Day: January 29, 2008

Notes from JWR:

When I last checked, the spot price of silver was $16.75 per ounce, and gold was at $929.30. That’s an all-time high. There will be plenty of volatility and some very scary pull-backs, but the trend for the precious metals is still definitely upward. Meanwhile, the USD Index was at 75.56 and falling. The key number to watch for there is 72. Below that, watch out! BTW, I’m not like those television cheerleader/analysts that have suddenly jumped on the precious metals bandwagon. After a dismal two decade bear cycle, I fairly accurately called the bottom of the silver market seven …


The ‘Perfect’ Bug Out Vehicle, by Crazy Frenchman

Introduction. Not all of us can quit our jobs and live year-round at a permanent retreat. Yet some of us may be able to afford a semi-permanent retreat (e.g. vacation home), at least partly stocked (a.k.a. main supplies), and located within reasonable ‘travel time’ to the city where we work. As a catastrophic event would unfold, you would bug out ahead of the crowds. Otherwise you could begin by staying in your house, assess the situation, and never actually bug out. If the situation would deteriorate besides all hope, then bugging out would become a sound option. As part of …


Letter Re: Property Taxes and Hyperinflation

Dear Mr. Rawles, It’s been on my mind off-and-on since I read your novel “Patriots”, when the Grays sent in a property tax payment to avoid losing their retreat to tax delinquency. It’s always annoyed me that a landowner has to pay the government to keep land he has bought and paid for. That said, what would keep a local government, starved for cash in just such a situation as “The Crunch”, to raise the taxes on local properties until no-one could pay them? If a landowner pre-paid his taxes for, say, two years in advance, what would stop the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this “must read” piece by economist Jim Willie, posted over at Gold-Eagle: Gold & Math On A Napkin    o o o Eric mentioned a great article on the looming derivatives and hedge fund implosion in The Boston Globe: The black box economy. One tidbit from the article: “Despite the anxiety, nobody is stockpiling canned goods just yet.” Oh, yeah? Speak for yourself. Meanwhile, we also read: Crisis Grips European Hedge Funds. This is just the beginning folks. I’ve warned you before about hedge funds suspending redemptions, and hedge fund collapses. If you have any money in hedge …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Individuality is the aim of political liberty. By leaving to the citizen as much freedom of action and of being as comports with order and the rights of others, the institutions render him truly a free man. He is left to pursue his means of happiness in his own manner.” – James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) The American Democrat, 1838