Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Nothing to do With Me

Nothing to do With Me

It's been perhaps three years that I've been listening to the daily financial and geopolitical reports from the alt- or "free media" via (exclusively) YouTube. At first I was annoyed by the negativity, but slowly, the more I listened the more fascinated I became with this minority reporting.

This was the "faction" for lack of a better word, that called out Obama's administration for manipulating economic growth numbers, redefining what it means to be employed full time and skewing the employment rate to appear to be better than it was. These are the guys; mostly economists, stock analysts, investors, traders, precious metals bugs and wealth managers, who supported and voted for Donald Trump in hopes that he could, would, (or will) fulfill his campaign rhetoric of "making American great again," and "draining the swamp."

Although I listen to these interviews, lectures and discussions with great interest, I realize that most if these guys aren't talking to me, or people like me. They are talking, as most people do, to people like themselves - or so I believe. They are talking to the "middle class" of America, which can be described in terms of annual income near (or most likely, in) the six figure range. The populations that draw the most disdain are government employees, (they say 10% of the US population are employed directly or indirectly (contracts) by the federal government); "illegals;" people who have immigrated to America unvetted, given working papers, benefits and free stuff; the poor, specifically those who live in the inner cities and will riot and destroy property when their EBT cards run out, and if course, the "elites," - that less than one percent that "owns" 99% of the (wealth of the) planet.

As mentioned, I find this all very fascinating, educational and entertaining. I verify none of it independently, because it's s not that deep to me. I have taken a few small financial precautions I've learned about by listening to these resources, however the more I listened and analyzed, in my own gut, what they were saying, the more I realized two main facts; first, I am not of the economic ilk to be moving my assets into most of these recommended "protect-your-wealth" programs. Nothing is 100% safe. No scheme is a sure bet. Number two; most of these guys have an angle to get into your pocket based on "information" they provide either via monthly reports, brokering stocks, teaching you how to trade on the stock market, selling the books they've written, or fixing your credit.

Not to be too critical of this genre. They're no different than any other element in an economic system; they spend their time and resources researching, analyzing, compiling and reporting and they should be compensated for it. And as mentioned previously, I find it fascinating, but I'm not savvy or compelled enough to try and make a buck off of it.

Most of their offers and reports, or opportunities have nothing to do with me, mainly because I don't have adequate descresionary cash flow to divert into investment, or wealth-protection schemes. And sometimes, I feel like it's me (not personally) they're complaining about.

From what I've gleaned from the three years of listening; and what I believe, is that the western economic system, if not the global economic system, will experience a correction, that some will describe as a collapse. I'm hearing that the US dollar will be devalued and the price of precious metals, silver and gold specifically, will shoot up. Crypto-currencies, Bitcoin (I have a few) in particular will increase against the US dollar as well. (I'm noticing some new ads for Bitcoin based financial services popping up on YouTube, which seems like a good sign for its survival. Traders have their greedy little paws in the pot.)

The big picture of the future has yet to be completed. There are too many variables to be able to accurately predict what will happen. Those who are building bunkers, stock piling food and weapons, might be doing the right thing; they might survive, be wiped out immediately or be trapped in their bunkers and suffocate. The gold and silver stackers could become the next capitalists or the next victims of government confiscation of hard assets. The poorest of the poor might be the best survivors, having never fully depended on the economic system (having been pushed out of it) to begin with.

Our best strategies are our own best strategies, whether we're digging holes in our basements or wandering around the world. What will be, will certainly be. Worrying about preserving material wealth, is a symptom of being dependant on a system in which they (free-media) claim to have no faith.

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