thought about it until you ask, but I think I make more sense than Bernanke does. to be continued
Victor asked: “Bottom line is, would this conversion benefit foreign holders of US paper over American holders? If so, why? Why would the Oligarchy accept a major haircut in the value of their US paper?” Victor, I am neither a banker nor a Statist, and common sense will only take us so far when speculating upon the behavior of governments. In a long life I have seen Congress and bureaucrats betray promises repeatedly. We have no reason to suppose that the Obama dynasty is either sensible or kind; we know a major goal is to spread our wealth to their voting blocs. Bill Bonner pointed out today what some of us have known for decades: the Social Security “trust fund” is full of worthless “I Don’t Owe Anybody,” not IOU’s. Even if it DID have promises to pay on demand the money would still have to come out of current income, which is in the red. If we suppose that the major goals are to prevent the revolt of the underclass and to destroy the middle class (sure, you and I think that’s crazy, but we aren’t Statists in power), then wiping out as much wealth as possible is a “reasonable” course of action. The big banking houses and families have held their positions and increased them for some four hundred years now. The Oligarchy would go along because there was something good in it for them. Let me ponder this a bit more and somebody see if the von Mises Institute will give me a gold star. Linda
So Linda
Why would Canada agree to an Amero? Doesn’t make sense at all. Canada has 30 million people or so with a very large land mass and resources. Also a stable government and a strong banking system. Canada has more oil than it can possibly use itself. Food? Ditto. Electric Power and every other critical natural resource too. I suppose the only thing that would make us agree would be fear from our powerful military neighbor to the south. No one is quaking in their boots just yet though. Stephen Harper, our Prime Minister, doesn’t seem to be fearful of Obama either, amused maybe, but not fearful. The Amero idea is dead in the water if it includes Kanada. Best Regards, CanadaNorth
let’s look at the dollar problem through a different angle. The national debt has grown and will keep growing so much, that unless the Fed goes on with its policy of free lending to the banks, combined with massive money creation, in order to buy the Treasury bonds, who will buy them ?
No one because there is simply not enough available money around for that. But even Bernanke knows (?) that his actual policy is not sustainable. It is inflating bubbles all over the world. Thus, the debt problem will have to be delt with, sooner rather than later. Default is out of question, because it would create immediate global collapse. But a massive devaluation, with or without a change in the currency’s name is the easiest way to get rid, at least partially, of the problem. Other countries would react in the same way they have reacted with Russia, Argentina and others, that is, not much. China would lose, but they have been told, over and over, about their refusal to acknoledge the risks of their policies.
In fact, the real problem in a massive dollar devaluation would be the risk of contagion. Many countries, starting with the UK, would be tempted to do the same. And if the major countries followed, the devaluation effect would be diluted, to the point of becoming meaningless. Bruno
[...] Original post: They're Going to Kill the Fed [...]
US$ either gains purchasing power or loses purchasing power as measured against the thing purchased.
Gasoline costs ten times more than it did a few decades ago, but Moore’s law halves the price of computing power every couple of years. We drive less and surf the web more. Technology, science and innovation increase productivity, improve the standard of living, and poke holes in the unreliable cost of living index. Sixty years ago a heart transplant was priceless because it wasn’t available; now it is affordable. How do you measure that drop in price? The standard of living is rising worldwide. Productivity improvements are deflationary. Huge increases to the worldwide labor force are deflationary. The Fed devalues the dollar to fight deflation. That battle between inflation and deflation is raging right now and will fiercely continue for the next several years. It will moderate but never disappear because deflationary forces will never disappear. Don’t fight the Fed is more than just advice to traders. Realistically, you can’t. They control as much as they need to in order to ensure their profits, regardless of the ultimate enslavement of those who do not figure out how to game them. It is essential to keep some investments outside the dollar but keep a few greenbacks to buy a wailin’ song and a good guitar. The dollar will probably experience a strong deadcat bounce sometime sooner or later. The rumor about tungsten plated gold bars is unsubstantiated.
Dear Bill: Haven’t I suggested before that you write articles and send them to me?! You wrote–very well–about a different aspect of the process. (Todd, Dear, Bill did not mean literally to to stash enough money to purchase a wailin’ song and a good guitar. He meant to hold some back for yum-yums. To have cash on hand in case a magnificent bargain comes your way.) Our best course as I (imagine the underscore) see it is to get as liquid as possible in case we have to jump fast, and to phase out of stocks, bonds, etc., by swapping the bulk of our FRN’s for tangible goods. With a little bit of “eat dessert first!” Protect against a Friday Surprise or bank holiday. Again…keep up with the Average Man’s Stock Market, AKA Craig’s List. THAT tells you how desperate people are between what is offered increasingly and the way prices fall–and sometimes rise. It has the same sort of validity for reading the public’s mood as Technical Analysis did in the early Eighties. NOW volumn tells you what a few fund managers and the blitzkrieg boys are doing. Depending upon your future plans and abilities, you could store value in lumber (always useful), Galvalume, cattle panels, or put some into burglar bars and a steel front door. Over and over, WHAT do you think you need to protect yourself from? I’m focused on not losing current value, a time when the grocer’s shelves are empty, and the possibility of roving gangs of the hungry and lawless. IF everything breaks down paper money may buy stuff for a couple of days until even the village idiot can see that what he has may be all there ever is for a terrifyingly unknown time. If you just bought a couple of big cans of coffee, half a dozen cans of snuff, and 500 rounds of 22 every week (roughly fifty dollars’ worth) you would have incredibly valuable trade goods “if.” Or make it a bottle of cheap whiskey instead of snuff. Tea bags, hot cocoa mix, a Spam substitute, 50 pounds of pinto beans…things that people will want to survive and to feed their individual addictions. Lord preserve us from a nation of grouchy coffee drinkers on a rampage! LBT
It’s clear something is afoot, most likely some form of looting, “getting while the getting is good”. So your scenario does look plausible.
