Category: Current Events & Politics

Risk and Unrealistic Promises, by Seth D.

The problem so much of this country faces can be sourced back to one common practice that many of us cannot bring ourselves to face.  Unrealistic promises.  The world is full of risks, in fact life could be described as nothing but a massive risk management exercise. Will my paychecks be enough to cover my bills this month? Will I have any unexpected expenses this month? Will a plane fall out of the sky on to me? Will my business be adversely affected by Obamacare? Will the price of oil rise so high I can’t afford my commute? Will the …


Letter Re: State Government Debt Levels

James, I just finished reading one of the financial articles you linked in yesterday’s post.  The topic of the article was debt levels of U.S. states.  In it, the author broke down the debt burden of each state citizen; for example, a Californians’ per capita obligation is just over $16,000, while Texans are at a lower level of around $11,000.   So:  Two things.   First:  I think in doing this we are perpetuating the concept of the State’s (used here in the sense of a nation-state/political entity) authority to impose the public debt burden on non-sovereign individuals.  While I …


Letter Re: Advice on Refinancing

Dear James, I’d like your advice. We live in a house on five rural acres in Wisconsin. It’s both our year-round house and a sorta retreat. We now have the chance to refinance our mortgage at a lower interest rate. (Just 3.88%, as oppose to the 5.2% on our existing mortgage.) Our outstanding balance is about $210K. Should we re-fi, or stand pat? Any special considerations, given the perilous economic times, these days? Thanks in advance for your advice. – Hal K. JWR Replies: Yes, this might be an advantageous time to re-finance. A 3.88% rate is excellent. Just beware …


When Will It Happen? What Will It Be?, by Son Of Texas

There as many opinions and even more guesses than those who are guessing about what will cause the collapse of the world as we know it.  There may be unexpected triggers in nature or in society such as natural disasters of a sudden or a gradual nature, geopolitical events or developments, or environmental triggers that may be natural or man made.  With or without any of these events and processes about which there is an enormous volume of speculation, my previous skepticism about one in particular has been transformed to a personal certainty.   Economic Collapse – Really?   The …


Letter Re: Milsurp Concertina Wire Now Must Be De-Militarized

Dear JWR: Recent concertina wire sales at GovernmentLiquidation.com are now coming with the following notice: "All scrap under this contract requires mutilation by the buyer prior to removal if allowed at location or mutilation must be witnessed and certified by DOD personnel at buyers facility. Title to the material does not pass to the buyer until the scrap has been mutilated. Buyer agrees to allow USG personnel to witness destruction." So much for cheap, domestic military surplus concertina wire. 🙁 – Mr. C.


Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

James: A good read, and the author is right, we shouldn’t paint with a broad brush. However I think he had one glaring inaccuracy, and that inaccuracy is regarding the crucial fact is the crux of the problem people have with government pensions. he wrote:   “I contribute 3% of my salary to my government retirement. Not much you say, but in the civilian corporate world, most companies provide 100% of the employees’ retirement without employee contribution”   This is a blatant falsehood. Company provided pensions have been getting phased out aggressively. They may have been the norm in earlier decades, …


Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

Dear Editor: First off, as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, a Senior Patrol Agent in the United States Border Patrol, I am getting tired of being vilified by the media and American public for picking a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. I’m tired of my Union being vilified. In fact, I’m just tired of being vilified in general. It seems like most people are just suffering from sour grapes for not having picked a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. Why should we be punished for taking a job that offered this retirement? Shouldn’t this …


Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

James: I just read Warren Buffett’s comments about municipal bankruptcies on the rise.  (See: Buffet Says Muni Bankruptcies are Set to Climb.) Much of the problem is the super generous retirement plans available to many state, federal and local government workers.  As always, a bit of common sense would help cushion the impact of this largess. After 30 years of service workers are allowed to retire with a full pension.  Many retiring workers are still in their early fifties.  In many cases pensions are being paid out for 10-15 years before the workers are eligible for SS.  To put this …


