Alternatives to FRN (Federal Reserve Notes)

So what happens if (read when) the dollar crashes.  How will we get food, clothing, heat, etc?  Well, it won't take very long for competing currencies to emerge, mostly backed by state and private holdings of gold and silver.  These currencies will either BE physical gold, silver, and copper, or will represent actual amounts of these metals (or perhaps some other holder of value) held in vaults somewhere, where those value holders are actually audited and examined for accuracy.  Given the current value of the dollar relative to other goods (like gold, silver, etc..) it seems likely that those who have invested in actual property (rather than, say, the GLD etf or gold options, shares, or other pieces of paper that represent gold in a bank that trades in US dollars) will do very well, and be able to buy the goods they need.  Things like guns, bullets, gasoline, basic foodstuffs, dry firewood, etc will be in high demand, and luxury goods will be in low demand.

It's important to start thinking about how things will be if the dollar no longer holds any value.  Even now it only holds imaginary value, which, for most, is becoming less and less dependable, which is reflected in prices of goods, and the value of gold relative to the dollar.

PrintButtonMoney

Obama put's the blame on Congress?!?! Really?

LOL

This Article

Tells us about Obama blaming Congress for our labor and market problems.

Isn't the DOL and Federal Reserve part of the executive branch?

I'm pretty sure it is.

Well, at least the Department of Labor...

It's more like the Executive Branch is part of the Federal Reserve kindof....

ZeroHedge reports on BBC Meltdown Piece

What comes next is the Question
Here's the Zero Hedge Link


And there's more to come as Obama approves an additional Surtax on incomes over 1 million dollars. 

Gold up over 10.00 today

I expect, as always, with continued plans in Europe and the U.S to continue to propagate their fiat currency scheme for the world, that we will continue to see gold rise.

At least until they make it illegal to compare the worth of Federal Reserve Notes to gold and silver at all.

Confiscate it (again), and strike all record of these metals from history and the periodic table of the elements.

Sounds like a wet dream for the Ben Bernankster.

Here's a typical article about today's reasons for the shift in gold prices, and what 'investors' think about it:
From Northern Voices Online

The Death of Steve Jobs

Seems important to say something about.

I don't know much about the gentleman though, other than he is widely considered to be a revolutionary businessman and philanthropist.
It is unfortunate that he had Microsoft's Government Sponsored Monopoly to fight against, and wasn't granted the billions of dollars in Government Subsidies and Contracts that Microsoft was.

He worked hard for his money, seems to be the consensus.
He was proof that a small business could turn into a massive business and succeed.

I hope the current establishment (Big Government Corporate Aristocracy) doesn't completely destroy his dream by denying future entrepreneurs the same opportunity, as they seem to be intent on doing.

Here's a fourth branch piece on him.

ABC News on Steve Jobs

Rest In Peace, Sir.

A great compilation of Ron Paul videos

I thought this was awesome.



Of course I would.

Also, apparently congress is all pissed at President Obama for the whole Solyndra thing (which is outrageous certainly), but it's hard to see how it's any more outrageous than any of the other horrendous abuses of our constitutional freedoms perpetrated by the Executive Branch and it's private sector cronies on a daily basis.

Greece gets the service of QuantitativeEasingIncorporated

AKA QEInc.

QEInc. Europe is swinging in for it's own version of QE2 for Greece, and French bankers are, almost literally, crapping their pants.  This all amid our own fiscal troubles spells for interesting times.


Even Reuters is reporting that Europe is looking pretty grim...
I wonder if people will start to draw any conclusions from what's going on in Greece and see how the similar fiat banking practices in the United States are, as we gear up with QEInc. part 3 here at home . 

Probably not, realistically, because CNN, FoxNews, and their Ilk, continue to inform  most of our news watching population.  Unfortunately many of these individuals come out in cattle like droves, voting mindlessly for the Donkey or the Elephant, and not really realizing that it's just a shadow puppet on the wall, cast by the same hand.  If 20% of a population votes (not ours, of course,  but let's just say), and  51% of that population votes, doesn't that mean that like 10.2% of the overall population is making decisions for the other 89 percent?   I'm pretty bad at math so that  might be wrong.

