The New Criminal Class

I want you to imagine for a moment how a drug dealer works. A drug dealer preys on people that are prone to addiction. Innocent people in the respect that they simply don't know how to deal with life's problems. So they turn to tobacco, prescription drugs, booze, and illicit drugs. Dealers need addicts, addicts bring in revenue. We have a huge amount of people in this country, maybe as high as 1/2 of us beyond age 16, who are addicted or who regularly use these substances. Clearly it is under reported. But the proliferation of big tobacco, big booze, big pharma, and drug cartels really tell a different story.

We are a country without a spiritual solution. We rely on the quick fix. But I'll save that rant for another day. Today, I'd like to focus on our addiction to money and wealth. Why is it that we support this new criminal class, these men in suits pushing debt?

The answer is simple. We are fearful. We don't really feel good about ourselves. We think that we have to have bigger houses, luxury cars, boats and RV's. That somehow possessing all of these things will show our neighbors that we have made it. We must prove to the world that we are "successful." We fear not having enough money, of running out. Missing that retirement expectation we have on golden pond. Because somewhere deep down inside all of us, we think that buying all of that shit, can somehow make us feel better about ourselves. It soothes our fears. For most of us, money is the quick fix. Our entire capitalistic way of life is built on that premise. We are bombarded by ads that exhibit happy people with cool cars, big houses, straight teeth. If you need more attention, perhaps you need this wrinkle cream, that makeup, or a boob job. All of this marketing is designed to prey on one thing. Your insecurities. And it works. The evidence is all around you.

Our new age drug dealers understand this flaw in us. They know we don't feel good about ourselves. That create an image that says, you can't feel good like this guy or gal- unless you buy our product.

And somewhere beneath all of that unconsciously driven behavior, there is some guy in a suit or perhaps a gal with a plunging neckline, pushing loan documents your way. Sign here, you'll feel better about yourself. If we can convince you, perhaps you'll come see us again. The new criminal class, the bankers push debt. They look for a whole new class of addicts. Credit cards, personal loans, margin loans, cars and houses. They addict you to debt. Oh sure, you sign- that's your role. Everyone else does it, don't they? You don't want to be socially isolated, do you? Of course not.

The best part about this gig is that it's all legal. Bankers loaning you something they don't have. Loaning you fictitious margin and debt- holding deposits of other peoples' money as their reserve. In any other line of work we'd call that fraud or theft by conversion. Banks call it "lending" like it's some charitable pursuit. 

I cut this new criminal class out of my life four years ago. It wasn't until a month ago when I decided to wade back in. To buy a house- simply because it would be cheaper than the rent that I pay. Let me tell you how that's worked out.

The new criminal class got their ass kicked a few years ago. To their credit, they have managed to co-opt our entire country and escape all scrutiny. So now they are trying to sell houses for one half of what they used to be worth. The new criminal class got backstopped by the victims so that they don't have to unload all of their collateral all at once and drive prices to the floor. Instead they sit chilly on vacant houses- hoping for a rebound that isn't going to come. And while my two latest offers, now over three weeks old, have garnered no reply...interest rates have backed up 1 and 1/4 percent. Time is on their side or so they think.

You see, I don't need a house. In fact, I don't even really need to live in the U.S. and subject myself to the vagaries of the new criminal class. They aren't doing me a favor- I know that. They are greedy, bankrupt, and desperate. You see, they haven't figured out that guys like me have figured out that we don't need guys like them. You want to rid yourself of the drug dealer??? Find a spiritual solution and quit buying his dope. If you want to rid yourself of the new criminal class, don't buy their debt and all the delusions that you will find some mystical, happy life in a foreign car. I got a newsflash for you banker pricks. We don't need you.

So next week I am going to withdraw my offers. I am going to get my earnest money back and I am going to buy more silver with it. I am going to withdraw all of my cash from the bank that I am making nothing on. I am going to invest it in a foreign account maybe in Iceland or Australia. Iceland was the only country that was smart enough to understand that more debt was not the solution. They understand the new criminal class. Iceland faced their fears and found the solution. They are up and running- just like we might have been if we had the courage to tell the debt dealers to go screw themselves. For some real hope and change, read this. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/business/global/08icecon.html

Hating Bankers Is All The Rage- And Should Be

If you want to help take your country back from the crooked bastards that have hi-jacked it...those greedy parasites that produce nothing- yet try to convince us how important and in-disposable they are... Please read the following post. I am going to insert this piece of "transparency" from that cover up committee, the FCIC. http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/02/so-why-is-the-fcic-protecting-bernanke-co.html I would like to say one other thing. If Ron Paul isn't the real deal, the real deal does not exist.  http://www.zerohedge.com/article/chairsatan-bernanke-meet-presdent-paul?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29

When Sorry Doesn't Cut It

Presented with no comment. Wirecutter- you are one funny dude. http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2011/02/cake-for-every-occasion_12.html

Important News Roundup For Dumb Asses Like Me

I spent a great deal of yesterday learning about commodities and futures, something I have never traded. After yesterday, I am convinced that my decision not to trade in those markets was correct. An entry now would be ridiculous. This is a play I understand from my novice poker days and the proliferation of no-limit Texas Hold 'Em. The Travel Channel kicked off a great boon for all of us old time players- all that fresh blood entering a game we had been playing for 35 years. On line poker, with it's absence of tells and mathematical probabilities easily available for all, worked wonders for new players. In live games, not so much. Same game you would say? No, not at all. In fact, it was the functional equivalent of two entirely different games. On-line poker and live play, (primarily no limit) although based on the same underlying game, are as fundamentally different as trading paper silver and physical silver. It is nuanced. Complex paper trades and traders have a huge advantage over someone like me. It is the function of maturity and experience that allows me say what I am about to say.

