4 Lessons from 2013

Discussion in 'Freedom and Liberty' started by Minuteman, Jan 3, 2014.


  1. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    I got this in a newsletter I subscribe to. I thought it a good summation of some of the relevant things that happened this past year. While it mainly deals with economics I thought it apropos for this forum. Highlights are mine. MM
    I highly recommend this newsletter, it is much more than just news, it has many hands on, step by step, how-to articles on seizing, securing and protecting your liberty. It is a paid subscription but IMHO money well spent.



    January 2, 2014
    Santiago, Chile

    1) Politicians believe there are no consequences for destroying our liberty...

    Stimulus and response. That's the easiest way of summing this up. When politicians steal, and there are no consequences, they're going to keep stealing.

    Cyprus proved this point handily. The government froze bank accounts for everyone in the country (of course, the big bosses got their money out in time). And yet, there was no violent revolution in the streets. People just accepted it.

    Poland nationalized pensions. Argentina imposed severe capital controls. The French are taxing everything under the sun. The US government was caught red-handed spying on... everyone.

    And yet, there have been ZERO consequences. Citizens have been trained like caged animals to simply roll over and acquiesce. I imagine the politicians are thinking, "Holy Cow! I can't believe we just got away with that..."

    It only reinforces their behavior. With each destructive act, they become more bold, more brazen in dismantling our liberties, confident that they can continue to act with total impunity.


    2) ...Central bankers and economists believe there are no consequences to printing money...

    The Fed expanded its balance sheet by $1.1 TRILLION in 2013, a whopping 38.5%. Nobody seems to mind. The stock market surged to all-time highs, the bond market remained stable, and everyone pronounced the 'recovery' was in.

    I attended a dinner a few months ago where Ben Bernanke himself touted how much his quantitative easing had helped US economic conditions.

    They really believe in what they are doing. They really believe that conjuring endless quantities of money out of thin air is the path to prosperity.

    Not to mention, our modern society awards its most esteemed prizes for intellectual achievement to the likes of idiot savants like Paul Krugman who tell us that the Fed should be printing even MORE money. And people listen to him.

    So we can only expect Ben "I can raise interest rates in 15 minutes" Bernanke, and his heir apparent Janet Yellen, to give us more of the same.


    3) ...Investors think there are no consequences to deficits, or debasement...

    In 2013, headlines like "the US deficit is only $700 billion" were actually considered good news.

    And markets have given all of these fiascos a pass-- from the government shutdown to record-shattering debt levels to downgrades by the rating agencies. AA became the new AAA in 2013.

    Nobody cares that the US government 'borrowed' a record amount of money from the Social Security Trust Fund. Or that they spent a record amount just to pay interest on the debt at a time when interest rates are at all-time lows.

    Rather, they just keep investing... without a single thought to the possible risks. The fear of missing the big boom is greater than the fear of losing money. But then again, it's not their money at risk. It's yours.


    4) ...But Joe Six-Pack knows this is all crap.

    In 2013, the collective net worth of the 300 richest people in the world grew to $3.7 trillion, 16.5% higher than 2012. Corporate profits were also at record levels.

    Fortune 500s, the super-rich, rich, and even upper middle class have largely been beneficiaries of the central bank induced asset bubble.

    But everyone else is getting hammered by inflation... watching their savings and livelihoods melt away before their very eyes.

    A report from the US Census Bureau this year showed that median household income has declined for five straight years. And those living in poverty, using food stamps, or receiving unemployment benefits remained at record high levels in 2013.

    Meanwhile, the wealth gap has grown to its largest since 1929-- the year of that fateful financial collapse.

    It's time for a reality check: something is wrong with this picture.

    We've become desensitized to everything. "Unprecedented" monetary policy. Record debts. Massive wealth gap. Government surveillance. Theft. Deceit. Inflation.

    We've become so accustomed to getting screwed, it's just par for the course now. We sit quietly and wait for the next round of beatings, shrugging it all off as the new normal.

