Executive Orders Relating to National Emergencies
Executive Order 11000
ASSIGNING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Labor (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering civilian manpower mobilization, more effective utilization of limited manpower resources including specialized personnel, wage and salary stabilization, worker incentives and protection, manpower resources and requirements, skill development and training, research, labor-management relations, and critical occupations. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.
SEC. 2. Functions. The Secretary shall:
(a) Civilian manpower mobilization. Develop plans and issue guidance designed to utilize to the maximum extent civilian manpower resources, such plans and guidance to be developed with the active participation and assistance of the States and local political subdivisions thereof, and of other organizations and agencies concerned with the mobilization of the people of the United States. Such plans shall include, but not necessarily be limited to:
(1) Manpower management. Recruitment, selection and referral, training, employment stabilization (including appeals procedures), proper utilization, and determination of the skill categories critical to meeting the labor requirements of defense and essential civilian activities.
(2) Priorities. Procedures for translating survival and production urgencies into manpower priorities to be used as guides for allocating available workers.
(3) National guidance. Technical guidance to States for the utilization of the nationwide system of public employment offices and other appropriate agencies for screening, recruiting, and referring workers, and for other appropriate activities to meet mobilization and civil defense needs in each community.
(4) Improving mobilization base. Programs for more effective utilization of limited manpower resources, and in cooperation with other appropriate agencies, programs for recruitment, training, allocation, and utilization of persons possessing specialized competence or aptitude in acquiring such competence.
(b) Wage and salary stabilization. Develop plans and procedures for wage and salary stabilization and for the national and field organization necessary for the administration of such a program in an emergency, including investigation, compliance and appeals procedures; statistical studies of wages, salaries and prices for policy decisions and to assist operating stabilization agencies to carry out their functions.
(c) Worker incentives and protection. Develop plans and procedures for wage and salary compensation and death and disability compensation for authorized civil defense workers and, as appropriate, measures for unemployment payments, re-employment rights, and occupational safety, and other protection and incentives for the civilian labor force during an emergency.
(d) Resources. Periodically assess manpower resources in total, by specific skills categories and occupations, and by geographical locations, in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.
(e) Requirements. Develop, in coordination with manpower-usage agencies, plans, procedures and standards for presenting claims for civilian manpower, periodically obtain and analyze or make estimates of requirements for manpower, in total and by specific skill categories and occupations currently and for any emergency, taking into account the estimates of needs for military and civilian purposes; and advise other agencies on the manpower implications of alternative program decisions. Such evaluation shall take into consideration the geographical distribution of requirements under emergency conditions.
(f) Claimancy. Prepare plans to claim materials, equipment, supplies and services needed in support of assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from appropriate agencies and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure the availability of such resources in an emergency.
(g) Skill development and training. Initiate current action programs to overcome or offset present or anticipated manpower deficiencies including those identified as a result of resources and requirements studies.
(h) Labor-management relations. Develop, after consultation with the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the National Mediation Board, and other appropriate agencies and groups including representatives of labor and management, plans and procedures including organization plans for the maintenance of effective labor-management relations during a national emergency.
(i) Damage assessment. Maintain a capability to assess the effects of attack upon manpower resources, departmental installations, and State Employment Security agencies, both at national and field levels, and provide data to the Department of Defense.
(j) Critical occupations. Develop and maintain a list of critical occupations for use, when appropriate, with lists of essential activities as developed by the Department of Commerce. With the Secretary of Defense, the Director of Selective Service System, and such other persons as the President may designate, the Secretary shall develop policies applicable to the deferment of registrants whose employment in occupations or activities is necessary to the maintenance of the national health, safety, or interest.
SEC. 3. Research. Within the framework of Federal research objectives, supervise or conduct research directly concerned with carrying out emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups, and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the Departments interest.
SEC. 4. Functional Guidance. The Secretary, in carrying out the functions assigned in this order, shall be guided by the following:
(a) Interagency cooperation. The Secretary shall assume the initiative in developing over-all civilian manpower mobilization programs and in coordinating the programs of other departments and agencies which have responsibility for any segment of such activities. I shall utilize to the maximum those capabilities of other agencies qualified to perform or assist in the performance of assigned functions by contractual or other agreements. Such programs shall be in consonance with national civil defense plans, programs and operations of the Department of Defense under Executive Order No. 10952.
(b) Presidential coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in coordinating the performance of functions under this order with the total national preparedness program.
(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs, and emergency organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Labor on the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.
SEC. 5. Emergency Actions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President.
SEC. 6. Redelegation. The Secretary is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Labor the functions hereinabove assigned to him.
SEC. 7. Prior Actions. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. Emergency Preparedness Order No. 8 (heretofore issued by the Director, Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization) (26 F.R. 660-661), is hereby revoked.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
THE WHITE HOUSE, February 16, 1962
Executive Order 10999
Executive Orders Relating to National Emergencies
Executive Order 10999
ASSIGNING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including authority vested in me by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering:
(a) Development and coordination of over-all policies, plans, and procedures for the provision of a centralized control of all modes of transportation in an emergency for the movement of passenger and freight traffic of all types, and the determination of the proper apportionment and allocation of the total civil transportation capacity, or any portion thereof, to meet over-all essential civil and military needs.
(b) Federal emergency operational responsibilities with respect to: highways, roads, streets, bridges, tunnels, and appurtenances; highway traffic regulation; allocation of air carrier aircraft for essential military and civilian operations; ships in coastal and intercoastal use and ocean shipping, ports and port facilities; and the Saint Lawrence Seaway; except those elements of each normally operated or controlled by the Department of Defense.
(c) The production and distribution of all materials, the use of all production facilities, the control of all construction materials, and the furnishing of basic industrial services except the following:
(1) Production and distribution of and use of facilities for petroleum, solid fuels, gas, and electric power;
(2) Production, processing, distribution and storage of food resources and the use of food resource facilities for such production, processing, distribution, and storage;
(3) Domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer;
(4) Use of communications services and facilities, housing, and lodging facilities, and health and welfare facilities;
(5) Production, and related distribution, of minerals defined as all raw materials of mineral origin (except petroleum, gas, solid fuels, and source materials as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended) obtained by mining and like operations and processed through the stages specified, and at the facilities designated in an agreement between the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior as being within the emergency preparedness responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior, and the construction and use of facilities designated as within the responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior;
(6) Distribution of items in the supply systems of, or controlled by the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, and
(7) Construction and use of civil aviation facilities.
(d) Fallout forecasting based on current weather data.
(e) Collection and reporting of census data for emergency planning purposes. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in those areas with respect to all degrees of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.
SEC. 2. Transportation Planning and Coordination Function. The Secretary shall develop long range programs designed to integrate the mobilization requirements for movement of all forms of commerce with all forms of national and international transportation systems including air, ground, water, and pipelines, in an emergency; more particularly he shall:
(a) Resources and requirements. Obtain, assemble, analyze, and evaluate data on the requirements of all claimants for all types of civil transportation to meet the needs of the military and of the civil economy. Consolidate, evaluate, and interpret both current and projected resources and requirements data developed by all Federal agencies concerned with moving passengers or cargo by all modes of transportation for the purpose of initiating actions designed to stimulate government and industry actions to improve the peacetime structure of the transportation system for use in an emergency.
(b) Economic projections. Conduct a continuing analysis of transportation problems and facilities in relation to long-range economic projections for the purpose of recommending incentive and/or regulatory programs designed to bring all modes of transportation in balance with each other, with current economic conditions, projected peacetime conditions, and with emergency conditions.
(c) Passenger and cargo movement. Develop plans and procedures which would provide for the central collection and analysis of passenger and cargo movement demands of both shipper and user agencies as they relate to the capabilities of various transport modes in existence at the time, control or delegate control of the priority of movement of passengers and cargo for all modes of transportation by mode or within a mode and develop policies, standards and procedures for emergency enforcement of controls through the use of means such as education, incentives, embargoes, permits, sanctions, clemency policies, etc.
(d) Emergency transportation functions. In consonance with plans developed by other agencies assigned operational responsibilities in the transportation program, develop plans for and be prepared to provide the administrative facilities for performing emergency transportation functions when required by the President.
SEC. 3. Transportation Operations Planning Functions. The Secretary shall develop plans and procedures in consonance with international treaties and in cooperation with other Federal agencies, the States and their political subdivisions to:
(a) Highways and streets. Adapt and develop highway and street systems to meet emergency requirements and provide procedures for their repair, restoration, improvement, revision and use as an integral part of the transportation system in an emergency.
