Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at rural real estate. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold and silver both were pushed down last week, as was Bitcoin. But in the long term, we know the fate of the U.S. Dollar.

o  o  o

Record Silver Shortage in 2020?

o  o  o

A primer: Physical Gold vs. Gold Stocks: Which Perform Best In A Recession?

o  o  o

At Zero Hedge: JPMorgan Makes $1 Billion From Gold Trading After Paying $1 Billion Fine For Manipulating Gold Trading

Economy & Finance:

Several readers sent this piece at Bloomberg: Rich Americans Are Increasingly Looking for Second Passport

o  o  o

Next, at Wolf Street: Taxpayers Face $435 Billion in Student-Loan Losses, Already Baked in: Leaked Education-Department Study

o  o  o

Also at Wolf Street: Who Bought the Monstrous $4.2 Trillion Added to the Incredibly Spiking US National Debt in 12 Months? Everyone but China

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — November 29, 2020

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Today is the birthday of writer Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis, who was born in 1898 and died 22 November 1963.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present the final entry for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 92 begins on Tuesday, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

I Survived Running for Office, by W.W.

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In light of the current political turmoil and contested election, some readers may be thinking of throwing their hat in the ring for elected office. I would like to share my experience of my candidacy for U.S. Congress for the 4th District of Pennsylvania in 2012. As you may recall this was the general election where Barack Obama was elected president and the Tea Party was quite active.

I’ve earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History and have always been interested in the political process. Back in the 1990s I served on the executive committee of the Political Action Committee (PAC) where I was employed. The committee was responsible for doling out funds to candidates who supposedly were pro-business. The company was located in Maryland, so you can take that last comment with a grain of salt. Turns out most of the money went to incumbents of the Democratic persuasion so that our lobbyists could gain access to said officeholders. After a couple of years, I was shuffled off of the committee, no doubt due to my negative voting record on allocating funds.

Fast forward to 2012. In 2001 I had moved from the Peoples’ Democratic Republic of Maryland to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The current Congressman, Republican Todd Platts had announced he was not seeking reelection. He was instead seeking a judgeship on the York County Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas. That is typical for career politicians. The primary election featured six Republicans and four Democrats seeking the nomination in their respective parties. Being relatively new to the area and not having any real contacts in the political arena, I knew the primary was a waste of time so I set my sights on the general election.

I had no illusion about winning, but I wanted an opportunity to present an alternative to Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. An open seat seemed like the best opportunity. I went online to the Pennsylvania Government web site to scope out the details. I discovered that I could run as a third-party candidate by acquiring the signatures of 1,000 registered voters in the district. I sent for the forms.Continue reading“I Survived Running for Office, by W.W.”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.

But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

For every man shall bear his own burden.

Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.” – Galatians 6 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Saturday — November 28, 2020

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500th Anniversary, today!  On November 28th, 1520, Magellan finally reached the Pacific Ocean after navigating the dangerous straits on the southern tip of South America that now bear his name. He became the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic.

—

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 91 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Packing Antique Iron – Part 2, by The Lone Canadian

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(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.)

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

You now should have your holster and all the necessary pieces cut out. At this point there are a bunch of steps that need to be completed before final assembly. I’ll try to keep these all in the right order, or at least the order that I use, which has worked for me so far. Most of these steps require that the leather be damp/wet. Again, watching a few videos on the internet will help with understanding this process. Suffice it to say that for the following steps I use a small sponge, and a bowl of water to keep the leather damp for working it.

  • Groove the edges of the leather where your stitches will go using a stitching groover. I actually used the groover on all the edges, not just where the stitches would go, because I thought that the groove would look nice on the finished holster.
  • Use the spacer tool to mark where the holes need to be drilled/punched for your stitching. (or mark them out with a ruler and a pen). You only need to do the front half of the holster at this time.
  • Drill or punch the holes for your stitches. Only do half the holster – the front. You will never get the holes to line up perfectly, so once the holster is glued you can use the holes as guides and punch the holes all the way through.
  • You will now have a good idea of the space and shape of the area that you have available for tooling, carving, or decoration. It always looks a lot bigger on the pattern, but once you take into account your allowance for stitches, it shrinks up considerably.
  • Draw, or transfer your design onto the holster. I wish that I had some secret for this, but I don’t. You could probably use tracing paper. I tend to work freehand, and draw the design lightly on the holster with a black ball point pen. If you are using stamps, like a basket weave pattern, you will want to draw some light lines with a pencil for reference to keep everything straight and level.
  • Making sure that you keep the leather properly dampened you will be able to do your carving, or stamping into the leather.
  • Important note: You can just leave the leather plain and it will work fine, and look good. If it is left plain it will also let you “wet form” the holster to your pistol later on. This is a process where the wet leather is molded/shaped to your gun with a stylus/burnishing tool. I’m sure you have seen numerous holsters done this way. If you choose to do this, it will be done after the holster is stitched. Manufacturers have plastic guns that they use for this, to produce multiple holsters exactly the same. You will have to use your expensive, antique for this process. Make sure your gun is well oiled, or it may rust due to the damp leather!

