Economics and Investing:

Tax Doomsday Is Coming for Amazon Why The Bernanke Effect Has Catastrophic Long-Term Consequences Items from The Economatrix: California To Run Of Out Cash In One Month:  Controller Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners Why Hasn’t The Day Of Financial Armageddon Occurred Yet? Europe’s “Great Deleveraging” Has Only Just Began Silver:  $50 Here We Come




Prepping for Less and for the First Time Prepper, by Becky Bear

Recently, because of some significant financial changes in our life (including moving halfway across country, one of us unable to find work and the other getting laid off, and then getting a job at 50% of the previous salary) we are no longer able to invest as we done in the past. However, because we invested in prepping prior to our sudden reversal of fortune, what would normally happen in this type of financial emergency merely became a financial irritant. Even without 75% of our previous income, we are still able to live well and continue our prepping effort, if …




Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent us this: Number of U.S. expatriates increases 16% in 2011. Diana sent us this: States seek currencies made of silver and gold Kevin C. suggested this over at Lew Rockwell’s site: Internet Resources for the International Man Items from The Economatrix: S&P Warns Cuts Loom For G20 Nations CBO:  Taxes Will Shoot Up By More Than 30% This Year Bill Gross Explains Why “We Are Witnessing The Death Of Abundance” And Why Gold Is Becoming The Default “Store Of Value” The Experts’ View On The Euro’s Future:  There Is None Oil Prices Rise After Drop In US Hiring …




Economics and Investing:

Federal Reserve Action Will Decide Next Major Move For Gold Prices G.G. flagged this: More Than 750 Banks at Risk of Failure Over Next Two Years, Says Invictus Also from G.G.: Jim Grant says gold, not paper currency, is the future Items from The Economatrix: Jobless Claims Fall, Jobs Market Slowly Healing. [JWR’s Comment: But is this a genuine recovery, or just trickle-down from umpteen billions in bailouts and monetization liquidity? And meanwhile we read: Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low.] Gold Gallops 11%, …




Economics and Investing:

B.B. sent this from ZeroHedge: Latest Congressional Budget Outlook For 2012-2022 Released, Says Real Unemployment Rate Is 10% Also from B.B.: Soaring Beef Prices Force Shoppers To Find Other Foods F. McC. sent this: CBO REPORT – OMG! Items from The Economatrix: 20 Signs That Europe Is Plunging Into A Full-Blown Economic Depression The Coming Economic Crisis:  This Is A Breakdown Crisis




Economics and Investing:

Don’t miss this interview with Jim Sinclair: The Impending Undeclared Default of Five Major US Banks. Sinclair exposes an upcoming decision by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). He expects some very short-cropped haircuts on CDS derivatives. In this land of smoke and mirrors, it all comes down to terminology. What is a severe credit event euphemistically called, other than default? Sinclair anticipates a writeoff down to thirty cents on the dollar for Greek debt! A collapse in the Euro is coming .Massive bailouts are coming. Some very large banks may go under, or more likely they will be …




Economics and Investing:

20 Signs That Europe Is Plunging Into A Full-Blown Economic Depression D.D. suggested this one: The Coming Paradigm Shift in Silver   Richard Russell, Joseph Granville, & Baltic Dry Index Warnings = Get Out Of Stocks! Sven sent this: Why Are the Chinese Buying Record Quantities of Gold? Congressional Budget Office reports another $1 trillion deficit. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)                                       Items from The Economatrix: Wall Street Cuts Losses On Late Buying US Grows 2.8% In Q4, But Not Enough To Keep …




Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this link, that bears repeating: The U.S. Debt Visualized Don’t Get Audited! The IRS’s Dirty Dozen Red Flags (Kiplinger) RBS flagged this: Lawmaker targets coinage costs with bills backing steel. [JWR’s Comment: It is interesting how the congresscritters are trying to make debasing our coins look patriotic.] $140 Silver, Figures Don’t Lie Items from The Economatrix: The Art Of Extortion Now At The IMF You Won’t Believe Who Owes U.S. Billions Fed Is Running Out Of Tools To Boost Economic Growth