Sometimes the best play, is no play. Know when you are outmatched. Your ego will separate you from your money faster than any opponent. This is almost always true.

For a little over two months, I have witnessed some unexplainable events. In fact, I have never felt as detached from reality as I have recently. This is unprecedented stuff. I have never seen anything like it. Inflation figures feverishly manipulated, marginalized, and ignored by Bernanke and the media. Manipulated stock markets, gold and silver markets, bond markets. Metals markets completely suppressed and manipulated by banks. Corporate insiders selling shares faster than stokers on a speeding train. Oil markets completely insane- the spread between West Texas Intermediate Crude and Brent North Sea crude habitually 10 to 15 dollars apart. That has never happened. Silver backwardation has never happened. And that bizarre meeting between Hillary Clinton and virtually every ambassador we have worldwide. What the fuck was that all about? I read the "official" account and quite honestly I think it is bullshit. Personally, I think that meeting was called to warn ambassadors of the pending unrest and chaos that is coming everywhere.

A few days ago, I wrote a piece on the law of unintended consequences. What we are witnessing is an incredible worldwide conspiracy by governments and bankers to keep the lid on a pressure cooker that is about to explode. The world is driven by un backed, worthless, fiat currency. Everywhere. Make no mistake about it. The stakes are unbelievably enormous, the worldwide banks have their fingers in everything. They will lie, cheat, and steal to retain their power and income in any available market or fiat ridden country.

You cannot trust the mainstream media. They feed us fluff. They are owned and co-opted by the same corporate governance and financing that is working feverishly to put lipstick on this pig.

Should you be fearful? No. But you should be prepared. The downside of preparation for an event that does not occur is minimal. Perhaps a little capital loss and your ego gets bruised. (think New Year's Eve, 1999) The upside potential for preparation is enormous. Your ability to survive and thrive will be directly proportional to your willingness to think through what the world will look like when this mess winds down. I am talking about economic collapse and the period of time that it will take to bounce back. The dollar as worthless currency. Zimbabwe style.

People that predict the end of the world are idiots. They have been wrong forever. Therein lies the problem. Predicting when such an event will occur is impossible, because all kinds of unforeseen forces and events can intervene and prolong it. People have a herd mentality. They think because something has never happened that it cannot occur. My favorite is the myth that real estate always goes up. I had been told that shit my entire life. I dismissed the warnings of a drunken friend that told me that there was going to be a banking collapse in '07. That had never happened before and he was drunk. His information was highly credible, but I made the mistake of dismissing it as loose talk- I judged the credibility not on the subject matter but on the speaker. I did however, move my money into bonds. Had I shorted those crooked bankers, well I might not be here writing.

So who are you going to trust? The media or your lying eyes? Trust your instincts. My instincts are telling me we are headed for a train wreck. My eyes will be glued to the economic reports this week. I expect the government and the media to do what they do best. Distract all attention from the truth and spin everything happy. There is no such thing as a jobless, housing-less, counterfeit, spend your way out of debt recovery. It will not work no matter how desperately they want you to believe it. When markets collapse, the speed will be breathtaking.

This morning I read a great piece that did a little to clear up some of the mystery I've been feeling. Particularly in manipulated precious metals, oil, and other commodity markets. The world is moving away from the dollar. Perhaps, we should be too. http://harveyorgan.blogspot.com/2011/02/important-commentarymubarak.html

The Kleptocracy Finds More Easy Prey

The government no longer files criminal charges.

They file civil charges. That way they can extort some money out of the bankers, the bankers will pay, and then the government can beat on their chests and announce that they are doing their jobs. In case you were wondering, nobody other than the kleptocracy gets a cut of the dough. This isn't about victims.

The rule of law and restorative justice are vague terms, concepts, that are no longer useful. Here then is the latest installment of thieves getting ripped off by the kleptocracy. Indymac style. http://www.allamericanindex.com/headlines/story.php?id=955786

Pissing in the Ocean Part III

Well we went from 35 billion in tax cuts to 100 billion in cuts and now we are at 61 billion. I knew this would be entertaining. The Democrats are howling that the world will come to an end.

Seriously. We should find a sandbox somewhere and plant every one of these idiots in it. It is like a leaderless group of undisciplined brats. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_congress_spending

The National Journal "Wins the Future"

Remember that rousing speech Obama gave about winning the future? Seems, the National Journal "won the future" by nabbing a copy of the speech and publishing it hours before it was delivered.

Apparently, the great orator is a little pissed. Funny stuff at the link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110211/ts_yblog_theticket/the-white-house-still-wants-to-know-who-leaked-obamas-state-of-the-union-address