Continue reading“Packing Antique Iron – Part 2, by The Lone Canadian”

Editors’ Prepping Progress

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To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. Note that as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in the Comments. Let’s keep busy and be ready!

Jim Reports:

With a house full of Thanksgiving guests, this week’s column will be brief.

I had a busy week, with a big extended family Thanksgiving gathering here at the ranch, packing, labeling, and mailing Elk Creek Company orders, and making preparations for a lengthy out-of-state trip. For the month of December, I’ll be gathering inventory and helping an elderly relative. I’ll be back at the ranch to resume taking orders on January 2nd, 2021

My lovely wife Lily prepared a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with a turkey and all the trimmings.  And, of course, there were delicious pumpkin pies made from baked pumpkins from her garden.

On Friday morning, we did some target shooting.

Continue reading“Editors’ Prepping Progress”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

1

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given you?

 Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.

And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.

Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.

But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.

And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh.

And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.

And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.” – Joshua 18:1-10 (KJV)

Preparedness Notes for Friday — November 27, 2020

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November 27th is the birthday of both SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio, (pictured) and sci-fi novelist L. Sprague de Camp (1907 – 2000).

—

Last Call! Our Friday of Color Week Sale at Elk Creek Company ends at midnight tonight (Friday, November 27, 2020.) Note the sharply-reduced prices. Keep in mind that I’ll be traveling for the entire month of December, and therefore I’ll be putting the company on an order-taking hiatus. So this is your last chance to buy a few pre-1899 antique guns from us in 2020. Our small inventory is selling more quickly than I can re-stock it.

—

And speaking of Black Friday sales:  Ready Made Resources is having one of their biggest sales of the year. They are presently offering AN/PVS-14 Dual Tube Night Vision monocular/weapon sights with RNVG White Phosphor Photonis Premium Specification Tubes — with over 1800 FOM. They have just available at the $6,295 sale price. Financing is available.

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 91 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three-day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (a $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, that have a combined retail value of $589,
  3. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  4. Naturally Cozy is donating a “Prepper Pack” Menstrual Kit.  This kit contains 18 pads and it comes vacuum-sealed for long term storage or slips easily into a bugout bag.  The value of this kit is $220.
  5. An assortment of products along with a one-hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  2. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  3. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  4. A transferable $150 purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of firearms purchasing privacy!

Round 91 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

 

Packing Antique Iron – Part 1, by The Lone Canadian

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First, I better get an introductory disclaimer out of the way. I will be mentioning some different items and companies in this article. I am not associated with any of these companies, and do not receive any endorsements from these companies. These are simply products that I have found to work for me over the years. Now, we can get on to the main event.

About 10 years ago, a friend of mine got me interested in antique firearms. I’ve owned a few different ones over the years. Even JWR has started Elk Creek Company, to deal exclusively in pre-1899 antique firearms.

Now, the one thing that I’ve noticed over the years is that many antique firearms have survived in relatively good condition, but the same can’t be said for the holsters that used to carry them. Rarely have I ever seen an antique handgun for sale with its original holster, or any holster for that matter. An antique handgun can be a wonder just to hold, and feel the history contained within it, But if you actually want to carry it and use it, then you’ll need a holster. But where do you get a holster for a gun that’s 120 years old, or older?

Unless you have a DeLorean to go back in time, your choices are pretty limited as there are no manufacturers out there producing holsters for these firearms.

  • You can purchase one of the many nylon mass-produced holsters on the market. Up here we see Uncle Mikes’s most often. These are a good quality, relatively inexpensive way to get a holster for an antique. The downside of this is that they are produced to fit a wide variety of firearms, and are custom only in the fact that they vary by frame size and barrel length of the firearm. They will fit, but not necessarily well, and may not have the options that you want or like.
  • You could contact one of the many makers of custom Kydex. Being as the equipment to form Kydex is both readily available, and inexpensive, many “hobbyists” have this set up as a secondary source of income. A form-fitted Kydex holster for an antique would serve you very well for a carry option. If you are ordering one, the chances are that you can request the features that you want, and they are comparatively inexpensive. Personally, I just don’t care for the look of Kydex with an antique.
  • You could order a custom leather holster from one of the many professional, or hobby makers out there. A quick web search will probably find somebody relatively close to you offering this service. They can also usually be found with a visit to a gun show. This will definitely allow you to order exactly what you want, and pretty much guarantee that you will receive the exact holster that you want. The downside of this is, of course, that this may take some time and be expensive.
  • Build it yourself! That’s what I have chosen to do over the years, and I will try and walk you through the basic steps, and pitfalls, to be able to do this for yourself. The results can be both practical, and highly satisfying.

