If we fail to stand up and fight for our rights to succeed as a community, then we will be doomed to failure, that is a given. How we are going to stand up for ourselves is the question. Why do we act like we are so powerless? I know one thing and that is this area has for a long time put our eggs into the Republican basket and it is most certainly time to reap the rewards of that loyalty, but will we?
I've stated time and time again; we have seen, ineffective leadership from the elected officials that we have put in office and we have not seen any accountability be placed at their feet. It is most certainly time to hold their feet to the fire. And if they don't deliver, then it's time to kick them all out of office.
The problems that we face have very little to do with the common man. Creating measures of austerity are not going to help us to get out of the economic mess that we're in. The amounts of money we cut are a pittance compared to the debt load we face. We need more than symbolic measures to get us out of this hole. We need retribution from those who created this mess.
The major issues that we face have been caused by the loose monetary policy of the Federal Reserve system, the corruption of Wall Street, the spendthrift ways of all levels of government when it comes to taking care of special interests, and the subsequent creation of the Corporatocracy. It has been a matter, of all levels of government, being bought off like prostitutes at the expense of the people who have been loyal to this country.
Jay Adams spoke about Hickory's mindset nearly 2 years ago at the first meeting of Future Economy Council. Summarizing, he said that "over the last nine years (11 now), we have become lean and that has in many ways put us in a strong position, but we have adapted down and become accepting of this extreme level of cost containment at the expense of growth."
That has been the ingrained focus of our community at the expense of everything else. It has led to an acceptance of mediocrity, because if we aren't willing to take chances and make investments, we will eventually get to the least common denominator, which always leads to nothing. As I've said before, you have to look towards growth, because cost-containment does not create anything.
This reminds me of Matthew 25:14-30:
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants [1] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, [2] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. [3] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
In the story, the slave who was given the least thought that he was doing the righteous thing by burying the Masters property (talents). The slave was protective over the Masters property, because of the fear of losing it, while the others were interested in creating more and wanting to please the Master. Look what the third slave says to the master, “I know you to be a hard man, Reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. So I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here have what is yours.”
Is the above not the story of Hickory?
The leaders of our community have complained about Raleigh and Washington constantly and they have been right on many counts, but this should not be our sole focus. Certainly we have not received our fair share, but have we made the most of opportunities that have been presented to this community. Have we become so obsessed with losing that we have forsaken winning? I don't believe that our community has been devoid of opportunity. Should we believe that opportunity rests solely in the hands of money and opportunity afforded by Raleigh and Washington?
Even when we have made statements about the issues of corruption and unfair policies that hurt our community, what good has it done? There has been no focused initiative to rectify what has happened as far as the destruction of our manufacturing capacity and ability to compete against unfair trade practices. It takes more than just complaining or writing a letter. It takes some rabble rousing and getting our local public focused on the issue in a meaningful way, but our top-heavy politics in this area takes away the capability of the people to become involved in issues that affect them personally.
Our local populace has no clue about what is going on around them. We see inflation truly taking root and it blows my mind that some people know that something's wrong, but they can't place their finger on something that is right in front of their face. I do what I believe is right and I engage people on the issues that we face, when I think the timing is right, but people compartmentalize what is going on and most can't understand the big picture.
I speak with my family constantly about these issues. I know the economic realities that we face are very complex, especially when you want to trust people to be honest -- trustworthy. I have been able to be prescient about some of the economic realities that we face, because I have been honest with myself in the assessment of these issues. My one grandmother says that one out of million people might understand what the hell I am talking about. I laughed and told her that it's not that bad. It's probably more like one in 10,000.
I believe that I can look at these economic tea leaves and read them better than others, because I have nothing to lose. People who own businesses and have to take care of their families want to believe that things can continue on in a positive manner and the current situation will right itself given enough time. I've been told before by people that things will work out in the end. I have seen things work out and not work out for those people. I cannot live my life in such a manner -- blind faith!
Most likely we're going to see silver rally above $30 this week and gold rally above $1,400 an ounce. This is not happening because people have come to a revelation about the value of precious metals. This is happening, because of what the Federal Reserve is doing to our currency. This is happening, because those in the know, when it comes to finance, understand the economic realities that the United States is facing.
I know that I am preaching to the choir with most of the people who read this blog. You care. You are educated and most of you think outside of the box. None of what I write is meant to besmirch the readership of this blog. If you didn't understand the message of the Hickory Hound, then you would not keep coming back. And I want to thank you for being the leaders of this community.
What I ask is that you walk out a little further on the limb and understand that we have nothing to lose. If we aren't willing to take a chance, we could lose everything. What we need to do is start preaching the message to the masses. We need to wake people up. They may become a little upset, but in the end, the truth is all that matters, isn't it?
Don't be afraid to tell people about this blog. I am not telling you this, because I want to increase the readership. You should know by now that I'm not doing this for the money. I am doing this, because I believe that the message -- a message -- is important. Sometimes this is overwhelming. I don't even know what my old lifestyle was all about.