(b) Ocean shipping and ports. To plan for the operation and control of Federal activities concerned with:
(1) Shipping allocation. Allocation of merchant shipping to meet all national requirements including those for military, foreign assistance, and emergency procurement programs, and those essential to the civilian economy. The term "merchant shipping" and the term "ocean shipping" as used herein include all coastwise and intercoastal, and Great Lakes shipping except that solely engaged in the transportation of passenger and cargo between United States ports.
(2) Ship acquisition. Provision of ships for ocean shipping by purchase, charter, or requisition, by breakout from the national defense reserve fleet, and by construction.
(3) Operations. Operation of ocean shipping directly or indirectly.
(4) Traffic control. Provision for the control of traffic through port areas to assure an orderly and continuous flow of such traffic. The term "port area(s)" as used herein includes any zone contiguous to or associated in the traffic network of an ocean or Great Lakes port, or outport location, including beach loading sites, within which facilities exist for the transshipment of persons and property between domestic carriers and carriers engaged in coastal, intercoastal, and overseas transportation.
(5) Traffic priority. Administration of priorities for the movement of traffic through port areas.
(6) Port allocation. Allocation of available ports and port facilities to meet the needs of the Nation and our allies. The term "port facilities" as used herein includes all port facilities (including the Great Lakes), port equipment including harbor craft, and port services normally used in accomplishing the transfer or interchange of cargo and passengers between ocean-going vessels and other media of transportation or in connection therewith.
(7) Support activities. Performance of supporting activities needed to carry out the above functions, such as: ascertaining national requirements for ocean shipping including those for military and other Federal programs and those essential to the civilian economy, maintenance, repair, and arming of ships, recruitment, training, and assignment of officers and seamen; procurement, warehousing, and issuance of ships stores, supplies, equipment, and spare parts; supervision of stevedoring and bunkering; management of terminals, shipyards, and other facilities; and maintenance, restoration, and provision of port facilities.
(c) Air carrier civil air transportation. Develop plans for a national program to utilize the air carrier civil air transportation capacity and equipment, both domestically and internationally, in a national emergency, particularly in the following areas concerned with:
(1) Requirements. Obtaining from the Department of Defense, Civil Aeronautics Board, or other agencies, and analyzing requirements for the services of air carrier aircraft for essential military and civilian use.
(2) Allocation. Allocation of air carrier aircraft to meet the needs of the Department of Defense for military operations and the Civil Aeronautics Board for essential civilian needs. SEC. 4. Production Functions. Within the areas designated in section 1 (c) hereof, the Secretary shall:
(a) Requirements. Periodically assemble, develop as appropriate, and evaluate estimated requirements for assigned resources and services taking into account the estimated needs for military, civilian, and foreign purposes. Such evaluation shall take into consideration geographical distribution of requirements in an emergency.
(b) Resources. Periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs including those necessary for the maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.
(c) Priorities and allocations. Develop priorities, allocation, production, and distribution control systems, including provisions for other Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, to serve as allotting agents for materials made available under such systems for construction and operation of facilities assigned to them.
(d) New construction. Develop procedures by which new production facility construction proposals will be reviewed for appropriate location in the light of such area factors as locational security, availability of labor, water, housing, and other requirements.
(e) Industry evaluation. Identify and rate those products and services, and their producing or supporting facilities, which are of exceptional importance to mobilization readiness, national defense, or post-attack survival and recovery.
(f) Production capability. Analyze potential effects of attack on actual production capability, taking into account the entire production complex including shortages of resources, and conduct studies as a basis for recommending pre-attack measures that would strengthen capabilities for post-attack production.
(g) Stockpiles. Assist the Office of Emergency Planning in formulating and carrying out plans for stockpiling of strategic and critical materials, and essential survival items.
(h) Essential activities. Maintain lists of activities essential to defense production and to minimum requirements of the civilian economy, such lists to be used in conjunction with lists of critical occupations.
(i) Financial aid. Develop plans and procedures for financial aids and incentives, including credit assistance to producers, processors, and distributors of those industries included in section 1(c) hereof, who might need such assistance in various mobilization conditions, particularly those resulting from attack.
(j) Salvage and rehabilitation. Develop plans for the salvage of stocks and rehabilitation of assigned products and facilities after attack.
SEC. 5. Economic Stabilization. The Secretary shall cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of suitable economic stabilization measures providing continuing guidance to the States, their political subdivisions, manufacturers, processors, and the public on the use and conservation of essential commodities in an emergency including rationing.
SEC. 6. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs, and operations of the Department of Defense under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:
(a) Facilities protection. Provide industry protection guidance materials adapted to the needs of assigned facilities and promote a national program to stimulate disaster preparedness and control in order to minimize the effects of overt or covert attack, and to maintain continuity of production and capacity to serve essential users in an emergency. Guidance shall include, but not be limited to, organizing and training facility personnel, personnel shelter, evacuation plans, records protection, continuity of management, emergency repair, deconcentration or dispersal of critical facilities, and industrial mutual aid associations for emergency.
(b) Public roads control. Develop plans for a national program, in cooperation with all Federal, State and local government units or other agencies concerned, for technical guidance to States and direction of Federal activities relating to highway traffic control problems which may be created during an emergency; and plans for barricading and/or marking streets and highways, leading into or out of restricted fallout areas, for the protection of the public by external containment of traffic through hazardous areas.
(c) Weather function. Prepare and issue currently, as well as in an emergency, forecasts and estimates of areas likely to be covered by fallout in event of attack and make this information available to the Federal, State, and local authorities for public dissemination.
(d) Monitoring. Provide for the detection, identification, monitoring, and reporting of chemical, biological and radiological agents at facilities operated or controlled by the Department of Commerce.
(e) Damage assessment. Maintain a capability to assess the effects of attack on assigned resource areas and departmental installations, other facilities; and maintenance, restoration, and provision of port facilities.
SEC. 7. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim supporting materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from the appropriate agency and shall work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency.
SEC. 8. Census Data. The Secretary shall provide for the collection and reporting of census information on the status of human and economic resources including population, housing, agriculture, manufacture, mineral industries, business, transportation, foreign trade, construction, and governments, as required for emergency planning purposes.
SEC. 9. Research. Within the framework of Federal research objectives, the Secretary shall supervise or conduct research in areas directly concerned with carrying out his emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups, and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the Department's interest.
SEC. 10. Functional Guidance. The Secretary, in carrying out the functions assigned in this order, shall be guided by the following:
(a) Interagency cooperation. The Secretary shall assume the initiative in developing joint plans for the coordination of transportation and production programs which involve other departments and agencies which have responsibilities for any segment of such activities. He shall utilize to the maximum those capabilities of other agencies qualified to perform or assist in the performance of assigned functions by contractual or other agreements.
(b) Presidential coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in, coordinating the performance of functions under this order with the total national preparedness program.
(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs, and emergency organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Commerce on the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.
SEC. 11. Emergency Actions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program, or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President.
SEC. 12. Redelegation. The Secretary is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Commerce the functions hereinabove assigned to him.
SEC. 13. Prior Action. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. Emergency Preparedness Order No. 2 (heretofore issued by the Director, Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization) (26 F.R. 653-654), is hereby revoked.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
THE WHITE HOUSE, February 16, 1962
Executive Order 10999
ASSIGNING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including authority vested in me by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering:
(a) Development and coordination of over-all policies, plans, and procedures for the provision of a centralized control of all modes of transportation in an emergency for the movement of passenger and freight traffic of all types, and the determination of the proper apportionment and allocation of the total civil transportation capacity, or any portion thereof, to meet over-all essential civil and military needs.
(b) Federal emergency operational responsibilities with respect to: highways, roads, streets, bridges, tunnels, and appurtenances; highway traffic regulation; allocation of air carrier aircraft for essential military and civilian operations; ships in coastal and intercoastal use and ocean shipping, ports and port facilities; and the Saint Lawrence Seaway; except those elements of each normally operated or controlled by the Department of Defense.
(c) The production and distribution of all materials, the use of all production facilities, the control of all construction materials, and the furnishing of basic industrial services except the following:
(1) Production and distribution of and use of facilities for petroleum, solid fuels, gas, and electric power;
(2) Production, processing, distribution and storage of food resources and the use of food resource facilities for such production, processing, distribution, and storage;
(3) Domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer;
(4) Use of communications services and facilities, housing, and lodging facilities, and health and welfare facilities;
(5) Production, and related distribution, of minerals defined as all raw materials of mineral origin (except petroleum, gas, solid fuels, and source materials as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended) obtained by mining and like operations and processed through the stages specified, and at the facilities designated in an agreement between the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior as being within the emergency preparedness responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior, and the construction and use of facilities designated as within the responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior;
(6) Distribution of items in the supply systems of, or controlled by the Department of Defense and the Atomic Energy Commission, and
(7) Construction and use of civil aviation facilities.