Please look at what Von Mises Institute has to say about the way our economy is working and start saving wisely...  Gold and Silver hold value far better than fiat currency, as we can see from the incredible increase in the price of gold over the last 20 years.

Most of all though, don't let fear mongers like me keep you from being hopeful about your future and what you work for , just please, use it wisely.

PrintButtonMoney

CURRENCY WAR COMMENCE!

It seems that our Senate just decided to go to (currency) war with China as they pass legislation to attempt to force the Chinese government to let it's currency inflate to 'create more US Jobs'

Bloomberg Business week Reports


WTF!

How in god's name do legislators STILL THINK they can do anything to create jobs, rather than damage the private sector's ability to recover on its own (HA!).  Until we see a removal of minimum wage laws and union control of labor, there's nothing Congress can do but damage the labor market as a whole, and really REALLY piss china off. 

Gold > paper money!!!

Zero Hedge just posted this article on gold, the just of which is that those with some say so in global currency are finally starting to PUBLICLY acknowledge that gold is becoming a much better holder of value than any given paper currency.  Yay.

This might mean some scary things for those paper currencies, especially given whats going on in Europe. 

If it weren't illegal, I'd advise using silver and gold to trade instead of paper money.  *cough cough*

PrintButtonMoney

Nasdaq down over 3% today

Along with reports Here in the world markets that Greece failed to meet its deficit marks once again, the world economy continues to get swallowed by the bottomless pit of Keynesian economic strategies.
And yet the EU ministers continue to plan, though with some hesitation, to follow through on Greece's bailout in November despite their continued failure to use those bailouts to any significant effects.

This all occurs amid strife and protest and a probable police crackdown in Greece, the Fatherland of the democratic republic.

Excellent.

Also, gold is up over dollars today as well.  Wouldn't be surprised to see a continued rise in gold as all this crazy stuff going on domestically and internationally causes a drop of confidence in any currency whatever. 

Bernanke vs. Paul

This clip shows their fundamental difference with regard to monetary policy.
Notice the Bankster gives very few solid answers, and is visibly nervous in the face of Ron Paul's grilling:

Loaning our money to foreign governments

Well, it must clearly be up to us to save Greece through the euro, cause if not, who else would do it?  God forbid Greece fail because they took out too much debt and can't pay it back... like a whole crap ton of American Citizens. 

How, in conscience, can we keep giving American tax dollars to foreign governments, banks, and individuals when I still have credit card debt.

That's a BIG WTF.

PrintButtonMoney

P.S. Here's a post on Zero Hedge regarding the Fed and lending to foreign governments.  Bernankster Bailouts questionable?!

End the Fed petition!!!!

There is a petition to be signed at the We the People portion of the official white house website to end the federal reserve!

I recommend strongly at least taking a look, and encourage adding your signature!  Petition Here

Here is the forum post about the petition:  Zero Hedge Forum Post

PrintButtonMoney

ATM fees by BofA and City?

ZeroHedge Posted this article today about the concern that with certain large banking institutions in the banking cartel (BofA and Citi) implementing debit card fees, many depositors will be taking their business elsewhere, precipitating, perhaps, the next government bailout on the road to a nationalized banking system. 

My advice?  Bank local.  Even credit unions seem like a good option at this point.  It won't be long before JP Morgan-Chase follows suit (indeed they already have very little to offer bankers over competing small banks).

If the government does indeed 'have' to step in again to bail these companies out, we will see an end to this supposed recovery, an increase in the price of gold, and a decrease in the value of the dollar.  Again.

Good game.

I still blame the Federal Reserve.

