Poor Man Survival
Self Reliance tools
for independent minded people…
ISSN 2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
With the swearing in of new Democrats/Socialists
this week it is apparent that…
As expected, two Muslim women,
Democrat Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Democrat Ilhan Omar in Minnesota, were
overwhelmingly elected to the US House of Representatives. The establishment
media celebrated these ‘victories’ as triumphs of America’s “diversity”;
unfortunately, in reality neither one is worth celebrating.
Tlaib is a vociferous foe of Israel,
Tlaib is likely to be an energetic proponent of the new majority’s vendetta
against the Middle East’s only democracy…she’s already demonstrated her lack of
class by openly swearing at a public meeting of her goal to impeach the
president at a meeting of Left wingers MoveOn.org group.
What kind of injustice? Tlaib, of course, had nothing to say about the genocidal incitement against Jews and Israel that regularly features on Palestinian television.
What kind of injustice? Tlaib, of course, had nothing to say about the genocidal incitement against Jews and Israel that regularly features on Palestinian television.
Omar
Young adults are flocking to socialist ideas because they
want the nanny state to take care of them from the cradle to the grave and give
them everything for free.
Perhaps
you agree with the pundits who say the air is too gloomy, foreboding, as if we
might be on the brink of catastrophe…
If
so… Are
we in a repeat of the global financial meltdown and recession of 2008-09? The
sharp drop in equities is certainly reminiscent of 2008. Indeed, the December
decline is the worst in a decade. Or are we entering a different kind of
recession?
Crass,
and vulgar, and utterly indefensible. That’s the only way to describe the
combined “leadership” of Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen who conspired to throw
an entire generation under the bus, along with the elderly on fixed incomes and
savers too.
Millennials
were locked out of first time home-buying by an interventionist Fed that
decided all on their own that those already living in houses should be made to
feel wealthier by virtue of rising home prices.
…and spending more would somehow
be a good thing.
The
illogical part is not hard to work out. If you are already living in a
house, and you have to live in one anyway, are you truly wealthier if it goes
up in price? Obviously the answer is no, and a tiny bit of thought
reveals the opposite.
The
only way to tap that wealth, without borrowing against it, would be to sell
your expensive house and downsize or move away to a cheaper location.
Moving nearby to an equivalent house does nothing for you expect waste realtor
and other transaction fees. A more expensive house defeats the strategy
entirely.
Otherwise,
living in a more expensive house costs you
more in terms of insurance and property taxes. That is,
it makes you poorer, not wealthier…and in America homeowners are in a state of
perpetual hock to the ‘state’ due to property taxes so one never truly ‘owns’
their home, we’re merely serfs paying tribute to feudal lords.
Only
in stupid-banker land does a liability that drains more cash from your pocket
count as an asset. As Robert Kiyosaki has stressed in every lecture he’s
given over the past 25 years, the house
you live in is not an asset.
Roofs
need replacing, electricity and oil are consumed, painting and mowing and
plowing are all part of simply preventing this thing from rotting straight away
into the ground. Mortgage interest, insurance and property taxes have to
be paid or you will quickly lose ‘your’ house to some authority or
another.
You
see any cash flying into your pockets during any of that?
Therefore your house is a liability. Assets are
things that put cash in your pocket, liabilities take cash out.
The
immoral part of the Fed’s decision to drive up house prices has two parts. The
smaller part concerns the immorality of encouraging people to go deeper into
debt (refi’s, HELOCS, etc.) by leveraging a liability. Bankers not should
but do know
better.
The
larger part centers on forcing an entire generation (e.g. Millennials) to
either skip buying a house because they can’t afford one, or to buy a more
expensive house than they can reasonably or comfortable afford.
Put
simply, the Fed threw an entire generation under the housing bus just so that
the older folks could feel a little better about the price of their already purchased
and lived-in home-at the very least, those over sixty-five should be given a
reprieve on property taxes!
Regarding the Shut Down-Pelosi & Schumer Should
Resign
The Wall Street Journal reports that some 380,000 federal
employees are at home without any idea when they'll receive another paycheck...
and another 420,000 employees deemed "essential" are working without
pay.
Of course, these folks will get paid when the government
comes back online. They always have before... under President Clinton in 1995
and 1996, under Obama in 2013, and during the three "mini shutdowns"
we had last year. That is unlikely to
happen this time. There is growing
support for “Trump’s Wall” and even a GoFundMe page with millions of dollars in
its pot to be released for construction costs donated by Americans concerned
about stopping the rising hoards of illegals from entering our nation…Central
America comes out a winner by dumping its unskilled, poor and sick people into
our welfare system.