(d) Fallout forecasting based on current weather data.
(e) Collection and reporting of census data for emergency planning purposes. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in those areas with respect to all degrees of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.
SEC. 2. Transportation Planning and Coordination Function. The Secretary shall develop long range programs designed to integrate the mobilization requirements for movement of all forms of commerce with all forms of national and international transportation systems including air, ground, water, and pipelines, in an emergency; more particularly he shall:
(a) Resources and requirements. Obtain, assemble, analyze, and evaluate data on the requirements of all claimants for all types of civil transportation to meet the needs of the military and of the civil economy. Consolidate, evaluate, and interpret both current and projected resources and requirements data developed by all Federal agencies concerned with moving passengers or cargo by all modes of transportation for the purpose of initiating actions designed to stimulate government and industry actions to improve the peacetime structure of the transportation system for use in an emergency.
(b) Economic projections. Conduct a continuing analysis of transportation problems and facilities in relation to long-range economic projections for the purpose of recommending incentive and/or regulatory programs designed to bring all modes of transportation in balance with each other, with current economic conditions, projected peacetime conditions, and with emergency conditions.
(c) Passenger and cargo movement. Develop plans and procedures which would provide for the central collection and analysis of passenger and cargo movement demands of both shipper and user agencies as they relate to the capabilities of various transport modes in existence at the time, control or delegate control of the priority of movement of passengers and cargo for all modes of transportation by mode or within a mode and develop policies, standards and procedures for emergency enforcement of controls through the use of means such as education, incentives, embargoes, permits, sanctions, clemency policies, etc.
(d) Emergency transportation functions. In consonance with plans developed by other agencies assigned operational responsibilities in the transportation program, develop plans for and be prepared to provide the administrative facilities for performing emergency transportation functions when required by the President.
SEC. 3. Transportation Operations Planning Functions. The Secretary shall develop plans and procedures in consonance with international treaties and in cooperation with other Federal agencies, the States and their political subdivisions to:
(a) Highways and streets. Adapt and develop highway and street systems to meet emergency requirements and provide procedures for their repair, restoration, improvement, revision and use as an integral part of the transportation system in an emergency.
(b) Ocean shipping and ports. To plan for the operation and control of Federal activities concerned with:
(1) Shipping allocation. Allocation of merchant shipping to meet all national requirements including those for military, foreign assistance, and emergency procurement programs, and those essential to the civilian economy. The term "merchant shipping" and the term "ocean shipping" as used herein include all coastwise and intercoastal, and Great Lakes shipping except that solely engaged in the transportation of passenger and cargo between United States ports.
(2) Ship acquisition. Provision of ships for ocean shipping by purchase, charter, or requisition, by breakout from the national defense reserve fleet, and by construction.
(3) Operations. Operation of ocean shipping directly or indirectly.
(4) Traffic control. Provision for the control of traffic through port areas to assure an orderly and continuous flow of such traffic. The term "port area(s)" as used herein includes any zone contiguous to or associated in the traffic network of an ocean or Great Lakes port, or outport location, including beach loading sites, within which facilities exist for the transshipment of persons and property between domestic carriers and carriers engaged in coastal, intercoastal, and overseas transportation.
(5) Traffic priority. Administration of priorities for the movement of traffic through port areas.
(6) Port allocation. Allocation of available ports and port facilities to meet the needs of the Nation and our allies. The term "port facilities" as used herein includes all port facilities (including the Great Lakes), port equipment including harbor craft, and port services normally used in accomplishing the transfer or interchange of cargo and passengers between ocean-going vessels and other media of transportation or in connection therewith.
(7) Support activities. Performance of supporting activities needed to carry out the above functions, such as: ascertaining national requirements for ocean shipping including those for military and other Federal programs and those essential to the civilian economy, maintenance, repair, and arming of ships, recruitment, training, and assignment of officers and seamen; procurement, warehousing, and issuance of ships stores, supplies, equipment, and spare parts; supervision of stevedoring and bunkering; management of terminals, shipyards, and other facilities; and maintenance, restoration, and provision of port facilities.
(c) Air carrier civil air transportation. Develop plans for a national program to utilize the air carrier civil air transportation capacity and equipment, both domestically and internationally, in a national emergency, particularly in the following areas concerned with:
(1) Requirements. Obtaining from the Department of Defense, Civil Aeronautics Board, or other agencies, and analyzing requirements for the services of air carrier aircraft for essential military and civilian use.
(2) Allocation. Allocation of air carrier aircraft to meet the needs of the Department of Defense for military operations and the Civil Aeronautics Board for essential civilian needs. SEC. 4. Production Functions. Within the areas designated in section 1 (c) hereof, the Secretary shall:
(a) Requirements. Periodically assemble, develop as appropriate, and evaluate estimated requirements for assigned resources and services taking into account the estimated needs for military, civilian, and foreign purposes. Such evaluation shall take into consideration geographical distribution of requirements in an emergency.
(b) Resources. Periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs including those necessary for the maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.
(c) Priorities and allocations. Develop priorities, allocation, production, and distribution control systems, including provisions for other Federal departments and agencies, as appropriate, to serve as allotting agents for materials made available under such systems for construction and operation of facilities assigned to them.
(d) New construction. Develop procedures by which new production facility construction proposals will be reviewed for appropriate location in the light of such area factors as locational security, availability of labor, water, housing, and other requirements.
(e) Industry evaluation. Identify and rate those products and services, and their producing or supporting facilities, which are of exceptional importance to mobilization readiness, national defense, or post-attack survival and recovery.
(f) Production capability. Analyze potential effects of attack on actual production capability, taking into account the entire production complex including shortages of resources, and conduct studies as a basis for recommending pre-attack measures that would strengthen capabilities for post-attack production.
(g) Stockpiles. Assist the Office of Emergency Planning in formulating and carrying out plans for stockpiling of strategic and critical materials, and essential survival items.
(h) Essential activities. Maintain lists of activities essential to defense production and to minimum requirements of the civilian economy, such lists to be used in conjunction with lists of critical occupations.
(i) Financial aid. Develop plans and procedures for financial aids and incentives, including credit assistance to producers, processors, and distributors of those industries included in section 1(c) hereof, who might need such assistance in various mobilization conditions, particularly those resulting from attack.
(j) Salvage and rehabilitation. Develop plans for the salvage of stocks and rehabilitation of assigned products and facilities after attack.
SEC. 5. Economic Stabilization. The Secretary shall cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of suitable economic stabilization measures providing continuing guidance to the States, their political subdivisions, manufacturers, processors, and the public on the use and conservation of essential commodities in an emergency including rationing.
SEC. 6. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs, and operations of the Department of Defense under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:
(a) Facilities protection. Provide industry protection guidance materials adapted to the needs of assigned facilities and promote a national program to stimulate disaster preparedness and control in order to minimize the effects of overt or covert attack, and to maintain continuity of production and capacity to serve essential users in an emergency. Guidance shall include, but not be limited to, organizing and training facility personnel, personnel shelter, evacuation plans, records protection, continuity of management, emergency repair, deconcentration or dispersal of critical facilities, and industrial mutual aid associations for emergency.
(b) Public roads control. Develop plans for a national program, in cooperation with all Federal, State and local government units or other agencies concerned, for technical guidance to States and direction of Federal activities relating to highway traffic control problems which may be created during an emergency; and plans for barricading and/or marking streets and highways, leading into or out of restricted fallout areas, for the protection of the public by external containment of traffic through hazardous areas.
(c) Weather function. Prepare and issue currently, as well as in an emergency, forecasts and estimates of areas likely to be covered by fallout in event of attack and make this information available to the Federal, State, and local authorities for public dissemination.
(d) Monitoring. Provide for the detection, identification, monitoring, and reporting of chemical, biological and radiological agents at facilities operated or controlled by the Department of Commerce.
(e) Damage assessment. Maintain a capability to assess the effects of attack on assigned resource areas and departmental installations, other facilities; and maintenance, restoration, and provision of port facilities.
SEC. 7. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim supporting materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from the appropriate agency and shall work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources in an emergency.
SEC. 8. Census Data. The Secretary shall provide for the collection and reporting of census information on the status of human and economic resources including population, housing, agriculture, manufacture, mineral industries, business, transportation, foreign trade, construction, and governments, as required for emergency planning purposes.
SEC. 9. Research. Within the framework of Federal research objectives, the Secretary shall supervise or conduct research in areas directly concerned with carrying out his emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups, and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the Department's interest.
SEC. 10. Functional Guidance. The Secretary, in carrying out the functions assigned in this order, shall be guided by the following:
(a) Interagency cooperation. The Secretary shall assume the initiative in developing joint plans for the coordination of transportation and production programs which involve other departments and agencies which have responsibilities for any segment of such activities. He shall utilize to the maximum those capabilities of other agencies qualified to perform or assist in the performance of assigned functions by contractual or other agreements.
