Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for Urban Survival Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Save on medical costs-pay cash, use concierge service
2. “yes suh massah” - Life on the plantation
3. Earth Day-April 22nd
4. Help the Honey Bees
5. Charity Gardens-feed the poor
6. Girl Scouts banned from selling cookies from home
Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it."
-- Thomas Sowell
(1930- ) Writer and economist
Beating the Cartels-why we urge you to support local farmers and businesses!
Most American consumers today only have the illusion of choice thanks to consolidation efforts of multi-national conglomerates and virtually no government oversight.
Readers already know that I frequently rail against the Washington-Wall Street Cartel as they have virtually eliminated competition and small business in this country. Over the years our government leaders have virtually eliminated usury laws, monopolies on media ownership and anti-trust laws.
Before Ronald Reagan was in office, the government was targeting A&P grocery stores with its anti-trust laws. Now, Wal-Mart dwarfs A&P several times over and no one in Congress says a thing about it. Nearly 80% of the household goods, toiletries and the like sold in this country, are from this mega-giant retailer.
The government, bought and paid for, has allowed a handful of multi-national firms to rule just about everything we view, buy and consume. As these multi-national monopolies gobbled up more companies, they became more powerful as to how many politicians they could buy off, quietly rigging the vote and circumventing any laws which might protect consumers.
You may recall the pet food scare of a few years ago where tainted foods, coming from China, poisoned or outright killed family pets. These foods, marketed under more than 150 brand names through Wal-Mart, Kroger and others were found to contain ALL essentially the same crap…even those so-called high priced or gourmet pet food brands costing two or three times as much.
Hate to tell you, but this essentially holds true for the beer you drink (even Budweiser is owned by a foreign firm and still tastes like carbonated dishwater), the cosmetics and toiletries you use, and even canned soup. These cartels hold virtual monopolies on just about everything we consume. Further, their only goal is more profit, even if it is at the expense of American jobs.
There is no such thing, any longer, as the free market system and Obama (he’s busy in Brazil promoting oil drilling; something he won’t here) and Congress haven’t seen fit to exercise our anti-trust laws on anyone…because they’re bought and for by the cartels. I’ll bet you a pizza, the FTC turns a blind eye to the coming cell phone merger that I reported on in the last issue!
Most Americans are now essentially sharecroppers. Entrepreneurship is discouraged with bankers and the SBA only willing to look at those interested in a franchised style business. Small business ownership is going the way of the dinosaur and the US is now the 2nd lowest of 22 rich nations in its percentage of workers that are self-employed. This wasn’t always the case, but small businesses have been squeezed out.
As a worker, you’re a numbered consumption machine. Multi-national firms have long wanted our government to initiate a national health care plan so they wouldn’t need to fund anything like that for employees. These employers were happy to stop offering pensions and convert employees to their own 401(k) plan as corporations do not need contribute or guarantee any portion of those retirement plans.
Know of any other newsletters or publishing concerns the Poor Man can take over?
A good sized garden for a beginner in a backyard is a 4'x12.5' bed that amounts to 50 square feet. Even a smaller 4'x4' bed is good. If you live in an apartment, start with a few potted plants perhaps on a balcony or near a window with good light. Each season you can expand as your experience and interest grows.
Help the honeybees…help the planet
Honeybees are critical for pollinating crops, this helps plants to produce seeds. You may have seen reports about the demise in the bee population in this country.
Three-quarters of all flowering plants -- and more than one-third of food crops -- depend on bees, butterflies and other pollinators for fertilization. Yet in just the past few years, the population of honeybees bred for use in commercial agriculture has dropped dramatically. Wild bees, butterflies and some pollinating bird species also are in decline.
Possible causes for the decline include parasites, disease and pesticides, but there’s no doubt that one major cause is loss of habitat -- the plants that pollinators use for food, mating and nesting.
You can help restore their numbers by assisting them to find food quickly and easily. When planning your spring garden, consider planting striped varieties of snapdragons, petunias and lilies.
The stripes act as landing lights, leading bees to the nectar of the flower and pollen, this is what they thrive on. Bees also like roses, zinnias and hibiscus.
To learn about native plants in your region, visit the Web site of the Pollinator Partnership (www.Pollinator.org). Or contact your regional native plant society -- the North American Native Plant Society lists state and regional groups at www.nanps.org (click on "Resources," then "Native Plant Societies"). Your nearby cooperative extension office, which provides free agricultural education and information (www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension), also can help. Or you can talk to docents at your local arboretum.
http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_14857229
Sidebar: The Pentagon has been is experimenting using bees to sniff out bombs and explosives. Using sugar water as a reward, they can be trained in two hours and are remarkably accurate. They located explosives in 99% of tests!
Community Supported Agriculture-Free resources to help you
Includes national database to find them in your area.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml
Charity Gardens-helping the needy
With 50 million Americans at risk for hunger, many people need help long-term. Even a 6X6 foot garden plot can feed a lot of people. Get more information on you might help at: www.feedingamerica.org
Use petroleum jelly to line the bottom of candle holders. The candle drippings will slide out afterward.
Resources you can use…
HAVE you ever thought of being a court house researcher as a part time, independent means of making money? It can be lucrative. EXAMPLE: When I owned my chain of business newspapers, I contracted with a fellow to obtain all of the new businesses in the counties we served so we could publish them (it was a tremendous boost for our papers and increased our circulation as everyone else was charging for those names at the time). Check these sources at our friends from the Rat Race Rebellion.
http://www.ratracerebellion.com/jobs-courthouse.html
Audio Books For Free - http://www.audiobooks4free.com
Americans spend more time fighting government stupidity than any other single element of their lives…traffic tickets, marijuana laws, tax laws, red tape on everything from building codes to school rules…wasting billions of dollars annually! In reality, we no longer have Americans running this country…they’re Socialists! Thanks for your insightful newsletter. --RonJay, MN
IRS Casts a Wide Net With New 1099-K Reporting Rules
As online sellers prepare for the next federal tax cycle, they
can look forward to much closer scrutiny of their transactional
information. Kenneth Corbin takes a look at how PayPal, Google
Checkout and Amazon are handling this new IRS reporting requirement.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m03/i25/s01
According to Kent Holtorf, M.D., founder of The Holtorf Medical Group and a board examiner for the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine, "We have found that, almost without exception, laboratories, doctors and other services will happily take 70% less if paid in cash at the time of service. Their costs are increased by that much if they have to bill insurance companies and incur other expenses – plus the risk of denial – in an effort to obtain payment which, if approved, generally arrives 30 to 300 days after initial billing... The cost savings are not in the care but rather the system."
Another way to save…use a medical concierge services…learn more at:
http://www.mdvip.com
Schedule Free Donation Pickups
Want to donate your used furniture or other unwanted items but lack the time or kind of vehicle required? Find a non-profit willing to come to you…simply type in your zip code and choose from the list to schedule a pickup.
www.DonationTown.org
Clean paint brushes fast by filling a bucket with two gallons of warm water and a fabric softener sheet. Note: don’t use dish detergent as it will gum up the bristles.
How to Create Yeast for Baking
Yeast allows bread to rise and gain air during the baking process. This guide allows you to create a yeast starter of your own.
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Yeast-for-Baking
Earth Day-April 22nd
Consumers are taking a harder look at companies, but they're not impressed. The notion of green business is starting to be eclipsed by the larger notion of sustainable or responsible business, which encompasses social and environmental issues, as well as overall ethical behavior.
As they scan the marketplace, consumers seem underwhelmed. According to the Cone Shared Responsibility Study, three-quarters of Americans assign companies a "C," "D," or "F" grade on how well they are engaging consumers around critical social and environmental issues.
Sustainability seems to be growing as a concept, even though not everyone groks the term. According to the Hartman Group, 15 percent more consumers are now aware of the term "sustainability" compared to three years ago (69 percent in 2010 vs. 54 percent in 2007), though only 21 percent can identify a sustainable product and even fewer, 12 percent, can name specific companies as "sustainable."
That's worth repeating: About four out of five consumers can't identify a sustainable product and nearly nine in ten can't name a sustainable company.
Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2011/03/28/earth-day-and-polling-america-2011#ixzz1HtnXpeYJ
http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011
Make your fridge door gaskets last longer by giving it a thin coat of petroleum jelly routinely
Ideas, giveaways, extra income resources and more
http://www.afrugalfriend.net/
US Automakers are reporting shortages of certain paint pigments, and parts due to the problems in Japan…if they had kept some plants in the USA, this problem wouldn’t exist.
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Although we very seldom use our dishwasher, we hear you can make it last longer by pouring 1 cup of white vinegar every month into to the bottom of your washer (not the soap cup) and run an empty load…gets rid of soap scum and hard water build up. Works on washing machine too.
Girl Scouts banned from selling cookies on front lawn
In Missouri of all places, two young girls named Abigail and Caitlin Mills were recently taught a lesson on how to be good citizens in the emerging totalitarian control grid going up all over the United States. After a complaint from a neighbor, the city of Hazelwood cracked down on the two girls and told them that they must shut down the girl scout cookie stand that they had been operating in their front yard.
So were the girls doing anything wrong? No. There are very few things that are more "American" than selling girl scout cookies. In fact, they had been operating the stand during this time of the year for the past 6 years. It had become a community tradition. But according to the city of Hazelwood, the girls were violating a city ordinance that bans "the sale of commodities" from a home.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the average family’s real disposable income is plunging while inflation is rising at the fastest rate in 2½ years.
The Parting Shot…Life on the plantation, just say ‘yes suh, massah!”
please don' hits me. massah. i goina be good from naw on…
The Middle Class -- Merely plantation slaves, sharecroppers on the Kings Land
We can’t say it too often -- the U.S. middle class faces daunting challenges, and must change the way it works, thinks, and plans. Income has stagnated for decades (see this recent CNN piece, among many others), while educational and medical costs surge by the year. Job security is a distant memory.
But that’s old news. More jarringly, the very concept of “employment” is being redefined as we speak. Every worker -- not just temps and freelancers -- is becoming “contingent,” if not in name, in function. A company may call you an “employee,” but with diminishing benefits and nothing to count on, your job is like 12-step sobriety -- you have it one day at a time.
Multinational corporations have become incredibly skilled at avoiding taxes. It has become routine for big companies to shift profitable operations to divisions in other countries where tax rates are lower. It has also become routine for big companies to set up "sham headquarters" in tax havens around the world. Many U.S. corporations have even renounced their status as American companies in order to avoid paying taxes.
According to Forbes, the United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs per month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
We’ve become a nation of sharecroppers. Plantation slaves. We never truly ever own anything, our government does. Don’t pay your property tax and the states takes away your home. Fall behind on child support and the state will take away your licenses, home or other property or your freedom. Forget to renew any government issued permits in regard to your automobile, the state will impound your vehicle. Hunt a deer without a permit, the King will fine you. Don’t pay your annual tribute, face fines and/or imprisonment.
In the US you can longer do what you want on ‘your property’ without permission from the overseer! Whether Americans want to admit it or not, it's the single greatest fear in their lives: fear of the government. Americans who don’t obey are coerced at the end of a gun barrel. The US has the most armed agents in the world.
Who really controls our country…
Free markets do not set interest rates in this country - the Federal Reserve does.
In addition, the Federal Reserve has a tremendous amount of regulatory power over U.S. banks and the entire financial system. Most Americans simply do not realize how much power the Federal Reserve has over our banks. Just last year Federal Reserve officials walked into one bank in Oklahoma and demanded that they take down all the Bible verses and the Christmas buttons that the bank had been displaying.
Like the communist Chinese, the Federal Reserve is not elected and it is essentially accountable to no one.
Our politicians and our business leaders have pursued economic policies that are so self-destructive that it defies explanation. We have no free trade policies left in this country.
According to the Federal Reserve, more than two-thirds of Americans have seen their net worth decline during this economic downturn. In fact, the Fed says that between 2007 and 2009, the wealth of the average American family declined by 23%.
Perhaps it is time for Americans to read…
Animal Farm by George Orwell-worth re-reading…
How a revolutionary government could be worse than its monarchist predecessor, but it also could apply to many political organizations, labor unions, and the like. The key lesson is that the organization's bosses often manipulate the organization for their own benefit, and end up being as bad, if not worse, than the real or imaginary evils from which they are protecting their followers. The sheep will only bleat!
Yours from the plantation, the Poor Man!
Don’t forget to share your ideas with us in order to win some cool prizes including Silver!
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
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A Shallow Planet Production
Our Mission: To protect and promote your freedom, civil rights, financial well being and overall self reliance in these turbulent times.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Extreme Supermarket Solutions
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Stretching your food budget, let me count the ways
2. Hunting & trapping-you might qualify for a free permit
3. If one Congress Critter gets his way, you may not legally own a gun
4. Property taxes reach breaking point for many
5. Purina’s 60-day farm animal challenge-coupons
6. Some extreme urban survival tips-video
"The tax that was supposed to soak the rich has instead soaked America. The beneficiary of the income tax has not been the poor, but big government. The income tax has given us a government bureaucracy that outnumbers the manufacturing work force."
-- Paul Craig Roberts
Supermarket Sticker Shock-Obama’s Solution-eat out less!
My primary purpose these days in visiting a supermarket is to pick up fresh items such as milk, fruits and vegetables. Even the Poor Man was unprepared at how much prices jumped on so many items.
My spinach doubled in price, a special condiment I enjoy went up 55 cents (and that was for the house brand), other items I got went up as well. Frankly, I don’t know how families with lots of children do it. With fewer folks getting decent raises and the lack of good jobs, it’s a tough world.
During this economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years. That hasn’t held true for those at the top, where Wall Street bonuses this past year averaged $128,000!
Sales of private jumbo jets are so strong that Airbus and Boeing now have special sales forces devoted to potentates and the hyper-rich.
Our checkout cashier found herself apologizing for the prices! She reported a lot of folks were experiencing sticker shock and that prices were expected to rise further. The sad fact is, 47 million families are now getting food stamps in this country.
It’s no wonder then that gardening is the fastest growing hobby in America.
Check out EatWild.com and Local Harvest for food producer listings in your area. You can also get more leads through the Weston A. Price Foundation local chapter directory. Contact your local foundation chapter leader and get hooked up with natural food buying clubs and farmers close to you. Many farmers, especially Amish or small operations, don’t have websites and you might not otherwise know they’re doing business right near you.
Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke keep touting an "economic recovery", but the truth is that the only ones that seem to be benefiting from this recovery are those at the very top of the economic food chain. Beside, Obama is too busy playing golf and vacationing to worry about mainstream America. His cure for America - ‘eat out less.’
Across most of the country, now is the time to start your spring garden. A few months from now ... when food prices have skyrocketed another 20%, 30% or more ... will you be kicking yourself that you didn't get a garden in?
Marx was wrong. Give Americans a shopping cart or ‘reality TV’ and they’ll forget about liberty, equality, freedom…they’ll cease to care who governs them or how.
--The Poor Man
Stretch Your Meat Dollar
Resources to learn how to stretch your meat budget.
