The Power of Positive Thinking...

Just got around to reading the Oct 2008 Vanity Fair article by
Christopher Hitchens. I can't really argue with anything he says.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/10/hitchens200810

I've used the terms Kleptocracy myself in my own writings on what's going on in America. We are enduring several abominations at once -- the fleecing of the middle class by the politically elite, and the evaporation of our remaining hard-earned wealth (IRAs, Retirements, Savings, Investments) through the efforts of the Treasury and Fed and their socialist, inflationary policies.

On a personal note, my household net worth, measured conservatively, has declined BY HALF since the year 2005, and I'm not a wild-eyed day-trading speculator -- I'm a buy-and-hold-for-the-long-term sort. What a Chump! (Keep that in mind as you read the rest of my opinions and recommendations...)

You ain't seen nothin' yet. When all the TRILLIONS of dollars in bailouts (far more than simply "the Bailout Package") actually hit the marketplace, we will have an inflationary bout of devaluation the likes of which have never been seen in America, and which could rival the German Wiemar Republic of the 1920's. Wheelbarrows were required to carry enough money to buy a loaf of bread (just as in Zimbabwe today). All this bailout money is being created from nothing -- it represents only "America's promise to pay" -- and that promise gets weaker with every phony fiat dollar we print.

We ALREADY have NO HOPE WHATSOEVER of paying off our national debt. To use language appropriately strong enough to convey the peril we each face in the next five years, we're fucked.

It will take a couple of years for all the downward momentum to really work up a head of steam, unless something triggers a sudden spasm of global economic hurling -- such as a decision, or even an announcement, that a country, especially a G-7 country, is considering de-coupling from the US Dollar and going over to another currency such as the Euro as a measure of reserve or as a mandatory standard for selling or purchasing oil. Whether sooner or later, we are in for VERY tough times.

Personally I have taken measures to have physical access to a store of cash (several months-worth of living expenses), gold and silver bullion coins & bars, guns, ammo, fresh water, vegetable garden seeds, and preserved (canned, dehydrated) food to last at least three months. Six months would be better, and I'm working toward that.

Having this stuff on hand for the next five years will not hurt me financially, except for the opportunity-cost of not having the value of these items invested in other forms in the stock market, etc. during the coming sucker-rallies. Who wants to be invested in the markets right now anyway? I realize that if everything was to magically turn around today, then I would miss out on one of the best investment climates in history. But looking at all the evidence -- I just don't see that happening. The peace of mind that I currently have, believing that at least some of my wealth will remain after the meltdown, is worth the cost to me.

If you haven't gone to Chris Martenson's unbelievably excellent website and watched his riveting "Crash Course on the Economy" I cannot recommend it highly enough. If I didn't have any dignity left at all I'd get down on my hands and knees and plead with you and beg that you go watch this free presentation in its entirety -- it's that good.

Chapter 20 of his "Crash Course," the last chapter, lays out a clear, logical method for any individual to decide how best to proceed into the near future, and why they should do so.

http://www.chrismartenson.com/crash-course