The one point I don’t get is, “The Fed has also announced that it will purchase another 1.2 trillion (yes, TRillion) in treasuries in the next quarter… and that it will buy no more after that–which was why I gave you the 31 March deadline.” Why would they stop, and more than that, announce they are going to stop? Wouldn’t it make sense for them to keep buying until Congress pulls the rug out from under them? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to keep us peons in the dark?
I guess I don’t see how this supports your scenario.
The Kingston Trio sang:
“And I don’t give a damn about a greenback dollar,
Spend it fast as I can,
For a wailin song, and a good guitar,
The only thing that I understand…”
So did Hoyt Axton and Jerry Jeff (“Mr. Bojangles”) Walker.
The dyed paper in question being Lincoln’s way of paying for–a war!! The longer you held it, the less it was worth.
In a way, I would be disappointed if our “leadership” didn’t develop a contingency plan for the failure of a Treasury Auction, the failure of the dollar, mass dumping Treasuries and FRN $$’s, with nary a bid to be found. Instead of watching Nancy Pelosi twitch and exclaim, “We have to do SOMEthing!”, we could watch her twitch and exclaim, “We have a PLAN!”
I cannot credit a “new” currency as being Plan A, at this time. But I cannot discount it as Plan B, or Plan C.
What does the Fed mean by “not purchasing Treasuries after the 1st quarter, 2010″?
Hard to tell, especially since it may be a smokescreen or FedTalk, or…they might decide differently, later.
I think it’s about liquidity, though. When the Fed “buys”, $$’s go into the system–liquidity! So the Fed may be saying: “By the end of next March, we won’t need to do this any longer. As a matter of fact, we may start ‘mopping up’ the excess liquidity.”
The Fed: Who knows what they meant, or if they will do what they thought they were saying?
I think they could have been talking about liquidity: when the Fed buy Treasuries, it puts $$’s into the “system”–adds liquidity.
They have not yet given us a time frame for “mopping up” and withdrawing “excess liquidity” $$’s (although recent PR indicates they may be ‘practicing’), but they MAY be considering shutting off the firehoses at the end of next March. Isn’t that reassuring? April Fool!?!
Dear Paul:
What a terrific question! I figure that the announcement of no more purchases after the end of the third quarter IS the announcement that was sent out to the lower echelons who aren’t on the Board or holders of preferred stock, so to speak. How many “ordinary” people (meaning those who don’t read W&G and think seriously about what they are investing in and why) ever notice what the Fed does? People trust their money managers and brokers, and hang on to 20 shares of IBM because granddaddy said…literally, my mother-in-law still had a collection of badly battered former giants her husband had bought in the Seventies, when she died in 2004. MY guess is that the deadline is to warn the last of those they want to know that it is time to get out of the dollar, and that they figure they can sop up most of the toxic mortgages and other bad investments with another 1.5 trillion. I have no idea how they could untangle ownership of various properties, but perhaps all that matters is getting the debt off the books without further damage to the international banking and insurance giants. I may be all wrong, but in any case I think we should be very wary of having large amounts of cash in banks and look at safer ways to store value. I usually pull out a fair hunk on Friday afternoons; I can always put it back in Monday if the bank is still there! Thanks again for writing. Linda
Last time I went shopping on Craig’s List, it ended in divorce.
Do we ever really know what the Fed is saying or doing? They can even “change course” and not do what they thought they said they were going to do.
And so theatrical!!! Bernanke is in confirmation hearings on the Hill, getting called a failure, and the “definition of moral hazard”… Wham! Employment figures improve dramatically! Wham! The dollar goes straight up! Wham! Precious metals swoon! Fantastic stuff!–the Plunge Protection Team and their special effects!!
The info about the end of the 1st quarter, or the end of March, 2010,–I think it might be about liquidity. When the Fed buys Treasuries, it adds liquidity. Maybe they are saying that by March 31, they will turn off the firehose and stop adding liquidity. Then, they will be ready to prepare for their next act: mopping up “excess liquidity”. I hear they have already started rehearsing…
I give up Steverino, WHAT were you looking for on Craig’s List?! WE buy cows, farm machinery, goats, lumber, and travel trailers, all of which both of us want. One of our strong points is being very helpful talking each other out of not buying things he or she wants. We agree genially that no, we don’t need another X, but that is such a NICE one, and while we don’t really need it, if we got it this time we could really agree firmly that we won’t buy any more, and then either I say encouragingly, “Just call and check on it” (which means we’re going to buy it) or he uses the family joke of saying lovingly, “Just buy the damn’ donkey!” If we keep it up eventually we won’t have to worry about Friday Surprises, will we?!