First, let me say that I am not a professional leather-worker, or even a hobbyist, for that matter. I started doing leatherwork when I was much younger, making new knife sheaths for knives that had either worn out, or lost their sheaths somehow. It was a good chance to learn what I did, and did not want in a knife sheath. I had made a couple holsters over the years, when I couldn’t find what I wanted, or couldn’t afford it. It was a matter of trial and error, often with a lot more errors than successes. Hopefully I can give a few pointers to help you avoid some of my mistakes.Continue reading“Packing Antique Iron – Part 1, by The Lone Canadian”

JWR’s Meme Of The Week:

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The latest meme created by JWR:

 

To share this, you can find it here:

https://kapwi.ng/c/llsoI6Ug

Meme Text:

The ATF’s “Definitive” Arm Brace Rulings (Du Jour)

(We’re Making This Stuff Up…)

2013: Arm Braces are ATF-Blessed and Now Perfectly Legal
2014: Firing a Braced Pistol From Your Shoulder Wouldn’t Make it a SBR
January 2015: Touching One to Your Shoulder is a Felony “Redesign”
March 2017: It is Now Okay to Sporadically Touch One to Your Shoulder
July 2018:  23 of 25 SB Tactical’s Braces Were Not Fully ATF Approved
January 2020: We’ve Now Approved 15 Different Arm Brace Designs 
September 2020: The Honey Badger’s Arm Brace Design Makes it an SBR
 
2021???: We’ll Make Up a New Policy, Depending on the Political Winds

Economics & Investing For Preppers

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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the recent dip in the gold price, in USD terms. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Spot Gold took a 3% dive to a 4-month low of around $1,837 per Troy ounce early in the week, and silver meanwhile was down 2%. The gold price slump continued to around $1,805, on Tuesday. Rather than profit-taking, this seems to have been triggered by a turn in sentiment on the US Dollar Index. Dips in metals markets like this are a good time to buy. It is noteworthy that the price gap between gold and platinum is narrowing. (A +/- $800 delta versus the former $900.) But I still consider platinum a genuine bargain. In the next boom phase of the economy, platinum will probably be back to selling for more than gold.  You’ll then be patting yourself on the back for buying the white metal.

o  o  o

Alasdair Macleod: The Global Reset Scam. Here is an excerpt:

“There can be little doubt that central banks wish to increase their control over money and how it is used, cutting out the obstacle of commercial banks who produce most of the money in circulation through the expansion of bank credit. From a statist point of view, commercial banking is a dinosaur, an outdated remnant of free markets, perpetuating needless systemic risk and superseded by technology. Branch networks will disappear with cash, changing relationships between banks and the general public for ever.

By introducing direct central bank accounts for members of the public and every business, commercial banks become superfluous and can be allowed to die. And if one goes bust before commercial banking has ended, the facility to transfer all its loans and deposits onto a central bank’s books will then exist. The removal of systemic risk by the abolition of commercial banks is one of several likely long-term objectives of CBDCs. Commercial banks can be left with the role of investment banking activities in capital markets.

We can imagine the development of CBDCs going even further than just replacing cash. Stimulation by dropping money into personal accounts can be used to target increased spending by consumers, or even groups of consumers, sorted by wealth, location or other factors. Some consumers can be favoured relative to others, so in a swing state, for example, an incumbent administration might buy votes. While this would be strongly denied, as we have seen with unfettered fiat currency the state creeps incrementally towards unstated objectives, using every tool at its disposal. The election of Deep State-approved politicians then becomes possible.”

Economy & Finance:

The Street reports: Hundreds of Companies That Got PPP Loans Have Gone Bankrupt

o  o  o

At Yahoo Finance there’s this from Richard Cookson: Inflation May Be About to Pick Up Sharply

o  o  o

Reader B.C. sent this: Hotels: Occupancy Rate Declined 32.7% Year-over-year

o  o  o

Also from Wolf: Online Sales by Category, in Weirdest Economy Ever

Continue reading“Economics & Investing For Preppers”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“There is a profound, unbridgeable disagreement between two factions here. One faction is not willing to prioritize authenticating the vote above all else. That faction is more willing to accept perceived social alignment and convention – not dispositive situational proof – as the basis for agreeing to the most important decisions about governance, such as who shall take office.

That set of motivations tacitly assumes that there is little meaningful consequence for accepting voting outcomes that may well have been shaped by fraud.

The other faction cannot agree to be governed by a voting outcome produced by fraud. This faction is motivated by the certainty that to accept such a thing is to be governed by lies and corruption, and cannot turn out well by any calculation. It’s worth fighting against a potentially fraudulent outcome, and not merely taking notes on it and hoping to do something about it later.” – Retired Naval Intelligence Officer J. E. Dyer