The new Left seems to think we should have an open border
policy and Ms13 gangs and drugs and thousands of families with diseases and no
job skills should pour into our country unfettered…that hasn’t worked well in
Germany where crime and anger among citizens has risen dramatically to the
point where its PM Merkel’s popularity rating as dropped to 24% as a result of
her allowance of a free flow of Muslim refugees into that nation.
These so-called shutdowns are anything but.
Despite the headlines, they have no significant effect on
the market... on the economy... or on the political process. And apparently, the private sector managed
to add a whopping 312,000 new jobs again making Democrats angry enough to
foster a flurry of “let’s impeach the President” actions in DC motions and an angry public expletive from a low-class
newly minted MI representative anxious to demonstrate her public speaking
skills…
No matter your hopes and dreams, the government
will never truly shut down.
Federal employees prepare for a long shutdown – Why the Poor
Man & Other Financial Planners Have ALWAYS said You Should Have a Six Month
Cash Reserve on Hand!
The US Office of Personnel Management tweeted out sample letters
for federal employees to send to their creditors, mortgage companies or
landlords. The letters suggest that employees ask to pay a reduced amount or
create a payment plan in the coming months because they are out of work and not
getting paid during the shutdown.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by
312,000 in December, easily topping all forecasts, after an upwardly revised
176,000 gain the prior month, a Labor Department report showed Friday. Average
hourly earnings rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier, more than projected and matching
the fastest pace since 2009. Meanwhile, the jobless rate rose from a
five-decade low to 3.9 percent, reflecting more people actively seeking work.
If their objective was to
stimulate borrowing, the central banks were successful. Before the crisis
global debt, excluding financial institutions, was about $US113 trillion ($161
trillion). It is now more than $US186 trillion ($264 trillion). The global
total debt-to-GDP ratio has blown out from around 270 per cent of global GDP to
about 320 per cent of global GDP.
From 1976 to 1980, just under 1
in 7 American adults, or 15.1 percent, were obese. Now, despite people’s
concerted efforts, obesity is at its highest level ever, with about 40 percent
of U.S. adults and 18.5 percent of children, considered obese. This is itself
an increase of about 30 percent, just since 2000 when roughly 30 percent of
American adults were obese.
Despite what many people assume,
central bankers are not driven by a desire for profit. They print their own
capital, they hardly need to make a profit. Central bankers are also not driven
by a desire to keep the current system afloat. They have demonstrated time and
time again their habit of deliberately sabotaging the system through the use of
inflationary bubbles followed by fiscal tightening into weak economic
conditions. The U.S. economy today is just as expendable as any other economy the
banks have destroyed in the past. It is not special.
Yours for
smarter living,
Bruce ‘the
Poor Man’
Additional FREE Resources
Other
notes of interest…
Living Frugally In Suburbia
You live differently than your neighbors.
You live differently than your neighbors.
14
Frugal Food-Rescuing Tips from Grandma
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
These depression-era frugal tips still work today!
8 Simple Ways to Put More Money in Your Pocket
Have more money without working harder!
Have more money without working harder!
Knowing
When and How to Stockpile Groceries
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
Stocking up could save your grocery budget!
Develop a Well-Rounded Prepper
Library
When the topic of a prepping library comes up,
what do most people talk about? Chances are the U.S. Air
Force survival manual, SAS survival manual, Army Field Manual 21-76, or something from Ragnor Benson.
When
people get into prepping they typically start with stockpiling, then may
gravitate towards self-sufficiency. For example, someone may start off with
stockpiling canned goods, then move towards mylar bags and
freeze dried foods, then finally arrive at prepsteading, farming, and
gardening.
Most people who live in the suburbs can have a small garden, maybe
some laying hens, and fruit trees. This allows just about anyone to grow some
of their own food.
As preppers progress from stockpiling to prepsteading, shouldn’t
their library also progress?
Chances are a lot of preppers do not have a single book on
gardening, homesteading, canning and preserving food… etc. Even less will have
books on literature, science, and math.
If we are prepping for a complete collapse of society, shouldn’t
we also stockpile books for future generations? If something were to happen
today – plague, nuclear war.. etc – what types of books would the reader have
on hand to teach their children, or grandchildren?
What good does it do to survive the next plague, nuclear war… if
future generations do not have access to resources? This means real books
made from paper and not electronic books for e-readers.
Why real books?
·
A real book can be dropped, and dropped several times without
damage.
·
Real books do not require electricity.
Basic
Essentials Series — Everyday Handy Skills
How To Make
a Hundred-Hour Candle
You’ve got 2 hours until disaster strikes. Are you
prepared?
If you’ve watched any apocalyptic movie ever, you’re familiar
with the grocery store scene.
You know which one I’m talking about. Anxious dad rushes isle by isle gathering
water and canned food for his family while everyone around him gradually turns
from innocent customer to aggressive looter.
75 Ways To Make Money On The Side
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