If You Haven’t Bought Any Gold Yet… It's Time to Act.

Print. Lie. Borrow. Deceive. Deny. These are a the principal tenants of the Greek restructuring plan that were released today from Brussels… it’s as if EU policymakers put it together after shaking a Magic 8-ball.

The whole world knows that Greece is bankrupt and has been living bailout to bailout for over a year. Deep in debt and devoid of cash, the country has completely forsaken its sovereignty in exchange for becoming a ward of the European Union; Prime Minister George Papandreou is now a hapless stooge awaiting instructions from Germany.

It’s ironic that the Greek proposal released today calls for a ‘Marshall Plan’ of investment across Europe… given that the last time Greece was being controlled by Germany was during the country’s occupation by Nazi forces after being vanquished by Hitler’s 12th Army in April 1941.

And so, with limited debate and even less fanfare, Europe has just officially signed on to destroy its own currency. Utterly worthless, quasi-defaulted Greek debt will become perfectly acceptable collateral, much in the same way that the US Federal Reserve took every scrap of toxic paper it could find off banks in 2008 and 2009.

Given the favorable market reaction, European politicians must be feeling pretty proud of themselves. The euro is up. The stock market is up. Oil is up. Well, never mind about oil, they’ll blame that on evil speculators… just like food prices.

And the proposal is so deliberately vague, they can go back home and tell constituents whatever they want. Angela Merkel can tell German voters that the French are paying for it, and Sarkozy and tell French voters that the Germans are paying for it. Win, win!

The European sovereign default SOP has just been set. When Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland’s time of insolvency arrives, it will be handled just like this: Print. Lie. Borrow. Deceive. Deny.

Every day it becomes more and more obvious that the financial system as we know it is breaking down. The United States and European monetary union, whose currencies comprise nearly the entirety of the world’s fiat reserves, have both signed up to debase their currencies as rapidly as possible.

This is going to kick inflation up another notch as anyone holding on to Greek debt is going to trade out of it as quickly as possible. All that money has to go somewhere… and it’s a sure bet that a lot of it will feed rising commodities price (which translates into more inflation).

If you haven’t found a safe haven for your savings yet, it’s time to start. Now. No more excuses. A few you could consider:

Swiss franc, Norwegian krone, Singapore dollar, Chilean peso: These four currencies are generally regarded as safer, stronger, and managed by less obtuse central banks. In a world of fiat, these are among the least worst of the bunch.

Unidad de Fomento (UF): This is a special unit of account used in Chile that was set up during the hyperinflation days of the 1960s. The UF is designed to keep pace with inflation and it’s possible to establish a bank account denominated in UF in Chile. I’ll be telling SMC members how to do that in an upcoming issue.

Agricultural Property: Nothing hedges your risk against rising food prices like being able to produce your own food. This idea underpins the concept for the resilient community we’re planning in South America.

Precious Metals: Portable, divisible, durable, and scarce, precious metals are the classic hedge against rising prices. Gold and silver aren’t going to go up in a straight line, and gold in particular is due for a correction, but in a world ruled by an economic magic 8-ball, it’s a much safer store of value than a government IOU.

High quality equities: If my only two options are Apple stock and a bank account earning 0% interest, I’m going with Steve Jobs. The chief problem with equities is that the more money that central banks print, the more money flows into equities… pushing valuations up to dizzying (and unsustainable) levels.

Firearms and ammunition: Weapons and ammo serve a dual purpose of providing better home security, as well as a reasonable store of value. Unfortunately, they can also serve a third purpose– putting you on some government agency’s radar.

This list is by no means exhaustive… but if you have the majority of your savings just sitting there wasting away, it’s time to act.

This article is way too mild. Something this way is coming and it ain’t gonna be good.

If you don’t buy precious metals at least get a good store of food and hygiene items to last for at least several months. When the banks fail there will be a lot of other things fail. If you aren’t working because your employer went out of business do you think you will be able to live on food stamps? Ha! Everybody thinks that the government will protect them, it can’t!

Everybody thinks that because we have never had a catastrophic failure of the economy that it won’t happen. We did have a failure during the depression but this will be much worse. Back then we had a gold standard, people at least had something. Now days people only have debt.

Now in this country and much of the world 1/3 of our population lives on Social Security. When the inflation hits they will have a VERY hard time. People will be moving in together as large families try to get by on one household and very little money. Actually a lot of money but it will be worthless.

Do what the man says, get some gold, silver, guns, ammo, food and water. Get your house paid up or have enough cash to pay your rent or house payments for a long time. Quit worrying about how big your flat-screen is or how new your car is and get some security, do it now.

I hope the good Lord will help us. We don’t deserve it but I hope He will.

Food, storable food. Rice, and beans and lots of it. It is very cheap and carries the combination of carbs and protein to keep you healthy. A water filter, and stored water too. Buy plastic garbage cans, fill them with water somewhere on your property. Three or four of them, full of water will get a family of four through a month of troubles. The price is practically nothing, compared to bottles of water. I have my hot tub full of water, with no chemicals. Three hundred and fifty gallons to get us through a few months. Cord wood is drying, I bought a chain saw, and enough fuel for a year for it. I have three 100 foot trees laying down waiting to cut up too. Buy bar soap, light bulbs, raise some chickens. My garden is a disaster production wise, but I am learning. I have plans on buying a beef, along with a “craigslist” freezer to store it in. The worst that can happen is I lose $600, the best is, I can trade meat for other needed items. WHEN the SHTF, I hope and pray we all remain civilized. Just in case, I have plenty of ammo. That too is going to be a great trading item.

All’s I know is this. My parents grew up in Italy during the war. It was the toughest times they ever lived through.

They always told me that the people who had it best back then were the farmers, because they had everything they needed right there. And my grandparents survived because they were handy and could do masonry or machinery work for the farmers in trade for food.

If I have to hedge my bets, that’s what I’m going with. Grow food. And make yourself useful.

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