Economics and Investing:

The latest from Willem Weytjens: Silver: Epic Reversal. I’m not a chartist believer, but this is captivating. Items from The Economatrix: Are Soros, IMF, & World Bank Trying To Scare The Living Daylights Out Of Us? Fed Says Benchmark Rate To Stay Low Until 2014. [JWR’s Comment: Higher interest rates would torpedo the ability to service the U.S. National Debt. Bernanke has his hands tied. And they will stay tied until the international community changes interest rates for him.] Housing Data Points To Slowdown In Sales Crude Price Rises On Iran Threat To Stop Oil Sales Bernanke Says Fed Pondering …




Letter Re: Made in America? — Maybe

Dear Mr. Rawles, My letter today was prompted by an email I received recently about UPC codes and country of origin.  It stated that one can determine the country of manufacturing origin by looking at the first three digits of the Bar code.  More specifically, it stated that bar codes beginning with the digits 690 through 695 are from China while those with 471 are from Taiwan.  Products with codes from 00 to 13 are from the U.S. and Canada.  This seemed like a handy way to tell which products came from where.  You could buy a product with some …




Economics and Investing:

The Massive Debt Bomb: $7,600,000,000,000 Dollars Of Debt Must Be Rolled Over In 2012 G.G. sent this: John Williams – Accelerating Great Collapse & Hyperinflation Several readers sent this from Business Insider: 2011 GDP: 1.7% Kevin K, sent the link to this interesting piece by Jim Willie: Tail Events, Isolation, New Normal Items from The Economatrix: Fitch Goes On A Rampage, Cuts Spain, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus, And Slovenia Merkel Casts Doubts On Saving Greece From Meltdown Aging Japan Faces “Chronic” Trade Deficit After Fukushima IMF Slashes Global Growth Forecasts Soros:  There Will Be Riots In The Streets Of America Davos:  …




Economics and Investing:

AmEx (American Expat) suggested an essay from Forbes in which the author makes some good points about going back to the gold standard: Gingrich, The Gold Standard, And The Florida Primary The great deleveraging event – household debt has fallen 4 percent since recession hit. Household debt has fallen dramatically from the peak when household debt aligned itself with annual GDP. G.G. flagged this: Tax Evaders Renounce U.S. Citizenship Baltic Dry Plunges 42% More Than Seasonal Norm To Start The Year. Items from The Economatrix: Greek Bond Talks Break Down, But Markets Shrug It Off Why Isn’t Illinois a Bigger …




Letter Re: Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World

Good Afternoon,  As someone who has tried playing the big stock market as mentioned in Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Dusty, I’d like to add the following caution.  Don’t quit your full time job if you want to try this option.  For the past year or more we in Central Texas have been in  exceptional drought conditions.  I have a small herd of Dexter cows.  Due to the lack of grass in my sixty plus acres of native pastures I have been forced to rely on 1000 lb bales of hay and local co-op 20% …




Economics and Investing:

J. McC. suggested a piece over at the Of Two Minds blog. From Kevin: $100 Bill: The Fed Has a $110 Billion Problem with New Benjamins Items from The Economatrix: Has Portugal’s Debt Default Clock Begun To Tick? New Normal on Wall Street: Smaller and Restrained Payroll Tax Cuts Raise Worries About Social Security’s Future Funding Japan Logs First Trade Deficit Since 1980 New Prediction — Economic Collapse:  First To Europe Then To U.S. And World 11 “Stunning Revelations” From a Confidential Economics Memo To Obama




Economics and Investing:

Reader Dale C. sent this example of urban myopia: Yahoo rates College Majors That Are Useless. [JWR’s Comments: These geniuses seem to have concluded that there is no need to study how to raise food, when you can just buy it from a supermarket. (That’s where they think meat comes from: “You know from those plastic-wrapped trays.”) The urban elitist view seems to be that any venture where one is at risk of getting their hands dirty is “useless” or somehow offensive. The their minds, farming, ranching, and mining are out, but high finance, LBOs, and derivatives are in. But …