America’s Economic Recovery: Smoke and Mirrors

The mainstream news outlets are still proclaiming an ongoing “recovery”. Headlines in the Washington Post warn that the “recovery may be slowing.” Meanwhile The Economist calls the American economy “The Comeback Kid.” The stock and bond promoters at Parker Financial had the temerity to begin their latest cheery report (dated July 9th) with: “The economic recovery that began in June 2009…” The BBC, quoting International Monetary Fund officials, more realistically describes it as a “tepid recovery.” In my estimation all of these pronouncements are nothing but hyperbole. Any movement in economic indicators has not been a result of any genuine …


Letter Re: Preparing Your Retreat For a Forest Fire or Brush Fire, by F.A.

In the article “Preparing Your Retreat For a Forest Fire or Brush Fire” by F.A., the author states “In reality though, the gap exists because the Forest Service policy was to fight every fire. I’m not meaning to offend anyone, but I believe they got caught up in the same ‘spend it or lose it’ budget planning that has helped bury this country in debt. Their policy was to extinguish any reported fire by 10:00 AM the following morning. Imagine the resources necessary to accomplish this goal. Even in the primitive areas, then designated wilderness areas after the passage of …


Letter Re: The Wild Boy of Germany–Fact or Fiction?

Jim: There has been a lot of news about an English-speaking boy who claims to have been living for five years along with his father, camping out undetected in the forests of Germany, south of Berlin. Is this fact, fiction, fantasy? – Calvin D. JWR Replies: I was also contacted by ABC News about this, seeking an interview. I reminded them that this was actually a nine month -old news story, dredged up by Huffington Post. I did provide ABC with some background, which I will repeat here, to explain why I’m quite dubious of this boy’s story: 1.) A …


Letter Re: Our Fragile Society: Witnessing Disruption of a Major Metropolitan Transit System

Mr. Rawles, While traveling to work Tuesday night on the subway, the transit system got partially shut down due to a building fire next to some aboveground tracks. This caused problems and delays during the evening commute. It shows how vulnerable some systems can be to unexpected problems;   Tuesday afternoon started out normal enough but due to a fire would cause me some problems getting to work . I live on the North side of Chicago. I work part time at a downtown gourmet supermarket. I worked a afternoon-to-close shift Tuesday night that starts at 4 p.m.  Normally, I can get to work from …


Review of the Self-Reliance Expo in Colorado Springs, Colorado, by L.K.O.

Following two previously-mentioned Self-Reliance Expos in Denver, Colorado (September 16-17, 2011 (see the SurvivalBlog review here) and Salt Lake City, Utah (October 7-8, 2011), the National Self Reliance Organization (NSRO) began it’s 2012 season with another weekend expo in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Returning Vendors This expo again showcased a variety of enthusiastic and friendly survival, self-reliance and preparedness vendors and presenters. Many of the companies there are loyal SurvivalBlog advertisers. I enjoyed meeting many new vendors in person for the first time as well as those who had been at the September expo as well. Among vendors returning to the …


Letter Re: The Real Housing Market Bottom

Dear Jim, In reference to the recently mentioned “housing bottom” article: Most of the articles we’ve read from the various real estate analysts say that housing prices haven’t actually hit bottom yet because the peak of the adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) resets aren’t done until January, though most are done by this August. Throw in financial inertia, as homeowners balk at their new mortgage rate in the face of their home having lost half its value in many cases due to the economy and the prior bubble, and we should expect a surge of foreclosures over the next 18 months. …


More Derivatives Market Mayhem: The JPMorgan Debacle

The mainstream media is abuzz with stories about JPMorgan’s $2 Billion in trading losses in just the past six weeks. Here some typical coverage: JPMorgan Hit by ‘Egregious’ Trading Loss of $2 Billion. The culprit? It was derivatives. Ah yes, those pesky derivatives. Ich habe es Ihnen gesagt (way back in 2006.) I won’t re-hash the details of the JP Morgan debacle that have come to light, because they have already been spelled out by many journalists. The best analysis that I’ve found thusfar came from the editors of Zero Hedge, in this piece: The “World’s Largest Prop Trading Desk” …