Poor Man Survival
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Faith
is one of the forces by which men live, and the total absence of it means collapse.
>>William James
A discussion of this topic was started on one of our social networks and
I promised to write a condensed version of what I have touched
on throughout the past couple of years.
If you recall how our economy fell apart after 911 and how Bush pushed
for Americans to get out and buy stuff, this was a hint of what a calamity can
cause. Let us know what you think- leave
your comments…
The dollar has lost 96% of its value since 1913…
Top 10 Potential Triggers
of our Collapse
Over the years I’ve posed many examples of how our government treats
citizens like crap. Roughly 87% of
Americans no longer like the federal government and with good reason: Policies which have decimated middle class
jobs, unfair tax system, a healthcare system which is proving to be a disaster,
the trampling of our privacy and rights, an overregulated nation which is
destroying job-creating entrepreneurism and so on.
The dollar became the world's
reserve currency when President Nixon abandoned
the gold
standard in the 1970s. The dollar is used for
43% of all cross-border transactions. The dollar's
value is strong as measured by central bank
reserves -- 61% of these foreign currency reserves are in dollars.
China and Russia want an alternative to the US dollar and it could
happen but it would take a tremendous amount work and resolve…
Zha Xiaogang, a researcher at the Shanghai Institutes for
International Studies, recently said:
|
The shortcomings of the current international monetary system
pose a big threat to China's economy."
|
That's why China is now actively taking steps to phase out the U.S. dollar
because of its frustration with the U.S. government's mismanagement of our
currency. And how does our government respond? We have the audacity to label
China a "currency manipulator!"
A few weeks ago I wrote a series of articles (including a free
handbook) about how the government cannot even give us the truth about
inflation. Its number do not take into
account health care costs, food prices or the cost of energy…all of which are
crushing the finances of Middle Class Americans.
1.
The faith of
citizens in the dollar, and our government finally evaporates. We may be closer to that then what most think
(but don’t worry, the government is spending full tilt to prepare for massive
citizen uprisings. This is one of the
reasons DHS is militarizing local police forces).
2.
The faith in the US dollar by our debt holders and
international investors fails. To a
degree, this is already taking place, especially in China, Russia and many
other countries.
3.
The faith of our allies in Europe erodes due to the
lack of leadership shown by Pres. Obama.
This too is already taking place with many in Europe looking to Germany
for leadership.
4.
A national economic default or re-issue of a new
currency. This too is in the planning
stage as is a federal takeover of all retirement accounts (mandating all
retirement accounts be held in US investments).
5.
If our so-called leaders default on Social Security
there will be hell to pay and civil strife like this country hasn’t seen since
the Civil War.
6.
If the government pulls another FDR stunt whereby all
citizens must turn their gold over to government authorities.
7.
Debt is a form of slavery. International bankers run our money supply
and citizens are in debt beyond anything reasonable. It is virtually impossible for the nation to
get out of debt short of default and that applies to many citizens as
well. As jobs pay less and offer zero
benefits, many will no longer be able to afford to live here. We’ve already lost 10% of the middle class
and more people are leaving the US to live in cheaper countries. More than 50% of citizens get some kind of
government assistance usually in the form of food stamps, Section 8 housing,
etc. If those benefits are eliminated,
chaos will reign.
8.
Public sector workers in many communities were
over-compensated and promised gold-plated retirement benefits which taxes can
no longer support. Detroit is an example
of 50 years of Democratic rule which bankrupted the city, killed public
services and fostered a massive population exodus. Many other cities will go the same route
creating a lot of unhappy retirees (most public sector employees only had to
work 20 years to get a full pension and benefits & politicians get EVEN
better benefits from feeding at the public trough).
9.
Roughly 30% Americans have no emergency fund nor know
how to budget or as the old adage states “most Americans are only a paycheck
away from being homeless.” If Washington
whittles away or eliminates the various lifelines, civil rest will ensue.
10.
As the government continues to bankrupt the nation and
trounce our Bill of Rights, enough folks will get angry and they won’t take
it. This is what has happened throughout
history.
In many respects, America is at
the end of its empire and a dollar collapse is possible, but not probable.
We’ve squandered our resources engaging in wars that enrich corporate
America. We have created a bizarre,
unfair tax system which rewards the rich and works against small business
owners and job creation. Our legal
system works well for the rich but no so well for the poor (we have more people
in prison than any other nation). We
have more laws, rules and regulations (created primarily by unelected
bureaucrats) than any other nation and it is choking the vitality out of our
country.
If you read through this list, you probably discovered a common thread
– FAITH in the system and how it is being eroded by dysfunctional politicians
and bureaucrats at every level of government.
What’s truly sad is the fact there are so many spineless citizens who
do not have a clue as to what is happening, to how our country is being
destroyed from within.
This is actually the NUMBER ONE
CAUSE OF OUR DESTRUCTION – citizens who do not care.
A dollar collapse is when the value of
the dollar falls so fast that all those who
hold dollars panic, and sell them at any cost. In this scenario, sellers would
include: foreign governments who hold U.S.
Treasuries, traders in exchange
rate futures who trade the dollar versus other
currencies, and individual
investors who demand assets denominated in
anything other than dollars.
What Would Cause
This to Happen?
Several conditions
must be in place before the dollar could collapse. First, there must be an
underlying weakness. Second, there must be a viable currency alternative for
everyone to stampede into. Third, a triggering event would need to occur.