Stretching Your Meat Dollar offers practical tips that consumers can use to stretch their meat dollar in a time of rising food prices. The brochure features six recipes that use “value cuts” – meat cuts that offer a big protein return for the cost-free download.
http://www.meatmattersinfo.org/ht/d/sp/i/37365/pid/37365
http://www.frugalvillage.com/2009/06/17/tips-for-stretching-meat/
http://www.homeeverafter.com/how-to-stretch-ground-meat-frugal-fillers/
Planning your food budget is one of the most important things you can do to save money. With a food budget you are less likely to run out of food. Go here to find steps:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fcd/nutrition/ewfl/module3/budget1.html
Let Mr. Food Show you how to stretch that food budget…good videos
http://www.ktvl.com/video/?videoId=791297653001&play=now
Also, check out these food stretchers
http://www.everyday-wisdom.com/food-budget.html
The Frugal Chef shows you how to save some dough!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSMxgWPjaGo
How to Shop the dollar stores
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujNhXKvJHNA&feature=more_related
Meat Substitutes
Many families have a meatless night (or two). Here are some sites which rate meatless products, how-to, ideas, etc.
http://www.sustainlane.com/green-products/meat-substitute
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-choose-a-meat-substitute-for-your-recipe-a104293
http://www.organichealthyeating.com/meat-substitutes.html
Many companies provide the ability to print Grocery Coupons for their customers. With food costs increasing every day and the economy in a recession, consumers feel they need to use all available tools to reduce their food cost. We proudly recommend grocery coupon to print to save you some money.
http://www.printcouponsonline.net/index.html
Hunting, Fishing, Trapping…more ways to save
Getting wild game isn’t for everyone. Although I’m a good shot, I’ve never hunted (it’s the skinning and gutting that challenges me). At our previous farm, we had an abundance of wildlife that would visit our yard, turkey, deer, even mink and an occasional bear. We could’ve taken an easy shot from our backyard deck. Of course, that would’ve been poaching in the eyes of the government. Like the days of Robin Hood, all wild game belong to the government which heavily regulates all hunting and fishing.
Still, if the crap hit’s the fan, I wouldn’t hesitate (a 1 or 2-litre pop bottle makes for a good instant silencer).
There are tons of rules one must follow in order to legally hunt…how many, which kind, seasons, type of weapon, etc. and many of these rules will vary depending on which county you hunt or live in.
Some states do offer discounts for seniors and veterans and some states offer outright free hunting permits if you’re over a certain age.
I learned to shoot in the Boy Scouts and in the military. Among our original Poor Man group we had a husband and wife team who trained people in shooting safety and advanced shooting (under duress situations). All of us, including my teenage boys, took this class at our backyard shooting range.
Of course, you could do what a relative of mine does…grab road kill off the side of the road. Supposedly, he’s an amateur taxidermist, but I wonder. Just for fun, here’s a link a to prepare raccoon road kill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOufQ2-GvSs
In any event, it’s a good idea to learn how to hunt and use a weapon. The NRA offers a variety of safety courses and some gun and ammo shops post fliers as to local courses. Personally, it might be a good idea to team up with an experienced hunter your first time or two out in the field. Search for instructors in your area at the NRA site:
http://nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx Or…see this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bVfEjY1gM
Get Coupons from Purina for your livestock feed-60-day challenge
Sign up required in order to get coupons-Save $5 to $15
http://www.purinadifference.com/
The Pocket Fisherman
Last year sometime…I wrote about an interview I once did with Ron Popeil, the inventor and TV huckster. Well, his Ronco Pocket Fisherman is a product which has been around a long time and still gets excellent reviews. This handy device is portable and it works. Good to have one around, perhaps as a part of your bug-out kit.
Most listings on eBay are overpriced. Most Walgreen’s carry it for $19.95. The least expensive source for this from Walmart.com online. At only $17 it’s a bargain and there is free shipping to a Walmart location near you (or you can pay the 94 cents shipping charge to get it at home).
About Growing Healthy
Growing Healthy is the business run by Bev and Geoff Buckley. We are small-acre farmers and founders of the "Green Shed", a not-for profit community market that was set up in 2001 to give Tamborine Mountain growers a place to sell real food. We were winners of the Queensland Small Business Award for Fresh Food in 2007 and the only small-scale horticulture business to be one of four finalists in the Australian Vegetable Grower of the Year Award in 2008.
Our business is food.
We grow nutrient-rich, organic food. We sell organic food. We buy organic food and we teach others how to grow the most nutritious, chemical free food that it is possible to grow. Our goal is to help you grow real food for yourself, because we can't grow enough to meet demand.
We work with clients in four ways:
We provide on-line training programmes.
Go to: http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
More goodies for the week…
Want to find out if an IRS representative has a reputation for being dishonest and abusive - or perhaps (against all odds) friendly and charitable? There's a web site for that! Point your browser to: http://www.irsdoghouse.com/
Magix FunPix Maker
Have you ever looked at edited pictures posted on the internet and wondered, "How did they do that"?, or thinking,"Hey, I want to be able to do that!" Well you could turn to a program such as Photoshop to similarly edit your own images. But you basically have to be a master (with a wheelbarrow full of money) to create some of those images. On the other hand, you could take a look into this really easy-to-use photo editing program called Magix FunPix Maker. The best part is that it is completely FREE!
http://www.magixphotowidgets.com/
Join a Free Support Group
Want to kick a habit, lose weight, get over a phobia? Find a free support group at:
www.SupportGroups.com
Buy spices in bulk at health food stores and save money-up to 85% over supermarket prices.
Super Simple File Sharing-Free
A very minimal site that offers free online file sharing.
www.Min.us
Using lithium batteries in your cameras, etc. initially cost more, but they last longer…or, opt for rechargeable batteries…that’s what we use.
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Government Ramblings
Big Brother is Reading your Emails - Whistle blower tells all…
the government is tapping your phone calls, reading your emails . the NSA copying everything on the internet - your emails, web traffic, VOIP phone calls? Yep - check out this story:
"AT&T whistleblower: I was forced to connect 'big brother machine'
"A former technician at AT&T, who alleges that the telecom forwards virtually all of its internet traffic into a "secret room" to facilitate government spying, says the whole operation reminds him of something out of Orwell's 1984.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOAzIfeeLI&feature=player_embedded
What your identity is worth in the underground economy to thieves-$6-$80, your Facebook user ID and password=$300; credit card with personal info=$80
2011 Economic Freedom Rankings-US has fallen to 9th place. View them here:
http://www.heritage.org/index/Ranking
Left Wing Sen. Charles Schumer propose law to ban gun ownership even if you weren’t convicted of a drug crime
Get collared years ago on a bogus drug charge because the oregano in your back pocket looked like was a bag of weed? Or maybe a judge back in 2006 dropped those charges because you were able to provide proof for that Adderall prescription? Under proposed legislation, it will not matter if you were innocent all along or even proven innocent by a court of law.
Either way, you can forget about buying a gun.
The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 would greatly expand the definition of those legally prohibited from owning firearms to include anyone who’s ever been arrested — even if never convicted or found guilty — for drug possession within a five-year period.
Prominent housing analyst Gary Shilling is warning that U.S. housing prices are likely to drop another 20 percent.
Property Taxes Reach the Breaking Point
It really costs to own a home these days. Not only have home values fallen, leaving nearly one-quarter of residential mortgages under water, but also, local governments around the country have increased property taxes to make up for declining revenue from other sources. Some experts now say, home ownership is no longer worth it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20110323/bs_bw/mar2011bw20110318558174;_ylt=AileIgi2LTt6bAYF_7WTQJxH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTM5cnA3MG1jBGFzc2V0A2J3LzIwMTEwMzIzL21hcjIwMTFidzIwMTEwMzE4NTU4MTc0BGNjb2RlA2dtcHJkbmJlBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3Byb3BlcnR5dGF4ZQ--
Lower your monthly auto mileage and many insurers will lower your premium. Some insurers now offer a lower rate in exchange for putting a device on your car which measures how fast you drive, how many miles you put on, etc. Check with your carrier (if you want to).
Parting Wisdom-the folly of job training programs
Dave, a friend of ours who does odd jobs for us, including work on our cabin, recently got laid off from his factory job. Now Dave is an excellent carpenter and has good plumbing and some electrical skills.
As a part of his unemployment process, he qualified for free government job training and was enrolled in a computer programming course at a local college. While in school he can still collect his unemployment benefits, not a bad deal.
Unfortunately, by the time he graduates, those skills will most likely be outdated and corporate America is continuing to send such jobs to India. In fact, a recent report I read suggests there are 47 different job training programs offered by the government and a study by the GAO says they are mostly a waste of time and taxpayer money because few of these people ever find meaningful work as a result of the training.
Sixty-five million Americans—or one in four adults—have a criminal record. But employers—including major companies like Bank of America, Omni Hotel, and Domino's Pizza—routinely post job ads on Craigslist that explicitly exclude such applicants, according to a new report conducted by the National Employment Law Center (NELP), a labor-affiliated advocacy group.
Personally, I feel he should be given more training in either becoming a full fledged electrician or plumber. Those skills will be needed in any kind of economy and cannot be sent overseas!
On another note…Mother Nature fooled a lot of us this week with another blast of icy cold and snow, due to last another week. It knocked down 5 limbs from a tree in the yard…Ouch and darn-had hoped to begin outdoor projects this week!
REMINDER: Don’t overlook our Suggestion Box program for subscribers. We’re awarding several useful items including a 2005 Silver Bullion Eagle. To enter and view the other prizes, go to: www.PoorManSurvival.com/suggestionbox.aspx
I leave you with some extreme urban survival ‘grocery’ tips-using rat traps for…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv3PbUSFC3c&feature=related
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
YOUR FREE FOOD 2 GO: Site to be ready April 9th
Sign up now to become a distributor & get your sample pack
www.4051.freefood2go.com
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for urban survival resources!
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Stretching your food budget, let me count the ways
2. Hunting & trapping-you might qualify for a free permit
3. If one Congress Critter gets his way, you may not legally own a gun
4. Property taxes reach breaking point for many
5. Purina’s 60-day farm animal challenge-coupons
6. Some extreme urban survival tips-video
"The tax that was supposed to soak the rich has instead soaked America. The beneficiary of the income tax has not been the poor, but big government. The income tax has given us a government bureaucracy that outnumbers the manufacturing work force."
-- Paul Craig Roberts
Supermarket Sticker Shock-Obama’s Solution-eat out less!
My primary purpose these days in visiting a supermarket is to pick up fresh items such as milk, fruits and vegetables. Even the Poor Man was unprepared at how much prices jumped on so many items.
My spinach doubled in price, a special condiment I enjoy went up 55 cents (and that was for the house brand), other items I got went up as well. Frankly, I don’t know how families with lots of children do it. With fewer folks getting decent raises and the lack of good jobs, it’s a tough world.
During this economic downturn, employee compensation in the United States has been the lowest that it has been relative to gross domestic product in over 50 years. That hasn’t held true for those at the top, where Wall Street bonuses this past year averaged $128,000!
Sales of private jumbo jets are so strong that Airbus and Boeing now have special sales forces devoted to potentates and the hyper-rich.
Our checkout cashier found herself apologizing for the prices! She reported a lot of folks were experiencing sticker shock and that prices were expected to rise further. The sad fact is, 47 million families are now getting food stamps in this country.
It’s no wonder then that gardening is the fastest growing hobby in America.
Check out EatWild.com and Local Harvest for food producer listings in your area. You can also get more leads through the Weston A. Price Foundation local chapter directory. Contact your local foundation chapter leader and get hooked up with natural food buying clubs and farmers close to you. Many farmers, especially Amish or small operations, don’t have websites and you might not otherwise know they’re doing business right near you.
Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke keep touting an "economic recovery", but the truth is that the only ones that seem to be benefiting from this recovery are those at the very top of the economic food chain. Beside, Obama is too busy playing golf and vacationing to worry about mainstream America. His cure for America - ‘eat out less.’
Across most of the country, now is the time to start your spring garden. A few months from now ... when food prices have skyrocketed another 20%, 30% or more ... will you be kicking yourself that you didn't get a garden in?
Marx was wrong. Give Americans a shopping cart or ‘reality TV’ and they’ll forget about liberty, equality, freedom…they’ll cease to care who governs them or how.
--The Poor Man
Stretch Your Meat Dollar
Resources to learn how to stretch your meat budget.
Stretching Your Meat Dollar offers practical tips that consumers can use to stretch their meat dollar in a time of rising food prices. The brochure features six recipes that use “value cuts” – meat cuts that offer a big protein return for the cost-free download.
http://www.meatmattersinfo.org/ht/d/sp/i/37365/pid/37365
http://www.frugalvillage.com/2009/06/17/tips-for-stretching-meat/
http://www.homeeverafter.com/how-to-stretch-ground-meat-frugal-fillers/
Planning your food budget is one of the most important things you can do to save money. With a food budget you are less likely to run out of food. Go here to find steps:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/fcd/nutrition/ewfl/module3/budget1.html
Let Mr. Food Show you how to stretch that food budget…good videos
http://www.ktvl.com/video/?videoId=791297653001&play=now
Also, check out these food stretchers
http://www.everyday-wisdom.com/food-budget.html
The Frugal Chef shows you how to save some dough!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSMxgWPjaGo
How to Shop the dollar stores
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujNhXKvJHNA&feature=more_related
Meat Substitutes
Many families have a meatless night (or two). Here are some sites which rate meatless products, how-to, ideas, etc.
http://www.sustainlane.com/green-products/meat-substitute
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-choose-a-meat-substitute-for-your-recipe-a104293
http://www.organichealthyeating.com/meat-substitutes.html
Many companies provide the ability to print Grocery Coupons for their customers. With food costs increasing every day and the economy in a recession, consumers feel they need to use all available tools to reduce their food cost. We proudly recommend grocery coupon to print to save you some money.
http://www.printcouponsonline.net/index.html
Hunting, Fishing, Trapping…more ways to save
Getting wild game isn’t for everyone. Although I’m a good shot, I’ve never hunted (it’s the skinning and gutting that challenges me). At our previous farm, we had an abundance of wildlife that would visit our yard, turkey, deer, even mink and an occasional bear. We could’ve taken an easy shot from our backyard deck. Of course, that would’ve been poaching in the eyes of the government. Like the days of Robin Hood, all wild game belong to the government which heavily regulates all hunting and fishing.
Still, if the crap hit’s the fan, I wouldn’t hesitate (a 1 or 2-litre pop bottle makes for a good instant silencer).
There are tons of rules one must follow in order to legally hunt…how many, which kind, seasons, type of weapon, etc. and many of these rules will vary depending on which county you hunt or live in.
Some states do offer discounts for seniors and veterans and some states offer outright free hunting permits if you’re over a certain age.
I learned to shoot in the Boy Scouts and in the military. Among our original Poor Man group we had a husband and wife team who trained people in shooting safety and advanced shooting (under duress situations). All of us, including my teenage boys, took this class at our backyard shooting range.
Of course, you could do what a relative of mine does…grab road kill off the side of the road. Supposedly, he’s an amateur taxidermist, but I wonder. Just for fun, here’s a link a to prepare raccoon road kill. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOufQ2-GvSs
In any event, it’s a good idea to learn how to hunt and use a weapon. The NRA offers a variety of safety courses and some gun and ammo shops post fliers as to local courses. Personally, it might be a good idea to team up with an experienced hunter your first time or two out in the field. Search for instructors in your area at the NRA site:
http://nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx Or…see this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4bVfEjY1gM
Get Coupons from Purina for your livestock feed-60-day challenge
Sign up required in order to get coupons-Save $5 to $15
http://www.purinadifference.com/
The Pocket Fisherman
Last year sometime…I wrote about an interview I once did with Ron Popeil, the inventor and TV huckster. Well, his Ronco Pocket Fisherman is a product which has been around a long time and still gets excellent reviews. This handy device is portable and it works. Good to have one around, perhaps as a part of your bug-out kit.
Most listings on eBay are overpriced. Most Walgreen’s carry it for $19.95. The least expensive source for this from Walmart.com online. At only $17 it’s a bargain and there is free shipping to a Walmart location near you (or you can pay the 94 cents shipping charge to get it at home).