(b) Presidential coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in, coordinating the performance of functions under this order with the total national preparedness program.
(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs, and emergency organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Commerce on the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.
SEC. 11. Emergency Actions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program, or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President.
SEC. 12. Redelegation. The Secretary is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Commerce the functions hereinabove assigned to him.
SEC. 13. Prior Action. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. Emergency Preparedness Order No. 2 (heretofore issued by the Director, Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization) (26 F.R. 653-654), is hereby revoked.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
THE WHITE HOUSE, February 16, 1962
Executive Order 10998
Executive Orders Relating to National Emergencies
Executive Order 10998
ASSIGNING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including authority vested in me by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering: Food resources, farm equipment, fertilizer, and food resource facilities, as defined below; rural fire control; defense against biological warfare, chemical warfare, and radiological fallout pertaining to agricultural activities; and rural defense information and education. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.
SEC. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) "Food resources" means all commodities and products, simple, mixed or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk, by either human beings or animals' irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be. put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. For the purposes of this order the term "food resources" shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.
(b) "Farm equipment" means machinery, equipment and repair parts manufactured primarily for use on farms in connection with the production or preparation for market or use of "food resources."
(c) "Fertilizer" means any product or combination of products for plant nutrition in form for distribution to the users thereof.
(d) "Food resource facilities" means plants, machinery, vehicles (including on farm) and other facilities for the production, processing, distribution and storage (including cold storage) of food resources, and for domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.
SEC. 3. Food Function. With respect to food resources, food resource facilities, farm equipment, and fertilizer the Secretary shall:
(a) Resources. Periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs including those necessary for the maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.
(b) Requirements. Periodically assemble, develop as appropriate, and evaluate requirements for assigned resources and service, taking into account the estimated needs for military, civilian, and foreign purposes. Such evaluation shall take into consideration the geographical distribution of requirements under emergency conditions.
(c) Priorities and allocations. Develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans to insure that available food resources are properly apportioned among and distributed to civilian, military and foreign claimants in an emergency and develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans for the domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.
(d) Production and processing. Develop control systems and related plans including control of use of facilities designed to provide adequate and continuing production, processing and storage of essential food resources in an emergency.
(e) Salvage and rehabilitation. Develop plans for salvage of food resources after determination by proper authorities having the responsibility for this function, of their safety for human or animal consumption anti develop plans for the rehabilitation of food resource facilities after attack.
(f) Economic stabilization. Cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of stabilization policies as they might affect agricultural production, processing, distribution, and storage, and in tile development of policies for consumer rationing of food resources.
(g) Financial aid. Develop plans and procedures for financial and credit assistance for farmers who might need such assistance under various mobilization conditions, and provide assistance to food industries in obtaining necessry financing and credit in an emergency.
SEC. 4. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs and operations of the Department of Defense, under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:
(a) Facilities protection. Provide industry protection guidance materials adapted to the needs of assigned food resources facilities and promote a national program to stimulate disaster preparedness and control in order to minimize the effects of overt or covert attack, and to maintain continuity of production and capacity to serve essential users in an emergency. Guidance shall include, but not be limited to, organizing and training facility personnel shelter, evacuation plans, records protection, continuity of management, emergency repair, deconcentration or dispersal of facilities, and industrial mutual :lid associations for an emergency.
(b) Rural fire functions. In cooperation with Federal, State and local agencies, develop plans for a national program and direct activities in relationship to the prevention and control of fires in the rural areas in the United States caused by the effects of enemy attack.
(c) Biological, chemical, and radiological warfare defense functions. Develop plans for a national program, direct Federal activities, and furnish technical guidance to State and local authorities concerning
(1) diagnosis and strengthening of defensive barriers and control or eradication of diseases, pests, or chemicals introduced as agents of biological or chemical warfare against animals, crops or products thereof;
(2) protective measures, treatment and handling of livestock, including poultry, agricultural commodities on farms or ranches, agricultural lands, forest lands, and water for agricultural purposes, any of which have been exposed to or affected by radiation. Plans shall be developed for a national program and direction of Federal activities to assure the safety and wholesomeness and to minimize losses from biological and chemical warfare radiological effects, and other emergency hazards of livestock, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products in establishments under the continuous inspection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and agricultural commodities and products owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation or by the Secretary.
(d) Rural flefense information and education. Conduct a rural defense information and education program to advise farmers that they will have a responsibility to produce food of the kind and quantity needed in an emergency and shall work with farmers and others in rural areas to reduce the vulnerability of hollies, crops, livestock, and forests, to either overt or covert attack.
(e) Damage assessment. Maintain a capability to assess the effects of attack on assigned resource areas and departmental installations, both at national and field levels, and provide data to the Department of Defense.
SEC. 5. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources Ill an emergency.
SEC. 6. Stockpiles. The Secretary shall assist the Office of Emergency Planning in formulating and carrying out plans for stockpiling strategic and critical materials. In the administration of Commodity Credit Corporation inventories of food resources shall take all possible measures to assure the availability of such inventories when and where needed in an emergency. The secretary shall also develop plans and procedures for the proper utilization of agriculture items stockpiled for survival purposes.
SEC. 7. National Program Guidance. The Secretary shall provide technical guidance to State and local governments to the end that all planning concerned with functions assigned herein will be effectively coordinated. He shall also maintain relations with the appropriate industries to foster mutual understanding of Federal emergency plans.
SEC. 8. Research. Within the framework of over-all Federal research objectives, the Secretary shall supervise or conduct research directly concerned with carrying out emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups' and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the interests of the Department of Agriculture.
SEC. 9. Functional Guidance. The Secretary, in carrying out the functions assigned in this order, shall be guided by the following:
(a) Interagency cooperation. The Secretary shall assume the initiative in developing joint plans for the coordination of emergency food resources of those departments and agencies which have the responsibility for any segment of such activities. He shall utilize to the maximum those capabilities of other agencies qualified to perform or assist in the performance of assigned functions by contractual or other agreements.
(b) Presidential coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in coordinating the performance of functions under this order with the total national preparedness program.
(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs and emergency or organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Agriculture and the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.
SEC. 10. Emergency Functions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program, or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President.
SEC. 11. Redelegation. The Secretary is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Agriculture the functions hereinabove assigned to him.
SEC. 12. Prior Actions. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of ,any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. Emergency Preparedness Order No. 1 (hereto issued by the Director, Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization) (26 F.R. 651-652). is hereby revoked.
JOHN F. KENNEDY THE WHITE HOUSE
February 16, 1962
Executive Order 10998
ASSIGNING EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FUNCTIONS TO THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including authority vested in me by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1958 (72 Stat. 1799), it is hereby ordered as follows:
SECTION 1. Scope. The Secretary of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Secretary) shall prepare national emergency plans and develop preparedness programs covering: Food resources, farm equipment, fertilizer, and food resource facilities, as defined below; rural fire control; defense against biological warfare, chemical warfare, and radiological fallout pertaining to agricultural activities; and rural defense information and education. These plans and programs shall be designed to develop a state of readiness in these areas with respect to all conditions of national emergency, including attack upon the United States.
SEC. 2. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) "Food resources" means all commodities and products, simple, mixed or compound, or complements to such commodities or products, that are capable of being eaten or drunk, by either human beings or animals' irrespective of other uses to which such commodities or products may be. put, at all stages of processing from the raw commodity to the products thereof in vendible form for human or animal consumption. For the purposes of this order the term "food resources" shall also include all starches, sugars, vegetable and animal fats and oils, cotton, tobacco, wool, mohair, hemp, flax fiber, and naval stores, but shall not include any such material after it loses its identity as an agricultural commodity or agricultural product.
(b) "Farm equipment" means machinery, equipment and repair parts manufactured primarily for use on farms in connection with the production or preparation for market or use of "food resources."
(c) "Fertilizer" means any product or combination of products for plant nutrition in form for distribution to the users thereof.
(d) "Food resource facilities" means plants, machinery, vehicles (including on farm) and other facilities for the production, processing, distribution and storage (including cold storage) of food resources, and for domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.
SEC. 3. Food Function. With respect to food resources, food resource facilities, farm equipment, and fertilizer the Secretary shall:
(a) Resources. Periodically assess assigned resources available from all sources in order to estimate availability under an emergency situation, analyze resource estimates in relation to estimated requirements in order to identify problem areas, and develop appropriate recommendations and programs including those necessary for the maintenance of an adequate mobilization base. Provide data and assistance before and after attack for national resource evaluation purposes of the Office of Emergency Planning.
