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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Economic rumblings



There's a lot of economic insatiability in the world right now. We all know about the drastic change in the price of oil. While that certainly feels like a good thing for most of us, for other's it's a disaster. Countries that have come to rely on a high price of oil are in trouble. That's one of the reasons Russia's currency is going down the crapper.

The housing market might be in another downturn. China's overheated economy shows signs of coming down to earth. Japan keeps sliding further and further into recession. Other markets are experiencing downturns of their own. In fact, most of the Eurozone is pretty weak and shaky right now.

So what's going to happen next? Darned if I know. If 2008 and the housing market collapse taught us anything is that the Powers That Be can change the rules to suite them. Bad bank loans were turned into government debt. That's quite the magic trick. By the “rules” of the game those banks should have gone down. A lot of bankers should have gone to jail for blatantly breaking the law. Instead of jail is was cigars and bonuses all around.

So the question comes down to this: what can I do about my unease towards the financial system? Someone at my pay grade will never get the real hard numbers needed to make an informed decision. All I can do is look at past trends and potential threats. With that in mind, I have made a few changes.

I've cleaned up a lot of debt. My house mortgage has been moved to a new bank. The old one seems to be having a slow motion run on the bank. For the past year people have been steadily closing their accounts. Today I just opened a new saving and checking account at a more solid institution.

If I had a lot of money I'd worry about the government possibly doing a Cyprus maneuver and raiding personal savings. As it is, there's not much in the bank to worry about. Right now it's not a bad idea to add more to preps like food storage. Some actual cash money on hand is always handy in the early days of a financial collapse. Most people won't know what to do with gold or silver, but a stack of $20s will grab their attention.

We may continue to bumble along or things might suddenly completely fall apart. Nothing I've done so far will hurt me much either way. Let's just hope that governments don't do what they often do in times of financial turmoil: start a war.

-Sixbears


15 comments:

  1. I see Jeb Bush is making noises about running for the White House. That's all the world needs...

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    1. I feared this day. He probably would make a reasonable President, a little to liberal though. I feel he has way to much family baggage that the Dem's will defeat him with.

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    2. If the election comes down to a "choice" between another Bush and another Clinton, I'm staying home.

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  2. You know as well as I do that they have at least five wars in the can at any one time, all they have to do is crank up the propaganda machine.

    As for the economy, this oil business is certainly making things...... interesting.
    There could well be another global crash on the horizon.

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    1. If you lived in Greece or Spain,you'd be pretty sure the crash is here now.

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  3. Whatever is coming I rather doubt any of us will like it. It is a sad situation that didn't have to turn out this way.

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    Replies
    1. Nothing is so bad that it can't get terribly worse.

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  4. We are clearly and firmly standing on the edge of very unstable ground. One of my fears is the PTB will means test people and take their investments because we don't need all that money we worked, did without and saved those funds. I retired last year and my investments are my income, I am very concerned. There is no safe haven for investments as the entire world is on unstable ground. Gold and Silver just isn't going to work as a safe haven because who wants it as legal tender and who will say what it's worth? All I can say is prep, store more food to help get by whatever is coming and it is coming, just don't know when!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Us little guys have reason to be nervous, if History is our guide.

      I see you feel pretty much the same way I do about gold and silver. Not the most popular view among preppers, but it's only good if you can spend it -safely!

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  5. "bye, bye american pie"

    the lunacy gets even better at being a true nightmare

    see yo all on the dark side of the moon...

    soon

    Wildflower

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    Replies
    1. Fasten your seatbelts and keep your hands and arms inside at all times.

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  6. Probably the best we can hope for is a Japan style scenario with us trying to muddle through the next few decades.

    The worst case but the one that the PTB seem to be most pushing for, involves a fight with Russia and China; a fight involving 3 nuclear powers, with the distinct likelihood that it might go nuclear.

    Remember who is the only country ever to use nukes, and you can be sure that the opponents know that as well.

    I seriously doubt Russia and China will sit there like Saddam and let us build up a massive force.

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    1. Deflation scares them a lot more than inflation does.

      I'm concerned about who has the nukes when a country is falling apart.

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  7. All this is to destabilize the BRIC country's economy's so no one can move out of US dollars it is a stalling tactic for the dollar. The dollar will fall but this is just a game of kick the can.

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    1. There are wheels within wheels here and every plan has several backup plans. Lots of money is on the line here so it could get really ugly.

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