Posted on 01/23/2010 8:02:57 AM PST by blam
America's Impending Master Class Dictatorship
Politics / US Politics
Jan 22, 2010 - 02:39 PM
By: Stewart Dougherty
FOREWORD: At certain times, focusing on the big picture is important not just for investment success, but for personal welfare, and even survival. We believe such times are here. It is estimated that 98% of Americans have never held a gold coin in their hands. Yet 100% of Americans regularly handle Federal Reserve Notes. From a contrarian standpoint, the financial message from those two statistics is clear. Even so, gold is much more than money or an investment medium; it stands for liberty and throughout history has facilitated escape and ensured freedom.
Never having touched a gold coin is the monetary equivalent to never having breathed fresh air, felt the warmth of sunshine, looked up at the stars or risen from the gutter. Fiat Federal Reserve Notes are becoming nothing more than sewage decomposing in the vast, toxic septic tank of predatory Washington politics, epic Federal Reserve arrogance and error, blatant Wall Street fraud and outright Master Class plunder. Below, we outline America’s troubling and compounding predicament, and urge you to think about how to protect yourself from its consequences, both financially and personally.
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Thanks to the endless barrage of feel-good propaganda that daily assaults the American mind, best epitomized a few months ago by the “green shoots,” everything’s-coming-up-roses propaganda touted by Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, the citizens have no idea how disastrous the country’s fiscal, monetary and economic problems truly are. Nor do they perceive the rapidly increasing risk of a totalitarian nightmare descending upon the American Republic.
One stark and sobering way to frame the crisis is this: if the United States government were to nationalize (in other words, steal) every penny of private wealth accumulated by America’s citizens since the nation’s founding 235 years ago, the government would remain totally bankrupt.
According to the Federal Reserve’s most recent report on wealth, America’s private net worth was $53.4 trillion as of September, 2009. But at the same time, America’s debt and unfunded liabilities totaled at least $120,000,000,000,000.00 ($120 trillion), or 225% of the citizens’ net worth. Even if the government expropriated every dollar of private wealth in the nation, it would still have a deficit of $66,600,000,000,000.00 ($66.6 trillion), equal to $214,286.00 for every man, woman and child in America and roughly 500% of GDP. If the government does not directly seize the nation’s private wealth, then it will require $389,610 from each and every citizen to balance the country’s books. State, county and municipal debts and deficits are additional, already elephantine in many states (e.g., California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York) and growing at an alarming rate nationwide. In addition to the federal government, dozens of states are already bankrupt and sinking deeper into the morass every day.
[snip]
Even if the government expropriated every dollar of private wealth in the nation, it would still have a deficit of $66,600,000,000,000.00 ($66.6 trillion), equal to $214,286.00 for every man, woman and child in America and roughly 500% of GDP.
Ping
I don't know that much, just public knowledge. As I said, unfunded liability isn't real debt, it's potential debt. No doubt foreign countries will hold some of it. China currently holds approx $800 Billion is U.S. debt, mostly in the form of Treasury bonds. Russia holds approx $125 Billion. Total U.S. debt held by sovereign banks is approx $3.4 Trillion. I assure you that foreign banks will not lend us $120 Trillion. The money to do it doesn't exist in the entire world and they would be insane to try. How much more these nations are willing to lend isn't clear. Inflation of the dollar may well drive them out of the Treasury game, but that hasn't happened yet, although China, for example, has been making a lot of noise about our excessive debt (while continuing to buy it up).
The only certain thing is that we're running trillion plus dollar deficits every year now and it's a disaster in the making. It is a crushing burden of debt and the money is mostly being wasted anyway.
BTW, I don't know where the author gets this number of $120 Trillion. I think he made it up. Unfunded liability, mostly Social Security and Medicare, is usually calculated at $53 Trillion (still a gargantuan figure).
He”re’s how this will go down: Knock, knock, knock. Sir, based on the answers you gave to the 2010 Census workers from OFA/ACORN, we have concluded that you must be relocated to a “safety zone”. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause but please take 15 minutes to pack up your family. Please bring only those items you require for the next 2 weeks. Leave everything else and it will be packed by a govt. agency and forwarded to your new location. When you get to the cattle cars, you will be separated from your jewelry, gold, silver and coins. That’s how it worked for the Jews in Germany.