About Growing Healthy
Growing Healthy is the business run by Bev and Geoff Buckley. We are small-acre farmers and founders of the "Green Shed", a not-for profit community market that was set up in 2001 to give Tamborine Mountain growers a place to sell real food. We were winners of the Queensland Small Business Award for Fresh Food in 2007 and the only small-scale horticulture business to be one of four finalists in the Australian Vegetable Grower of the Year Award in 2008.
Our business is food.
We grow nutrient-rich, organic food. We sell organic food. We buy organic food and we teach others how to grow the most nutritious, chemical free food that it is possible to grow. Our goal is to help you grow real food for yourself, because we can't grow enough to meet demand.
We work with clients in four ways:
We provide on-line training programmes.
Go to: http://www.growinghealthyorganicfood.com
More goodies for the week…
Want to find out if an IRS representative has a reputation for being dishonest and abusive - or perhaps (against all odds) friendly and charitable? There's a web site for that! Point your browser to: http://www.irsdoghouse.com/
Magix FunPix Maker
Have you ever looked at edited pictures posted on the internet and wondered, "How did they do that"?, or thinking,"Hey, I want to be able to do that!" Well you could turn to a program such as Photoshop to similarly edit your own images. But you basically have to be a master (with a wheelbarrow full of money) to create some of those images. On the other hand, you could take a look into this really easy-to-use photo editing program called Magix FunPix Maker. The best part is that it is completely FREE!
http://www.magixphotowidgets.com/
Join a Free Support Group
Want to kick a habit, lose weight, get over a phobia? Find a free support group at:
www.SupportGroups.com
Buy spices in bulk at health food stores and save money-up to 85% over supermarket prices.
Super Simple File Sharing-Free
A very minimal site that offers free online file sharing.
www.Min.us
Using lithium batteries in your cameras, etc. initially cost more, but they last longer…or, opt for rechargeable batteries…that’s what we use.
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Government Ramblings
Big Brother is Reading your Emails - Whistle blower tells all…
the government is tapping your phone calls, reading your emails . the NSA copying everything on the internet - your emails, web traffic, VOIP phone calls? Yep - check out this story:
"AT&T whistleblower: I was forced to connect 'big brother machine'
"A former technician at AT&T, who alleges that the telecom forwards virtually all of its internet traffic into a "secret room" to facilitate government spying, says the whole operation reminds him of something out of Orwell's 1984.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXOAzIfeeLI&feature=player_embedded
What your identity is worth in the underground economy to thieves-$6-$80, your Facebook user ID and password=$300; credit card with personal info=$80
2011 Economic Freedom Rankings-US has fallen to 9th place. View them here:
http://www.heritage.org/index/Ranking
Left Wing Sen. Charles Schumer propose law to ban gun ownership even if you weren’t convicted of a drug crime
Get collared years ago on a bogus drug charge because the oregano in your back pocket looked like was a bag of weed? Or maybe a judge back in 2006 dropped those charges because you were able to provide proof for that Adderall prescription? Under proposed legislation, it will not matter if you were innocent all along or even proven innocent by a court of law.
Either way, you can forget about buying a gun.
The Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011 would greatly expand the definition of those legally prohibited from owning firearms to include anyone who’s ever been arrested — even if never convicted or found guilty — for drug possession within a five-year period.
Prominent housing analyst Gary Shilling is warning that U.S. housing prices are likely to drop another 20 percent.
Property Taxes Reach the Breaking Point
It really costs to own a home these days. Not only have home values fallen, leaving nearly one-quarter of residential mortgages under water, but also, local governments around the country have increased property taxes to make up for declining revenue from other sources. Some experts now say, home ownership is no longer worth it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20110323/bs_bw/mar2011bw20110318558174;_ylt=AileIgi2LTt6bAYF_7WTQJxH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTM5cnA3MG1jBGFzc2V0A2J3LzIwMTEwMzIzL21hcjIwMTFidzIwMTEwMzE4NTU4MTc0BGNjb2RlA2dtcHJkbmJlBGNwb3MDMgRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3Byb3BlcnR5dGF4ZQ--
Lower your monthly auto mileage and many insurers will lower your premium. Some insurers now offer a lower rate in exchange for putting a device on your car which measures how fast you drive, how many miles you put on, etc. Check with your carrier (if you want to).
Parting Wisdom-the folly of job training programs
Dave, a friend of ours who does odd jobs for us, including work on our cabin, recently got laid off from his factory job. Now Dave is an excellent carpenter and has good plumbing and some electrical skills.
As a part of his unemployment process, he qualified for free government job training and was enrolled in a computer programming course at a local college. While in school he can still collect his unemployment benefits, not a bad deal.
Unfortunately, by the time he graduates, those skills will most likely be outdated and corporate America is continuing to send such jobs to India. In fact, a recent report I read suggests there are 47 different job training programs offered by the government and a study by the GAO says they are mostly a waste of time and taxpayer money because few of these people ever find meaningful work as a result of the training.
Sixty-five million Americans—or one in four adults—have a criminal record. But employers—including major companies like Bank of America, Omni Hotel, and Domino's Pizza—routinely post job ads on Craigslist that explicitly exclude such applicants, according to a new report conducted by the National Employment Law Center (NELP), a labor-affiliated advocacy group.
Personally, I feel he should be given more training in either becoming a full fledged electrician or plumber. Those skills will be needed in any kind of economy and cannot be sent overseas!
On another note…Mother Nature fooled a lot of us this week with another blast of icy cold and snow, due to last another week. It knocked down 5 limbs from a tree in the yard…Ouch and darn-had hoped to begin outdoor projects this week!
REMINDER: Don’t overlook our Suggestion Box program for subscribers. We’re awarding several useful items including a 2005 Silver Bullion Eagle. To enter and view the other prizes, go to: www.PoorManSurvival.com/suggestionbox.aspx
I leave you with some extreme urban survival ‘grocery’ tips-using rat traps for…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv3PbUSFC3c&feature=related
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
YOUR FREE FOOD 2 GO: Site to be ready April 9th
Sign up now to become a distributor & get your sample pack
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A Shallow Planet Production
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Use the Suggestion Box-Get Rewarded
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for Urban Survival Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. The Case for Gold by Ron Paul=free download
2. Poor Man subscriber Suggestion Box-win stuff
3. Emergency Preparedness for apartment dwellers
4. Food Shock-Marjory Wildcraft video
5. Why you should fear the government
I need a job to support my habit - (living)
--Response to HR Hiring Mgr.
Ladies & Gentlemen, place your bets…
Inflation is only 2% according to ‘official’ government numbers, but as we already know, government figures lie. They fail to account for food and fuel thus painting an inaccurate picture.
It also fails to account for wages which are pretty much stagnant. It fails to include that no COLA raises for Social Security have been given for two years. As I’ve reported previously, most Americans haven’t had a real raise since the early 1970s. Bank CDs were paying as much as 16% then. Now, you need a magnifying glass to see the interest on those or money market funds.
As we all know too, home values have declined and no longer provide the piggy bank many Americans counted on to live ‘the good life,’ or as part of their retirement plan.
The retail industry has been squeezed to eke out a profit and fuel prices are hurting nearly every small business and the fast food industry. There are a few ‘bright spots’ such as the gun industry, gold and silver sellers, long-term food storage providers and so on. The US auto industry seems to be rebounding (foreign sales seem to be driving that business) and young people still flock to buy overpriced cell phones and related gadgets (I wonder where they’re getting the money)?
Stupid, onerous government red tape and regulation continue to cost Americans dearly in terms of national security and job growth, but I suppose Washington will never recover from its Messiah Complex.
I certainly don’t envy the younger generation, those born after 1970, 1980. Most college degrees are worth about as much as a FRN (federal reserve note) which is one reason why so many recent grads move back in with mom and dad. Polls indicate they no longer believe Social Security will be around for them…many are angry at our generation for ‘screwing things up.’
America is digging its grave in terms of debt and no matter how rosy the picture might be this week for the economy, long term ’bookies’ aren’t holding their breath. The disaster in Japan creates an even more ominous outlook.
Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt. Japan currently holds about $882 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and they are likely going to have to liquidate much of that in order to fund the rebuilding of their nation. So needless to say they won't be accumulating any more U.S. government debt. But the U.S. government still needs to borrow a trillion and a half dollars from someone every single year. So where in the world are they going to get it?
On a positive note…US households cut their debt load to its lowest point of the past six years…Washington could take a lesson from this!
Obesity is now the number one health problem in western societies. It leads to many costly ailments such as diabetes, stroke, etc. and the risk is especially high among American youth.
Useful Resource Roundup
A Quick Start Guide to Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Dwellers
From: Bernie Carr
If you live in an apartment and want to prepare for a disaster, you may initially feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, and the feeling worsens when you realize a disaster can happen at any time and you don't have any supplies at all.
Get more from their site at:
Website: http://apartmentprepper.com/
The average American just doesn’t get it, they are the Silent Sheep. They may grouse about government waste, how their government is bought & paid for, intrusive laws, bureaucratic stupidity…but they do nothing. This is why they are so easy to control. -M Gross
"Food Shock: Why 2011 Could Be the Single Most Important Year in American History to Grow a Family Garden", please do so now. It could be the single most important thing you read this year. You can download this free 33-page report
http://www.offthegridnews.com/otgNCurrent/
How to survive the coming Food Shortage and Hyperinflation-14 Minute Video
Will your food prices double or more in 2011?
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-survive-coming-food-shortage-and.html
Take a peak at Marjory’s site-plenty of useful how-to
http://backyardfoodproduction.com/
"Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 9 to be released Tuesday will be the first major Web browser to include a do-not-track tool that helps people keep their online habits from being monitored.
PDF Escape
PDFs are a great way to share documents on the web. They're fast, easy, and lightweight. The only problem is that PDFs are on complete lockdown! Unless the creator makes a PDF a form, you cannot edit or annotate a PDF file at all. It's time to liberate your PDFs - give them the freedom they deserve! The good news is: you don't even need to download an application to do it. PDFescape is an all in one PDF editor, annotator, and manager completely located on the web
http://www.pdfescape.com/
Do you like to watch documentaries? What about watching them for free?
What's Hot, where you can browse by what is Most Popular, Top Rated, Most Discussed or Newest.
http://www.snagfilms.com/
Before you replace your mattress, consider getting a memory foam (2” recommended) mattress cover…we got one on eBay for less than $50 delivered, they cost up to $100 at the store.
The Case for Gold by Ron Paul
The book covers the history of gold in the United States, explains that its breakdown was caused by governments, and explains the merit of having sound money: prices reflect market realities, government stays in check, and the people retain their freedom. It still holds up as an excellent blueprint for moving beyond paper money and into the age of sound money. In particular, Ron favors complete monetary freedom to use any commodity as money, to make contracts in any money, and an end to the monopolization and printing power of the Federal Reserve. Download a copy at:
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=2109
Here's one basic human right that more people should be fighting for
Your privacy…
Gary LosHuertos parked himself in a New York City cafe last fall and fired up a new tool for snooping on people as they use free wireless. Within minutes, he had managed to spy on more than a dozen people as they used Facebook. It was just an experiment by the Web expert, but he wanted to make a point — so he used the victims' own Facebook accounts to send them each an unnerving warning message. He told them he'd hacked their accounts, and he knew where they were. More at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41995926/ns/technology_and_science/
Enzyme Fuel Treatment
Star Tron fuel treatment uses enzyme technology to improve overall engine performance while curing and preventing problems, especially for those problems found in engines using ethanol based gasoline. Ideal for onsite fuel tanks and for long-term fuel storage. Can be used on a variety 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines and more. Learn more at their site: www.startron.com
Walk through ranching history-Free
Located in Lubbock, TX, the National Ranching Center offers a colorful look at cabins and ranch homes from Revolutionary-era to about 1900...also has historic windmills, schoolhouse, bunkhouse, barns, corrals and more-FREE
806-742-0498 or visit their site at:
www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/
Beware: Sugar-Free Products Toxic to Dogs
Why we fear our government…To paraphrase Mark Twain, the three kinds of lies are lies, damn lies, and government statistics.
>>According to a Department of Justice internal document, citizens who have "instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants" are to be considered potential terrorists and extremists. They are to be subjected to enhanced scrutiny by criminal investigators, who are directed "to obtain as much information as possible" about such citizens.
>>State and federal bureaucrats are taking steps to track who is buying ammunition in the U.S. Stay off Uncle Sam's radar screen –
Use the Internet to get involved in local farming co-ops. It's a great way to meet like-minded friends and have a "PLAN B" for access to food in times of national turmoil.
>>Government policies encourage US firms NOT to hire Americans
The US does not levy taxes on US firms overseas earnings, plus the IRS allows them to deduct costs of closing their US plants when transferring them to overseas locations. General (Government Electric) Electric started this process of off shoring US jobs in the late 1970s. The Apple Corp makes all of their iPods & phones overseas…Fortune 500 firms derive 47% of their profits overseas and plan on continuing their policy of deforestation of US jobs.
>>The United States Department of Justice delivered a very clear and unfortunate message more horse hockey-sound bit crap) on Friday:
"Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country."
These remarks were released by the US Attorney's office in the western district of North Carolina following the conviction of one Bernard von NotHaus, the creator of the ill-fated Liberty Dollar. (Poor Man wrote about this on 2010...the government is famous for stretching the definition of ‘crime.’-talk about a stretch-our own gov’t has undermined the dollar)!
>>The cost of living in the United States is as high as ever, even worse than before the financial meltdown during the past few years.
A Labor Department index measuring the actual cost of living, known as the chained consumer price index, hit 127.4 in February, beating a previous record high 126.9 in July 2008, just as the housing crisis began to tighten its grip, CNBC reports.
That's bad news for most Americans, especially considering the record comes at a time of weak economic activity and high unemployment rates.
>>The rapidly rising price of oil, the horrific crisis in Japan and instability in the Middle East all threaten to plunge the world into another major economic downturn. That is really bad news for the real estate industry. Already there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone in the United States and without good jobs American workers simply cannot buy homes.
If AT&T buys T Mobile, 70% of US cell phone accounts will be held by two companies.
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Constructive Criticism Suggestion Box for Subscribers Only
Another April 15th deadline…oh no!
Although I have made several improvements to the Poor Man site, there is always room for improvement. It will shock no one that I am a novice at web design. Our YahooGroups bulletin is limited in what we can do as well…cannot insert photos, for instance.
Content for both the site and the bulletin are usually rated high. It’s been our goal all along to provide a ‘good bang for the buck,’ and I thank those who’ve taken the time in the past to send me their suggestions and resources to share with fellow readers.
A strong attempt is made to vary the content in each bulletin. Not every resource and DIY story will appeal to everyone, that’s the nature of life. Your input makes a difference! Think of it like an ‘employee suggestion box.’
I’m continually learning and always strive to improve, THEREFORE, the Poor Man is featuring a subscriber Suggestion Box whereby subscribers can earn some nice awards.
First Prize
-A 2005 American Silver Eagle with presentation case-1 oz Pure Silver
Second Prize
-One of our Poor Man Mini-Bug-Out Kits, contains many useful tools
Third Prize
-DVD-How Do I Series-Disaster Preparedness w/ 46 Projects & easy instructions
Fourth Prize
-DVD-The End of America, professionally produced, useful info from Naomi Wolf
I’ve placed a tab on the site where you can see photos of the prizes, Click on the Suggestion Box tab.
Here’s what you need to do to win…
Send me your best tip(s) on ways to improve the site and/or newsletter or the best low-cost or no-cost means of promoting them. I may or may not use your idea, but if it’s good, you might get a prize anyhow!
This round ends on Friday, April 15th at 8pm. If you win, I will contact you to get your mailing address. Winners will be announced in our April 17th issue. You must be a subscriber to this newsletter to enter. Place the word ‘Suggestion’ in the subject line and send to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com
http://poormansurvival.com/SuggestionBox.aspx
Thank you for your support and for sharing our newsletter!