    This isn't normal. This is not how a free society is supposed to function.

    A free society does not spy on its own people, threaten them with drone assassination, and award an unelected banking elite with supreme authority to rob purchasing power from the masses in favor of a bubbly stock market.

    And despite the conventional wisdom, this is not a consequence-free environment.

    History is full of examples of entire nations that reached their breaking points... shouting from the rooftops "I'm mad as hell! And I'm not going to take it anymore!"

    2013 already saw violent unrest in some of the most stable countries in the world like Singapore and Sweden, all underpinned by absolute disgust for the status quo.

    Whether today or tomorrow, this year or next, there will be a reckoning. The system is far too broken to repair, it must be reset.

    It's simply absurd to look at the situation objectively and presume this status quo can continue indefinitely... that this time is different... that we're somehow special and immune to universal principles.

    This is not some prediction for doom and gloom. Far from it.

    It's actually a message of optimism. For the sooner these crackpot criminal politicians and their central banking ilk are stricken from power, the better off we'll all be.

    Unfortunately there's going to be quite a bit of turmoil to get there.

    Here's to 2014. It's going to be a hell of a year.


    Simon Black
    Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com
     
    Mountainman, Tracy, Sojourn and 4 others like this.
  2. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    I really do think an economic collapse is in the cards. I don't think any progress with the main problem outlined above will occur until this or some other major collapse happens. By most standards this country on average, is better off than most any in the world. Apathy or outright disbelief with all that is outlined above is in the hearts and minds of 2/3 to 3/4 of this nations population. We are addicted to our creature comforts, to include, the idiot box, the internet, social media, pro sports and our drugs of choice; nicotine, alcohol, or worse. Like any addict, until we hit bottom we are not going to change our course of action. Those who truly are aware of our destructive course also bear some of the blame because we; almost to every single human have some vice or multiple vices described above that keep is mollified for the time being, and from acting out in a manner that our hearts and minds scream for. We are afraid, and justly so, because if we prematurely act before society does collapse we will end up dead or in a steel bar hotel. It really sucks to be aware but inadequate to do anything except watch and wait. jmho
     
  3. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    to continue; It is why we have chat rooms like this one, and share ideas of what we think will happen, and how to prepare for the worst of it. We all know a reset is coming, and that it is going to be painful for all, and deadly for many. It is why we prepare for the worst, and mentally wargame and strategize for a less painful recover during the reset.
     
  4. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    Reset: The sooner the better.
     
  5. tacmotusn

    tacmotusn RIP 1/13/21

    By most standards this country on average, is better off than most any in the world.
    .

    I just wanted to follow up and point out the above statement is a false perception. We are living well above any possible sustainable level. A collapse will occur. There is no doubt in my mind. There are many countries of the world that a worldwide economic collapse will have little effect on. They are not overextended or dependent on so many of this countries perceived necessities. A world economic collapse will be a mere hiccup to them.
     
    Mountainman, bassic and tulianr like this.
  6. bassic

    bassic Monkey+

    One of the reasons that the number of people on government assistance is growing explosively- one does not normally bite the hand that feeds. The pols know it, which is why SantO Claws got re-elected, and a major reason the Dems and RINOs keep winning "elections"...the hell you know is better than the hell you don't know seems to be a mantra of the low-information voters. As a society, we no longer have the political will to stand up and call BS on what is happening. That would mean having to actually go make a painful, necessary change to the system that gives away so much free stuff...of course, that is only a perception, one that has been carefully and methodically crafted since 1913. Modern "values" have been implanted in the national psyche for so long that they are actually being adopted as "the new normal". Rewards for aberrant behavior, "lifestyle choices", little Billy getting a medal just for participating- "We're ALL winners here", it's just not in the natural order of things. You have winners, which is usually the result of planning and hard work, and losers, those that fail to plan, or plan to be takers. In the world of nature, there are no second chances- you're a winner until you aren't, then you're dead. It's a harsh reality that is part of the whole circle of life thing. Eat, or be eaten. Period, end of story.

