April 24, 2013
By: Kevin Kerr, Contributor
Desperate Acts: Final Days of the Empire
In recent days and weeks we have seen more and more evidence of the endgame of power taking foot in America. The Empire is certainly scrambling to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Meanwhile, in so doing, the Empire is eroding layer upon layer of rights and security for the individual, seemingly without objection. Very sad!
We are seeing more and more police activity without due process, such as what occurred in Boston last week. Storm troopers and National Guard busting in doors, ripping people from their homes, all in the name of justice. Hardly.
Sure, we all wanted to see the individuals responsible for the Marathon bombings caught, but at what expense? There’s a bigger issue here though, and certain inalienable rights if I recall.
Meanwhile we are also watching how certain countries are simply dipping into people’s bank accounts and helping themselves. Do we really think this is far off in the United States? Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Market Mayhem: Antics of the Overlords
On top of everything else the markets continue to gyrate wildly as we depart from any sensible basis for trading and instead see markets that have gotten so far from their primary purpose, it’s insane. Goldman Sachs coughs and gold falls $250 in 2 days, based on what? Nothing.
At one time in history the commodity markets actually provided a price discovery method that enabled farmers to offset risk and pass that speculative opportunity onto parties willing to take it. Today we see markets run by robots and quant analysis more than any fundamental reality.
It wasn’t always like this.
So how did the markets get to the place they are now perverted, having morphed into some big adult playground, with regulators who may as well be handing out instructions on how to steal?
Let’s face it, the bullies on this playground are the banks and the government, while the rest of us are simply waiting to get picked last for dodge ball.
The market action has become like some Nintendo game with robots and Twitter making market decisions for people, it’s just pathetic. Just recently as the other day we saw a hacked tweet on AP saying the White House was under attack and President Obama was hurt, that was good for a sizable drop in the S&P.
People have begun to lose the ability to think for themselves and this is above all the biggest factor in the collapse of every empire. Create a disarmed army of mindless sheeple, willing to do what they’re told, without question. The banking industry is the biggest culprit of all.
Sleeping Comfortably on a Lumpy Mattress
Most of us seek out the most comfortable place to sleep we can find, usually a bed with lots of pillows. If we’re lucky enough to be able to afford it, we can choose just about any level of luxury. A person can lavish themselves with Egyptian Cotton Sheets, Silk Pillowcases…the whole 9 yards. Who wouldn’t have sweet dreams and a good night’s sleep if they can. Even so, plenty of wealthy people in Cypress, and more so Russian investors who kept their money there, are not sleeping that great right now. They probably would much have preferred to stuff their mattress with their money rather than have it in a Cypriot bank.
I for one, have a mattress stuffed with gold bars, silver coins, and transportable wealth. It may sound uncomfortable, but I sleep like a baby.
Denial Aisle: Americans Lost in the Shuffle
In the coming months and years the rate of erosion of rights and the seizure of personal property, not to mention the decimation of fiat currency, will rapidly occur. Now is the time to do what many of us have done: acquire a second citizenship, create portable and physical wealth, make your own exit strategy, and don’t have it made for you.
Key commodities are becoming scarcer.
The facts are fairly grim if we look at them closely. There is going to be less of everything. Yet there will be more people who want those things. Let’s face it – wars have been fought over far less.
In her famous book, On Death and Dying , Elisabeth Kubler-Ross describes the stages of grief:
Denial: “It can’t be happening”
Anger: “Why me? It’s not fair”
Bargaining: “Just let me live to see my children graduate”
Depression: “I’m so sad, why bother with anything?”
Acceptance: “It’s going to be OK.”
In my opinion, the American public is going through the stages of grief right now. Rising prices are just a market-based signal that we are losing our economic and resource abundance. As the American dream fades away, it’s like a death in the family.
Right now, I think we are between the stages of denial and anger. Ask yourself these questions: What do you think when you pull up to the fuel pump and have to pay $4 for a gallon of regular gas, or nearly $5 for a gallon of diesel?
Or how about when you go to the supermarket and have to pay $4 for a gallon of “store brand” milk, or the same price for a loaf of “store brand” bread? Are your emotions between disbelief and anger? Are you saying to yourself, “Hey, what the heck is going on?”
The age of the Empire, is coming to a close. The only constant is that change is absolute; make sure to be out front ahead of it.
Kevin Kerr, is a TV and radio investment advisor, his unparalleled expertise in futures and commodities has made him a regular contributor to news outlets like CNBC,CNN, FOX News, CBS Evening News, Nightly Business Report and many others. Recently, he was even featured on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show. What’s more, Kevin has traded commodities professionally for the last 20+ years. www.kerrtrade.com
2 Responses
Correction: Cypress is a tree. Cyprus is a country or two, depending on whom you talk to. If one takes time to analyse the monetary situation, it is easy to figure out that the big banks are to blame. Their relentless search for profit has taken over what should have been their main focus, protecting their clients, not their shareholders. Because of this financial rat race, i.e. make the most profit no matter what, banks have put at risk their clients’ earnings for the benefit of a few shareholders. Had the US government not bailed out the banks in 2009, the Cyprus situation could have happened in the United States, meaning a taxation of bank accounts. It would have brought chaos to the US economy and society. Your government helped the banks but who was held responsible for this mess ? I know about a fellow living in Crawford, Texas, who permitted banks to do almost anything during his tenure at the White House. Unfortunately, it seems that he is unanswerable for his decisions. How quaint, what a pity.
Again …. GET …. OUT !!!!
Stop paying your mortgages on all your real estate that will take 20 years to get back to what you paid for it !!! Odds are that if it is rental, your in the negative cash flow zone,.. so why supplement your rental income with savings or even retirement savings to make payments. I did for several years, believing the experts who were saying and still are saying, that the market is will turn around in the next 6 months. If that would happen, I could at least get out some of my 20+% down I invested in them. No such luck, I finally woke up and threw in the towel. I blew most of my retirement savings, keeping my credit score nice & high, even though I couldn’t refinance for better interest rate, because my loan to value ratio on my properties was to high.
I was making all my payments before the due date, before the 10th every month. Then on the on the 3rd, of January, a snotty young mortgage officer, called me saying that the loan due date was on the first, I mentioned I had till the 15th to make the payments, He said,…Get this,… That the 15th was a courtesy date . the money was due the first. Having had enough, I said that it was a courtesy that I was even making payments. That’s when I went into my on line banking and stopped making all the payments. I am collecting rents, and keeping the money for my self. I won’t get back all my down monies, but I do get a little satisfaction out of the deal !
There will be another big hit coming soon. Down size, reduce your overhead. Sounds hard, it’s not really. I didn’t answer the mortgage phone calls for the first 3 months, then I did, said I wasn’t interested in catching up payments, refinancing them, & that I was trying to sell the properties. This time they were very nice on the phone.
They are on the market & the longer they take to sell, the more I make.
Anyone who believes what the talking heads are saying, that it’s getting better, is drinking the cool-aide.
Wake up & have a beautiful day !