"Gold, gold, gold. I love it."
Posted on 10/02/2005 12:03:13 PM PDT by hubbubhubbub
As we were driving to and from Dallas a few days ago, I couldn't resist taking the old US 66 when possible. It is striking to see how dependent businesses are on highway travel. (I have always thought that the damnable interstate highway system has caused ruin and loss of jobs to millions). The abandoned motels, gas stations, and restaurants were everywhere to be seen. How sad. The dependence which businesses have on the auto and traveling public is startling to see, when the travelers abandon their roadways. Then I began thinking of all the dependence we all have, on just about everything.
We depend on our public utilities to furnish us with water, sewer, refuse pickup, and in some cases natural gas and electricity. We depend on our homes for comfort and shelter. We depend on our autos and trucks to transport us. We depend on the corner market to supply us with food. We depend on our banks to safeguard our wilting dollars and honor our checks. We depend on our cities and states to provide and maintain our highways. We depend on tradesmen to keep our plumbing, wiring, heating, and roofing in good condition, and our mechanics to keep the old buggy running. We depend on the manufacturers of food stuffs to keep them bacteria free and safe to eat. We depend on the internet to keep us informed, and TV to keep us uninformed.
On and on it goes, as far as dependence is concerned. We depend on our wives and husbands to keep us company, love us, care for us, and make us happy. I cannot imagine how miserable my life would be without my dear wife Bonnie. I depend on her and she depends on me. We each provide what the other lacks, so it is a mutual dependence, and I am glad of it. Our kids depend on us from birth till they go out on their own. Our pets depend on us to feed them, and care for them. They give us companionship and love in return. The pitiful hundreds of abandoned, homeless dogs in New Orleans are tragic. The foolish government wouldn't allow their owners to take them when they left, and of all the silly decisions government ever made, that has to be one of the biggest. Yesterday on Fox news, there was a dog paddling around in a deep pool, and wearing out quickly, with no one to rescue him. I felt like crying.
Dependence on things we don't see or even think about must be mentioned too. The compressor manufacturer in our refrigeration systems, the wire manufacturers in our electrical systems, auto parts, asphalt, glass, alarms, clothing, soap, machinery of all types, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of manufacturers of hidden parts in our lives who must be trusted, because we depend on them. Unfortunately, most of our trust of things seems to come from China of late. If we ever got into it with China, as some predict, America would be in deep trouble.
Which brings us to the government thing…naturally. China now supplies America with most of the stuff on which we depend. It is said that Chrysler is thinking seriously about having its popular "300" model made completely in China. China has killed American manufacturing because of its cheap labor, plus a virtual absence governmental meddling, taxing, and licensing. Our manufacturing plants either are abandoned, arsoned, or vandalized. Our capability to make what we use, is a thing of the past, it seems. We still make some things, and have an abundance of coal, brains, and intellect. These cannot compete with quarter an hour labor though, and this means that China will continue to send us thousands of full containers each week, with empty ones returning for refills. One can blame China Marts, and refuse to go into them, as is my custom, but it is impossible to escape our revolting dependence on China. We have been sold out by our other dependence, which has caused it. That is government, with all its tentacles growing and worming its way into every single crevice of our lives.
Why does China continue to buy our debt? Because it is dependent on our continual purchasing of its goods…made with cheap…to us anyway… labor. Actually, their labor costs may be small compared to ours, but their 'cheap' labor has caused China to become a major industrial power in the world. Those who work 'cheap' in China, find that their 'cheap' wages, allows them to go up in life to levels they only dreamed of in the past. Think about it if you will. When I was a kid making 75 cents an hour, I could buy three gallons of gas for an hour's wage, and the taxes taken from my wages were virtually zero. If Chinese labor makes a quarter U.S. an hour, maybe the equivalent in Yuan (a.k.a. Renminbi) allows them to live wonderfully. After all, a U.S. quarter in America won't buy much of anything, will it? A cup of coffee at Starbucks can go for 8 or 12 quarters. Maybe that 'cheap' labor in China isn't bad at all…for them.
We always become accustomed to our situations, no matter what they may be. We may look back and see how far we have degraded and changed, but one can never go back. One can scream about it, but it never seems to get changed. All we can do is attempt to protect ourselves from the ravages of what we have become. We have been screwed by government, in all of its facets, but we cannot change it. We are forced to depend on government, whether we like it or not. I hate seat belts, and refuse to wear them. Fortunately, in Colorado we aren't forced to wear them. I hate wearing a heavy helmet when riding a motorcycle, and in Colorado, we don't have to. I'd love to be able to buy a car without airbags, because they have probably never saved a life, are ear puncturing and expensive. I can't avoid it.
Government forces us to depend on it, whether we want to or not. We are forced to abide by their silly requirements, rules, laws, instructions, and mandates. State and local governments are totally hampered by federal mandates, and squirm as they attempt to be individualistic and balance their budgets. They can't. The public schools are dependent on handouts from D.C. and they must abide by absurd mandates or not get their dollars. When tragedy happens, as in New Orleans, government's absolute ineptness shocks everyone. Now FEMA and the Homeland Defense outfits have the power to declare martial law. The Posse Comitatus law, which has been in effect since 1878, is being sideswiped by government. That's the law prohibiting the armed forces from interfering in domestic matters, with very few exceptions.
Of all the dependencies we have, it is our forced use of the government currency, which has the most deleterious effects on the citizenry, and the tragic part of this, is that 99% of them aren't even aware of it! Think about the dollar, and how we are not only forced us to use it, but we measure our wealth by it. Everything is priced in dollars. We measure our wealth in dollars, and our "net worth" is in dollars. It's dollar this and dollar that, and dollars everywhere. The dollar is a failing measurement. It's as if you were a chef, and the measuring device you used to prepare a dish shrank every week or so. Your recipes would be worthless, as you would have no sound way to measure ingredients. Is there anything we can do to stop the dollar from failing? I know of no way to stop it, any more than there is a way to stop a hurricane, or runaway truck speeding down a mountain with no brakes and stripped gears. The results of a failing currency always end the same way. No one can stop it, and the more it goes down, the faster it goes down, till it reaches zero.
A currency which is unbacked, depends (there's that word again) on faith and credibility of its users and issuer. The user has to have faith, and the issuer has to be credible. The Unites States Government becomes less credible as each day passes, and faith in the dollar is beginning to erode at a faster clip, as is proven by the increase in the price of gold and silver, which is only the beginning. People want to be safe. They need to be safe. The dollar is not safe. Gold and silver are not dependent on any government entity, or political party in power. Gold and silver are not dependent on stock prices, weather, or natural catastrophes. Gold and silver are real value and money. They have been such for thousands of years, and always will be real money. In times of crisis and distrust of government, people who are smart, get out of falling currencies and into real money. This is why the price of gold is shooting up in all currencies, not just dollars. All currencies are failing, and none are backed by anything. It's as simple as that. Depend on real money, not fiat. I think you should tell your friends and loved ones about this situation, for their own good. The majority is always wrong it seems, and the enormous belief in the dollar bubble should be punctured. Protect yourself.
The government hates gold because they can't control it. If
the dollar starts really circling the drain, look for the
pols to confiscate gold again like they did in 1933. Better
have a good hiding place.
The problem is that only a relative handful have a clue how much a certain amount of gold should buy. That could change very quickly.
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