(b) Requirements. Periodically assemble, develop as appropriate, and evaluate requirements for assigned resources and service, taking into account the estimated needs for military, civilian, and foreign purposes. Such evaluation shall take into consideration the geographical distribution of requirements under emergency conditions.
(c) Priorities and allocations. Develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans to insure that available food resources are properly apportioned among and distributed to civilian, military and foreign claimants in an emergency and develop priorities, allocations and distribution control systems and related plans for the domestic distribution of farm equipment and fertilizer.
(d) Production and processing. Develop control systems and related plans including control of use of facilities designed to provide adequate and continuing production, processing and storage of essential food resources in an emergency.
(e) Salvage and rehabilitation. Develop plans for salvage of food resources after determination by proper authorities having the responsibility for this function, of their safety for human or animal consumption anti develop plans for the rehabilitation of food resource facilities after attack.
(f) Economic stabilization. Cooperate with the Office of Emergency Planning in the development of stabilization policies as they might affect agricultural production, processing, distribution, and storage, and in tile development of policies for consumer rationing of food resources.
(g) Financial aid. Develop plans and procedures for financial and credit assistance for farmers who might need such assistance under various mobilization conditions, and provide assistance to food industries in obtaining necessry financing and credit in an emergency.
SEC. 4. Cooperation with Department of Defense. In consonance with national civil defense plans, programs and operations of the Department of Defense, under Executive Order No. 10952, the Secretary shall:
(a) Facilities protection. Provide industry protection guidance materials adapted to the needs of assigned food resources facilities and promote a national program to stimulate disaster preparedness and control in order to minimize the effects of overt or covert attack, and to maintain continuity of production and capacity to serve essential users in an emergency. Guidance shall include, but not be limited to, organizing and training facility personnel shelter, evacuation plans, records protection, continuity of management, emergency repair, deconcentration or dispersal of facilities, and industrial mutual :lid associations for an emergency.
(b) Rural fire functions. In cooperation with Federal, State and local agencies, develop plans for a national program and direct activities in relationship to the prevention and control of fires in the rural areas in the United States caused by the effects of enemy attack.
(c) Biological, chemical, and radiological warfare defense functions. Develop plans for a national program, direct Federal activities, and furnish technical guidance to State and local authorities concerning
(1) diagnosis and strengthening of defensive barriers and control or eradication of diseases, pests, or chemicals introduced as agents of biological or chemical warfare against animals, crops or products thereof;
(2) protective measures, treatment and handling of livestock, including poultry, agricultural commodities on farms or ranches, agricultural lands, forest lands, and water for agricultural purposes, any of which have been exposed to or affected by radiation. Plans shall be developed for a national program and direction of Federal activities to assure the safety and wholesomeness and to minimize losses from biological and chemical warfare radiological effects, and other emergency hazards of livestock, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products in establishments under the continuous inspection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and agricultural commodities and products owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation or by the Secretary.
(d) Rural flefense information and education. Conduct a rural defense information and education program to advise farmers that they will have a responsibility to produce food of the kind and quantity needed in an emergency and shall work with farmers and others in rural areas to reduce the vulnerability of hollies, crops, livestock, and forests, to either overt or covert attack.
(e) Damage assessment. Maintain a capability to assess the effects of attack on assigned resource areas and departmental installations, both at national and field levels, and provide data to the Department of Defense.
SEC. 5. Claimancy. The Secretary shall prepare plans to claim materials, manpower, equipment, supplies and services which would be needed to carry out assigned responsibilities and other essential functions of the Department from the appropriate agency and work with such agencies in developing programs to insure availability of such resources Ill an emergency.
SEC. 6. Stockpiles. The Secretary shall assist the Office of Emergency Planning in formulating and carrying out plans for stockpiling strategic and critical materials. In the administration of Commodity Credit Corporation inventories of food resources shall take all possible measures to assure the availability of such inventories when and where needed in an emergency. The secretary shall also develop plans and procedures for the proper utilization of agriculture items stockpiled for survival purposes.
SEC. 7. National Program Guidance. The Secretary shall provide technical guidance to State and local governments to the end that all planning concerned with functions assigned herein will be effectively coordinated. He shall also maintain relations with the appropriate industries to foster mutual understanding of Federal emergency plans.
SEC. 8. Research. Within the framework of over-all Federal research objectives, the Secretary shall supervise or conduct research directly concerned with carrying out emergency preparedness responsibilities, designate representatives for necessary ad hoc or task force groups' and provide advice and assistance to other agencies in planning for research in areas involving the interests of the Department of Agriculture.
SEC. 9. Functional Guidance. The Secretary, in carrying out the functions assigned in this order, shall be guided by the following:
(a) Interagency cooperation. The Secretary shall assume the initiative in developing joint plans for the coordination of emergency food resources of those departments and agencies which have the responsibility for any segment of such activities. He shall utilize to the maximum those capabilities of other agencies qualified to perform or assist in the performance of assigned functions by contractual or other agreements.
(b) Presidential coordination. The Director of the Office of Emergency Planning shall advise and assist the President in determining policy for, and assist him in coordinating the performance of functions under this order with the total national preparedness program.
(c) Emergency planning. Emergency plans and programs and emergency or organization structure required thereby, shall be developed as an integral part of the continuing activities of the Department of Agriculture and the basis that it will have the responsibility for carrying out such programs during an emergency. The Secretary shall be prepared to implement all appropriate plans developed under this order. Modifications and temporary organizational changes, based on emergency conditions, will be in accordance with policy determination by the President.
SEC. 10. Emergency Functions. Nothing in this order shall be construed as conferring authority under Title III of the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, as amended, or otherwise, to put into effect any emergency plan, procedure, policy, program, or course of action prepared or developed pursuant to this order. Such authority is reserved to the President.
SEC. 11. Redelegation. The Secretary is hereby authorized to redelegate within the Department of Agriculture the functions hereinabove assigned to him.
SEC. 12. Prior Actions. To the extent of any inconsistency between the provisions of ,any prior order and the provisions of this order, the latter shall control. Emergency Preparedness Order No. 1 (hereto issued by the Director, Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization) (26 F.R. 651-652). is hereby revoked.
JOHN F. KENNEDY THE WHITE HOUSE
February 16, 1962
Federal Reserve openly aiming for inflation
The Federal Reserve has painted itself into a very narrow and troubling corner for most of working and middle class America. The massive debt problems on hand have no realistic way of being paid off and the best path in the eyes of the Federal Reserve is to slowly inflate away the currency and debt. Yet that brings up some troubling dilemmas. Think of the cost of living adjustments (COLAs) that many on Social Security once received. Many of these people purchased homes pre-bubble days and many may have their home paid off. Yet because a large portion of the CPI is based on housing, the CPI has been falling for the last few years stunting growth in COLAs all the while food and other daily use items are surging in cost. The Federal Reserve has no allegiance to any country and is only concerned with the safety of the biggest banks. That is their main charter even though they claim to talk about a stable currency for a country. Let us see how well they are holding to that mission:
Does the above look like the Federal Reserve has done a good job in maintaining a stable currency? Of course this is strategically planned and is deliberate. The purpose of debasing the currency is to make our exports more competitive abroad but remember who you are competing with here. We are going against places like China who artificially hold their currency low to expand their economy. Is this really the kind of global policy we are looking for here? Of course the Federal Reserve is allowing global banks to reap enormous profits all on the back of middle class Americans that allow the legal structure to stay in place and have stolen large amounts of money through bailouts. The banking industry is merely hoarding money and using most of it in stock market speculation:
Think about excess reserves and why they are so high currently. Banks knowing the full magnitude of their bad debts are holding on tightly to the money earning guaranteed low rates instead of putting the money to work into the economy. In other words they don’t believe the US economy recovery hype. Ask any small business owner how easy it is to borrow money from a big bank in the current economy. The money is extremely tight. But larger corporations are able to leverage their money globally and are largely outsourcing their workforce. It is a troubling dynamic. These large banks that are only permitted to survive because of US taxpayers are actually using the money to outsource the jobs that saved them from default. The Federal Reserve is merely lubricating the wheels of the full-fledged global debasement of our currency. First the currency is debased followed by the workforce.