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Finally, the Poor Man revs up his tractor-the Pennsylvania Panzer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lmE17Dg23w&feature=related
ALSO-see our latest mini-movie-the PM goes Star Wars!
http://vipidme.com/watch/14251a360757fbc03e2ecf4ce04c04cfb8581/
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
YOUR FREE FOOD 2 GO: Site to be ready April 9th
Sign up now to become a distributor & get your sample pack
www.4051.freefood2go.com
Your choice for Urban Survival Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. The Case for Gold by Ron Paul=free download
2. Poor Man subscriber Suggestion Box-win stuff
3. Emergency Preparedness for apartment dwellers
4. Food Shock-Marjory Wildcraft video
5. Why you should fear the government
I need a job to support my habit - (living)
--Response to HR Hiring Mgr.
Ladies & Gentlemen, place your bets…
Inflation is only 2% according to ‘official’ government numbers, but as we already know, government figures lie. They fail to account for food and fuel thus painting an inaccurate picture.
It also fails to account for wages which are pretty much stagnant. It fails to include that no COLA raises for Social Security have been given for two years. As I’ve reported previously, most Americans haven’t had a real raise since the early 1970s. Bank CDs were paying as much as 16% then. Now, you need a magnifying glass to see the interest on those or money market funds.
As we all know too, home values have declined and no longer provide the piggy bank many Americans counted on to live ‘the good life,’ or as part of their retirement plan.
The retail industry has been squeezed to eke out a profit and fuel prices are hurting nearly every small business and the fast food industry. There are a few ‘bright spots’ such as the gun industry, gold and silver sellers, long-term food storage providers and so on. The US auto industry seems to be rebounding (foreign sales seem to be driving that business) and young people still flock to buy overpriced cell phones and related gadgets (I wonder where they’re getting the money)?
Stupid, onerous government red tape and regulation continue to cost Americans dearly in terms of national security and job growth, but I suppose Washington will never recover from its Messiah Complex.
I certainly don’t envy the younger generation, those born after 1970, 1980. Most college degrees are worth about as much as a FRN (federal reserve note) which is one reason why so many recent grads move back in with mom and dad. Polls indicate they no longer believe Social Security will be around for them…many are angry at our generation for ‘screwing things up.’
America is digging its grave in terms of debt and no matter how rosy the picture might be this week for the economy, long term ’bookies’ aren’t holding their breath. The disaster in Japan creates an even more ominous outlook.
Japan is the second largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt. Japan currently holds about $882 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds and they are likely going to have to liquidate much of that in order to fund the rebuilding of their nation. So needless to say they won't be accumulating any more U.S. government debt. But the U.S. government still needs to borrow a trillion and a half dollars from someone every single year. So where in the world are they going to get it?
On a positive note…US households cut their debt load to its lowest point of the past six years…Washington could take a lesson from this!
Obesity is now the number one health problem in western societies. It leads to many costly ailments such as diabetes, stroke, etc. and the risk is especially high among American youth.
Useful Resource Roundup
A Quick Start Guide to Emergency Preparedness for Apartment Dwellers
From: Bernie Carr
If you live in an apartment and want to prepare for a disaster, you may initially feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done, and the feeling worsens when you realize a disaster can happen at any time and you don't have any supplies at all.
Get more from their site at:
Website: http://apartmentprepper.com/
The average American just doesn’t get it, they are the Silent Sheep. They may grouse about government waste, how their government is bought & paid for, intrusive laws, bureaucratic stupidity…but they do nothing. This is why they are so easy to control. -M Gross
"Food Shock: Why 2011 Could Be the Single Most Important Year in American History to Grow a Family Garden", please do so now. It could be the single most important thing you read this year. You can download this free 33-page report
http://www.offthegridnews.com/otgNCurrent/
How to survive the coming Food Shortage and Hyperinflation-14 Minute Video
Will your food prices double or more in 2011?
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-to-survive-coming-food-shortage-and.html
Take a peak at Marjory’s site-plenty of useful how-to
http://backyardfoodproduction.com/
"Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer 9 to be released Tuesday will be the first major Web browser to include a do-not-track tool that helps people keep their online habits from being monitored.
PDF Escape
PDFs are a great way to share documents on the web. They're fast, easy, and lightweight. The only problem is that PDFs are on complete lockdown! Unless the creator makes a PDF a form, you cannot edit or annotate a PDF file at all. It's time to liberate your PDFs - give them the freedom they deserve! The good news is: you don't even need to download an application to do it. PDFescape is an all in one PDF editor, annotator, and manager completely located on the web
http://www.pdfescape.com/
Do you like to watch documentaries? What about watching them for free?
What's Hot, where you can browse by what is Most Popular, Top Rated, Most Discussed or Newest.
http://www.snagfilms.com/
Before you replace your mattress, consider getting a memory foam (2” recommended) mattress cover…we got one on eBay for less than $50 delivered, they cost up to $100 at the store.
The Case for Gold by Ron Paul
The book covers the history of gold in the United States, explains that its breakdown was caused by governments, and explains the merit of having sound money: prices reflect market realities, government stays in check, and the people retain their freedom. It still holds up as an excellent blueprint for moving beyond paper money and into the age of sound money. In particular, Ron favors complete monetary freedom to use any commodity as money, to make contracts in any money, and an end to the monopolization and printing power of the Federal Reserve. Download a copy at:
http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/details.php?ebook=2109
Here's one basic human right that more people should be fighting for
Your privacy…
Gary LosHuertos parked himself in a New York City cafe last fall and fired up a new tool for snooping on people as they use free wireless. Within minutes, he had managed to spy on more than a dozen people as they used Facebook. It was just an experiment by the Web expert, but he wanted to make a point — so he used the victims' own Facebook accounts to send them each an unnerving warning message. He told them he'd hacked their accounts, and he knew where they were. More at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41995926/ns/technology_and_science/
Enzyme Fuel Treatment
Star Tron fuel treatment uses enzyme technology to improve overall engine performance while curing and preventing problems, especially for those problems found in engines using ethanol based gasoline. Ideal for onsite fuel tanks and for long-term fuel storage. Can be used on a variety 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines and more. Learn more at their site: www.startron.com
Walk through ranching history-Free
Located in Lubbock, TX, the National Ranching Center offers a colorful look at cabins and ranch homes from Revolutionary-era to about 1900...also has historic windmills, schoolhouse, bunkhouse, barns, corrals and more-FREE
806-742-0498 or visit their site at:
www.depts.ttu.edu/ranchhc/
Beware: Sugar-Free Products Toxic to Dogs
Why we fear our government…To paraphrase Mark Twain, the three kinds of lies are lies, damn lies, and government statistics.
>>According to a Department of Justice internal document, citizens who have "instructed themselves on topics ranging from first aid to childbirth to edible plants" are to be considered potential terrorists and extremists. They are to be subjected to enhanced scrutiny by criminal investigators, who are directed "to obtain as much information as possible" about such citizens.
>>State and federal bureaucrats are taking steps to track who is buying ammunition in the U.S. Stay off Uncle Sam's radar screen –
Use the Internet to get involved in local farming co-ops. It's a great way to meet like-minded friends and have a "PLAN B" for access to food in times of national turmoil.
>>Government policies encourage US firms NOT to hire Americans
The US does not levy taxes on US firms overseas earnings, plus the IRS allows them to deduct costs of closing their US plants when transferring them to overseas locations. General (Government Electric) Electric started this process of off shoring US jobs in the late 1970s. The Apple Corp makes all of their iPods & phones overseas…Fortune 500 firms derive 47% of their profits overseas and plan on continuing their policy of deforestation of US jobs.
>>The United States Department of Justice delivered a very clear and unfortunate message more horse hockey-sound bit crap) on Friday:
"Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country."
These remarks were released by the US Attorney's office in the western district of North Carolina following the conviction of one Bernard von NotHaus, the creator of the ill-fated Liberty Dollar. (Poor Man wrote about this on 2010...the government is famous for stretching the definition of ‘crime.’-talk about a stretch-our own gov’t has undermined the dollar)!
>>The cost of living in the United States is as high as ever, even worse than before the financial meltdown during the past few years.
A Labor Department index measuring the actual cost of living, known as the chained consumer price index, hit 127.4 in February, beating a previous record high 126.9 in July 2008, just as the housing crisis began to tighten its grip, CNBC reports.
That's bad news for most Americans, especially considering the record comes at a time of weak economic activity and high unemployment rates.
>>The rapidly rising price of oil, the horrific crisis in Japan and instability in the Middle East all threaten to plunge the world into another major economic downturn. That is really bad news for the real estate industry. Already there are not nearly enough jobs for everyone in the United States and without good jobs American workers simply cannot buy homes.
If AT&T buys T Mobile, 70% of US cell phone accounts will be held by two companies.
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Constructive Criticism Suggestion Box for Subscribers Only
Another April 15th deadline…oh no!
Although I have made several improvements to the Poor Man site, there is always room for improvement. It will shock no one that I am a novice at web design. Our YahooGroups bulletin is limited in what we can do as well…cannot insert photos, for instance.
Content for both the site and the bulletin are usually rated high. It’s been our goal all along to provide a ‘good bang for the buck,’ and I thank those who’ve taken the time in the past to send me their suggestions and resources to share with fellow readers.
A strong attempt is made to vary the content in each bulletin. Not every resource and DIY story will appeal to everyone, that’s the nature of life. Your input makes a difference! Think of it like an ‘employee suggestion box.’
I’m continually learning and always strive to improve, THEREFORE, the Poor Man is featuring a subscriber Suggestion Box whereby subscribers can earn some nice awards.
First Prize
-A 2005 American Silver Eagle with presentation case-1 oz Pure Silver
Second Prize
-One of our Poor Man Mini-Bug-Out Kits, contains many useful tools
Third Prize
-DVD-How Do I Series-Disaster Preparedness w/ 46 Projects & easy instructions
Fourth Prize
-DVD-The End of America, professionally produced, useful info from Naomi Wolf
I’ve placed a tab on the site where you can see photos of the prizes, Click on the Suggestion Box tab.
Here’s what you need to do to win…
Send me your best tip(s) on ways to improve the site and/or newsletter or the best low-cost or no-cost means of promoting them. I may or may not use your idea, but if it’s good, you might get a prize anyhow!
This round ends on Friday, April 15th at 8pm. If you win, I will contact you to get your mailing address. Winners will be announced in our April 17th issue. You must be a subscriber to this newsletter to enter. Place the word ‘Suggestion’ in the subject line and send to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com
http://poormansurvival.com/SuggestionBox.aspx
Thank you for your support and for sharing our newsletter!
Bruce ‘the Poor Man’
Finally, the Poor Man revs up his tractor-the Pennsylvania Panzer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lmE17Dg23w&feature=related
ALSO-see our latest mini-movie-the PM goes Star Wars!
http://vipidme.com/watch/14251a360757fbc03e2ecf4ce04c04cfb8581/
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
YOUR FREE FOOD 2 GO: Site to be ready April 9th
Sign up now to become a distributor & get your sample pack
www.4051.freefood2go.com
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Self Reliance Expo Coming, Help for Seniors, Feebay Follies
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for Urban Survival Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. 3 Easy steps to a no dig garden
2. Keys to a successful garage sale
3. Self Reliance Expo in Denver/April
4. Tech Care for Parents, help for older Americans
5. EBay blows it again
6. Noteworthy government stupidity-big cost to citizens
There is no expedient to which the average person will not go to avoid the
hard work of thinking."
-- Thomas A. Edison
Plenty of Praise for the People of Japan
Unlike the US experience with Hurricane Katrina where looting took place, police left their post and some did some looting, and the government fell down on the job…the Japanese have remained civil.
I’m told the Japanese are taught since childhood to be prepared. They keep a bug-out kit handy near the door, they know escape routes, they regularly hold disaster drills and so on.
It would be challenging not to panic under such chaos and devastation. Needless to say, their store shelves are now empty with citizens seeking food and supplies. Even here in America, supplies of iodine are running low as west coast residents stock up ‘just in case.”
Despite the Japanese stock market reopening quickly and their government pumped billions into an already hard hit economy, the financial repercussions will be felt there and here for a decade.
World financial markets are certainly not expressing a lot of confidence right now. This week alone, $300 billion in U.S. stock values have been wiped out. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 2 percent of its total value on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 stock index has lost about 10 percent of its total value since the beginning of this crisis.
Barack Obama is acting as if all of this stuff going on in Japan is no big deal. In fact, as Keith Koffler recently observed, Obama seems to be really enjoying himself in the midst of this crisis....
This morning, as Japan’s nuclear crisis enters a potentially catastrophic phase, we are told that Obama is videotaping his NCAA tournament picks and that we’ll be able to tune into ESPN Wednesday to find out who he likes.
Saturday, he made his 61st outing to the golf course as president, and got back to the White House with just enough time for a quick shower before heading out to party with Washington’s elite journalists at the annual Gridiron Dinner.
Meanwhile, Obama is also going on another ‘working’ vacation this week to Brazil…In the United States, even a minor snowstorm can cause a run on the supermarkets in many areas. If a major league disaster or emergency ever hit the food in the stores would be gone really quickly. Are you prepared?
No society has ever made it past the 40-year mark once they decoupled their money from gold. The last time U.S. currency was backed by gold was 1971 ... 40 years ago. And look where we are today.
Three Easy Steps-No Dig Garden
With food prices skyrocketing, many of us are opting to grow something edible, a sort of Victory Garden. Even those with little gardening experience are experimenting with yard garden. Hey, why mow when you can eat?
For a no dig garden, choose a spot in your yard and mark it off. Your spot should get 6-8 hours of sunlight and not be subject to frequent high wind.
Prepare the area with thick layers of overlapping wet newspaper. Cover the paper with a thick layer of each of peat moss, compost, grass clippings, chipped leaves, humus, spoiled hay or whatever is handy.
Next, pull a section of the layers back, down to the paper. Place your plant on the paper and move the organic material around to the roots and press the soil to remove excess air and water. Use one part nitrogen rich material, such as grass clippings, compost or manure to four parts carbon rich material such as peat moss, straw, chopped leaves, etc.
These materials are generally free-save those grass clippings in other words. Replace ornamental plants in yard with dwarf fruit trees or other edible plants. Remember, all gardens require:
--light --nutrient-rich soil --food/water
If you irrigate, systems work best and conserve water. Try to use about three inches of mulch which reduces weeds and provides nutrients and reduces moisture evaporation.
>>>
Head off weeds naturally by mixing equal parts lemon juice and vinegar in a spray bottle. Thoroughly spritz the weeds, avoiding desirable plants-you’ll save over costly weed killer
Grow your Own Food in your backyard
It’s about not being so dependent on grocery stores. If for some reason the grocery stores closed in your area for an extended period of time, where would you get your food? I would be getting mine from my garden.
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/grow-your-own-food-in-your-bakyard.html
Online Gardening Community, many interested in sustainability
http://www.blotanical.com/
Green thumb wisdom…No clue which plants to keep, and which to toss?
Simple-pull them all and if It comes back, it’s a weed.
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Soothe poison ivy rash with by applying lemon juice full strength to affected areas.
Keys to a successful garage sale
As I write this, it hit will near 60 degrees and spring might finally be on its way and with it (even my cat is beginning to shed), the start of garage sale season. In many parts of the nation, garage sales have become more sophisticated even down to handing out bags so folks can haul off their treasures.
Our community holds a city wide sale weekend and for $5, you can include your home on their sales map. It does seem a community sale brings out a lot of folks and last year we made almost $1000. Here are some keys to holding a profitable sale.