“Don’t worry about it Freepers. Get out of the urban areas now. Learn how to live off the land. Become self reliant. Believe in God - Guns - Gold - and Guts. We will make it and prosper in ways you never thought possible.”
...until a few “Technicals” show up and start firing anti-aircraft weapons at you.
On the other hand, it would take much more than an economic meltdown to get us to that point...much more likely is a dollar crash, where everything triples in price (with flat salaries). For that, it’s good to have EVERYTHING non-perishable (including cars) already in possession - something which I essentially completed last year.
That's what I've been trying to tell you. These unfunded liabilities aren't debt. They're future potential debt. We don't owe China or Russia a penny on money that hasn't been borrowed or spent yet. They haven't extended us a credit line. If Congress eliminates the Medicare program, that doesn't eliminate any debt we've piled up paying for that program. It only eliminates the future spending. Flipping those countries the bird, as you put it, means defaulting, which is something I hope we never see.
It's like I intend to borrow $20,000 to buy a car. Do I owe $20,000 because I decided to buy a car? No. I owe nothing until I actually borrow the money.
To recap, wiping out an unfunded liability, which isn't debt but potential future debt, doesn't eliminate a penny of actual debt nor our obligation to pay it.
Whose land will you be running around on with your family? The land you bought without a job? Do you have a list of all the land that nobody owns that you can just "have"? Are you going to steal livestock, seed and a plow to make this land livable or do you have a place where the wildlife falls dead ready to be eaten?
If you think you are going to be "living off" MY land guess again.
OK I get what you’re saying. For example, I will go on Social Security in ten years, so if Congress says this program is unsustainable and is therefor over. Since I hadn’t collected any Social Security money yet, no foul. That is projected debt. However, for Congress to cancel SS and Medicare programs by proclamation seems hazardous to me. Wouldn’t it be less traumatic and less likely to cause anarchy to just take over health care and quietly kill off the elderly so the unfunded liabilities slowly disappear./s
Bring me gold and silver and I will give you food and ammo...lost of coffee and chocolate too.
Lost = Lots
Ditto...still adding on though.
Exactly. The money hasn't been spent yet and the requirement to do so (The unfunded liability) can be wiped out by an act of Congress.
"However, for Congress to cancel SS and Medicare programs by proclamation seems hazardous to me."
Certainly hazardous to their political careers. It's not going to happen.
"Wouldn’t it be less traumatic and less likely to cause anarchy to just take over health care and quietly kill off the elderly so the unfunded liabilities slowly disappear./s"
I know the above is sarcasm, but it brings up an important point, which is the left's lie that the government taking over health care will result in savings. It won't. Savings are only realized in the private sector through market forces. Not only savings but the best quality of service, because that's what the market demands. Private enterprise always provides the highest quality at the lowest prices. The incentives are there in the free market but are absent in the public sector.
Yeah! Right.
Am I correct that in the old East Germany that 1 in 7 adults in the nation were spies for the Stasi.
“Ditto...still adding on though.”
Just figure that everything is half-off right now...then spending the money becomes much more palatable. Just try to minimize things that you “might” need in lieu of things that you “will” need...not easy, especially considering that things you may need will also go up in value 3-fold. My big fear is price controls, where you simply will not be able to buy what you’re used to.
You are starting to sound like one or my heros, Ludwig Von Mises.
or=of
I remain totally perplexed by the value attributed to gold. You cannot eat gold, you cannot defend yourself with gold, you cannot quench your thirst with gold, nor will gold keep you warm and dry throughout the day. I guess it does have some industrial uses, but what comes to my mind first and foremost for use as personal adornment. Whoever has convinced the world that s gold has an intrinsic value in and of itself had done a sales job right up there with cigarettes and bottled water. To me, gold primarily represents a mythical style value that humans attribute to it, not a value of substance. When the chips are down industrial uses and personal adornment will be at the bottom of things necessary for survival. I think you will be hard pressed to be able to exchange youar gold for things like food, water and firearms when things are really, really tough.
Gold will become mind-bogglingly valuable for a time, before any of the situations that are hanging you up can occur. That is when you will be able to make all your other preparations easily by selling your gold.
We know that this is unquestionably true because those that are truly in power are setting the stage for it to happen for their own benefit. Shortly after that point, its anybody’s guess what will happen.
I’m not talking about your land. I’m talking about my land that I own. I’m just saying people in urban areas need to get out of there, buy some land, and go to ground.
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