Does the above look like the Federal Reserve has done a good job in maintaining a stable currency? Of course this is strategically planned and is deliberate. The purpose of debasing the currency is to make our exports more competitive abroad but remember who you are competing with here. We are going against places like China who artificially hold their currency low to expand their economy. Is this really the kind of global policy we are looking for here? Of course the Federal Reserve is allowing global banks to reap enormous profits all on the back of middle class Americans that allow the legal structure to stay in place and have stolen large amounts of money through bailouts. The banking industry is merely hoarding money and using most of it in stock market speculation:
Think about excess reserves and why they are so high currently. Banks knowing the full magnitude of their bad debts are holding on tightly to the money earning guaranteed low rates instead of putting the money to work into the economy. In other words they don’t believe the US economy recovery hype. Ask any small business owner how easy it is to borrow money from a big bank in the current economy. The money is extremely tight. But larger corporations are able to leverage their money globally and are largely outsourcing their workforce. It is a troubling dynamic. These large banks that are only permitted to survive because of US taxpayers are actually using the money to outsource the jobs that saved them from default. The Federal Reserve is merely lubricating the wheels of the full-fledged global debasement of our currency. First the currency is debased followed by the workforce.
Moral Relativism
John Adams, the second president of the United States, once made the following statement: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." As we promote a return to constitutional principles, perhaps we should also be asking ourselves if the American people are moral enough to uphold and defend our Constitution anymore. Will a political shift in Washington D.C. solve all of our problems, or should we be looking into our own hearts as well? As controversial as it may be to question the morality of the American people, the truth is that after all of the shocking things that have transpired in this nation over the last 50 years someone certainly should be willing to ask the hard questions. It would be hard to deny that moral relativism and moral decay are absolutely rampant in the United States today, and that our moral problems are very much at the heart of many of our problems.
A lot of people don't like to talk about morality. In fact, many of my regular readers will probably throw a fit just because I am using the word "morality" in an article. But you know what? Without morality a society cannot function. Our founding fathers knew this. But somehow we have come to believe that morality and politics can be separated.
The truth is that when you fully take all morality out of politics you end up with a Hitler or a Stalin or a Mao. You end up with death camps, torture, mass genocide and social chaos.
Unfortunately, Americans can't really seem to agree on what is "moral" and what is not anymore. Moral relativism dominates in our society today. Nobody really knows what the "rules" really are.
But if we all are living by different rules, then how is society going to continue to function? The truth is that moral relativism simply does not work and our society is starting to find that out.
The list posted below is a perfect example of that. Many of the things that I think are "morally wrong" will cause outrage among my regular readers.
Why?
Because the vast majority of us have become moral relativists. We just make up right and wrong as we go along.
But hopefully most Americans that will read this list will realize that these 20 signs are indications that something is very, very wrong with the moral compass of this nation....
#1 If you want to get on an airplane in America today, you must either permit gawking airport security officials to view a "movie quality" image of your naked body, or you must allow a TSA goon to touch all of your private areas with the fronts of his (or her) hands. So far most travelers seem to have accepted these new practices. This is not a good sign for morality is America.
#2 90 teens at just one Memphis, Tennessee high school are pregnant. In some areas of the country, it has actually become "trendy" for teenage girls to purposely get themselves pregnant.
#3 One Philadelphia abortionist is being formally charged with killing seven babies that were born alive, but witnesses claim that he actually slaughtered hundreds "of living, breathing newborn children by severing their spinal cords or slitting their necks."
#4 A new Illuminati-themed television show entitled "House Of Anubis" that is meant to be viewed by our children debuted on the Nickelodeon network in January 2011.
#5 What our government has allowed BP to do to the Gulf of Mexico and to residents along the Gulf coast is absolutely horrific. Past generations would have never let something like this get brushed under the rug.
#6 Our government continues to brutally torture prisoners and yet very few Americans even seem to care. The way we have conducted our wars and the way we have treated our prisoners has been a national disgrace.
#7 We are rapidly evolving into a Big Brother police state and yet most Americans are not objecting at all. Things have gotten so bad that now we are actually giving tickets to 6-year-olds. According to one recent report, police in Texas have given "1,000 tickets to elementary school children in 10 school districts" over the past six years.
#8 Since 1913, a cabal of international central bankers has used the Federal Reserve to control and manipulate our financial system and yet the American people have never even demanded a full audit of that incredibly corrupt institution.
#9 It is estimated that 89 percent of all pornography is produced inside the United States. About 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.
#10 The American people are so morally bankrupt at this point that they actually elected Barack Obama (even after so much shocking information came out about him in the media) to be president of the United States. Sadly, there is still a good chance that a politician as incredibly corrupt as Obama could actually be elected to a second term.
#11 During a stunning television interview with Larry King, former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she flat out lied to the American people the entire time her husband was in office. In an attempt to help him politically, she covered up the fact that she is actually very much in favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman's "right" to abortion.
#12 The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about it.
#13 Law enforcement officials estimate that approximately 600,000 Americans and 65,000 Canadians are trading dirty child pictures online.
#14 Last year one North Carolina pastor was shocked after he was dismissed from his chaplain duties for praying in the name of Jesus.
#15 In 2010, U.S. health officials announced that approximately 16 percent of all Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes. But that is just one of the dozens of sexually-transmitted diseases that are rapidly circulating throughout our society.
#16 The Obama administration is telling us that the field of "synthetic biology" poses only "limited risks" and should not be restricted at all. It is apparently open season for those scientists that are eager to create whatever kinds of bizarre cross-species hybrids that their imaginations can conjure up.
#17 It is being reported that today a whopping 41% of all New York City pregnancies end in abortion.
#18 In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6 million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and has spent $400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior when drunk.
#19 A shocking new survey has found that 54 percent of "evangelical Protestants" believe that people from religions other than Christianity can find salvation without Jesus Christ.
#20 The foods that we eat and the things that we drink are making us all very sick. The companies that are selling us these things know this and yet they continue to rake in record profits without making any changes. This is incredibly wicked and it has become a national crisis.
So is there much hope for a change in the moral landscape of America?
Will moral relativism continue to rule?
Probably.
The American people have become experts at "justifying" whatever it is that they want to do.
Everyone pretty much does whatever is right in his or her own eyes.
But eventually all of this moral relativism is going to shred the fabric of our society. Hopefully the American people will start to wake up.
So do any of you have any thoughts about all of the moral relativism that is going on in this country?
A lot of people don't like to talk about morality. In fact, many of my regular readers will probably throw a fit just because I am using the word "morality" in an article. But you know what? Without morality a society cannot function. Our founding fathers knew this. But somehow we have come to believe that morality and politics can be separated.
The truth is that when you fully take all morality out of politics you end up with a Hitler or a Stalin or a Mao. You end up with death camps, torture, mass genocide and social chaos.
Unfortunately, Americans can't really seem to agree on what is "moral" and what is not anymore. Moral relativism dominates in our society today. Nobody really knows what the "rules" really are.
But if we all are living by different rules, then how is society going to continue to function? The truth is that moral relativism simply does not work and our society is starting to find that out.
The list posted below is a perfect example of that. Many of the things that I think are "morally wrong" will cause outrage among my regular readers.
Why?
Because the vast majority of us have become moral relativists. We just make up right and wrong as we go along.
But hopefully most Americans that will read this list will realize that these 20 signs are indications that something is very, very wrong with the moral compass of this nation....
#1 If you want to get on an airplane in America today, you must either permit gawking airport security officials to view a "movie quality" image of your naked body, or you must allow a TSA goon to touch all of your private areas with the fronts of his (or her) hands. So far most travelers seem to have accepted these new practices. This is not a good sign for morality is America.
#2 90 teens at just one Memphis, Tennessee high school are pregnant. In some areas of the country, it has actually become "trendy" for teenage girls to purposely get themselves pregnant.
#3 One Philadelphia abortionist is being formally charged with killing seven babies that were born alive, but witnesses claim that he actually slaughtered hundreds "of living, breathing newborn children by severing their spinal cords or slitting their necks."
#4 A new Illuminati-themed television show entitled "House Of Anubis" that is meant to be viewed by our children debuted on the Nickelodeon network in January 2011.
#5 What our government has allowed BP to do to the Gulf of Mexico and to residents along the Gulf coast is absolutely horrific. Past generations would have never let something like this get brushed under the rug.
#6 Our government continues to brutally torture prisoners and yet very few Americans even seem to care. The way we have conducted our wars and the way we have treated our prisoners has been a national disgrace.
#7 We are rapidly evolving into a Big Brother police state and yet most Americans are not objecting at all. Things have gotten so bad that now we are actually giving tickets to 6-year-olds. According to one recent report, police in Texas have given "1,000 tickets to elementary school children in 10 school districts" over the past six years.
#8 Since 1913, a cabal of international central bankers has used the Federal Reserve to control and manipulate our financial system and yet the American people have never even demanded a full audit of that incredibly corrupt institution.
#9 It is estimated that 89 percent of all pornography is produced inside the United States. About 11 percent is made in the rest of the world.
#10 The American people are so morally bankrupt at this point that they actually elected Barack Obama (even after so much shocking information came out about him in the media) to be president of the United States. Sadly, there is still a good chance that a politician as incredibly corrupt as Obama could actually be elected to a second term.