>>make legible signs (and be sure to remove them once the sale is over) with hours and location.
>>Price your stuff…we hate those ‘guess-the-price’ sales.
>>have enough change, singles especially (it does amaze me at how many visit sales expecting folks to ‘break a $100)
>>be willing to dicker or save the high priced stuff for online sales
>>have some decent stuff, few of want or need more junk
>>if appropriate, place ads in local, community newspapers, online at Craigslist, etc.
>>consider offering refreshments or homemade goodies for sale. If you have children, this could be their project. Last year, I had a crockpot of hot dogs, cookies and a variety of soda (ours was a 3-day sale) available at cost.
>>try to have adequate parking available. Park your car(s) on the next street if need be.
>>Pricing-use even amounts and offer package deals on multiple purchases.
Best days to have sale vary from city to city. In AZ, sales began early in the morning while it’s still cool out and as early as Wednesday, but as a rule, Fri, Sat and Sun are good times.
Seems no matter where you go, many sales primarily offer only children’s stuff…fine if that is what you need, but the rest of us have no interest and if that’s your sole reason for having a sale, say so in the ad.
It’s nice to have a few special items included in your ad that will draw people such as antiques, books (as opposed to DVD only), guns, knives, tools, etc. Items such as clothing, sell better when displayed on a rack as opposed to being dumped out on the ground tarp, use tables for the rest and place big pieces such as furniture or lawn equipment toward the street where it will attract the attention of drive-by’s.
Finally, beware of your city government. It’s absolutely astonishing, but some towns now require a permit or limit the number of sales one can hold (some even have outright bans on sales and/or signs).
Mint coin sets have little intrinsic value since they’re made from base metals. The exception might be silver mint sets…we think you’re better off with bullion or pre-1965 US coins.
Weekly roundup of resources…
Self Reliance Expo-Denver April 8th and 9th
Perhaps more than ever before, people are seeking ways to become more self reliant and create a more sustainable living area. It's great for the environment, and it's great for the pocketbook. This is the lifestyle that teaches great family values and protects your family during economic downturns. This is the only Expo where you can gain knowledge about every aspect of self reliant living!
http://www.selfrelianceexpo.com/
Simpler CPR-a very useful skill to save a life-Get a how-to online
www.handsonlycpr.org
Feebay raises fees, again
Yes, eBay is now charging fees on what is categorized by your bookkeeper as a business expense. (The IRS doesn’t tax businesses on expenses.)
http://announcements.ebay.com/2011/03/2011-spring-seller-update/
Use this chart to see how the new fees will impact you…
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m03/i15/s01
11.7% increase in the number of households with more than one family
Living in it since the recession started
Help for Struggling Older Americans
Older Americans are facing serious financial problems, forced by circumstances not of their own making to skip meals or cut prescription medicines in half — or not even take them at all. Many are also dealing with the loss of their spouse, their friends and even their purpose in life.
AARP Foundation recognizes that there will be people who fall through the safety net and will struggle to meet their most basic needs. We work to fill this gap. Get help now.
http://www.aarp.org/aarp-foundation/
Related Resource: Tech Care Package for Mom and Dad (Grandparents too)
How to site created by Google. Offers 50+ 2-minute videos with step-by-step instructions on everything from how to cut and paste, to creating a blog.
www.TeachParentsTech.org
Mother was right. Cut away green spots on a potato before cooking or eating. Causes illness.
A Modern Missouri Homestead
If you're trying to simplify your life and become more self-reliant, check out this new blog from Sherry Leverich Tucker, a homesteader and market farmer in Missouri. Sherry has been blogging about springtime animal births, soap making, and so much more! Stay tuned for even more advice on self-reliant living, and how she learned to grow and process sorghum into a sweet syrup. Full story at:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/blogs/blog.aspx?blogid=2147484316&newsletter=1&utm_content=3.16.2011+SLCS&utm_campaign=SLCS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
Food prices went up nearly 2% this month, overall higher by 37% from a year ago…
They are predicted to move even higher while the stock market lost 240% this month.
Noteworthy nonsense…Stuff you won’t see on your nightly news! Congressional pork cost taxpayers an average of $17 billion annually! How can we get in on the ’free lunch wagon?”
Americans have 86,000 governments to contend with-each with their hand in your pocket.
Ohio Town Sees Public Job as Only Route to Middle Class
“Wages at the bottom of the labor market have stagnated since 1970, with inflation gobbling up gains made over the years. The federal minimum wage buys a lot less today; it represented just 38 percent of the average hourly wage for private, nonsupervisory workers in 2010, down from 47 percent in 1970, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. . . .
Dim prospects push young people here toward another government solution. Brynna Frazier, 30, said the most popular choice among her friends was the military, which, at $1,600 a month with health insurance, was the best job around. Ms. Frazier, a waitress, has not had health insurance in any job she has ever worked, including Wal-Mart, Taco Bell and a telemarketing firm.” (New York Times)
Government employees help themselves to taxpayer money via government issued credit cards under a program called SmartPay. Millions of dollars in unauthorized spending, according to the GAO, take place by government employees to buy everything from breast implants and expensive vacations to casino trips, $500 designer brief cases and laptops. Seldom is any disciplinary action taken and Congress increased the spending limit on the cards once they learned of the abuse…no wonder everyone wants to work for Uncle Scam! The GAO estimates the looting of such cards by government thieves at more than $300 Million annually. Few of these thieves ever get more than a slap on the wrist-if caught.
The government owns 30% of all the land in the US. It put a two year halt on solar energy projects in Arizona so it could study the potential environmental harm such development might cause. Government owned land in the Rocky Mountain area holds a world record amount of easily mined shale oil-more than 800 billion barrels, more than Saudi Arabia, but Congress continues to vote against its development.
More waste-stupid duplication. Despite states having passed medical pot laws, idiots at all levels of government continue to arrest and harass such clinics. The feds have 342 different programs all doing the same thing - economic development (in addition to state agencies)…there are 72 agencies which check for water quality, again, in addition to state and local government entities…the feds have over 50 departments involved with drug crime, again, duplicating what states already do! Where will the waste ever end?
The duplication of ‘services’ provided by government agencies is often duplicated and investigators found that in 38% of cases, programs failed to show any positive impact, but Congress still feeds their budget every year!
A dollar from 1950 is worth about 7 cents today. The average family in 1950 had an effective net tax rate of about 7%…a new Ford in 1950 cost $1395.00
Parting thoughts…Feebay & a new strategy
EBay tells sellers to simply raise their fees! With razor thin margins & a down market>it makes no sense.
Once again feebay strikes. During a lousy economy when most sellers are trying to make even a small profit, eBay is now going to take another piece of an already razor-thin pie…one that any CPA will tell you doesn’t make sense. (See link above). More announcements are pending, no doubt ones which will erode margins further.
This week I got any email from a buyer who said his book order never arrived and wanted a full refund. The odd thing is I had Delivery Confirmation on this package, which indeed recorded the item as delivered. Tough, I had to make the refund and I strongly suspect, I was scammed…what good does it do to pay extra for the service when it won’t hold water? It was suggested I either pay for a signed confirmation or insurance. On a $10 item, this makes little sense since that’s another $1.85 cost!
Many of my fellow sellers have either abandoned using eBay due to its cost and/or are thinking about it. Most of these folks complain “no one can make any money there anymore.” I know of several drop-off eBay stores which have stopped accepting goods!
Some of who have read this newsletter for any length know I recently began using Amazon too and I am happy as I sell more, (I’ve experimented using the same listing, same price on both sites and Amazon ALWAYS sells faster) and it’s quicker to list and their customer service is excellent.
I am ramping down listings on eBay, moving all new books to Amazon while using eBay only for antiquarian books and antiques. Another example, I had a NIB WiFi modem which sat on eBay for three months, it sold in 12 hours on Amazon!
If you’re starting out and can stand all of the new rules, such as witholding your payments, inability to leave proper feedback for idiots who don’t pay, high fees, IRS Reporting, and the like, it’s still a good place to get your feet wet in online selling, without a lot of upfront cost or expertise.
That's all folks for this issue from the Poor Man!
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for Urban Survival Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. 3 Easy steps to a no dig garden
2. Keys to a successful garage sale
3. Self Reliance Expo in Denver/April
4. Tech Care for Parents, help for older Americans
5. EBay blows it again
6. Noteworthy government stupidity-big cost to citizens
There is no expedient to which the average person will not go to avoid the
hard work of thinking."
-- Thomas A. Edison
Plenty of Praise for the People of Japan
Unlike the US experience with Hurricane Katrina where looting took place, police left their post and some did some looting, and the government fell down on the job…the Japanese have remained civil.
I’m told the Japanese are taught since childhood to be prepared. They keep a bug-out kit handy near the door, they know escape routes, they regularly hold disaster drills and so on.
It would be challenging not to panic under such chaos and devastation. Needless to say, their store shelves are now empty with citizens seeking food and supplies. Even here in America, supplies of iodine are running low as west coast residents stock up ‘just in case.”
Despite the Japanese stock market reopening quickly and their government pumped billions into an already hard hit economy, the financial repercussions will be felt there and here for a decade.
World financial markets are certainly not expressing a lot of confidence right now. This week alone, $300 billion in U.S. stock values have been wiped out. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 2 percent of its total value on Wednesday. The Nikkei 225 stock index has lost about 10 percent of its total value since the beginning of this crisis.
Barack Obama is acting as if all of this stuff going on in Japan is no big deal. In fact, as Keith Koffler recently observed, Obama seems to be really enjoying himself in the midst of this crisis....
This morning, as Japan’s nuclear crisis enters a potentially catastrophic phase, we are told that Obama is videotaping his NCAA tournament picks and that we’ll be able to tune into ESPN Wednesday to find out who he likes.
Saturday, he made his 61st outing to the golf course as president, and got back to the White House with just enough time for a quick shower before heading out to party with Washington’s elite journalists at the annual Gridiron Dinner.
Meanwhile, Obama is also going on another ‘working’ vacation this week to Brazil…In the United States, even a minor snowstorm can cause a run on the supermarkets in many areas. If a major league disaster or emergency ever hit the food in the stores would be gone really quickly. Are you prepared?
No society has ever made it past the 40-year mark once they decoupled their money from gold. The last time U.S. currency was backed by gold was 1971 ... 40 years ago. And look where we are today.
Three Easy Steps-No Dig Garden
With food prices skyrocketing, many of us are opting to grow something edible, a sort of Victory Garden. Even those with little gardening experience are experimenting with yard garden. Hey, why mow when you can eat?
For a no dig garden, choose a spot in your yard and mark it off. Your spot should get 6-8 hours of sunlight and not be subject to frequent high wind.
Prepare the area with thick layers of overlapping wet newspaper. Cover the paper with a thick layer of each of peat moss, compost, grass clippings, chipped leaves, humus, spoiled hay or whatever is handy.
Next, pull a section of the layers back, down to the paper. Place your plant on the paper and move the organic material around to the roots and press the soil to remove excess air and water. Use one part nitrogen rich material, such as grass clippings, compost or manure to four parts carbon rich material such as peat moss, straw, chopped leaves, etc.
These materials are generally free-save those grass clippings in other words. Replace ornamental plants in yard with dwarf fruit trees or other edible plants. Remember, all gardens require:
--light --nutrient-rich soil --food/water
If you irrigate, systems work best and conserve water. Try to use about three inches of mulch which reduces weeds and provides nutrients and reduces moisture evaporation.
>>>
Head off weeds naturally by mixing equal parts lemon juice and vinegar in a spray bottle. Thoroughly spritz the weeds, avoiding desirable plants-you’ll save over costly weed killer
Grow your Own Food in your backyard
It’s about not being so dependent on grocery stores. If for some reason the grocery stores closed in your area for an extended period of time, where would you get your food? I would be getting mine from my garden.
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/grow-your-own-food-in-your-bakyard.html
Online Gardening Community, many interested in sustainability
http://www.blotanical.com/
Green thumb wisdom…No clue which plants to keep, and which to toss?
Simple-pull them all and if It comes back, it’s a weed.
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Soothe poison ivy rash with by applying lemon juice full strength to affected areas.
Keys to a successful garage sale
As I write this, it hit will near 60 degrees and spring might finally be on its way and with it (even my cat is beginning to shed), the start of garage sale season. In many parts of the nation, garage sales have become more sophisticated even down to handing out bags so folks can haul off their treasures.
Our community holds a city wide sale weekend and for $5, you can include your home on their sales map. It does seem a community sale brings out a lot of folks and last year we made almost $1000. Here are some keys to holding a profitable sale.
>>make legible signs (and be sure to remove them once the sale is over) with hours and location.
>>Price your stuff…we hate those ‘guess-the-price’ sales.
>>have enough change, singles especially (it does amaze me at how many visit sales expecting folks to ‘break a $100)
>>be willing to dicker or save the high priced stuff for online sales
>>have some decent stuff, few of want or need more junk
>>if appropriate, place ads in local, community newspapers, online at Craigslist, etc.
>>consider offering refreshments or homemade goodies for sale. If you have children, this could be their project. Last year, I had a crockpot of hot dogs, cookies and a variety of soda (ours was a 3-day sale) available at cost.
>>try to have adequate parking available. Park your car(s) on the next street if need be.
>>Pricing-use even amounts and offer package deals on multiple purchases.
Best days to have sale vary from city to city. In AZ, sales began early in the morning while it’s still cool out and as early as Wednesday, but as a rule, Fri, Sat and Sun are good times.
Seems no matter where you go, many sales primarily offer only children’s stuff…fine if that is what you need, but the rest of us have no interest and if that’s your sole reason for having a sale, say so in the ad.
It’s nice to have a few special items included in your ad that will draw people such as antiques, books (as opposed to DVD only), guns, knives, tools, etc. Items such as clothing, sell better when displayed on a rack as opposed to being dumped out on the ground tarp, use tables for the rest and place big pieces such as furniture or lawn equipment toward the street where it will attract the attention of drive-by’s.
Finally, beware of your city government. It’s absolutely astonishing, but some towns now require a permit or limit the number of sales one can hold (some even have outright bans on sales and/or signs).
Mint coin sets have little intrinsic value since they’re made from base metals. The exception might be silver mint sets…we think you’re better off with bullion or pre-1965 US coins.
Weekly roundup of resources…
Self Reliance Expo-Denver April 8th and 9th
Perhaps more than ever before, people are seeking ways to become more self reliant and create a more sustainable living area. It's great for the environment, and it's great for the pocketbook. This is the lifestyle that teaches great family values and protects your family during economic downturns. This is the only Expo where you can gain knowledge about every aspect of self reliant living!
http://www.selfrelianceexpo.com/
Simpler CPR-a very useful skill to save a life-Get a how-to online
www.handsonlycpr.org
Feebay raises fees, again
Yes, eBay is now charging fees on what is categorized by your bookkeeper as a business expense. (The IRS doesn’t tax businesses on expenses.)
http://announcements.ebay.com/2011/03/2011-spring-seller-update/
Use this chart to see how the new fees will impact you…
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y11/m03/i15/s01
11.7% increase in the number of households with more than one family
Living in it since the recession started
Help for Struggling Older Americans
Older Americans are facing serious financial problems, forced by circumstances not of their own making to skip meals or cut prescription medicines in half — or not even take them at all. Many are also dealing with the loss of their spouse, their friends and even their purpose in life.
AARP Foundation recognizes that there will be people who fall through the safety net and will struggle to meet their most basic needs. We work to fill this gap. Get help now.
http://www.aarp.org/aarp-foundation/
Related Resource: Tech Care Package for Mom and Dad (Grandparents too)
How to site created by Google. Offers 50+ 2-minute videos with step-by-step instructions on everything from how to cut and paste, to creating a blog.
www.TeachParentsTech.org
Mother was right. Cut away green spots on a potato before cooking or eating. Causes illness.
