| It's my hope this article will help you survive in the | | | | even more money and making the dollar far more |
| coming months. I am convinced we are headed | | | | worthless. |
| toward a financial Armageddon in the United States, a | | | | By the way, this is the same thing that happened in |
| total collapse of our currency. You won't hear this | | | | Germany during the thirties. By the time it was all over, |
| from the mainstream media or the government | | | | the German mark was more useful as toilet paper |
| because they know that the more you believe in our | | | | than as currency. |
| currency, the longer it will remain stable. But your blind | | | | Possible Here? |
| faith could cost you in horrendous ways. | | | | Not only is the same scenario possible here, but it has |
| I recently ran across one of the best explanations I've | | | | the potential to be far, far worse. For one thing, we've |
| seen from John Williams with Shadow Stats. Williams | | | | shipped most of our manufacturing overseas, meaning |
| has been a consulting economist for 25 years. In my | | | | all those great jobs are going to foreigners. Plus, as I |
| condensed version, here are his reasonings why a | | | | write this, our Congress is on the verge of passing a |
| financial Armageddon looms: | | | | health reform bill we can't even begin to afford. The |
| Background: Less is More | | | | only way our government will be able to pay for all |
| The less there is of something, the more valuable it is. | | | | that is by - you guessed it - printing more money. |
| That's why gold and silver have always been desired | | | | So What Will Happen? |
| and used as money for centuries. Not only are | | | | First of all, we'll all run out of cash - literally. There's just |
| precious metals pretty, they're also limited and you | | | | not enough currency printed up to cover skyrocketing |
| can't make them. But gold and silver are heavy, and | | | | prices. Most of our currency is overseas. We only |
| hard to carry around. Plus, if you got robbed, you're | | | | have about $200 billion in cash here for the 304 million |
| bankrupt. So everyone started putting their gold and | | | | people living in the U.S. That's 690 dollars per person. |
| silver pieces in the bank and got currency notes in their | | | | Not a problem, as long as prices remain the same. But |
| place. The notes were an easier and presumably | | | | if in a short amount of time the price of a loaf of bread |
| safer way to buy things. | | | | shoots up to $100 per loaf, it's going to be tough to buy |
| That's how our own currency came about. We had | | | | enough groceries to feed a family of four for a week. |
| gold and silver at Fort Knox, and if you held an | | | | Big Deal! I Can Write a Check, Can't I? |
| American dollar that meant you had the equivalent of | | | | That's assuming you have enough in your checking |
| an ounce of silver. If you had a twenty dollar bill that | | | | account. Most people are barely making enough to |
| meant you owned the equivalent of a little less than an | | | | pay for rising grocery costs now, let alone enough if |
| ounce of gold. Believe it or not, our currency retained | | | | prices skyrocket. |
| that value (and prices of gold and silver remained | | | | What About Credit Cards? |
| basically the same with a few variations) for more | | | | Think about it: Most of us have a credit limit of around |
| than 140 years, from 1792 until 1935, as long as we | | | | $5,000. If weekly grocery costs shoot from $300 to |
| stayed on the gold standard. | | | | $3,000 or more, we're going to be maxing out our |
| The Fiat System | | | | cards in a red hot hurry. |
| Things changed with the Great Depression. No one | | | | Plus, Store Shelves Will Empty Rapidly |
| had jobs, which meant no one had the money to buy | | | | Let's say I sell bacon and typically keep 100 pounds in |
| anything, causing even less business and less jobs. So | | | | my store. My cost is $1 a pound, so I sell it at a twenty |
| Franklin Roosevelt got us off the gold standard and | | | | percent markup, for $1.20 a pound. If I sell all 100 |
| into a Fiat system, which meant he just printed money | | | | pounds, I get $120 for that bacon and keep $20 as my |
| without any gold or silver on hand to back it. Then he | | | | profit. Then suddenly inflation skyrockets, and my cost |
| used that "money" to create a ton of jobs through the | | | | is now $20 per pound. I now have to pay $2,000 to |
| WPA program. It worked, at least back then. But the | | | | buy that same 100 pounds, but I only have $120 in my |
| dollar lost value and prices shot up and have continued | | | | account. If I don't have a large stash of cash on hand, I |
| climbing ever since. | | | | won't be able to purchase any more bacon to sell, |
| Using Fiat currency is a bit like writing a hot check and | | | | even if I could find someone who could afford to buy it. |
| hoping the guy who gets it doesn't cash it until your | | | | What About Buying Online? |
| next paycheck comes in. The money doesn't hold | | | | I own a couple of online stores, and both demand a lot |
| value unless people believe in it. A Fiat currency | | | | of time on the computer to maintain. For everything |
| system is always dangerous because eventually, | | | | we sell, I have to apply for a code from Pay Pal and |
| whoever is in charge gets greedy and starts printing a | | | | add it to my site. Should prices change, I have to get a |
| whole lot more currency than there is actual gold on | | | | code for every single item I sell. If I sell a lot of items, |
| hand for personal use. The more money they print up, | | | | then it will take a lot of time - sometimes days of work |
| the less valuable it becomes, and eventually, the | | | | - to change all the corresponding codes. |
| currency becomes worthless. | | | | Now imagine the workload - and time it would require - |
| Corruption in Congress | | | | if prices were to shoot up rapidly and continually for |
| In our case, Congress was the greedy culprit. | | | | several months. There is no way I could keep up. |
| Washington lawmakers spent - and continue to spend | | | | Instead, I'd tell you to email me if you were interested in |
| - so much money on government programs that we | | | | buying something. As a result, most of my sales would |
| are now buried in a pile of debt that couldn't be paid | | | | diminish, and you would have to wait for me to get |
| off even if Uncle Sam seized every penny we made | | | | through all my emails to get back to you. |
| in this country, including wages, salaries and corporate | | | | Expect to run into similar problems buying gas from the |
| profits. And by the way, that total doesn't include Social | | | | pump and food and drinks from vending machines. |
| Security and Medicare obligations. Those two | | | | Financially Induced Famine |
| programs alone cost more than our government brings | | | | With no food in the stores and nothing to buy it with |
| in through taxes each year. | | | | even if there were, expect to be unable to buy food |
| To pay for all this rampant spending, Congress has | | | | for up to six months until our government leaders get |
| taken loans from other countries in the form of | | | | this mess straightened out. |
| Treasury notes sold to foreign investors. They're not | | | | That's why I'm writing. Please, for the sake of your |
| using that loan money to pay off the debt mind you; | | | | family, friends and loved ones, stock up now on foods |
| they're just using it to make the minimum interest | | | | and personal items such as diapers and toilet paper. |
| payments. Unfortunately, foreign investors are going to | | | | Have enough water on hand to last you and your |
| wise up eventually and quit investing in the dollar. | | | | family for two weeks. Then buy bulk grains, dry beans |
| Asking foreign investors to pay our debt is a bit like | | | | and other foods that have a long shelf life. Not only will |
| that deadbeat cousin coming to you asking for a loan | | | | they keep you alive, but you'll also be able to barter |
| one too many times. Why waste good Euros on a | | | | with them. |
| dollar that is essentially worthless? | | | | Should the miraculous occur and we don't get |
| When that happens, our government will no longer | | | | runaway inflation, the worse that could happen is you |
| have money to pay all that interest we owe on all | | | | end up with some extra food on hand. The peace of |
| those loans. They'll have to pay that debt by printing | | | | mind will be well worth it, so please, stock up now. |