GREAT comment on the results, perhaps, of the Bernanke hearings. Do hold forth on mopping up “excess liquidity.” My best guess is profit-taking and end-of-the-year-sales. My brother noted yesterday that he locked in his profits Friday morning and got stopped out on five positions that afternoon. Way to go, guy!
Greenback Dollars: spend ‘em fast as you can!
Reflation. If we could wrap our heads around that, maybe we could be well-adjusted, informed, productive, post-modern citizens. Just kidding! But, reflation is pretty daunting, as a national economic goal. Call me old-fashioned, but it just doesn’t seem to have quite the zing! as: Investment. Production. Commerce.
Yet, it is getting a reputation of being: clean, green, and somehow trade-able.
Personally, its elegance eludes me.
But, it is not completely meaningless. After watching a couple of seasons of “Economists’ Nite at The Improv”, I have distilled one jigger of meaning: Reflation = more freaking liquidity than anyone has ever dreamed of, with the possible exception of Noah. Cheers!
That’s all I know, officer. Honest. The rest hasn’t happened, yet.
Perhaps, they kill the Fed, the king dies, and so on.
Or: controlled inflation?…runaway inflation?…withdraw liquidity?…
I know, the Fed being able to mop up excess liquidity seems absurd–like I’m channeling MSNBC…
OK, OK, here’s what’s gonna happen: same as last time, really,…excess liquidity?
Headlines: “Reflation ends in Deflation!!”
And, a photo: Benny, Timmy, and Nancy—each holding a hockey-stick graph of the Money Supply, US Debt, and US Spending, respectively, and exclaiming in unison: “OH! NO!!”
HO!HO!HO!
Happy Holidays!
Linda, a very good article. I have a slightly different theory that I would appreciate your take on. My thoughts are that instead of a new “dollar”, the gov/fed will agree to a new version of SDR (Special Drawing Rights) that will include yuan, etc. for international settlement. In this the gov can devalue the existing greenback via exchange rates and say to the American public that nothing really changes since we will still use our dollars at the store. This would also allow other countries to deftate as well (like many did during the 30′s) and it doesn’t required Congress to vote on this. China and our own fed has been buying SDR’s already from the IMF.
I would appreciate your thoughts.
Stephanie
dear linda,
i cannot begin to tell you how much i enjoyed your article titled “they’re going to kill the fed”. i immediately sent the link to my family and told them your writing style is a combination of Ayn Rand and Mark Twain, both of whom are my heros! keep up the great work!!
-jim
Dear Jim: Aren’t you a darling?! THAT is a compliment to cherish. One of my favorite beliefs is that nothing is too hard for any of us to understand IF it is explained properly. There is no reason to be as dry as Thomas Dewey. When I am asked how to improve a person’s writing I tell the teens (usually they are the ones who ask) to write it just as they would tell it to a friend, and then I’ll show them how to use stronger verbs and better descriptive words, and what punctuation is for–speeding up or slowing down the reader. I never said writing was hard! I’m talking to all of you when I do it, and I’m glad you enjoy it. Cordially, Linda
Dear Stephanie…that makes so much sense it is scary! It accomplishes what I envisioned in my non-economist’s way as a “domestic” currency and a “foreign” currency. It is more subtle–since far fewer citizens would really grasp the implications. If you did not buy overseas or travel outside of the USA, you might well not notice. Could that be tied into the new demand that in order to leave CONUS you must have either a passport (issued at the whim of the government) or a “trusted traveler document?” Isn’t THAT a phrase to elicit thoughts of Joe Stalin, and don’t try telling me it means you can be “trusted” not to hijack planes. It could mean whatever the government said it did.
GREAT question, thank you very much. Regards, Linda
Dear Kevin…how can it be that suddenly there are new posts way back in the queue? If I didn’t keep up with how many there are, I might not have noticed. I LOVE your point about collecting what we need to use the skills we have–and even those we think we can acquire. If you have wooded land and reasonable mechanical skills, it makes sense to buy the smallest version of a “saw mill” so that you can make your own 2 X 4s if we go into the Greater Depression, supposing you anticipate a need for lumber to keep barns and stock pens in repair. A book on how to build a smoke house, and what you need to make cheese, anything that would increase your comfort and vary your diet if we spend a good few years as a primarily agricultural nation again. Some day you’ll see my articles on how I expect those who survived the worst possible case short of dictatorship will live–that in general there will be landowners, yeoman farmers, tenant farmers, very small mercantile and artisan classes, those who “mine” the cities, brigands, and a very, very large servant class. My conclusion is that we should attempt to set up at least a “small holding” where you can produce at least basic subsistance. Could just be me Irish ancestry screaming that “freedom” is a milk cow and a big potato patch…Regards, Linda
Dear Steverino/;A Conan Doyle: Very clever, dear. Turn it into an article and send it to Gary. This isn’t lack of appreciation, I feel as though I have been stomped by water buffalo and spent the afternoon collapsed on a couch in front of a fire, after sleeping the clock around. I couldn’t be witty right now for a thousand bucks a sentence. Keep writing–you’re a real favorite with me! Linda
Steverino, dear, I really like the one about reflation and spending our greenback dollars as fast as we can. MDC and I have been doing that for a long time and have a talent for it. Our goal is to be out of FRNs in a dead heat with a bank “holiday” or the crash of the dollar. Right now I see the buck as a coupon with an expiration date. Unfortunately, we don’t know when that date is. If I’m totally wrong in a couple of years the ranch will pay for itself sufficiently to pay a couple to run it until my children want it in thirty years or so. If I am NOT wrong (and nobody takes what we have away from us) we’re going to eat very well. My best advice to anyone who can’t manage at least enough land for a cow, a garden, and a few chickens is to master some skill needed in 1810–shoeing horses, mending shoes, digging wells…Linda
Bruno, your post currently #35 is splendid. There are still several ways this could play out. MY focus has been on how to get through The Greater Depression as comfortably as possible, as in never doing without butter and cheese. However, IF the dollar is crashed, I think we’ll see a cascade effect as all those other over-extended countries follow suit. If we behave like traditional Americans (sigh), we can put together a simpler lifestyle with what fuel we have, and we will STILL be better off than anyone else. We can go to external-combustion engines which run on coal or wood if we must…Fascinating, isn’t it? Linda
Dear Canada North: How right you are that YOU don’t want an Amero and I don’t want an Amero, but I imagine Mexico would like it. Far worse, the one-worlders want to see us all in big geographical districts under the control of the UN. Note the constant push to make US laws conform to those of others, in particular Sharia law.
