Poor
Man Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
"Where the people fear the government you have tyranny.
Where the government fears the people you have liberty." — John Basil Barnhill (often incorrectly attributed to
Thomas Jefferson)
How Politics
are Manipulated to Dupe the Masses
Many of us are becoming
Ashamed to be an American-What many of us are thinking about this 4th
of July
My annual “State of Freedom” message…
Those who have studied history, should perhaps
not find it surprising that the political outrage that is felt so keenly by
people on all sides of the political “spectrum” should be controlled by
spinning them off into partisan politics.
“Nor should they be surprised to see how
effective this technique is.
“After all, the strategy of keeping people
pitted against each other instead of against their oppressors is one of the oldest
political stratagems known to human civilization.”
The strategy is simple: “Divide and conquer.”
Wikipedia’s two cents:
Elements of this technique involve:
- creating or encouraging divisions among the subjects to
prevent alliances that could challenge the sovereign
- aiding and promoting those who are willing to cooperate
with the sovereign
- fostering distrust and enmity between local rulers [or
groups]
- encouraging meaningless expenditures that reduce the
capability for political [organization or opposition]...
Keep in mind the lies Mrs.
Clinton has gotten away with regarding her home server & emails or her role
in Benghazi or their foundation slush fund…
Since 2005 we’ve lost 40% of our purchasing
power and since 2009, we’ve lost 8-10% of our middle class. Few jobs pay a living wage any longer and
many, many Americans can barely afford their rent payments [now in excess of
45% of income in the United States].
Corporate
America and Washington has broken the social contract which used to
exist…college graduates can’t find decent jobs to pay down the excessive
tuition loan payments they have and families are finding it tough to feed their
families – even with food stamps at an all time high.
Just what the hell went
wrong with this country?
Some
of you know I’ve spent a lot of times [more than six months total] in the
hospital during the past couple of years and my conversations with nursing and
other professional medical staff tells me that even these folks are having a
hard time making ends meet and hospitals too are paying less or cutting
benefits.
It
used to be corporations paid for health care and pensions and more…no
longer. Firms like Walmart expect
taxpayers to support employees with food stamps and Medicaid – all at taxpayer
expense.
Congress
critters and their employees face no problems as they get gold plated benefits
and automatic annual pay raises while living a lavish lifestyle paid for by
special interests who are busy buying selling politicians at the state and
federal level…insider trading among many members of Congress allowed many to
amass huge wealth while you and would be arrested if we did the same.
Congress
is busy gutting the Bill of Rights, our treasury, our privacy and more all the
while enriching their campaign donors while ignoring how inflation is killing
the middle class’ purchasing power.
“The mere fact that all the items that the average person
buys increase in price every month is of no interest to economists. They rely
instead on government statistics.”
We
now live in a nation where ‘freedom’ is becoming just a memory as bureaucrats
and politicians at every level create so many ‘laws’ that no one can keep
up…creating an atmosphere where everyone is a lawbreaker.
We
have too much government and especially too many unelected pinheads who create red tape
out of thin air without benefit of public input or proper legislation. This is not how our forefathers envisioned
our lives to be.
Their
goal was to keep government off our back and out of our lives…today EVERY
damned thing we do is looked at by Big Brother who sticks its nose into all
elements of life.
Us ‘old timers’ have also
noted the lack of tolerance in America too…
No longer is
anyone permitted to speak their mind freely.
We live in a land where intolerance in the name of tolerance is the new
norm…otherwise, the media is quick to condemn!
In America, we
have to tiptoe around on ever thinner eggshells” and “the forces of ‘tolerance’
are intolerant of anything less than full-blown celebratory approval.”
Beloved
children's book author Judy Blume warned recently that the left's unyielding
effort to create a world where no one is ever offended by anything is a threat
to literature…
In such a climate
of intolerance, there can be no freedom speech, expression or thought.
How much freedom do you still have?
·
don’t
expect privacy in public,
·
don’t
let your kids walk to the playground alone,
·
don’t
engage in nonviolent protest near where a government official might pass,
·
don’t
try to grow vegetables in your front yard,
·
don’t
play music for tips in a metro station
· don’t expect to do
anything on your own property without permission from an unelected bureau-twit
· don’t expect to feed the poor without permission
· don’t expect to govern your financial affairs, enroll in school,
receive medical care, etc. without government monitoring [aka: social security
numbers]
· don’t expect to travel the roads, trains or airports without
government inspections [after all, it is for your safety]
Far from being a shining example of democracy at
work, America has become a
lesson for the world in how quickly freedom turns to tyranny.