The first condition
does exist. The dollar declined 54.7% against the euro between 2002 and
2012. Why? The U.S. debt nearly tripled
during that time period, from $5.9 trillion to $15 trillion. This increases the
chance the U.S. will let the dollar's value slide, allowing it to repay the
debt with cheaper money.
The economies of
Japan and China are dependent on U.S. consumers. They know that if they sell
their dollars, their products will cost more in the U.S., and their economies
will suffer. Right now, it's still in their best interest to hold onto their
dollar reserves.
China and Japan are
selling more to other Asian countries, who are gradually becoming wealthier.
However, the U.S. is still the best market in the world.
SIDEBAR:
Naomi Wolf’s 10 key steps to close down an open society: a dictator's blueprint:
1.
Invoke an internal
and external threat 2. Secret prisons where torture takes place 3. Develop a
paramilitary force 4. Surveil ordinary citizens 5. Infiltrate citizens' groups
6. Detain and release ordinary citizens 7. Target key individuals 8. Restrict the press 9. Recast criticism as
espionage and dissent as treason 10. Subvert the rule of law…
The signs of
collapse are everywhere…
However, there
are many who believe we cannot, as a nation, default on our obligations…
The economies of
Japan and China are dependent on U.S. consumers. They know that if they sell
their dollars, their products will cost more in the U.S., and their economies
will suffer. Right now, it's still in their best interest to hold onto their
dollar reserves.
China and Japan are
selling more to other Asian countries, who are gradually becoming wealthier. However,
the U.S. is still the best market in the world so why ruin your best customer?
A sudden dollar collapse would
create global economic turmoil as investors rush to other currencies, such as
the euro, or other assets, such as gold and silver.
“There is never a risk of default for a
sovereign nation that issues its own free-floating currency and where its debts
are denominated in that currency.” Mike Norman, Chief Economist
for John Thomas Financial
Technically, this is true but in reality, the US would
simply reissue a new currency and perhaps force Americans to turn in their gold
or mandate all retirement accounts be switched over to government securities. There is already a plan in place.
Judging by the past few Presidential administrations, freedom
and Democracy are on shaky grounds in the US…Anti-citizen laws such as the
un-Patriot Act have destroyed privacy, restricted our right to travel,
militarized our local police and worse. Americans should prepare for a
just-in-case scenario – hold physical supplies of gold and silver and other
hard assets such as mortgage-free land.
What would happen
if the US did default?
Traits Common to
Declining Cultures...
Obsession with beauty
Decline of the middle class
Increase of violence (primarily among young)
Decline of the family
Decline of morals
Increase of immorality and ethics among leaders
An insolvent government
Failure of its people to see the decline
A decline in literacy and education
Decline of a belief in a Supreme Being
Documentaries For Americans
As an independent thinker, I
find it important to open your eyes and see the world for what it is. There are
many disturbing things going on in this country, and when we try to discuss it,
it becomes a ‘Us vs. Them’ kind of
battle.
A
New Social Security Ponzi Scheme?
"Let's do more to help Americans save for
retirement. Today, most workers don't have a pension. A Social Security check
often isn't enough on its own. And while the stock market has doubled over the
last five years, that doesn't help folks who don't have 401ks. That's why
tomorrow I will direct the Treasury to create a new way for working Americans
to start their own retirement savings: MyRA. It's a new savings bond that
encourages folks to build a nest egg. MyRA guarantees a decent return with no
risk of losing what you put in. And if this Congress wants to help, work with
me to fix an upside-down tax code that gives big tax breaks to help the wealthy
save, but does little to nothing for middle class Americans. Offer every
American access to an automatic IRA on the job, so they can save at work just
like everybody in this chamber can."
What are the differences between MyRA and
Social Security? One difference is that MyRA will be voluntary — at least
for now.
Another is that your MyRA account will have your name on it...
although it is not too different from Social Security in that respect. Social
Security does tell you how much you can expect to receive when you retire.
But there are also striking similarities between the proposed MyRA
and Social Security. The main similarity is that the Treasury will take your
money and spend all surplus funds.
For many decades, the government has spent the surplus money from
Social Security. The government would collect Social Security taxes in excess
of what it had to pay out in Social Security benefits, and the rest would be
dumped into the general fund and spent.
There is no Social Security lockbox. There is a Social Security trust fund
filled up with a bunch of IOUs from the government. Social Security holds more
government debt than China.
This is how Bill Clinton was able to claim budget surpluses in the
late 1990s. The government was still running a deficit, but the surplus funds
from Social Security were enough to cover it. It has all been an accounting
gimmick.
But with the major recession that began in 2008 came smaller than
expected tax collections. In addition, we have seen the start of baby boomers
hitting retirement age.
So in the last few years, we have seen an end to Social Security
surpluses. And as Social Security goes further into deficit, the government is
desperate for new funds...
What better way than to start a whole new Social Security-like
Ponzi scheme?
Now the government can get more money for the Treasury to spend
and write more IOUs. This time, the IOUs will be held by individual investors
in their MyRA accounts instead of the Social Security trust fund.
As most of us have learned,
government cannot be trusted to be good stewards of public monies and
resources…
Until the
next revolution,
Bruce
‘the Poor Man’
The Poor Man has been
educating Americans about the systematic plundering of their resources and way of life and what they can do about
it since 1999. Our Mission: To
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