Dear Kyle:
What a great video! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItugh-fFgg) Thank you. Your message now makes perfect sense, and although I doubt it will be extraterrestrial invasion, it could be the Chinese or some other group. The real danger, as I see it, is the same sort of economic collapse Russia went through. Will the future here belong to government dictatorship or to the strong and the prepared? I don’t know any good way to protect against 1917, so the choir I preach to is in favor of setting up (we hope defensible) places in the country where we can grow and raise our own food and provide at least enough power for an hour four times a day to keep the freezers cold and run a bit of wash and the vacuum cleaner. All any of us can do is the best we can. The problem is that too few are doing anything at all. Thanks again for your great post, my apologies for not getting to youtube sooner (It is so frustrating seeing a few seconds then waiting for more to load…) and I hope that you, personally, have a redoubt prepared. I watch the cows, chickens, and goats wandering around enjoying the sunshine and ample pasture as I write, and it comforts me. Linda
Conspiracy theories galore. How many truthers are here
monitorclimatechange.blogspot.com
Dunno, St. Nick. We’ve probably got truthers, birthers, and all sorts of “ers” but some subjects are not mentioned in polite society! I admit to having watched “In Plane Sight.”
Dear Linda and fans,
I follow your work with interest and I hope to add one small note for all of those who hope this mess resolves with a Hollywood ending. I was living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when Martin Luther King was killed and the black community decided to burn that city to the ground. The National Guard was brought in and closed the city down with a 24-hour curfew for five days. There were soldiers in the street. Jeeps with 30 caliber Browning machine guns and belts of live ammunition. It meant a person couldn’t even sit on the stoop of their front door. They could not leave for food, medicine, delivering babies or going to the mall….nothing. When the curfew lifted, I strolled down to the nearest super market to have a look around. The building looked as though construction had just been completed and the shelves had not yet been stocked. There was nothing in that store. NOTHING !! As I was walking in, a woman was coming out with about thirty jars of pickled pigs feet. I made a remark to her about whether she enjoyed pickled pigs feet and she scowled at me and said, “That was the last thing to eat in the store and I bought every jar”.
We have a notion, in this country, that it can’t happen here. But it can, and it has. I made the decision, that day, that I would leave the city and never go back. I work in films and I’ve never seen anything on the screen that was as sobering and frightful as that week in Milwaukee.
Dear Steve: Thank you for a haunting glimpse of what was, and what may yet be again. Perhaps the Siberian Express is making me more gloomy than usual; when it is achingly cold it is easier to envision a time when we will be hungry. No…I’m an analyst, not a frightened child huddled under the blanket telling ghost stories in the dark. Our way of life is so very FRAGILE. Any number of disasters–natural and man-made–could lead to empty shelves at the grocer’s and the drugstore/chemist’s, and even at the ubiquitous Wal-Mart. Except…Wal-Mart isn’t everywhere anymore, is it? It certainly isn’t in Detroit. What more would it take to push Detroit over the edge, and which cities might follow after it? In the Great Depression people were well-behaved in the bread lines and awaiting their turns to get into soup kitchens. There is little civility left in our nation and the “refugees” from New Orleans both times recently were demanding, confrontive, ungrateful, and lawless. If the 18-wheelers stop rolling there won’t BE any soup kitchens. More and more I feel an urgency to warn others to cache supplies at the nearest place of refuge they think they may be able to reach IF there is enough warning to get away from cities. But this is a respectable financial site, not a survival blog, so I try to restrain myself. Again, my thinks for a vivid, unforgettable vignette. Linda
Steve made me want to ask you to contribute personal experiences similar to his. Short of a memorable lapse of judgement recently, I have never been hungry before in my entire life for any reason other than vanity. MDC and I have now been in a position where there WAS no way to procure food short of embarking on a life of crime or driving a couple of hundred miles after midnight. All we wanted was a simple little bedtime snack, but between us we didn’t have a thing. FAR worse, we panicked, and walked outside the next morning to see three enormous pear trees heavy with ripe fruit we were welcome to have picked. We KNEW they were there. THIS is as scary as being hungry, realizing that we can be so focused on the unexpected problem that we thought only in traditional ways. The old phrase comes to me, “the quick and the dead.” Some problem-solvers, huh? Lying there in bed thinking of ludicrous solutions to the problem such as scrounging kibble from the resident dog, when the answer was literally growing on a tree right outside. There aren’t many fruit trees in the city…
In regards to the latest rumor that plated tungsten could be passed off as gold is not very likely. It is true that the density is nearly identical to gold however the hardness is vastly different. The vickers hardness of gold is 40 where the hardness of tungsten is 2242. A simple penetrating hardness test would reveal the scam without removing any gold. Keep in mind that a plating processes deposits no morre than .002 inches to the surface of an object. You might then say that you could hollow out a bar and pour molten tungsten into the cavity and then cover the hole with gold and finish it so no one could tell. The problem is that the melting point of gold is 1947 F where tungsten is 6192F. If you start pouring you had better watch your shoes because it going to burn right thru that gold and give you a “hot stump”. The only viable option to increase you gold holdings is to machine (bore) holes into the ends of your bar and slide in tungsten bar stock. The next step is to pour molten gold into the end voids and then metal finish so no one can tell. Thats how I do it at least.