Sadly, most
young Americans don’t seem to have a clue what freedom is or how it was
achieved or how it is being lost in this nation.
The failure of the two-party system is merely a symptom of a
larger disease…
“In a society where a government is weak, decentralized, and
unable to enact the more radical wishes of any majority group,” Ryan McMaken
writes on Mises.org, “a losing side is less likely to regard the winning side
as a genuine threat to one’s daily life.
There’s precious little
difference, in the big scheme of things, between the political parties. Anyone
who’s paying attention can see that party elites get along fine while most of
the rancor can be found among the naive rank and file.
“There’s a reason for this.
“Regardless of who wins, virtually nothing will be contemplated
that might lead to meaningful reductions in regulation, taxation, or the
punitive excesses of the criminal justice system. The larger trend in the
growth of the state overwhelms any tiny adjustments that D.C. is willing to
make in the present political climate.”
Reminds me of NAFTA and one of the reasons I no longer trust
politicians…
“In 1992 Bill Clinton promised that NAFTA would result in an
increase in the number of high quality jobs for Americans, and it would reduce
illegal immigration.
That worked well, didn’t
it. Just like our current set of
–un-Patriot Act laws…more hogwash that mainstream Americans have swallowed
hook, line and sinker.
Is it any wonder why we’re
witnessing an America where freedom is shrinking?
I feel life in America has
become an episode of the Twilight Zone where the ever-increasing story has
become 1984!
It’s why my motto is:
We don’t need another election,
We need another revolution! It’s why
since 1999 I’ve been preaching…
Freedom, Self-reliance, and Action
This Independence Day, let us reclaim the power of our Declaration of Independence
How to Survive
the…[FREE-Donations Appreciated]
War on Middle Class and All 10 Bonus Reports can be
downloaded here:
P.S. Consider
what the late John Pugsley thoughts were on a prosperous strategy for living:
Pugsley was one of the pioneers of the 1970s “hard money” movement, publishing a newsletter that urged readers to buy gold as soon as gold once again became legal for Americans to own in 1974. Here’s his Alpha Strategy in a nutshell.
Pugsley was one of the pioneers of the 1970s “hard money” movement, publishing a newsletter that urged readers to buy gold as soon as gold once again became legal for Americans to own in 1974. Here’s his Alpha Strategy in a nutshell.
The Alpha Strategy
entailed three levels…
- Invest in production. If it’s something you need to
make a living -- education, a skill set, tools -- this takes priority over
anything else.
- Save consumables. This is the stuff you use on a
day-to-day basis -- razor blades, pasta, tires -- if you use it up and it
has a decent shelf life, it falls under Level 2.
- Save real money. If after Level 2 you still have
savings left, then you can put them into precious metals and other
tangible assets.
The best part
about the Alpha Strategy is you can start with any amount of capital. “If you
have only $100, you can protect it completely against inflation and all
investment risks by simply buying things now that you know you will have to buy
next week, next month, or next year. If you have $1,000 or $10,000, the same
thing holds true.”
Better yet, all your “gains” are tax-free.
Better yet, all your “gains” are tax-free.
“The greater the
investment you make in education [real world education, not college] and
tools,” Pugsley wrote in The Alpha
Strategy, “the more you will produce and the higher your income and
standard of living will be.
Still have some
cash left after building up your stash? “You are ready to explore the third
level of the strategy: the accumulation of real goods that you can eventually
sell or exchange.” Things I’ve addressed
for nearly 10 years in this newsletter.
Pugsley refined
his guidance in a pathbreaking book called The
Alpha Strategy: The Ultimate Plan of Financial Self-Defense. Alpha
is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and Pugsley defined the Alpha
Strategy as “the first plan for any individual to protect his wealth.”
I found copies of
his book on eBay & a few copies were still available at the time of this
essay. Plus, here is a similar tome
which I wrote along with several bonus ebooks – it is yours free but a donation
would be appreciated.
How to Survive
the…FREE [Donations Appreciated]
War on Middle Class and All 10 Bonus Reports can be
downloaded here:
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
1 comment:
Outstanding piece which should make more than a few give some extra thought to the meaning of "Independence Day." We hope your holiday is a splendid one.
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