The Secret of Oz

   I just saw an informative and inspiring documentary about monetary reform called 'The Secret of Oz'. I'm sure many people have seen it or heard of it before. The guy who made it, Bill Still, also made 'The Money Masters'. Both films are available on YouTube.

   This blog, of course, advocates investing in gold and silver (among other things), but Bill Still makes the argument that we should not have a gold standard - rather we should have our money created and issued by the government, not borrowed from international bankers. Instead of being comprised of debt, it would be backed by the good faith and credit of the state.

   I've become convinced he is right, and the litany of historical luminaries (Jefferson, Lincoln, Jackson) who have argued for this monetary system makes it extremely compelling.

Other Things to 'Invest' In

   I think it's unwise to simply buy gold and nothing else to weather any coming economic storm (let alone the one we're currently in). In addition to insane money printing, a problem in our world that won't go away is how we are going to feed so many people. This is a huge challenge not only because there are going to be more people, but because we are so heavily dependent on oil to produce and distribute food. If oil slowly increases in price due to the creeping scarcity of Peak Oil than food prices must increase correspondingly. Another very long-term issue is that humans have historically destroyed their farmland, as all traditional agriculture does, so the environment will be increasingly strained by the industrial farming methods we depend on to feed so many.

   In addition, as mentioned above, our food not only requires oil for the production side, but also the distribution side. Food is transported over long distances due to the industrial, centralized nature of modern agriculture. An inevitable shift our children will perhaps take for granted is that food production should be more local.

   It is because of these considerations that I would make the somewhat unusual 'investing' recommendation that you should learn how to grow a garden.

Why I'm Bearish

   I have actually been bearish for over 10 years. I was pessimistic even back in the 90's and the reason is simple :

   Industrialized economies have below replacement birthrates. In Japan this simply means there will be fewer Japanese years from now then there are today (and that there will be insufficient workers to pay for the huge number of old people). But in the West, the insane solution to below replacement birthrates has been to bring in unskilled people from poor 3rd world countries. So the West not only has a problem with birthrates, but the 'solution' that has been pursued ensures that Western countries will be burdened by new populations which are either a) not sufficiently productive to keep the economy expanding, or b) are actually net consumers of resources. An added twist to this is that diverse societies are fraught with ethnic conflict so social/political stability in the West will be largely destroyed by this immigration and the political and intellectual charlatans that make a living off it.

   You don't need a spreadsheet for this stuff.

The American Dream (Film)

I just saw a fantastic film on the Federal Reserve which I must share :

The Herd Moveth Goldwards ...

For those of us who have been advocating gold and silver for some time now, one of the 'turning points' we wait for is when the general public starts to get interested in precious metals. The trouble, currently, is with the Euro. And no doubt, many Europeans are wondering if they should 'save' with Euro bucks at all anymore. Well, America is next.
I feel like I'm at the gold party, more people have just entered the hall, the music is a bit louder, and the revelers are dancing with a bit more energy. I'm still drinking my drink and enjoying the spectacle, but if it was possible to have a nice recognizable juncture where the party goes into a new phase - this is it.

America Wakes Up to Gold

Some Basic Investment Advice from Dr. Faber

If you follow Marc Faber in the news you quickly notice that he has the habit of repeating himself. That's what someone with a good point tends to do. One of the overriding themes in his commentary is that governments (namely the American one) are printing like there's no tomorrow (maybe there isn't).

It's not a complex concept to understand. Even the caveman economist can explain it : Print lots of green paper + economy not grow = inflation.

2 + 2 = 4.

Lots of inflation = gold good.

Forget US Stocks-Buy Gold Every Month 'Forever': Marc Faber - CNBC

The 'Great Depression' and It's Consequences

Below is a lengthy but worthwhile article on the troubled economic times we live in and the myriad negative effects we can expect it to have on society.

One troubling thing is that men are affected more than women. This is a bad sign for me because revolutions are always started by men - especially young men. Unemployment (and its accompanying anger and disillusionment) is perfect fodder for uprisings. Not that I'm saying America couldn't use a little 'change we can believe in', it's just that such change is unlikely to be frictionless.

From an investment perspective, such conditions would favor precious metals (among other things), while anything CNBC pushes should be regarded with extreme suspicion!

How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America