A Modern Missouri Homestead
If you're trying to simplify your life and become more self-reliant, check out this new blog from Sherry Leverich Tucker, a homesteader and market farmer in Missouri. Sherry has been blogging about springtime animal births, soap making, and so much more! Stay tuned for even more advice on self-reliant living, and how she learned to grow and process sorghum into a sweet syrup. Full story at:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/blogs/blog.aspx?blogid=2147484316&newsletter=1&utm_content=3.16.2011+SLCS&utm_campaign=SLCS&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email
Food prices went up nearly 2% this month, overall higher by 37% from a year ago…
They are predicted to move even higher while the stock market lost 240% this month.
Noteworthy nonsense…Stuff you won’t see on your nightly news! Congressional pork cost taxpayers an average of $17 billion annually! How can we get in on the ’free lunch wagon?”
Americans have 86,000 governments to contend with-each with their hand in your pocket.
Ohio Town Sees Public Job as Only Route to Middle Class
“Wages at the bottom of the labor market have stagnated since 1970, with inflation gobbling up gains made over the years. The federal minimum wage buys a lot less today; it represented just 38 percent of the average hourly wage for private, nonsupervisory workers in 2010, down from 47 percent in 1970, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. . . .
Dim prospects push young people here toward another government solution. Brynna Frazier, 30, said the most popular choice among her friends was the military, which, at $1,600 a month with health insurance, was the best job around. Ms. Frazier, a waitress, has not had health insurance in any job she has ever worked, including Wal-Mart, Taco Bell and a telemarketing firm.” (New York Times)
Government employees help themselves to taxpayer money via government issued credit cards under a program called SmartPay. Millions of dollars in unauthorized spending, according to the GAO, take place by government employees to buy everything from breast implants and expensive vacations to casino trips, $500 designer brief cases and laptops. Seldom is any disciplinary action taken and Congress increased the spending limit on the cards once they learned of the abuse…no wonder everyone wants to work for Uncle Scam! The GAO estimates the looting of such cards by government thieves at more than $300 Million annually. Few of these thieves ever get more than a slap on the wrist-if caught.
The government owns 30% of all the land in the US. It put a two year halt on solar energy projects in Arizona so it could study the potential environmental harm such development might cause. Government owned land in the Rocky Mountain area holds a world record amount of easily mined shale oil-more than 800 billion barrels, more than Saudi Arabia, but Congress continues to vote against its development.
More waste-stupid duplication. Despite states having passed medical pot laws, idiots at all levels of government continue to arrest and harass such clinics. The feds have 342 different programs all doing the same thing - economic development (in addition to state agencies)…there are 72 agencies which check for water quality, again, in addition to state and local government entities…the feds have over 50 departments involved with drug crime, again, duplicating what states already do! Where will the waste ever end?
The duplication of ‘services’ provided by government agencies is often duplicated and investigators found that in 38% of cases, programs failed to show any positive impact, but Congress still feeds their budget every year!
A dollar from 1950 is worth about 7 cents today. The average family in 1950 had an effective net tax rate of about 7%…a new Ford in 1950 cost $1395.00
Parting thoughts…Feebay & a new strategy
EBay tells sellers to simply raise their fees! With razor thin margins & a down market>it makes no sense.
Once again feebay strikes. During a lousy economy when most sellers are trying to make even a small profit, eBay is now going to take another piece of an already razor-thin pie…one that any CPA will tell you doesn’t make sense. (See link above). More announcements are pending, no doubt ones which will erode margins further.
This week I got any email from a buyer who said his book order never arrived and wanted a full refund. The odd thing is I had Delivery Confirmation on this package, which indeed recorded the item as delivered. Tough, I had to make the refund and I strongly suspect, I was scammed…what good does it do to pay extra for the service when it won’t hold water? It was suggested I either pay for a signed confirmation or insurance. On a $10 item, this makes little sense since that’s another $1.85 cost!
Many of my fellow sellers have either abandoned using eBay due to its cost and/or are thinking about it. Most of these folks complain “no one can make any money there anymore.” I know of several drop-off eBay stores which have stopped accepting goods!
Some of who have read this newsletter for any length know I recently began using Amazon too and I am happy as I sell more, (I’ve experimented using the same listing, same price on both sites and Amazon ALWAYS sells faster) and it’s quicker to list and their customer service is excellent.
I am ramping down listings on eBay, moving all new books to Amazon while using eBay only for antiquarian books and antiques. Another example, I had a NIB WiFi modem which sat on eBay for three months, it sold in 12 hours on Amazon!
If you’re starting out and can stand all of the new rules, such as witholding your payments, inability to leave proper feedback for idiots who don’t pay, high fees, IRS Reporting, and the like, it’s still a good place to get your feet wet in online selling, without a lot of upfront cost or expertise.
That's all folks for this issue from the Poor Man!
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Secrets of OZ, Protecting Your Privacy, Madness of Society
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for usable urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Secrets of the Wizard of OZ-Is our destruction by design?
2. Gutting our rights, spying on citizens-21 Ways to Protect Yourself
3. How one family became self sufficient on 1/10th of an acre
4. PC security on a shoestring
5. Teach teens about handling money-Family Mint
6. How to know when you’re too frugal
After there is great trouble among mankind, a greater one is prepared. The great mover of the universe will renew time, rain, blood, thirst, famine, steel weapons and disease. In the heavens, a fire seen.” Nostradamus
How the government spies on its citizens
Step out of line, the man come and take you away.-Buffalo Springfield
The Poor Man has written extensively on how our government monitors every financial move you make. From the New Hire Database, your medical files, your financial records, etc. The government has setup a large network of institutions which spy on you…the post office, the bank and more. The government maintains roughly 44 files on every adult in the US, effectively gutting the Bill of Rights.
Nothing is private anymore, as a vast spying system, known as Echelon, can intercept everything from your most confidential financial transactions to communications between senators and congressmen to cables between foreign officials.
Technologies and techniques honed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in America writes the Washington Post in its continuing series, “Top Secret America.”
The Post reports:
“Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.
The US Department of Justice this week released slides from a presentation deck titled Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites. The document was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
For over fifteen years, the CIA, with assistance from numerous government agencies, conducted a massive illegal domestic covert operation called Operation CHAOS. It was one of the largest and most pervasive domestic surveillance programs in the history of this country. Throughout the duration of CHAOS, the CIA spied on thousands of U.S. citizens. The CIA went to great lengths to conceal this operation from the public while every president from Eisenhower to Nixon exploited CHAOS for his own political ends."
One example is the Defense Department's Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA)
Consider this from William M. Arkin of the Washington Post:
"CIFA already has these authorities, has its own agents, and collects information on common American citizens under the guise of "sabotage" and "force protection" threats to the military. Since 9/11, functions that were previously intended to protect U.S. forces overseas from terrorism and protect U.S. secrets from spies have been combined in one super-intelligence function that constitutes the greatest threat to U.S. civil liberties since the domestic spying days of the 1970's."
"On May 2, 2003, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz signed a memorandum directing the military to collect and report "non-validated threat information" relating to U.S. military forces, installations or missions. His memorandum followed from the establishment of the Domestic Threat Working Group after 9/11, the intent of which was to create a mechanism to share low-level domestic "threat information" between the military and intelligence agencies."
Then we have the "Total Information Awareness" program whereby "Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."
Under PATRIOT, civil liberties, especially privacy rights, have taken a severe blow:
The law dramatically expands the ability of states and the Federal Government to conduct surveillance of American citizens. The Government can monitor an individual's web surfing records, use roving wiretaps to monitor phone calls made by individuals "proximate" to the primary person being tapped, access Internet Service Provider records, and monitor the private records of people involved in legitimate protests.
PATRIOT is not limited to terrorism. The Government can add samples to DNA databases for individuals convicted of "any crime of violence." Government spying on suspected computer trespassers (not just terrorist suspects) requires no court order. Wiretaps are now allowed for any suspected violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, offering possibilities for Government spying on any computer user.
Foreign and domestic intelligence agencies can more easily spy on Americans. Powers under the existing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) have been broadened to allow for increased surveillance opportunities. FISA standards are lower than the constitutional standard applied by the courts in regular investigations. PATRIOT partially repeals legislation enacted in the 1970s that prohibited pervasive surveillance of Americans.
PATRIOT eliminates Government accountability. While PATRIOT freely eliminates privacy rights for individual Americans, it creates more secrecy for Government activities, making it extremely difficult to know about actions the Government is taking.
PATRIOT authorizes the use of "sneak and peek" search warrants in connection with any federal crime, including misdemeanors. A "sneak and peek" warrant authorizes law enforcement officers to enter private premises without the occupant's permission or knowledge and without informing the occupant that such a search was conducted.
It’s terrifying to watch as so many traitorous politicians and government officials at all levels work so hard at gutting our freedoms.
Compiled from various resources. Get 21 Strategies for Protecting Your Privacy at:
http://cid-d757a63a02992903.office.live.com/self.aspx/Office%20Live%20Documents/21%5E_Cutting%5E_Edge%5E_Strategies.pdf
Watch this related video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8AaOsULKA
A quick note to say thanks for your great issues. We appreciate hearing about the biggest consumer con-Uncle Scam & his myriad ways of screwing citizens. We also appreciate the many freebies you include. P.S. We follow you on face book, but I think face book is a waste of time and just another scam for people who have nothing meaningful to do.--Roger n Mary, MI
<<<>>>
How one family is preparing-becoming self-sufficient
One family is actually producing 6000 pounds of produce on just 1/10th of an acre right in the middle of Pasadena, California. One of the main reasons why so many of us are trying to warn people about what is coming is so that they will wake up and take action to become self-sufficient.
If you are not already growing your own food, now is a great time to get started. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the global price of food rose 2.2% during the month of February to a new all-time record high. In fact, this was the third month in a row that the global price of food has set a new record.
2.2% may not sound like a lot, but if the global price of food were to increase by that amount every single month during 2011 by the end of the year the global price of food will have gone up by 26.4%.
26.4% food inflation is something that is very, very serious - especially in those areas of the world where millions are already teetering on the brink of starvation. The world is on the verge of a major food crisis. The price of corn has increased by 33 percent just since December, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. corn reserves will drop to a 15 year low by the end of 2011. Many other agricultural commodities are also in short supply and are experiencing significant increases in price.
In fact, some cities have already started to turn toilet water into tap water. Fortunately this is not a widespread thing in the United States yet, but a number of localities are now seriously considering going to such a system.
Would you want to drink your own recycled toilet water in the future?
If not, perhaps now would be a great time to learn how to become more self-sufficient when it comes to water.
Even now, most localities are dumping massive amounts of fluoride and other toxic chemicals into our drinking water. That is what one family in Pasadena, California is doing. As mentioned above, they are producing a whopping 6,000 pounds of produce each year on just 1/10th of an acre....
Visit this top notch prepper site for many good resources:
http://suburbanprepper.wordpress.com/
EBay’s 2011 updated changes now include final selling fees on your shipping costs too!
More Useful Resources
Security on a Shoestring for your PCs
The right mix of open-source tools can help-without breaking the budget
Get this too:
FreeOTFE - stands for "Free On The Fly Encryption"-- "On The Fly Encryption" refers to the encrypting/decrypting of data as it is written to or read from your hard disk. The data is stored in an encrypted form, and FreeOTFE handles all read and write…
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/221562/article.html#tk.nl_wbx_h_topstory
>>>
Free home improvement workshops from Home Depot
http://www.homeimproverclub.com/workshops.aspx?Type=3
Use snopes.comand/or truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.
Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress of any other organization - i.e. social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a "signed signature" and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you are just helping the email trackers.
Another coupon site worth a look see-will deliver coupons to your inbox
http://www.couponcabin.com/
Teach your teens about money-free and paid version
www.FamilyMint.com
How to know when you’re too frugal
WalletPop has written plenty about offbeat ways that people are frugal, including a family that rented out their house and moved into an apartment so they could save $150 a month. Sometimes, the savings isn't worth the effort. More at:
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/03/09/you-know-youre-too-frugal-when/
Where to put your cash now-useful information
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703409904576174682276988862.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_personalFinance
The Madness of a Lost Society
Useful site-watch the videos…recaps what the PM has been saying about some of the idiocy of Americans who ignore what is going on.
http://survivalguy.org/
If you use mobile banking, keep your account safe on your cell phone app by setting your password security feature up so it blocks access to your account after three failed logins.
Parting thoughts…
By Design, default, greed, stupidity or from all? Collapse of America.
More and more economists and theorists are predicting the collapse of America and it’s increasingly difficult to refute the thoughts of people such as Brian Kraft, Naomi Wolfe, Lindsey Williams, Gerald Celente, Charles Nenner and a wide range of others who are better connected than the Poor Man.
Being an optimist at heart, I’ve always tended to downplay some of the hype, but it’s remarkable at how many of their predictions have come true…the rise in oil prices, the rise in gold, cost of living spikes, the government’s eternal quest for control over every element of our lives and the dilution of the Bill of Rights and so on.
No one can refute the government is burying us alive with nonsensical rules and regulations which threaten jobs and national security…almost as if by design.
According to a 12/2010 interview with minister Lindsey Williams on PrisonPlanet.com, he says when the Euro collapses (some time within the next year or two), the US dollar will follow within weeks. We’re seeing signs of that already with the problems in Ireland, Greece and elsewhere.
Theorists tell us the New World Order group wants to see the American worker downgraded to the same status as 3rd world countries in terms of income AND that seems to be happening.
Perhaps I am naïve, but what is the purpose of that goal? If fewer people can afford products produced by multi-national firms, how will that do anyone any good? Another theory about the NWO holds the purpose of this is to create a one world government, supposedly for the betterment of all mankind.
Whether by some grand design, greed, stupidity or all of the above, we may never know. But it should be obvious to all our country is not headed in a good direction and that our rights are being trampled.
The goal of the Poor Man has always been to help foster a more self sufficient, self reliant population, one which is prepared for the worst, while still hoping for the best. Developing self sufficient life skills, creating your own work and helping others has always been the target theme of our work. You may find the following interesting and
enlightening.
Secret of the Wizard of OZ-thought-provoking (lengthy) film on causes of our national problems in terms of economics
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/secret-wizard-of-oz-by-bill-still.html
That’s this week’s gospel according to your humble servant, the Poor Man-please share with friends!
Below you will find charities you can donate to help the people in Japan!
Salvation Army
Donations: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
Donations Address:
Send your check, marked "Japan earthquake relief" to
The Salvation Army World Service Office
International Relief Fund
PO Box 630728
Baltimore, MD 21263-072800
Red Cross
Donations: 1-800-RED-CROSS
Donations address:
PO Box 37243, Washington DC 20013
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for usable urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. Secrets of the Wizard of OZ-Is our destruction by design?
2. Gutting our rights, spying on citizens-21 Ways to Protect Yourself
3. How one family became self sufficient on 1/10th of an acre
4. PC security on a shoestring
5. Teach teens about handling money-Family Mint
6. How to know when you’re too frugal
After there is great trouble among mankind, a greater one is prepared. The great mover of the universe will renew time, rain, blood, thirst, famine, steel weapons and disease. In the heavens, a fire seen.” Nostradamus
How the government spies on its citizens
Step out of line, the man come and take you away.-Buffalo Springfield
The Poor Man has written extensively on how our government monitors every financial move you make. From the New Hire Database, your medical files, your financial records, etc. The government has setup a large network of institutions which spy on you…the post office, the bank and more. The government maintains roughly 44 files on every adult in the US, effectively gutting the Bill of Rights.