Porter!
Thank you for the erudite explanation of the ins and outs of debasing gold bars! I don’t think I’m gullible (naive, sometimes), but I’m usually willing to believe that if there IS some way to cheat, someone will do it. I certainly know what lovely things some of our Aussie friends are doing with goldplating copper and old deutschmarks. It seems quite plausible to me that if someone had occasional access to a vault stacked high with gold bar, and that someone were not overburdened with scruples, he would be tempted to replace one of the genuine bars occasionally with one he had manufactured himself according to what we will declare officially to be “The Porter Process.” Remember the Roger Bannister theory: some things cannot be done until the first person does them. Once Roger broke the unthinkable barrier, it turned out quite a few could run a four-minute mile. Thanks for your great post! Linda
Giday Linda, love your work. Please write often. Back to gold testing and imitations thereof containing tungsten …an early post in this thread referred to testing gold. Using ones teeth is not a good career move. It brings to mind the thought that anybody considering bunkering down in their Mogambo guru type funk bunker would be well advised to get the whole family (and bunker bunk mates) to a dentist for a check up. Its wise to face privation as comfortably as possible.
In regard to tungsten I suppose you are aware that the Royal Canadian mint found itself short a few tons of gold mid year. The RCMP accountants were then called in to sort out the mess. Six months later the official story is that there was an accounting error (insert guffaw here!) (yeah right!)) …… But I wonder… imagine what would happen if a .999 purity 400 oz tungsten bar certified with all the appropriate LBMA marks and numbers was popped into a melting pot and large lumps of tungsten appeared “out of nowhere” and got mixed up with the coin making process…… The story goes that these tungsten bars have been floating around for many years, I bet this causes panic in vaults all around the world.
If anybody is storing food for their MGIB* (Mogambo Guru Impenetrable Bunker) I would like to draw attention to the fact that honey stores very well long term and is a fairly dense store of food energy. A large supply of herbs and spices packed into a collection as a Christmas present for would be MGIB recipients will take up very little room and can relieve bunker boredom. You can imagine children’s reactions….”not rice AGAIN”. Vanilla extract and rum changes the flavour of bland foods a lot and, because of the alcohol component , would shut them up (on a temporary basis anyway).
* I am very sad to note the Mogambo Guru has ceased to post… I hope “they” haven’t got to (or at )him,
Cheers Aussie Alex
Dear Alex:
Two minds with but a single thought: facing privations so comfortably that they are something which happen to other people?
About Richard Daughty…I have it on pretty good authority that this is a health issue, bless him, not a falling out over monetary policy. We’re battling bronchitis sullenly (we aren’t supposed to be ill) here in the Whiskey Redan, the least complicated structure that is defensible, basically a triangle. I didn’t know about the RCMP being unable to find a few tons of gold; I have that problem all the time, myself; perhaps it is carried away by the four-engine job cockroaches, or mice on steroids? Worse than trying to inventory electrons.
My emergency preparedness plan is to hunker down quietly deep in the woods in a large motor home while the rest of the population kills and or is killed, and be simple, happy farmers and ranchers if Part I is successful. Another great item is EAS Protein Powder, which will nourish an adult monotonously for USD one/day. It even tastes good if mixed with milk, egg yolks, and seasonings, although it comes in chocolate and vanilla. If it gets to Rawles’ “Patriot,” the best prepared with the best judgement (and sometimes the best luck) will come through this IF we don’t end up with dictatorship or foreign invaders. I’m going to be doing a series on those issues soon, viewing stores of diesel, heritage seeds, how-to books, and livestock as a “hedge fund.” Things you’d want while hiding in a hedge? Can you have even a couple of dairy goats and a few chickens where you are? Linda
Linda famously says: “One of my favorite beliefs is that nothing is to hard for any of us to understand, IF it is explained properly.” I concur and nowhere is that more true than in the case of banking where people have been so brainwashed they actually believe bankers lies that they loan out only about 90% of deposits, keeping 10% as a reserve which is a blatant and deliberate LIE designed to deceive the gullible!