#11 During a stunning television interview with Larry King, former first lady Laura Bush revealed to the world that she flat out lied to the American people the entire time her husband was in office. In an attempt to help him politically, she covered up the fact that she is actually very much in favor of legalized gay marriage and a woman's "right" to abortion.
#12 The FDA has announced that the offspring of cloned animals could be in our food supply right now and that there is nothing that they can do about it.
#13 Law enforcement officials estimate that approximately 600,000 Americans and 65,000 Canadians are trading dirty child pictures online.
#14 Last year one North Carolina pastor was shocked after he was dismissed from his chaplain duties for praying in the name of Jesus.
#15 In 2010, U.S. health officials announced that approximately 16 percent of all Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes. But that is just one of the dozens of sexually-transmitted diseases that are rapidly circulating throughout our society.
#16 The Obama administration is telling us that the field of "synthetic biology" poses only "limited risks" and should not be restricted at all. It is apparently open season for those scientists that are eager to create whatever kinds of bizarre cross-species hybrids that their imaginations can conjure up.
#17 It is being reported that today a whopping 41% of all New York City pregnancies end in abortion.
#18 In recent years the U.S. government has spent $2.6 million tax dollars to study the drinking habits of Chinese prostitutes and has spent $400,000 tax dollars to pay researchers to cruise six bars in Buenos Aires, Argentina to find out why gay men engage in risky sexual behavior when drunk.
#19 A shocking new survey has found that 54 percent of "evangelical Protestants" believe that people from religions other than Christianity can find salvation without Jesus Christ.
#20 The foods that we eat and the things that we drink are making us all very sick. The companies that are selling us these things know this and yet they continue to rake in record profits without making any changes. This is incredibly wicked and it has become a national crisis.
So is there much hope for a change in the moral landscape of America?
Will moral relativism continue to rule?
Probably.
The American people have become experts at "justifying" whatever it is that they want to do.
Everyone pretty much does whatever is right in his or her own eyes.
But eventually all of this moral relativism is going to shred the fabric of our society. Hopefully the American people will start to wake up.
So do any of you have any thoughts about all of the moral relativism that is going on in this country?
Austerity In America: 22 Signs That It Is Already Here And That It Is Going To Be Very Painful
Over the past couple of years, most Americans have shown little concern as austerity measures were imposed on financially troubled nations across Europe. Even as austerity riots erupted in nations such as Greece and Spain, most Americans were still convinced that nothing like that could ever happen here. Well, guess what? Austerity has arrived in America. At this point, it is not a formal, mandated austerity like we have seen in Europe, but the results are just the same. Taxes are going up, services are being slashed dramatically, thousands of state and city employees are being laid off, and politicians seem to be endlessly talking about ways to make even deeper budget cuts. Unfortunately, even with the incredibly severe budget cuts that we have seen already, many state and local governments across the United States are still facing a sea of red ink as far as the eye can see.
Most Americans tend to think of "government debt" as only a problem of the federal government. But that is simply not accurate. The truth is that there are thousands of "government debt problems" from coast to coast. Today, state and local government debt has reached at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. It is a crisis of catastrophic proportions that is not going away any time soon.
A recent article in the New York Times did a good job of summarizing the financial pain that many state governments are feeling right now. Unfortunately, as bad as the budget shortfalls are for this year, they are projected to be even worse in 2012....
While state revenues — shrunken as a result of the recession — are finally starting to improve somewhat, federal stimulus money that had propped up state budgets is vanishing and costs are rising, all of which has left state leaders bracing for what is next. For now, states have budget gaps of $26 billion, by some estimates, and foresee shortfalls of at least $82 billion as they look to next year’s budgets.
So what is the solution? Well, for state and local politicians from coast to coast, the answer to these financial problems is to impose austerity measures. Of course they never, ever use the term "austerity measures", but that is exactly what they are.
The following are 22 signs that austerity has already arrived in America and that it is going to be very, very painful....
#1 The financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, has submitted a proposal to close half of all the schools in the city. His plan envisions class sizes of up to 62 students in the remaining schools.
#2 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to cut off 20 percent of the entire city from police and trash services in order to save money.
#3 Things are so tight in California that Governor Jerry Brown is requiring approximately 48,000 state workers to turn in their government-paid cell phones by June 1st.
#4 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing to completely eliminate 20 percent of state agencies.
#5 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has closed 20 fire departments at night and is proposing layoffs in every single city agency.
#6 In the state of Illinois, lawmakers recently pushed through a 66 percent increase in the personal income tax rate.
#7 The town of Prichard, Alabama came up with a unique way to battle their budget woes recently. They simply stopped sending out pension checks to retired workers. Of course this is a violation of state law, but town officials insist that they just do not have the money.
#8 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently purposely skipped a scheduled 3.1 billion dollar payment to that state's pension system.
#9 The state of New Jersey is in such bad shape that they still are facing a $10 billion budget deficit for this year even after cutting a billion dollars from the education budget and laying off thousands of teachers.
#10 Due to a very serious budget shortfall, the city of Newark, New Jersey recently made very significant cuts to the police force. Subsequently, there has been a very substantial spike in the crime rate.
#11 The city of Camden, New Jersey is "the second most dangerous city in America", but because of a huge budget shortfall they recently felt forced to lay off half of the city police force.
#12 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Sacramento have all instituted "rolling brownouts" during which various city fire stations are shut down on a rotating basis.
#13 In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus system in order to save 8 million dollars.
#14 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#15 In Connecticut, the governor is asking state legislators to approve the biggest tax increase that the state has seen in two decades.
#16 All across the United States, conditions at many state parks, recreation areas and historic sites are deplorable at best. Some states have backlogs of repair projects that are now over a billion dollars long. The following is a quote from a recent MSNBC article about these project backlogs....
More than a dozen states estimate that their backlogs are at least $100 million. Massachusetts and New York's are at least $1 billion. Hawaii officials called park conditions "deplorable" in a December report asking for $50 million per year for five years to tackle a $240 million backlog that covers parks, trails and harbors.
#17 The state of Arizona recently announced that it has decided to stop paying for many types of organ transplants for people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
#18 Not only that, but Arizona is do desperate for money that they have even sold off the state capitol building, the state supreme court building and the legislative chambers.
#19 All over the nation, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have transformed at least some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
#20 The state of Illinois is such a financial disaster zone that it is hard to even describe. According to 60 Minutes, the state of Illinois is six months behind on their bill payments. 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Croft asked Illinois state Comptroller Dan Hynes how many people and organizations are waiting to be paid by the state, and this is how Hynes responded....
"It's fair to say that there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people waiting to be paid by the state."
#21 The city of Chicago is in such dire straits financially that officials there are actually toying with the idea of setting up a city-owned casino as a way to raise cash.
#22 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is desperately looking for ways to cut the budget and he says that "hundreds of jurisdictions" in his state could go bankrupt over the next few years.
But everything that you have just read is only the beginning. Budget shortfalls for our state and local governments are projected to be much worse in the years ahead.
So what is the answer? Well, our state and local governments are going to have to spend less money. That means that we are likely to see even more savage budget cutting.
In addition, our state and local politicians are going to feel intense pressure to find ways to "raise revenue". In fact, we are already starting to see this happen.
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, over the past couple of years a total of 36 out of the 50 U.S. states have raised taxes or fees of some sort.
So hold on to your wallets, because the politicians are going to be coming after them.
We are entering a time of extreme financial stress in America. The federal government is broke. Most of our state and local governments are broke. Record numbers of Americans are going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are being kicked out of their homes. Record numbers of Americans are now living in poverty.
The debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades came at a cost. We literally mortgaged the future. Now nothing will ever be the same again.
Most Americans tend to think of "government debt" as only a problem of the federal government. But that is simply not accurate. The truth is that there are thousands of "government debt problems" from coast to coast. Today, state and local government debt has reached at an all-time high of 22 percent of U.S. GDP. It is a crisis of catastrophic proportions that is not going away any time soon.
A recent article in the New York Times did a good job of summarizing the financial pain that many state governments are feeling right now. Unfortunately, as bad as the budget shortfalls are for this year, they are projected to be even worse in 2012....
While state revenues — shrunken as a result of the recession — are finally starting to improve somewhat, federal stimulus money that had propped up state budgets is vanishing and costs are rising, all of which has left state leaders bracing for what is next. For now, states have budget gaps of $26 billion, by some estimates, and foresee shortfalls of at least $82 billion as they look to next year’s budgets.
So what is the solution? Well, for state and local politicians from coast to coast, the answer to these financial problems is to impose austerity measures. Of course they never, ever use the term "austerity measures", but that is exactly what they are.