Nothing is private anymore, as a vast spying system, known as Echelon, can intercept everything from your most confidential financial transactions to communications between senators and congressmen to cables between foreign officials.
Technologies and techniques honed for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan have migrated into the hands of law enforcement agencies in America writes the Washington Post in its continuing series, “Top Secret America.”
The Post reports:
“Nine years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, the United States is assembling a vast domestic intelligence apparatus to collect information about Americans, using the FBI, local police, state homeland security offices and military criminal investigators.
The US Department of Justice this week released slides from a presentation deck titled Obtaining and Using Evidence from Social Networking Sites. The document was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
For over fifteen years, the CIA, with assistance from numerous government agencies, conducted a massive illegal domestic covert operation called Operation CHAOS. It was one of the largest and most pervasive domestic surveillance programs in the history of this country. Throughout the duration of CHAOS, the CIA spied on thousands of U.S. citizens. The CIA went to great lengths to conceal this operation from the public while every president from Eisenhower to Nixon exploited CHAOS for his own political ends."
One example is the Defense Department's Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA)
Consider this from William M. Arkin of the Washington Post:
"CIFA already has these authorities, has its own agents, and collects information on common American citizens under the guise of "sabotage" and "force protection" threats to the military. Since 9/11, functions that were previously intended to protect U.S. forces overseas from terrorism and protect U.S. secrets from spies have been combined in one super-intelligence function that constitutes the greatest threat to U.S. civil liberties since the domestic spying days of the 1970's."
"On May 2, 2003, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz signed a memorandum directing the military to collect and report "non-validated threat information" relating to U.S. military forces, installations or missions. His memorandum followed from the establishment of the Domestic Threat Working Group after 9/11, the intent of which was to create a mechanism to share low-level domestic "threat information" between the military and intelligence agencies."
Then we have the "Total Information Awareness" program whereby "Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade you receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database."
Under PATRIOT, civil liberties, especially privacy rights, have taken a severe blow:
The law dramatically expands the ability of states and the Federal Government to conduct surveillance of American citizens. The Government can monitor an individual's web surfing records, use roving wiretaps to monitor phone calls made by individuals "proximate" to the primary person being tapped, access Internet Service Provider records, and monitor the private records of people involved in legitimate protests.
PATRIOT is not limited to terrorism. The Government can add samples to DNA databases for individuals convicted of "any crime of violence." Government spying on suspected computer trespassers (not just terrorist suspects) requires no court order. Wiretaps are now allowed for any suspected violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, offering possibilities for Government spying on any computer user.
Foreign and domestic intelligence agencies can more easily spy on Americans. Powers under the existing Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) have been broadened to allow for increased surveillance opportunities. FISA standards are lower than the constitutional standard applied by the courts in regular investigations. PATRIOT partially repeals legislation enacted in the 1970s that prohibited pervasive surveillance of Americans.
PATRIOT eliminates Government accountability. While PATRIOT freely eliminates privacy rights for individual Americans, it creates more secrecy for Government activities, making it extremely difficult to know about actions the Government is taking.
PATRIOT authorizes the use of "sneak and peek" search warrants in connection with any federal crime, including misdemeanors. A "sneak and peek" warrant authorizes law enforcement officers to enter private premises without the occupant's permission or knowledge and without informing the occupant that such a search was conducted.
It’s terrifying to watch as so many traitorous politicians and government officials at all levels work so hard at gutting our freedoms.
Compiled from various resources. Get 21 Strategies for Protecting Your Privacy at:
http://cid-d757a63a02992903.office.live.com/self.aspx/Office%20Live%20Documents/21%5E_Cutting%5E_Edge%5E_Strategies.pdf
Watch this related video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s8AaOsULKA
A quick note to say thanks for your great issues. We appreciate hearing about the biggest consumer con-Uncle Scam & his myriad ways of screwing citizens. We also appreciate the many freebies you include. P.S. We follow you on face book, but I think face book is a waste of time and just another scam for people who have nothing meaningful to do.--Roger n Mary, MI
<<<>>>
How one family is preparing-becoming self-sufficient
One family is actually producing 6000 pounds of produce on just 1/10th of an acre right in the middle of Pasadena, California. One of the main reasons why so many of us are trying to warn people about what is coming is so that they will wake up and take action to become self-sufficient.
If you are not already growing your own food, now is a great time to get started. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the global price of food rose 2.2% during the month of February to a new all-time record high. In fact, this was the third month in a row that the global price of food has set a new record.
2.2% may not sound like a lot, but if the global price of food were to increase by that amount every single month during 2011 by the end of the year the global price of food will have gone up by 26.4%.
26.4% food inflation is something that is very, very serious - especially in those areas of the world where millions are already teetering on the brink of starvation. The world is on the verge of a major food crisis. The price of corn has increased by 33 percent just since December, and according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. corn reserves will drop to a 15 year low by the end of 2011. Many other agricultural commodities are also in short supply and are experiencing significant increases in price.
In fact, some cities have already started to turn toilet water into tap water. Fortunately this is not a widespread thing in the United States yet, but a number of localities are now seriously considering going to such a system.
Would you want to drink your own recycled toilet water in the future?
If not, perhaps now would be a great time to learn how to become more self-sufficient when it comes to water.
Even now, most localities are dumping massive amounts of fluoride and other toxic chemicals into our drinking water. That is what one family in Pasadena, California is doing. As mentioned above, they are producing a whopping 6,000 pounds of produce each year on just 1/10th of an acre....
Visit this top notch prepper site for many good resources:
http://suburbanprepper.wordpress.com/
EBay’s 2011 updated changes now include final selling fees on your shipping costs too!
More Useful Resources
Security on a Shoestring for your PCs
The right mix of open-source tools can help-without breaking the budget
Get this too:
FreeOTFE - stands for "Free On The Fly Encryption"-- "On The Fly Encryption" refers to the encrypting/decrypting of data as it is written to or read from your hard disk. The data is stored in an encrypted form, and FreeOTFE handles all read and write…
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/221562/article.html#tk.nl_wbx_h_topstory
>>>
Free home improvement workshops from Home Depot
http://www.homeimproverclub.com/workshops.aspx?Type=3
Use snopes.comand/or truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.
Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress of any other organization - i.e. social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a "signed signature" and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you are just helping the email trackers.
Another coupon site worth a look see-will deliver coupons to your inbox
http://www.couponcabin.com/
Teach your teens about money-free and paid version
www.FamilyMint.com
How to know when you’re too frugal
WalletPop has written plenty about offbeat ways that people are frugal, including a family that rented out their house and moved into an apartment so they could save $150 a month. Sometimes, the savings isn't worth the effort. More at:
http://www.walletpop.com/2011/03/09/you-know-youre-too-frugal-when/
Where to put your cash now-useful information
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703409904576174682276988862.html?mod=WSJ_newsreel_personalFinance
The Madness of a Lost Society
Useful site-watch the videos…recaps what the PM has been saying about some of the idiocy of Americans who ignore what is going on.
http://survivalguy.org/
If you use mobile banking, keep your account safe on your cell phone app by setting your password security feature up so it blocks access to your account after three failed logins.
Parting thoughts…
By Design, default, greed, stupidity or from all? Collapse of America.
More and more economists and theorists are predicting the collapse of America and it’s increasingly difficult to refute the thoughts of people such as Brian Kraft, Naomi Wolfe, Lindsey Williams, Gerald Celente, Charles Nenner and a wide range of others who are better connected than the Poor Man.
Being an optimist at heart, I’ve always tended to downplay some of the hype, but it’s remarkable at how many of their predictions have come true…the rise in oil prices, the rise in gold, cost of living spikes, the government’s eternal quest for control over every element of our lives and the dilution of the Bill of Rights and so on.
No one can refute the government is burying us alive with nonsensical rules and regulations which threaten jobs and national security…almost as if by design.
According to a 12/2010 interview with minister Lindsey Williams on PrisonPlanet.com, he says when the Euro collapses (some time within the next year or two), the US dollar will follow within weeks. We’re seeing signs of that already with the problems in Ireland, Greece and elsewhere.
Theorists tell us the New World Order group wants to see the American worker downgraded to the same status as 3rd world countries in terms of income AND that seems to be happening.
Perhaps I am naïve, but what is the purpose of that goal? If fewer people can afford products produced by multi-national firms, how will that do anyone any good? Another theory about the NWO holds the purpose of this is to create a one world government, supposedly for the betterment of all mankind.
Whether by some grand design, greed, stupidity or all of the above, we may never know. But it should be obvious to all our country is not headed in a good direction and that our rights are being trampled.
The goal of the Poor Man has always been to help foster a more self sufficient, self reliant population, one which is prepared for the worst, while still hoping for the best. Developing self sufficient life skills, creating your own work and helping others has always been the target theme of our work. You may find the following interesting and
enlightening.
Secret of the Wizard of OZ-thought-provoking (lengthy) film on causes of our national problems in terms of economics
http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.com/2011/03/secret-wizard-of-oz-by-bill-still.html
That’s this week’s gospel according to your humble servant, the Poor Man-please share with friends!
Below you will find charities you can donate to help the people in Japan!
Salvation Army
Donations: 1-800-SAL-ARMY
Donations Address:
Send your check, marked "Japan earthquake relief" to
The Salvation Army World Service Office
International Relief Fund
PO Box 630728
Baltimore, MD 21263-072800
Red Cross
Donations: 1-800-RED-CROSS
Donations address:
PO Box 37243, Washington DC 20013
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
Sunday, March 13, 2011
A mercenary for the IRS
Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. A mercenary for the IRS
2. Hurricane & Tornado emergency prep
3. Soil testing, composting, garden how-tos
4. Commodities data, economics
5. Tools to Survive & thrive
6. Ripples from the Zambezi
Who is successful in America today?
It is the big boys. Everyone else is being crushed.
We sure have Japan in our prayers this week…sure reinforces what I wrote last week about all of the natural disasters and its potential tie-in to 12-21-12!
I was a mercenary for the IRS…
It’s that time of the year again. The annual torture of hours spent hunting for receipts and deductions. When the Internal Revenue Service and income tax on individuals was created, the public was promised the tax “would never affect anyone other than the top one percent of income earners.” We all know how long that lasted.
Under the Obama administration, the staffing levels of the IRS are budgeted to grow by more than 5,000 new agents whose primary role will be to secure more revenue for the government, primarily from small business owners (another dwindling US resource).
I’ve been through several IRS audits and though time-consuming, I came out ahead each time. When notified of a fourth audit, my CPA sent them a letter politely declining the invitation as by then, it amounted to harassment.
In past years in my role as appraiser and property liquidator, I have worked with the IRS, the US Marshals Service, local police agencies and bankruptcy courts. One of my friends at the time called me a ’mercenary,’ no better than those who collect a reward from the IRS when they snitch on fraudulent taxpayer (yes, there is such a program and the compensation is limited to 10% of what the IRS collects). On the whole, most of the personnel I’ve worked with were nice people. But all seemed to have developed self-protective detachment or indifference to the plight of the family or business they had gone after.
One newspaper which had been family owned for generations was hit with a three million dollar tax bill when the father died. Unable to come up with the cash, the business was liquidated, putting 35 employees on the unemployment line. Does this make sense?
--The average family pays over 38% of their total to the IRS, which is more than the average family spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined.
--The IRS has a whistleblowers program designed to help catch tax evaders. In 2005 they paid over $27 million to informants that resulted in nearly $350 million in revenue.
-- The federal government spends about $10 billion per year to pay the IRS’s 114,000 employees.
It’s being reported the IRS is actually an agency of the IMF and is the collection arm of the Federal Reserve. I have no way of establishing those ideas as facts. With respect to the Federal Reserve System, it is a deliberate mystery. It was deliberately designed in 1910 to deceive the public, who were opposed the idea of a central bank. The conspirators who met on Jekyll Island in November 1910 knew this. Many believe the fed bears the sole responsibility for our endless cycle of recessions, inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.
In an essay about his youth, sociologist Robert Nisbet remarked that in the year he was born, 1913, the only contact that most Americans had with the Federal government was the Post Office. Later that year, the Federal Reserve Act was passed in a late session, just before Christmas break. Also in that year, the income tax came into effect. The expansion of the Federal government has been relentless ever since.
My best advice is to always use a qualified tax preparer such as an Enrolled Agent, who has undergone some training. For anything other than a simple return, I would avoid those free preparation services and software.
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/agents/article/0,,id=100710,00.html
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/taxes-articles/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs-363017.html#ixzz1G6rX7Ljw
Finally…there is now a SmartPhone app for taxpayers, called IRS2Go. It allows you to track the status of your refund and more. You can download it via Apple’s App Store or Android Marketplace!
Syracuse professor of psychology Michael Carey received $219,000 in federal stimulus money for a study that examines the sex patterns of college women…now there’s a job the PM would enjoy!
Useful Resources for the Week
For anyone interested in economics, this site is a wealth of information. Looking at the Commodities Data section made my head spin - all the information that they had! And they have a neat application on the right side of the page that lets you help them keep track of commodity data.
I found Country Facts to be an interesting section too!
http://www.indexmundi.com/
The Homeowners Guide
Information about dealing with disasters and home care
A big thank you to Ms. Harris for sending this…she shares the PM site with students!
http://www.homeownersinsurance.org/
Tools to Survive & Prosper
21 Tools and resources in areas of internet privacy, medical, precious metals, banking and more. Free to those who have purchased any of our Poor Man products. Send me an email with ‘tools’ in the subject line and you’ll be sent this report as an attachment. Send request to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com
SPONSORS
============================
Attract An Endless Stream Of New Distributors And Customers
Tired of prospecting leads only to be left with an empty wallet?
Well my friend, the days of old school MLM tactics are dead.
Stop spending more than you make and get paid to prospect.
http://williet.magneticsponsoringonline.com/?c=Pack+
This is the PERFECT solution if you would love to
begin making money online, but at this point aren't
ready (or willing) to create a successful online businesses
of your own. (It just doesn't get any easier than this.)
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?EIRDA&PIPS
***Discover Internet Marketing Success!***
Let me show you the way to internet marketing success! http://www.thenewbiesroadmaptointernetmarketingsuccess.com
=====================================
According to TrimTabs Investment Research, government handouts have reached a level that is equivalent to 35 percent of all wages and salaries in the United States. Considering the fact that this figure was only 21 percent back in the year 2000 and only 10 percent back in 1960.
Free Gardening Resources-from our friends at the County Extension Office
How to Take a Soil Test
http://www.css.msu.edu/SPNL/
Compost your yard waste - You Tube Videos by Bob Tritten, District Fruit Educator on how to compost
http://www.migarden.msu.edu/migarden/news/item/compost_your_yard_waste
MSU Fruit Resources
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/fruit/
MSU Vegetable Team Website
http://vegetable.msue.msu.edu//
MSU Poultry Team Website
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry
It's also time to start thinking about all of the vegetables, herbs, berries and fruit that you can grow yourself.
If you are new to food gardening, it's easy to learn how to grow and enjoy healthy and delicious vegetables in your backyard. You can save a fortune on food costs and protect yourself and your loved ones from dangerous chemicals and production methods used on store-bought produce. And, you can have vegetables and fruit that tastes better than anything you can buy.
Here's a list of free downloadable how-to-garden books that I found for you:
Download your Free Kitchen Garden Guide Books >>>
( http://www.todaysplans.net/learn-gardening-vegetables.html )
Substitute club soda for the liquid called for in pancake batter to get fluffier cakes.
Club soda is also good to use instead of tap water for your indoor plants-more minerals.
Government Roundup
"No Way Out" of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fail…PM has been stating this for years!
Debt, debt and more mounting debt is plaguing countries around the globe.