We all know that bankers and politicians LIE, but mathematics does not, 2+2 will ALWAYS be four! That being said I have also found that even those decrying fractional reserve banking and fiat currency have FAILED to explain the operation in adequate terms to a degree that the average uninitiated person can understand and comprehend. Here then is my effort to do so and maybe it needs further refining, but hopefully will contribute to the store of knowledge of those seeking TRUTH uninhibited by any personal agenda.
FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING DILEMMA Monday, December 7, 2009 5:40 PM
The “establishments” position, (politicians and bankers), is basically that “gold is a barbarous relic” and has no place in a modern economy or monetary system!
I would agree IF greed were not a part of basic universal human nature and ALL politicians and bankers were scrupulously honest and always acted in the best interests of the citizens of the nation they serve.
HOWEVER, the above being far from reality we NEED “checks and balances” that PREVENT excess money creation, a function that a gold standard performed quite admirably over the centuries because it can not be created by fiat and has had intrinsic value (preserving purchasing power) for 6000 years at least.
Ideally our money supply should be “equal to and determined by the production of the country” and brought into existence as a CREDIT instead of a DEBT as at present.
HOW and WHY as a credit you might ask: simple explanation, view a country as a corporation and its citizens as shareholders OWNING the natural resources of the country from which, with ADDED HUMAN LABOR all true wealth eventually comes.
WHY should we pay perpetual INTEREST to a group of self appointed bankers who connived to create a MONOPOLY (supposedly illegal) that effectively gives them a perpetual share of all the wealth created by the labor of all human beings for nothing more than printing numbers on pretty pieces of paper?
With that as a working hypothesis we can then postulate that “anything that is physically possible, and desirable, (for the benefit if humanity) CAN and should be made financially possible” which generates a logical question! If we have the necessary natural resources and skilled human beings willing and able to work to turn them into ANYTHING that is of benefit to society, WHY should there EVER be a question of affordability (lack of money)?
What is it that makes a dollar bill good? ANSWER by the establishment would be confidence in the backing of the government as representative of all the people! In REALTY however, what the bankers rely on is the TAXING POWER of GOVERNMENT, and their Internal Revenue Service to ENFORCE the collection of their INTEREST through the Income Tax Act! Given the PERFORMANCE of the U.S. government in particular over the past decades, only a FOOL would have any confidence left in government or bankers, given the absolute MESS they have combined to make of our economy, the more logical conclusion being that our present system is a “CON GAME” from the get go!
What happened in 1913 is that the International Bankers conned the politicians through subterfuge and trickery into passing the Federal Reserve Act that gave THEM the power to create our money supply in a way that has ENSLAVED the entire world through interest that ACCUMULATES as DEBT at all levels of society, from the individual, then multiple levels of government as well as layers of corporations.
Governments and corporations do NOT pay the interest, ultimately it is passed on to the individual taxpayers in the form of taxes and the price of the goods and services we must buy! We end up PAYING IT ALL as an ever increasing debt load FAR exceeds any possible increase in income for the majority of workers. Witness the fact that my father worked a factory job for as little as 25c an hour, bought a car and a house and raised a family on that one income where many people now have difficulty living on TWO incomes along with all the social consequences of mother no longer being home to take care of the family.
The one FACT that politicians and bankers evidently do not get, (basically just being deceived pawns in the game) is that a DEBT based interest bearing system MUST like any pyramid scheme, eventually SELF-DESTRUCT, as it is now doing!
WHY YOU ASK, because “every bank loan is a new creation of money and when it is paid back it ceases to exist” testimony of Graham Towers Governor of the Bank of Canada before a Commons Committee in 1939! This means that the more loans that are made AT INTEREST, using a 25yr amortized mortgage as an example, as much as DOUBLE the amount of money is taken out of the system (CANCELLED) as was originally created.
What this means on a practical level is there must be an EXPONENTIALLY increasing number of new loans to allow an economy to function with sufficient specie in circulation to 1) pay the interest demanded by the total debt pyramid that keeps growing at all levels, and 2) sufficient to also continue to conduct all necessary commerce in an expanding economy! If you think about this deeply enough there is only one logical conclusion, the Federal Reserve Act was either by accident or design the mother of all Ponzi schemes.
Check the dictionary definition of a “Ponzi scheme” and then reread the FACTS presented until you “GET IT”! Our fiat currency, fractional reserve banking system is imploding because there is no other mathematical possibility. No amount of pump priming, stimulus packages, slight of hand accounting, government intervention, lies and coercion to “borrow and spend” can SAVE a badly flawed system. The problem is STRUCTURAL and must be changed to produce an HONEST non-manipulative monetary system people CAN TRUST and believe in.
