Category: Quote of the Day

“The avalanche has already started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.” – Kosh Naranek, in Babylon 5 Season 1, Episode 10 “Believers” (Screenplay by David Gerrold)

“In one sense, what is happening is not the bankruptcy of America but the transfer of assets from the spendthrift imprudent to the frugal prudent. Is this a bad thing? I don’t think a “good/bad” statement has any meaning here; it is simply a market economy at work. Excesses get unwound, cash is always king, prudent investors tend to be rewarded and gamblers tend to lose all their money.” – Charles Hugh Smith

“O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to present myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to keep and preserve me the night past from all the dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body refreshed and comforted for performing the duties of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me from all perils of body and soul…. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the gospel; give me …

“University of Maryland economist Herman E. Daly points out that the current crisis is really one of the “overgrowth of financial assets relative to growth of real wealth.” Daly believes that “financial assets have grown by a large multiple of the real economy” and that “paper exchanging for paper is now 20 times greater than exchanges of paper for real commodities.” Exploding debt liens have simply outgrown the wealth. The problem, in other words, cannot be bailed out. Historically, debt that cannot be redeemed has been repealed by inflation. The same inflation that wipes out debt will wipe out savings.” …

"Necessity never made a good bargain." – Benjamin Franklin

"Policies are many, Principles are few, Policies will change, Principles never do." – John C. Maxwell

"There is no counter-party risk — when you are holding Krugerrands." – SurvivalBlog Reader Rob C.

“Keynes explicitly classified the two components in the money supply as ‘industrial circulation’ versus ‘financial circulation.’ The distinction is important; it is like the difference between a woman and a female impersonator. They may be alike in almost every respect, except the essential ones.” – Bill Bonner

"When all is said and done, Civilizations do not fall because of the barbarians at the gates. Nor does a great city fall from the death wish of bored and morally bankrupt stewards presumably sworn to its defense. Civilizations fall only because each citizen of the city comes to accept that nothing can be done to rally and rebuild broken walls; that ground lost may never be recovered; and that greatness lived in our grandparents but not our grandchildren. Yes, our betters tell us these things daily. But that doesn’t mean we have to believe it.- Bill Whittle

"The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not entirely absurd, indeed, in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible." – Bertrand Russell

“In modern democracies, successful politicians must possess two qualities: They must say what the people want to hear and they must do what those in power want done.” – Darryl Schoon

“Fear, Mr. Bond, takes gold out of circulation and hoards it against the evil day. In a period of history when every tomorrow may be the evil day, it is fair to say that a fat proportion of the gold dug out of one corner of the earth is at once buried again in another corner…” – Ian Fleming, Goldfinger

“The money markets have completely broken down, with no trading taking place at all. There is no market any more. Central banks are the only providers of cash to the market, no-one else is lending.” – Christoph Rieger, fixed-income strategist with Dresdner Kleinwort.

“The financial meltdown the economists of the Austrian School predicted has arrived. We are in this crisis because of an excess of artificially created credit at the hands of the Federal Reserve System. The solution being proposed? More artificial credit by the Federal Reserve. No liquidation of bad debt and malinvestment is to be allowed. By doing more of the same, we will only continue and intensify the distortions in our economy – all the capital misallocation, all the malinvestment – and prevent the market’s attempt to re-establish rational pricing of houses and other assets.” – Congressman Ron Paul, My …

“Mostly the thing I see is the pure lack of planning — people feel secure in their homes and think that it will never happen to them, and then it does”. Tom Hazelwood, quoted by Laura Rowley in Flirting with Disaster: Preparation is Key for Potential Catastrophes