In this U.S., states across the country face a collective $125 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, while Congress is facing a budget gap nearly 10 times that size.
PIMCO founder Bill Gross -- one of the world's largest mutual funds managers, who focuses mostly on bonds -- has previously said that if the United States were a corporation, no one in their right mind would lend us money. For the last decade, we’ve been “relying on the kindness of strangers” to help cover our debts, he tells Aaron Task in the accompanying clip. More at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%E2%80%9Cno-way-out%E2%80%9D-of-debt-trap-gross-says-u.s.-living-standards-doomed-to-fall-536001.html
Oil Price Shocks and the Recession of 2011?: Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price hikes
Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price shocks. The price of crude is up about 30 percent over last year. Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey delves into the economic literature in an effort to see if a 2011 recession is likely.
Reason.tv: Cutting Government Spending-An Interview with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño
Since coming into power in 2009, Gov. Luis Fortuño (R-Puerto Rico) has cut government spending by 20 percent, lowered taxes and raised the territory's bond status to its highest rating in 35 years - all during a punishing economic climate. Gov. Fortuño sat down with Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch to discuss Puerto Rico's turnaround, federal immigration policy, the drug war, education reform, his support of statehood and a possible future in mainland politics.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/08/cutting-government-spending-an
Obama is considering releasing some of national oil reserves to ease recent fuel price hikes…why not simply place a hold in the fuel taxes paid at the pump? About 18 cents at the federal level…if states kicked in, that would drop the price about 50 cents a gallon.
Unrepentant Unlicensed Taxi Driver: "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I do," by Damon W. Root
In his book The Right to Earn a Living , public interest attorney Timothy Sandefur explains how taxi licensing laws are just one of the many arbitrary and unnecessary types of regulation that restrict economic liberty while enriching special interests. Writing today at the Pacific Legal Foundation's Liberty Blog, Sandefur highlights an extraordinary story from Aspen, Colorado where a man named Phil Sullivan just spent over a week in jail for operating an unlicensed taxi. And as Sullivan told The Aspen Times, he refuses to accept the idea that he did anything wrong.
Start seeds in eggshells. Place halves into the egg carton and fill with soil, press seeds inside.
Seeds will draw nutrients from the shells. Once about 3” high, remove and replant. Crush the eggshells and add to your compost pile or garden.
Make Play Clay for Kids
Add together 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 1 cup salt, 4 cups plain flour, 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil. Stir well with wooden spoon, then slowly stir while adding 4 cups of water. Cook the mixture on medium in a saucepan until it thickens (stir occasionally). It’s ready when it forms a ball that isn’t sticky. If desired, work in food coloring. Let cool, store in tight container such as an empty coffee can in the fridge.
Parting thoughts…Ripples from the Zambezi
I’ve always been on the anti-authoritarian side of life. (what a surprise). It’s never made sense to me that our schools and society teach freedom and respect for others (diversity) while at the same time dictating every little thing we do, how we behave…control over our lives in the pursuit of happiness.
Our politicians always talk about job creation, then go about setting all imaginable roadblocks. This problem has festered in America for 30 years and it happens elsewhere too such as in Australia.
Mauri Green, an experienced fish processor, was unemployed in his town Esperance and set about doing what he knew best…processing fish. He set up a smoke oven in his garage, smoke fish and began to sell it. His former friend, the health inspector tasted the fish and liked it very much. Then the inspector proceeded to confiscate the equipment on the grounds that Mauri’s garage did not comply with health regulations.”
Not having the money to move his oven to an approved building and was unable to secure the blessing of the local development bureaucrats, he went on the public dole.
This example is from a book called Ripples from the Zambezi by Ernesto Sirolli. If you have a passion for something, you should be successful. Sirolli has set up local economic development programs that actually work, with a minimum of government interference and cost.
If you aspire to create or start a venture to provide yourself with a livelihood, I recommend it…should be required reading for bureaucrats. By the way, this book was a gift from our friend at the County Extension Office, Hal Hudson-Thanks!
The concept is pretty easy. Match aspiring entrepreneurs with those already succeeding in much like an apprenticeship program. We have one here and it’s worth a look at and be sure to look at the Sirolli Inst. Link here: http://www.tuscolaenterprise.com/sirolli.html
Get a copy of the book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ripples+from+the+zambezi&sprefix=ripples+from+the+zambezi
That’s our issue for today…from your fellow entrepreneur, the Poor Man!
"Principio Obstate (Resist from the beginning)."
-- Latin Proverb
Check our Resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
http://www.OldBookNook.com
Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down-New 11th Ed.
http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
Go Green-save money!
http://www.GreenIrene.com/Poorman
Free Money assistance for women, businesses, more.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?poorman11/mlesko
A Shallow Planet Production
Your choice for urban survival resources
http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
In This Issue:
1. A mercenary for the IRS
2. Hurricane & Tornado emergency prep
3. Soil testing, composting, garden how-tos
4. Commodities data, economics
5. Tools to Survive & thrive
6. Ripples from the Zambezi
Who is successful in America today?
It is the big boys. Everyone else is being crushed.
We sure have Japan in our prayers this week…sure reinforces what I wrote last week about all of the natural disasters and its potential tie-in to 12-21-12!
I was a mercenary for the IRS…
It’s that time of the year again. The annual torture of hours spent hunting for receipts and deductions. When the Internal Revenue Service and income tax on individuals was created, the public was promised the tax “would never affect anyone other than the top one percent of income earners.” We all know how long that lasted.
Under the Obama administration, the staffing levels of the IRS are budgeted to grow by more than 5,000 new agents whose primary role will be to secure more revenue for the government, primarily from small business owners (another dwindling US resource).
I’ve been through several IRS audits and though time-consuming, I came out ahead each time. When notified of a fourth audit, my CPA sent them a letter politely declining the invitation as by then, it amounted to harassment.
In past years in my role as appraiser and property liquidator, I have worked with the IRS, the US Marshals Service, local police agencies and bankruptcy courts. One of my friends at the time called me a ’mercenary,’ no better than those who collect a reward from the IRS when they snitch on fraudulent taxpayer (yes, there is such a program and the compensation is limited to 10% of what the IRS collects). On the whole, most of the personnel I’ve worked with were nice people. But all seemed to have developed self-protective detachment or indifference to the plight of the family or business they had gone after.
One newspaper which had been family owned for generations was hit with a three million dollar tax bill when the father died. Unable to come up with the cash, the business was liquidated, putting 35 employees on the unemployment line. Does this make sense?
--The average family pays over 38% of their total to the IRS, which is more than the average family spends on food, clothing, and shelter combined.
--The IRS has a whistleblowers program designed to help catch tax evaders. In 2005 they paid over $27 million to informants that resulted in nearly $350 million in revenue.
-- The federal government spends about $10 billion per year to pay the IRS’s 114,000 employees.
It’s being reported the IRS is actually an agency of the IMF and is the collection arm of the Federal Reserve. I have no way of establishing those ideas as facts. With respect to the Federal Reserve System, it is a deliberate mystery. It was deliberately designed in 1910 to deceive the public, who were opposed the idea of a central bank. The conspirators who met on Jekyll Island in November 1910 knew this. Many believe the fed bears the sole responsibility for our endless cycle of recessions, inflation and the devaluation of the dollar.
In an essay about his youth, sociologist Robert Nisbet remarked that in the year he was born, 1913, the only contact that most Americans had with the Federal government was the Post Office. Later that year, the Federal Reserve Act was passed in a late session, just before Christmas break. Also in that year, the income tax came into effect. The expansion of the Federal government has been relentless ever since.
My best advice is to always use a qualified tax preparer such as an Enrolled Agent, who has undergone some training. For anything other than a simple return, I would avoid those free preparation services and software.
http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/agents/article/0,,id=100710,00.html
Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/taxes-articles/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs-363017.html#ixzz1G6rX7Ljw
Finally…there is now a SmartPhone app for taxpayers, called IRS2Go. It allows you to track the status of your refund and more. You can download it via Apple’s App Store or Android Marketplace!
Syracuse professor of psychology Michael Carey received $219,000 in federal stimulus money for a study that examines the sex patterns of college women…now there’s a job the PM would enjoy!
Useful Resources for the Week
For anyone interested in economics, this site is a wealth of information. Looking at the Commodities Data section made my head spin - all the information that they had! And they have a neat application on the right side of the page that lets you help them keep track of commodity data.
I found Country Facts to be an interesting section too!
http://www.indexmundi.com/
The Homeowners Guide
Information about dealing with disasters and home care
A big thank you to Ms. Harris for sending this…she shares the PM site with students!
http://www.homeownersinsurance.org/
Tools to Survive & Prosper
21 Tools and resources in areas of internet privacy, medical, precious metals, banking and more. Free to those who have purchased any of our Poor Man products. Send me an email with ‘tools’ in the subject line and you’ll be sent this report as an attachment. Send request to: PoorManSurvivor@yahoo.com
SPONSORS
============================
Attract An Endless Stream Of New Distributors And Customers
Tired of prospecting leads only to be left with an empty wallet?
Well my friend, the days of old school MLM tactics are dead.
Stop spending more than you make and get paid to prospect.
http://williet.magneticsponsoringonline.com/?c=Pack+
This is the PERFECT solution if you would love to
begin making money online, but at this point aren't
ready (or willing) to create a successful online businesses
of your own. (It just doesn't get any easier than this.)
http://www.adminder.com/c.cgi?EIRDA&PIPS
***Discover Internet Marketing Success!***
Let me show you the way to internet marketing success! http://www.thenewbiesroadmaptointernetmarketingsuccess.com
=====================================
According to TrimTabs Investment Research, government handouts have reached a level that is equivalent to 35 percent of all wages and salaries in the United States. Considering the fact that this figure was only 21 percent back in the year 2000 and only 10 percent back in 1960.
Free Gardening Resources-from our friends at the County Extension Office
How to Take a Soil Test
http://www.css.msu.edu/SPNL/
Compost your yard waste - You Tube Videos by Bob Tritten, District Fruit Educator on how to compost
http://www.migarden.msu.edu/migarden/news/item/compost_your_yard_waste
MSU Fruit Resources
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/fruit/
MSU Vegetable Team Website
http://vegetable.msue.msu.edu//
MSU Poultry Team Website
http://web1.msue.msu.edu/poultry
It's also time to start thinking about all of the vegetables, herbs, berries and fruit that you can grow yourself.
If you are new to food gardening, it's easy to learn how to grow and enjoy healthy and delicious vegetables in your backyard. You can save a fortune on food costs and protect yourself and your loved ones from dangerous chemicals and production methods used on store-bought produce. And, you can have vegetables and fruit that tastes better than anything you can buy.
Here's a list of free downloadable how-to-garden books that I found for you:
Download your Free Kitchen Garden Guide Books >>>
( http://www.todaysplans.net/learn-gardening-vegetables.html )
Substitute club soda for the liquid called for in pancake batter to get fluffier cakes.
Club soda is also good to use instead of tap water for your indoor plants-more minerals.
Government Roundup
"No Way Out" of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fail…PM has been stating this for years!
Debt, debt and more mounting debt is plaguing countries around the globe.
In this U.S., states across the country face a collective $125 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, while Congress is facing a budget gap nearly 10 times that size.
PIMCO founder Bill Gross -- one of the world's largest mutual funds managers, who focuses mostly on bonds -- has previously said that if the United States were a corporation, no one in their right mind would lend us money. For the last decade, we’ve been “relying on the kindness of strangers” to help cover our debts, he tells Aaron Task in the accompanying clip. More at:
http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/%E2%80%9Cno-way-out%E2%80%9D-of-debt-trap-gross-says-u.s.-living-standards-doomed-to-fall-536001.html
Oil Price Shocks and the Recession of 2011?: Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price hikes
Ten of the last 11 recessions were preceded by oil price shocks. The price of crude is up about 30 percent over last year. Reason Science Correspondent Ronald Bailey delves into the economic literature in an effort to see if a 2011 recession is likely.
Reason.tv: Cutting Government Spending-An Interview with Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño
Since coming into power in 2009, Gov. Luis Fortuño (R-Puerto Rico) has cut government spending by 20 percent, lowered taxes and raised the territory's bond status to its highest rating in 35 years - all during a punishing economic climate. Gov. Fortuño sat down with Reason Magazine Editor in Chief Matt Welch to discuss Puerto Rico's turnaround, federal immigration policy, the drug war, education reform, his support of statehood and a possible future in mainland politics.
http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/08/cutting-government-spending-an
Obama is considering releasing some of national oil reserves to ease recent fuel price hikes…why not simply place a hold in the fuel taxes paid at the pump? About 18 cents at the federal level…if states kicked in, that would drop the price about 50 cents a gallon.
Unrepentant Unlicensed Taxi Driver: "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what I do," by Damon W. Root
In his book The Right to Earn a Living , public interest attorney Timothy Sandefur explains how taxi licensing laws are just one of the many arbitrary and unnecessary types of regulation that restrict economic liberty while enriching special interests. Writing today at the Pacific Legal Foundation's Liberty Blog, Sandefur highlights an extraordinary story from Aspen, Colorado where a man named Phil Sullivan just spent over a week in jail for operating an unlicensed taxi. And as Sullivan told The Aspen Times, he refuses to accept the idea that he did anything wrong.
Start seeds in eggshells. Place halves into the egg carton and fill with soil, press seeds inside.
Seeds will draw nutrients from the shells. Once about 3” high, remove and replant. Crush the eggshells and add to your compost pile or garden.
Make Play Clay for Kids
Add together 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar, 1 cup salt, 4 cups plain flour, 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil. Stir well with wooden spoon, then slowly stir while adding 4 cups of water. Cook the mixture on medium in a saucepan until it thickens (stir occasionally). It’s ready when it forms a ball that isn’t sticky. If desired, work in food coloring. Let cool, store in tight container such as an empty coffee can in the fridge.
Parting thoughts…Ripples from the Zambezi
I’ve always been on the anti-authoritarian side of life. (what a surprise). It’s never made sense to me that our schools and society teach freedom and respect for others (diversity) while at the same time dictating every little thing we do, how we behave…control over our lives in the pursuit of happiness.
Our politicians always talk about job creation, then go about setting all imaginable roadblocks. This problem has festered in America for 30 years and it happens elsewhere too such as in Australia.
Mauri Green, an experienced fish processor, was unemployed in his town Esperance and set about doing what he knew best…processing fish. He set up a smoke oven in his garage, smoke fish and began to sell it. His former friend, the health inspector tasted the fish and liked it very much. Then the inspector proceeded to confiscate the equipment on the grounds that Mauri’s garage did not comply with health regulations.”
Not having the money to move his oven to an approved building and was unable to secure the blessing of the local development bureaucrats, he went on the public dole.
This example is from a book called Ripples from the Zambezi by Ernesto Sirolli. If you have a passion for something, you should be successful. Sirolli has set up local economic development programs that actually work, with a minimum of government interference and cost.
If you aspire to create or start a venture to provide yourself with a livelihood, I recommend it…should be required reading for bureaucrats. By the way, this book was a gift from our friend at the County Extension Office, Hal Hudson-Thanks!
The concept is pretty easy. Match aspiring entrepreneurs with those already succeeding in much like an apprenticeship program. We have one here and it’s worth a look at and be sure to look at the Sirolli Inst. Link here: http://www.tuscolaenterprise.com/sirolli.html
Get a copy of the book on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_24?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ripples+from+the+zambezi&sprefix=ripples+from+the+zambezi
That’s our issue for today…from your fellow entrepreneur, the Poor Man!
"Principio Obstate (Resist from the beginning)."
-- Latin Proverb
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http://www.PoorManSurvival.com
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http://tinyurl.com/PMBasics
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