Even with the current effectively ZERO interest rates the collective levels of debt can no longer be serviced, let alone the total debts ever being paid off in the lifetimes of our children or even grandchildren! The consequences of CONTINUING such a flawed and enslaving system is the complete breakdown of our civilization into utter chaos and probable dictatorship
MY BEST TO YOU, MYRON
Linda famously says: “One of my favorite beliefs is that nothing is to hard for any of us to understand, IF it is explained properly.” I concur and nowhere is that more true than in the case of banking where people have been so brainwashed they actually believe bankers lies that they loan out only about 90% of deposits, keeping 10% as a reserve which is a blatant and deliberate LIE designed to deceive the gullible!
We all know that bankers and politicians LIE, but mathematics does not, 2+2 will ALWAYS be four! That being said I have also found that even those decrying fractional reserve banking and fiat currency have FAILED to explain the operation in adequate terms to a degree that the average uninitiated person can understand and comprehend. Here then is my effort to do so and maybe it needs further refining, but hopefully will contribute to the store of knowledge of those seeking TRUTH uninhibited by any personal agenda.
FRACTIONAL RESERVE BANKING DILEMMA; Monday, December 7, 2009 5:40 PM
The “establishments” position, (politicians and bankers), is basically that “gold is a barbarous relic” and has no place in a modern economy or monetary system!
I would agree IF greed were not a part of basic universal human nature and ALL politicians and bankers were scrupulously honest and always acted in the best interests of the citizens of the nation they serve.
HOWEVER, the above being far from reality we NEED “checks and balances” that PREVENT excess money creation, a function that a gold standard performed quite admirably over the centuries because it can not be created by fiat and has had intrinsic value (preserving purchasing power) for 6000 years at least.
Ideally our money supply should be “equal to and determined by the production of the country” and brought into existence as a CREDIT instead of a DEBT as at present.
HOW and WHY as a credit you might ask: simple explanation, view a country as a corporation and its citizens as shareholders OWNING the natural resources of the country from which, with ADDED HUMAN LABOR all true wealth eventually comes.
WHY should we pay perpetual INTEREST to a group of self appointed bankers who connived to create a MONOPOLY (supposedly illegal) that effectively gives them a perpetual share of all the wealth created by the labor of all human beings for nothing more than printing numbers on pretty pieces of paper?
With that as a working hypothesis we can then postulate that “anything that is physically possible, and desirable, (for the benefit if humanity) CAN and should be made financially possible” which generates a logical question! If we have the necessary natural resources and skilled human beings willing and able to work to turn them into ANYTHING that is of benefit to society, WHY should there EVER be a question of affordability (lack of money)?
What is it that makes a dollar bill good? ANSWER by the establishment would be confidence in the backing of the government as representative of all the people! In REALTY however, what the bankers rely on is the TAXING POWER of GOVERNMENT, and their Internal Revenue Service to ENFORCE the collection of their INTEREST through the Income Tax Act! Given the PERFORMANCE of the U.S. government in particular over the past decades, only a FOOL would have any confidence left in government or bankers, given the absolute MESS they have combined to make of our economy, the more logical conclusion being that our present system is a “CON GAME” from the get go!
What happened in 1913 is that the International Bankers conned the politicians through subterfuge and trickery into passing the Federal Reserve Act that gave THEM the power to create our money supply in a way that has ENSLAVED the entire world through interest that ACCUMULATES as DEBT at all levels of society, from the individual, then multiple levels of government as well as layers of corporations.
Governments and corporations do NOT pay the interest, ultimately it is passed on to the individual taxpayers in the form of taxes and the price of the goods and services we must buy! We end up PAYING IT ALL as an ever increasing debt load FAR exceeds any possible increase in income for the majority of workers. Witness the fact that my father worked a factory job for as little as 25c an hour, bought a car and a house and raised a family on that one income where many people now have difficulty living on TWO incomes along with all the social consequences of mother no longer being home to take care of the family.
The one FACT that politicians and bankers evidently do not get, (basically just being deceived pawns in the game) is that a DEBT based interest bearing system MUST like any pyramid scheme, eventually SELF-DESTRUCT, as it is now doing!
WHY YOU ASK, because “every bank loan is a new creation of money and when it is paid back it ceases to exist” testimony of Graham Towers Governor of the Bank of Canada before a Commons Committee in 1939! This means that the more loans that are made AT INTEREST, using a 25yr amortized mortgage as an example, as much as DOUBLE the amount of money is taken out of the system (CANCELLED) as was originally created.
What this means on a practical level is there must be an EXPONENTIALLY increasing number of new loans to allow an economy to function with sufficient specie in circulation to 1) pay the interest demanded by the total debt pyramid that keeps growing at all levels, and 2) sufficient to also continue to conduct all necessary commerce in an expanding economy! If you think about this deeply enough there is only one logical conclusion, the Federal Reserve Act was either by accident or design the mother of all Ponzi schemes.
Check the dictionary definition of a “Ponzi scheme” and then reread the FACTS presented until you “GET IT”! Our fiat currency, fractional reserve banking system is imploding because there is no other mathematical possibility. No amount of pump priming, stimulus packages, slight of hand accounting, government intervention, lies and coercion to “borrow and spend” can SAVE a badly flawed system. The problem is STRUCTURAL and must be changed to produce an HONEST non-manipulative monetary system people CAN TRUST and believe in.