PrintButtonMoney

Going above and beyond

It seems to be discouraged these days.  Keep your head down in highschool, do just well enough that the school continues to get state and federal funding, graduate and enter wage slavery, or graduate and enter the secondary education sector, then find a career, earn wealth for those who are already wealthy, and hope to earn enough to take care of your kids and maybe retire. 

This country is lockd into a pattern.  Born, school, work and/or family, retire, die. 
There is no real questing for a return to self determination
No real yearning for the evil and corrupt phenomena we see by those in power to be curbed, but simply change hands from one group to another.  The power from big business to big military, or the power from socialism to corporatism (not capitalism).  The future begins to look bleak.  On CSPAN the other day, one of the women who sits on the board of directors even admitted that this particular 'recovery' (which is what they are calling the current economic climate) is progressing in much a different way than normal, and that way is slower, and doesn't seem to be creating the jobs we need created, or the industrial base we need to recover.  Which means if the next bust in the boom bust cycle occurs before we have a real recovery we will continue to see a consistent downward slope.

Sad. 

PrintButtonMoney.

an INCREDIBLY important read.

It is important that we understand some of the basic motivations that the consumer faces when acting in the market place, and how current economic practices violate the rules governing those motivations to the detriment of everyone concerned, except for big business and the military industrial complex. 

Ludwig Von Mises wrote his treatise on Human Action, which brings to light some of this information, as well as provides a good basic understanding of economic practices, both good and bad.

I recommend it strongly, it is available to read for free at the above link

Thanks for staying informed!
PrintButtonMoney

The Monopolization of the Economy

So, I was talking to someone today about the role that Government plays in the marketplace, and made the assertion that labor phenomena like forced union membership, minimum wage laws, and other 'pro-worker' legislation actually ends up hurting the employees and consumers in the overall market, rather than curbing the illegitimate or immoral behaviors of employers.  There are several good arguments that support this assertion, I think, but a couple points come to mind immediately.

'Big Labor':  The idea behind labor unions is an incredibly important one.  I fully support any group of individuals who want to get together and advocate for better pay, safer work environment, and good benefits from their employers.  We need to understand a couple of important concepts though, to realize that requiring union membership by law to work a given job is counter-productive, and ends up preventing these goals from being realized in the labor market as a whole.

First of all, employers and businesses almost ALWAYS pass on the costs associated with regulation to the customer via increased prices (we have seen this more and more recently, as prices continue to rise across the board). This means that when the government forces businesses to hire from union labor pools, at a wage that is fixed by that union (and thus protected by law), that business has to recoup those losses.  They will do this in several different ways.  

The first way is to lay off workers.  Unfortunately this doesn't defray the costs all that much because of the requirements for laying off union workers, such as having to pay unemployment at a wage much higher than they would pay a minimum wage worker to work.  A perfect example of this is the grocer's union in some areas.  Those who work in groceries and stock shelves can make up to 14 dollars an hour.  Unemployment pays a significant portion of their wage, up to 70% in some cases.  70% of 14 dollars is over 8.55 an hour (which is the minimum wage in my state).  Therefore, instead of the company being able to pay someone minimum wage to stock shelves(which is certainly a low skill job), that person places a burden on society of over minimum wage. 

Remember, we can't just look at the individual grocer and employee involved, we have to consider the labor market as a whole, across industries, and the grocery market as a whole, including things like the food manufacturing industry which is so closely tied to it.  As a result of these increased costs, both in keeping an overpaid workforce, and in laying off excess workforce, the prices of the goods and services that the business provides will necessarily increase.

 In the face of increasing prices or failing, obviously a business will try to increase prices first.  This has a cascading effect on the rest of society.  As prices increase, both on the prices the grocers have to pay and the prices the consumer has to pay, more workers have to be laid off, and prices continue to rise.  It's a never ending circle.  We are experiencing this phenomenon as I write this, in every arena from the cost of tickets to sporting events to the cost of airline tickets to the cost of something so basic as milk and eggs. 


