We are now living in a country populated by the walking dead. I’ve always enjoyed a good sci-fi/action adventure book, and I especially enjoy books about zombies and vampires. Probably because I really don’t have to be afraid since the concept is so absurd it has to be fiction… nothing to really be worried about. But today, I realized… the walking dead are truly among us.
The walking dead are not corpses of humans out to eat our brains or suck our blood… but corpses of companies and organizations out to suck us completely dry of any money or productivity we have left in us. The Evil Scientist behind all this is the U.S. Federal Government.
Warren Buffett announced at the end of last year that he had “faith” in the economy, so he bought stocks… now he’s announced that “… the economy is in shambles” and his Berkshire Hathaway profits are down 96% from last year. This is the “smartest” investor in the world and his company shares are down to half of its value from a year ago.
Banks are dying an unnatural death. Instead of letting the corpses rot, our Federal Government is pumping even more money into them. It’s not just the big boys… take a look at the following links from the FDIC (links and information compliments of Gary North). These are listings of “Entities Opting Out of the Debt Guarantee Program” and “List of Entities Opting Out of the Transaction Account Guarantee Program.” If your local bank is on this list, it’s a pretty strong statement that the bank is not one of the walking dead. If it is on the list they are taking tax dollars and agreeing to even more federal oversight and subsidies. (Note: I live in Macon, Ga. – we don’t have a local on the list)
http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/tlgp/optout.html
Kudos to the banks that have opted out of the federal money and guarantees!
More walking dead? Today on Bloomberg.com: “GM, Chrysler Sales Drop May Make Recovery Difficult.”
“Absent volume recovery, it is difficult to see how GM --or any U.S. automaker -- could cut enough cost in the next year or two to truly be seen as viable,” Christopher Ceraso, a Credit Suisse analyst, wrote in a Feb. 27 report. “
People cannot buy cars because they are not making the money to buy new cars. They already spent the money… the economy needs to reset and that will not happen overnight. Continued tampering will only prolong the agony.
Now, GM and Chrysler are headed back to Uncle Sam for more money… our money. AIG will be getting another $30 Billion… oh yes, and President Clinton (oops, I mean Secretary of State Clinton) has announced that we are committing $300 Million in humanitarian assistance for the Gaza Strip. I’m sorry, did I miss something? When did the population of the Gaza Strip become U.S. Citizens… have we gone insane? Do we live in a totally insane world?
We are no longer in a recession… I really believe this will be a depression… what could we do with $300 Million in the U.S.? Understand, I am not a socialist, I’m not a protectionist… free trade, yes. Freedom, yes. But, what in the world is going on? $300 Million to Gaza for humanitarian aid, and another $600 Million in financial assistance for the Palestinian Authority!
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123600094536409241-lMyQjAxMDI5MzA2MjAwMDIwWj.html
What would it do for our economy just to give this money back to the producers (read: taxpayers) in this country? Every new “tax cut” I see coming out of Washington is cutting taxes for people that do not even pay taxes. Where are we going with this?
How long can the USG continue to print money to give away to the world and not face any repercussions at home? The repercussions are here and now. We will continue to send US$ to the Middle East and we will continue to get kicked in the teeth for our efforts. They are not our friends… and how many of us would be giving money to our friends to the extent that the USG gives money to our enemies?
Want a true picture of the times? Call your local County probate office (or better yet go down and see with your own eyes) and find out the increase in applications for concealed weapons permits in the past few months. It’s astronomical! Why do you think this is? Hmmmm. I don’t think the people down at the Courthouse are gangbangers or drug dealers. These are law abiding citizens that are afraid – afraid that someone else is going to try to take what they’ve worked for.
I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m ranting a little bit. I am not a financial advisor. I’m not the person to ask for stock information, investment information or retirement information. One thing I can do is add. Another thing I can do is subtract. I learned a long time ago if you subtract a bigger number from a smaller number, you get a negative number. When dealing with money, negative is not good. Negative is bad. I don’t like bad. Negative numbers are not good for business. The U.S. economy is in a negative position. The USG keeps printing more money, and even the most basic economics course will teach you the definition of inflation is an increase in the supply of money. Prices on consumer goods (food, gas) are going to go up - Inflation. Values on assets (real estate, stocks, retirement accounts) are going to go down – Deflation. This inflationary/deflationary cycle is not good. It is bad.
The USG is printing money at an unprecedented rate, and giving it to the walking dead. These rotting, stinking corpses will suck the life out of living… just like in the “Night of the Living Dead”, the survivors jumped on a boat to escape the living dead, sailed to a new land and what did they find? More living dead. I fear we may be like the survivors on the boat…
With all this said, I do believe we can turn this situation around, but we have to stop bailing out every dead and rotting corpse out there… let them die… bury them… mourn the loss and let’s move on with our lives. Everyone that has lost a loved one knows at some point you pick up the pieces and move on. If you don’t, you are just as well to be dead yourself. I’m not ready to die!
With warmth and regards (as always),
Allen
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Great post, best one yet. Walking Dead, what an analogy. I couldn't have said it better myself. Warren Buffet is a man that has made a great deal of money at picking stocks, but let's not forget it's easy to make good decisions when the market has averaged 10% over the last thirty years, and when you have billions of dollars. Money begets money.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to see all these financial experts say buy when the market is strong, and sell when the market is down. Gee, really? It's all bs. They have no idea what they're talking about. I have never met a single financial adviser that has impressed me. It's all a guessing game.
Yes, we are going into a depression and it's exactly what Obama wants. He said himself that he wants to use this opportunity to radically change the way our government operates. Rush Limbaugh, who I don't always agree with, is completely correct in wishing for failure. Why would a producer want Obama to succeed?
He is taking the horrible decisions of Bush, and actually making it worse! Turning a recession into a depression. But the sheep will follow. Populism will sweep the nation. Socialism may very well turn into Communism.
I realize that in many ways, the banking system is in a state of FUBAR. I don't have all the answers, since letting the banks fail the way it's supposed to work in capitalism, will cause the entire economy to collapse over night. But I also know that bailing them out will do the same thing, just at a slower pace. They must all be left alone to wither and die, so that we, the producers, can rebuild.
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king.
Thank you for your comments, very applicable. Our politicians profess to know everything, when in fact they know nothing. To quote F.A. Hayek in The Road to Serfdom, “man does not and cannot know everything, and when he acts like he does, disaster follows.” This is the state we are now in with the USG and our appointed Central Bankers.
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