Even with the current effectively ZERO interest rates the collective levels of debt can no longer be serviced, let alone the total debts ever being paid off in the lifetimes of our children or even grandchildren! The consequences of CONTINUING such a flawed and enslaving system is the complete breakdown of our civilization into utter chaos and probable dictatorship
MY BEST TO YOU, MYRON
Great post, Alex. My original answer to you isn’t up so I guess it is caught in the spam filter and will be released tomorrow. I understand Richard Daughty is ill, not in trouble with any powers that be, Thanks for writing, and do it again, please. Linda
It wasn’t Congress which gathered supporters for HR 1207, Ron Paul’s The Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009, rather it was members of Ron Paul’s Campaign For LIberty who bombarded their Congressmen to encourage them to cosponsor the bill. There are now 317 congressional cosponsors thanks to the grassroots effort. We want to know where the trillions of dollars Bernanke printed up went!
A more basic question we have is just where in the Constitution is there authorization for the existence of a central bank to begin with. We know that Alexander Hamilton was in favor of a strong central government as opposed to Thomas Jefferson who was individualistically oriented and wanted folks to be as free as possible. Hamilton started the first central bank which inflated and was abolished by Jefferson. A second central bank was abolished by Andrew Jackson who had unkind things to say about those who inflated the currency thus debasing it.
In Article 1 Section 10 States are to hold only gold and silver coin as legal tender. Legal tender laws compelled us to accept the government’s fiat paper as if it were backed by gold or silver even though it is no longer redeemable.
If you want to have reason to believe that this will all be put right someday in the foreseeable future join us at the Campaign For Liberty. I joined in August 08 when there were 6,000 members and now there are over 225,000 after more than five doublings and redoublings in the last year. At that rate of growth there just might be millions soon in time for the elections.
http://www.campaignforliberty.com
Very good information.
Gidday Linda, I would like to elaborate on the Canadian Mint story if I may.
The addy below should get information on the lost booty “:O) This originally came from GATA.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/b.....story.html
To answer your question We have no goats or chickens yet. We are located in a large city with a few thousand litres of tank water, solar hot water heating and are soon to connect about 3Kw of solar PV cells. I don’t wish to fool about with batteries so I am considering buying a generator big enough to run long enough each day to keep a freezer going. A few chooks and a small market garden and that’s about it.
My partner is a medical specialist and is a city girl at heart so it looks like our impenetrable bunker will
have to be in, and stay in, the inner city suburbs. She has a useful trade… Me I’m a retired techo and I tinker.
We have an excellent workshop too.
In all seriousness when the crap finally hits the rotating device I think the best place to make a stand might be New Zealand. Rural, lots of clean water, 20 million sheep and its one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Love that roast lamb, baked potato’s and vegtables “:O) They even speak English!
I also like the fact that the moat between Indonesia and South Irian (OZ) and NZ is substantial. Perhaps if the worst comes to the worst the Aussie Navy and Air Force could assist a strategic withdrawal to the North Island and stand up to all comers…..(they don’t get many boat people in Auckland).
Cheers Alex
ps I read he is NOT a nice guy but…. just out of interest Hal Turner claims 800 Billion Ameros have already been shipped to China. He even shows a $20 Amero coin………refer to Google Hal Turner’s blog July 30 2008.
Has any of the players stopped to think what the reaction will be from the most armed populace in the world? Ending the fed is great, but stealing trillions from a very armed populace is suicide. The fed is buying up toxic assets yes, with what? Freshly printed fiat currency. If the toxic assets have ANY value, the fed comes out ahead. The citizens and taxpayers get screwed, but in a way that is a lot less in your face as a 1:3, say goodbye to your life’s savings and work, new currency trade. American’s in general are idiots, but inflation seems a much more “lively” way to screw the people. I think this crisis have more to do with preserving the dollar as reserve currency (opposed to the Euro), than destroying it.
[...] They're Going to Kill the Fed Despotism can be a development, often a late development and very often indeed the end of societies that have been highly democratic. A despotism may almost be defined as a tired democracy. — G. K. [Gilbert Keith] Chesterton [...]
what is evil-is temporary and has no future, what is evil becomes controlled by satan-satan has only one power-the power to destroy what once was evil. All the rich are about to be destroyed-they believe in evil (iniquity) as good thing-in May 2010-saturn and Jupiter ended a cycle-they opposed-the cycle of evil growing in evil(iniquity) now the rich will reap the seeds they have sown-all will be reversed-what you did to others-(hoarding wealth you can never use while endless millions people starved and became enslaved and imprisoned globally)-what you thought was so good is now yours to experience-even then you will not see how evil you are or change-and satan-the god you created in your own selfish image-feeling so superior to those you trampled upon) will have you forever to destroy until you are gone-completely. The entire system will be turned upside down-a new cycle has begun-we will see the the formerly abject poor make the same evil mistakes as the rich who abandoned and abused them did. the tables always turn but people never learn-not to do the same evil that was done to them to others-they just bask in greed and feel like they have super powers-The rich and the poor endlessly change places-in circles going nowhere-evil and insanity are synonymous. Where are good people on earth? Who among you has a conscience? Who among you would not go against that conscience in order to obtain money. You all destroy the only thing of value you have-your soul/conscience and connection to God-for something with a false-made up pretend value-money the root of all evil-you cannot continue going in circles-evil is eventually destroyed-satn rules this world and for just such a purpose-to finally dispose of all evil.