This is an example of how forced union membership hurts businesses, who are required to only hire persons from unions at the union mandated wage, rather than hire from the entire labor pool for significantly below the mandated wage.


Obviously the relationship between legislative protection of unions and a decrease in price stability along with an increase in joblessness is not the only relationship we need to consider when examining how government regulation in the labor market cause the very problems the legislation allegedly tries to prevent. 

In the next installment we will examine how minimum wage laws destroy jobs and small businesses, and favor big business (especially those businesses with close ties to the government).

PrintButtonMoney

New York City PD can shoot down planes, but should they?

The Christian Science Monitor published this story today in response to comments by NYPD police commissioner regarding the Police Department's capabilities with regards to anti-terrorism.  IT seems that the  NYPD can shoot down airliners in the event of a hostile takeover that puts them at risk, and the question raised is should the Police, Mayor, or Governor alone have the authority to make that decision?

People tend to cringe at this notion of local control of something so... scary.  However, it seems like the citizens of New York pay taxes to be protected by their police department.  If the resources exist for the NYPD to take care of these types of situation on their own, why call in the federal government at all?  This is a great example of the ability for local governments to care for themselves without the intervention of the federal government.  Why as citizens from California to pay for the protection of citizens in New York through federal funding, if citizens in New York can take care of themselves? 

In my effort to encourage decentralization of power, and return decision making abilities of all types to the individual, it seems like New York should have the authority to make decisions regarding their own safety, even if that decision rules out federal intervention, regardless of whether that decision is economic, social, or military.

PrintButtonMoney

The Modern Day Gladiators

Sports is an interesting phenomenon in this country.  The ties between sports and patriotism should be evident, and sports as a propaganda tool is extremely useful.  That being said, GO SEAHAWKS. 

This year is going to be tough on the Hawks, though, they have a particularly difficult schedule, especially considering the decision to bring on T-Jack as the starting QB.  It's too bad, I think, that we aren't seeing Whitehurst up there at least sharing the role, given his performance in the playoffs last year.  Regardless, I doubt we will be seeing much playoff action except for of course our division.  The division is still weak of course, and no one really respects the rams or the niners as a contender league wide, but given T-Jack's lack of familiarty with the Seahawks offense, it will probably still be a close run to the NFC West.

One can still be disgusted with American Politics and love sports.

PrintButtonMoney

Monday Monday

It's monday for the rest of the world, Friday for me. 
Work is bad on monday.  For some reason no one wants to gamble. 
The nice part is monday night football though, we have a bigscreen in the break room, and T.V.s all over the casino.

I was watching Cspan2 last night at work and saw something on by this investigative journalist regarding a book she wrote, Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State, on the Afterwords program.

She was talking to the former undersecretary of defense about the necessity for protecting the process of exposing classified information, as the government couldn't necessarily be trusted.  He kept arguing against her, despite huge evidence to support her claims.

anyway, I'd advise taking a look at her book, at the link above, It seems like something good to know about, especially the role of the intelligence community in our every day lives, as well as the control they exert over political and police practices around the world.


Also, to get a little insight into some basic economic ideas, it's important to look at Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics, a really great introduction into sound money policy and some reasons to argue against over regulation of the economy in terms of wealth and prosperity production for the poor. 

At some point I'll start to talk about the problems that we can all agree on, whether we identify more with socialist ideas or capitalist ideas, and why what we have seen recently fits neither of those viewpoints.

I had to take my girlfriend to the hospital today for what we thought was a separated rib.  In reality it was inflamation of the outside of her lung wall rubbing against the inside of her body wall.  There's a medical term for it, but I've forgotten it now.

While we were there my tax dollars paid to airlift (for the second time this week) an alcoholic smoker who had had a stroke...  he was 75 and had been an alcoholic for a long time.  We could smell alcohol from the other side of the curtain. 

Yet alcohol is legal, despite the burden upon taxpayers and society and families, and other substances, far less damaging from a numbers standpoint are not.

*rage*


Happy Monday,
PrintButtonMoney