    The whole "political correctness" thing is a psy-op against our core beliefs and values. Punishment for success, reward for failure. Self-reliance is being criminalized, as is independent, critical thought. The middle class is being systematically destroyed, and that is verifiable through the government's own fictitious numbers. Any jobs that used to exist in manufacturing either have been, or are currently in process of being exported. Corruption in government is now the status quo. Lies are truth. Truth is evil. It must be destroyed. Except...it can't be destroyed. Not the real truth. It eventually comes out- sometimes it takes years, even decades. Sometimes longer. But truth always prevails in the end. In the meantime, lives are snuffed out, fortunes amassed and then lost, more lives taken, more lies perpetrated, until eventually the truth comes out and the pendulum swings the other way.

    Nothing would make me happier than a return to the original Constitution as the guiding law of the land. I don't think I will live long enough to see that happen, though. I feel that we as a nation will have some very hard times ahead, both physically and mentally. Those who can weather the storm will get no respite, as they will be the ones tasked with rebuilding...
     
  7. whynot

    whynot Monkey+++

    As a father, I would rather swallow the "bitter pill" then see today's problems kicked further down the road and foisted on my children and their children. Unfortunately I don't see the will in any government or the governed to take our medicine and live within our means. We will most likely go the way of the Roman empire and sink quietly into the long dark night.

    Whynot
     
  8. NWPilgrim

    NWPilgrim Monkey++

    I agree that is most likely since it is the plan of the elite to impoverish us and keep us too poor and struggling to try to throw off our chains.

    But when people get desperate they can be unpredictable too. Anything could happen in the unfolding chaos and theft.
     
  9. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Interesting... I was listing to Rush L yesterday and he was talking about how now a basic snowstorm is a blizzard and it is hyped up to the point that the people think they can't survive without the help of officials. They tell people to shelter in place and basically make people panicked scared and weak. What people used to take in stride they have been brainwashed (?) into thinking that they can't handle a storm anymore.

    There does seem to be a reprogramming of American thinking. It is actually really interesting. We are told that the economy is fine, things are getting better and improving steadily... look at the stock market they say... but anyone takes time to add, shakes their head and wonders how that can be. It seems that they want to break the spirit of the people yearning to breath free.
     
  10. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    no, they are playing to the least common denominator. the weakest in the herd, and the fool in the crowd. For the 99 who would have no problem in a snowstorm, there is the one fool who will die, and that is not acceptable to those who believe it is their calling to protect the herd from all harm. So the entire herd must be protected (beyond what is logical) to ensure the protection of the fool. It is reverse Darwinism, and it weakens the strengths of the rest of the herd, who never know what snow is from that point on, because they never again experience any.
     
  11. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Rant On/
    Jeeze Louise, what utter BS..... A whole State shutdown because they got 14" of snow and it is a little Cold, outside.... we get 14" of snow at a whack, and 0F with much lower wind chills, as a normal course of winter. Seems that NYC is filled with Limp Wristed Woosies... that must be pampered with scented Powder, just to venture out, after November.... No wonder exMayor Doomberg, thought he could get away with making Outlaws out of 30 Oz Soft Drink venders....
    Rant Off/

    Is that anything like:
    Wax On/
    Wax Off/
    [lolol]
     
  12. bassic

    bassic Monkey+

    Da, welcome to USSA, comrade!
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    There is simply no comparison to be made between the wilds of AK and NYC. If there were, Excursion Inlet would have a population of 8 million. Different worlds, different "inhabitants", different priorities. The fact that Nieu Yourkers don't have the same mindset as rural northerners comes as no surprise. After all, when the city supplys everything as needed rather than forcing residents to plan ahead, it's no surprise that their hands are out for the next rations.
     
    CaboWabo5150 and tulianr like this.
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