Who will suffers the most?
Under the category of "what the heck is this?", the news over the last 48 hours surely qualifies. On Sunday I read that President Obama skipped the national security briefing regarding Russia and the Ukraine
(while looking up the article I Googled "obama skips" and the suggestions were ...national security briefings, memorial day, Arlington, medal of honor ball, Gettysburg, D-day, national day of prayer, and intelligence briefing). Then yesterday Zerohedge forwarded a "tweet" from the White House https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-03/monday-humor-world-verge-get-some-peace-mind that said "Life is unpredictable. Get some peace of mind: https://ofa.bo/jBQ#TimeToEnroll" regarding Obamacare. In other news, it appears that the U.S. is readying a $1 billion care package to Ukraine and economic sanctions for Russia. The cherry on top of this "chocolate colored cake" is that the U.S. has "barred" Russia from the G-8 talks this week.
Really? Obamacare is more important than the Russian bear even though it's none of our business in the first place? We actually "barred" Russia from the G-8? Are we TRYING to poke a finger in Mr. Putin's eye? If this was not so serious I would say that this is funnier than Moe sticking two fingers in Larry's eyes. Is there really a purpose, ANY purpose to barring Russia from the table? Did we "miss" the story yesterday that "Russia and China are in agreement over Ukraine"
Think about it, we are putting a "package" together worth a whopping $1 billion for the Ukrainians. This will do what exactly? Keep the lights on for a few weeks? We offer this money ...while our biggest creditor China stands in agreement with the "other side"? What must China be thinking (while laughing)? First off the amount of money is like penny candy, secondly and more importantly we can't even afford it. The reality in case no one has thought it through is that we don't have a "spare" $ billion to GIVE anyone!
Don't get me wrong, China is not on a solid footing either because their own economy is debt ridden in many areas but I offer a different view here. Is it possible that "they" not only know that this ship is going down (and them with it) but are also resigned to this fact? Who will be hurt the most? Who's lifestyle will fall the furthest? Do you see where I'm going?
Many nations have been blown up financially several times since WWII, they are "used to" or at least can remember tough times. "Tough times" as in a currency that has become worthless or banking systems that shrunk or closed, empty shelves at stores or what have you...we have not. They toughed it out, they survived, they dealt with whatever it was they were "dealt". I use the word "dealt" because the U.S. has often times "imposed situations" by forcing a price structure. Without going into multiple examples, it is well known that during the Reagan years we crashed the price of oil which in turn crashed the finances of the Soviet Union and led to their breakup...mission accomplished. We did the same thing to China in the early 1900's with silver which was their primary money.
I would ask if you think it is possible that any of these nations have "memories"? I say yes they absolutely do, and it is burned into their memories on national scales. Let me ask you this, do you think that maybe they have already had thoughts of "turning the tables" on us? The next question is of course "could it be done"? In my opinion we have weakened ourselves in so many ways and to such an extent that yes it can be done. Actually, even without "effort" on their part, we have done it to ourselves and carved our own fate into stone. Ask yourself if we are a weaker nation with regards to production, financially, socially and of course our currency itself?
To finish, who will suffer the most when this tent finally does come down? The simplest and most obvious answer is "those who had the most to lose" which of course is "us". Because we grew so grand and large (and on solid footings) and then even 'that" was not enough, we borrowed and levered to live even better. We denied or aborted every recession's effort at "cleansing" the system of bad debt...only to slightly pause before increasing our lifestyle. "We" as a nation do not know truly hard times. Yes there are a few still alive that can tell you stories of the Great Depression but those stories are through the eyes of children, it was their parents who truly dealt with the brunt of it.
In my opinion, it very well may end up that our "foes" are willing to take a little pain, pain that they know they can bear because they already have...to cause us unbearable pain. Our biggest problem will be in rebuilding. We will have to do this from scratch as our industrial base is gone, our infrastructure aged, our morals decayed and yes, our "money" (gold) is gone. Can we recover? Yes of course we can. We have natural resources and can rebuild industry and infrastructure given some time. The toughest area will be in our national "mindset" which is THE most important and will probably take more time than anything else to repair. Our "mindset" has been molded for several generations, it will take at least a full generation to turn this ship around. For you personally, it is your job to get from "here to there" with wealth intact. This is exactly what gold has done at major historical inflection points. Regards, Bill Holter, Miles Franklin Associate writer