I was just like everybody else. Watching the TV and going out and hanging out and doing nothing. There was no meaning. I have never made good money, but I was doing alright, but I didn't use my money towards productive means. I lost money in the stock market. I spent money on things that I didn't really need. When I was wasting money, I really didn't even think about it. Now I think about it!
I am by no means destitute at this point in time. I'm not making as much money as I once did, but that is not the issue. It is that the contexts of the economic and financial realities that I personally face have taken on a new meaning. I have cut way back on any money that I spend and the end result must justify the means of those dollars.
That does not mean that I've cut out all spending. That does not mean that I've cut out the enjoyment of living life. That means that I have refocused my priorities. An example is with my gardening and trying to make my home more efficient and more of a homestead. I have been building a greenhouse and you may have noticed some of the other things that I have done and talked about. I have spent my free time building this greenhouse that will be very innovative and will be a truly fruitful endeavor. It has made me feel a sense of satisfaction to see this thing come together. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.
This is the kind of investing that I think people need to be doing to prepare for the economic storm that we will continue to endure. I think that you would serve yourself better to buy food, instead of invest in the stock market or leave your money in a bank. The financial institutions will fee you to death until you get no return on your assets. Will the banks guarantee you a 10% return on your investment for the upcoming year? I can guarantee you that food prices are going to rise by more than 10% in the upcoming year.
Last year I bought a 50 pound bag of sugar for a little over $25. That same 50 pound bag of sugar now costs over $30. By this time next year, it could easily cost over $35. The same can be said for corn and flour. When you go to the grocery store, and there's something for sale, you need to go ahead and buy a little extra. This will buy you time. You actually need to keep a pantry full of canned goods and dry goods. Any necessities that are used on a daily basis, you should go ahead and stock up on. Inflation is a nasty thing. It is a hidden tax. It will rob you of your purchasing power and destroy your wealth. You should always hedge against it.
I was just watching an episode of Glenn Beck from last week, which was devoted to the five stages of grief. It blew my mind, because this is something that I devoted attention to last year in an article entitled Heroes of the Future, which was developed around the presentation of a video by Warren Pollock on YouTube. All of this stuff is remaining relevant, because most people are unwilling to face up to reality. I hope that you will go and check out that article.
To summarize, at the end of this article from December 28th, 2009, I state that I believe that we have entered the anger stage of the Kubler-Ross model and by the end of 2010 that we will have met that phase full-on. No matter what we do, there'll be a tough road ahead, and by the spring of 2011, we will enter the bargaining phase. I still believe that this is on target.
At that time I was depressed, but I have come to accept the realities that we face. That is the reason why I am preparing to the best of my ability to free myself from the grid as much as possible. If the system is broken, then why be a part of that system. I believe people understand that we are in a bad fix. They are angry and the election showed that anger and the reality is going to set in, when they realize the plans of the government.
That plan is austerity; President Obama as much as said so today and has been hinting at this for some time.
I can assure you that I take no solace in being right about any of this. It is a nightmare to sit here and watch my thoughts come to reality. This goes back to the beginning of this mission that we call the Hickory Hound. This goes back to the beginning of what I saw on the local front. This goes back to the beginning of the bank bailouts. This goes back to the 2008 election. It goes back to being disenfranchised. It goes back to the perseverance of the message that we bring and the endurance of the objectives we set forth.
The world will never be the same. I wish it were just me, but we can look and see all that is surrounding us and the history that is being made on a daily basis during these times. A few years ago no one would've believed it. Would you have believed it?
3 comments:
Greetings Hound. Two things jump out at me from this post. First, your astounding self-importance. You might try a little humility, especially given how often you are flat out wrong. Case in point - your comments on inflation. Here are some facts - "Core inflation was at zero percent for the third month in a row, and the year-over-year change, at 0.6 percent, registered its lowest measure since the government began collecting such data in 1957." [Catherine Rampell, NY Times, 11/16/10]. True, grocery inflation has been slightly higher than core inflation (half percent over the past 10 years), but grocery prices have actually declined over the past two years. You're still being conned by right-wing propaganda, and mistaking anecdote as data.
I saw you were back... Arrogant and condescending are the hallmarks, as well as your IP. Maybe it is you who needs to check the ego at the door.
The government has changed the way that it measures inflation and unemployment and most every other statistic several times since the 1957 time frame that you mention.
Necessary commodities are skyrocketing, while discretionary purchases are seeing moderate deflation.
You can't eat a TV or drive on iPhone fuel, but you have proven that you haven't a clue about common sense or economics, much less common sense economics.
I challenge you to go sell your ideas to the public. You are talking about inflation over the last 10 years. talk to people about the last two and tell them there is no inflation.
John Williams -- Shadow Stats people. Go there and you will see what is happening with the rigged government numbers. Who trusts the Government's numbers. Who believes that unemployment is under 10% or inflation is 3%?
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