The following are 22 signs that austerity has already arrived in America and that it is going to be very, very painful....
#1 The financial manager of the Detroit Public Schools, Robert Bobb, has submitted a proposal to close half of all the schools in the city. His plan envisions class sizes of up to 62 students in the remaining schools.
#2 Detroit Mayor Dave Bing wants to cut off 20 percent of the entire city from police and trash services in order to save money.
#3 Things are so tight in California that Governor Jerry Brown is requiring approximately 48,000 state workers to turn in their government-paid cell phones by June 1st.
#4 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing to completely eliminate 20 percent of state agencies.
#5 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has closed 20 fire departments at night and is proposing layoffs in every single city agency.
#6 In the state of Illinois, lawmakers recently pushed through a 66 percent increase in the personal income tax rate.
#7 The town of Prichard, Alabama came up with a unique way to battle their budget woes recently. They simply stopped sending out pension checks to retired workers. Of course this is a violation of state law, but town officials insist that they just do not have the money.
#8 New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently purposely skipped a scheduled 3.1 billion dollar payment to that state's pension system.
#9 The state of New Jersey is in such bad shape that they still are facing a $10 billion budget deficit for this year even after cutting a billion dollars from the education budget and laying off thousands of teachers.
#10 Due to a very serious budget shortfall, the city of Newark, New Jersey recently made very significant cuts to the police force. Subsequently, there has been a very substantial spike in the crime rate.
#11 The city of Camden, New Jersey is "the second most dangerous city in America", but because of a huge budget shortfall they recently felt forced to lay off half of the city police force.
#12 Philadelphia, Baltimore and Sacramento have all instituted "rolling brownouts" during which various city fire stations are shut down on a rotating basis.
#13 In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus system in order to save 8 million dollars.
#14 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#15 In Connecticut, the governor is asking state legislators to approve the biggest tax increase that the state has seen in two decades.
#16 All across the United States, conditions at many state parks, recreation areas and historic sites are deplorable at best. Some states have backlogs of repair projects that are now over a billion dollars long. The following is a quote from a recent MSNBC article about these project backlogs....
More than a dozen states estimate that their backlogs are at least $100 million. Massachusetts and New York's are at least $1 billion. Hawaii officials called park conditions "deplorable" in a December report asking for $50 million per year for five years to tackle a $240 million backlog that covers parks, trails and harbors.
#17 The state of Arizona recently announced that it has decided to stop paying for many types of organ transplants for people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
#18 Not only that, but Arizona is do desperate for money that they have even sold off the state capitol building, the state supreme court building and the legislative chambers.
#19 All over the nation, asphalt roads are actually being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have transformed at least some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
#20 The state of Illinois is such a financial disaster zone that it is hard to even describe. According to 60 Minutes, the state of Illinois is six months behind on their bill payments. 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Croft asked Illinois state Comptroller Dan Hynes how many people and organizations are waiting to be paid by the state, and this is how Hynes responded....
"It's fair to say that there are tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people waiting to be paid by the state."
#21 The city of Chicago is in such dire straits financially that officials there are actually toying with the idea of setting up a city-owned casino as a way to raise cash.
#22 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is desperately looking for ways to cut the budget and he says that "hundreds of jurisdictions" in his state could go bankrupt over the next few years.
But everything that you have just read is only the beginning. Budget shortfalls for our state and local governments are projected to be much worse in the years ahead.
So what is the answer? Well, our state and local governments are going to have to spend less money. That means that we are likely to see even more savage budget cutting.
In addition, our state and local politicians are going to feel intense pressure to find ways to "raise revenue". In fact, we are already starting to see this happen.
According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, over the past couple of years a total of 36 out of the 50 U.S. states have raised taxes or fees of some sort.
So hold on to your wallets, because the politicians are going to be coming after them.
We are entering a time of extreme financial stress in America. The federal government is broke. Most of our state and local governments are broke. Record numbers of Americans are going bankrupt. Record numbers of Americans are being kicked out of their homes. Record numbers of Americans are now living in poverty.
The debt-fueled prosperity of the last several decades came at a cost. We literally mortgaged the future. Now nothing will ever be the same again.
Get Ready for the Most Important Day in America in 50 Years...
It's Coming in 2011
WARNING: What you are about to see is
controversial, and may be offensive to
some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
--------------------------------------------
CLICK ANY OF THESE FOR THE LINK
TheSecretMeeting.tk
OtherMoney.tk
AlternateMoney.tk
TheDeathOfAmerica.tk
RonPaulSays.tk
ItCanHappenHere.tk
WorseThanKatrina.tk
TheNormalcyBias.tk
AmericanShantyTown.tk
AnotherCrashIsComing.tk
SilverAndGoldHaveINone.tk
--------------------------------------------
Hello. My name is Porter Stansberry.
A little over ten years ago I founded Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. It has become one of the largest and most recognized investment research companies in the world, serving hundreds of thousands of subscribers in more than 120 countries.
You may know of our firm because of the work we did over the last several years – helping investors avoid the big disasters associated with Wall Street's collapse.
We warned investors to avoid Fannie and Freddie, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and General Motors and dozens of other companies that have since collapsed. We even helped our subscribers find opportunities to profit from these moves by shorting stocks and buying put options. To my knowledge, no other research firm in the world can match our record of correctly predicting the catastrophe that occurred in 2008.
But that's not why I created this letter.
I reference our success and experience with Wall Street's latest crisis because we believe there is an even bigger crisis lurking – something that will shake the very foundation of America.
And that is why I've spent a significant amount of time and money in the past few months preparing this letter.
In short, I want to talk about a specific event that will take place in America's very near future... which could actually bring our country and our way of life to a grinding halt.
This looming crisis is related to the financial crisis of 2008... but it is infinitely more dangerous, as I'll explain in this letter.
As this problem comes to a head, I expect there to be riots in the streets... arrests on an unprecedented scale... and martial law, enforced by the U.S. military.
Believe me, I don't make this prediction lightly and I have no interest in trying to scare you.
I'm simply following my research to its logical conclusion.
I did the same when I tracked Fannie and Freddie's accounting. The same with General Motors. And Bear Stearns and the rest. And when I began giving this warning in 2006 no one took me very seriously... not at first. Back then, most mainstream commentators just ignored me.
And when I presented my case and exposed the facts at economic conferences, they got angry. They couldn't refute my research... but they weren't ready to accept the enormity of its conclusions either.
That's why, before I go any further, I have to warn you...
What I am going to say is controversial. It will offend many people... Democrats, Republicans, and Tea Partiers, alike. In fact, I've already received dozens of pieces of hate mail.
And... the ideas and solutions I'm going to present might seem somewhat radical to you at first... perhaps even "un-American."
My guess is that, as you read this letter... you'll say: "There's no way this could really happen... not here."
But just remember:
No one believed me three years ago when I said the world's largest mortgage bankers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would soon go bankrupt.
And no one believed me when I said GM would soon be bankrupt as well... or that the same would happen to General Growth Properties (the biggest owner of mall property in America).
But again, that's exactly what happened.
And that brings us to today...
The same financial problems I've been tracking from bank to bank, from company to company for the last five years have now found their way into the U.S. Treasury. I'll explain how this came to be. What it means is critically important to you and every American...
The next phase in this crisis will threaten our very way of life.
The savings of millions will be wiped out. This disaster will change your business and your work. It will dramatically affect your savings accounts, investments, and retirement.
It will change everything about your normal way of life: where you vacation... where you send you kids or grandkids to school... how and where you shop... the way you protect your family and home.
I'll explain how I know these events are about to happen. You can decide for yourself if I'm full of hot air. As for me, I'm more certain about this looming crisis than I've been about anything else in my life.
I know that debts don't just disappear. I know that bailouts have big consequences. And, unlike most of the pundits on TV, I know a lot about finance and accounting.
Of course, the most important part of this situation is not what is happening... but rather what you can do about it.
In other words: Will you be prepared when the proverbial $@*% hits the fan?
Don't worry, I'm not organizing a rally or demonstration. And I've turned down every request to run for political office.
Instead, I want to show you exactly what I'm doing personally, to protect and even grow my own money, and how you can prepare as well.
You see, I can tell you with near 100% certainly that most Americans will not know what to do when commodity prices – things like milk, bread and gasoline – soar. They won't know what to do when banks close... and their credit cards stop working. Or when they're not allowed to buy gold or foreign currencies. Or when food stamps fail...
In short, our way of life in America is about to change – I promise you. In this letter I'll show you exactly what is happening.
You can challenge every single one of my facts and you'll find that I'm right about each allegation I make.
And then you can decide for yourself.
Will you act now to protect yourself and your family from the catastrophe that's brewing right now in Washington?
I hope so. And that's why I wrote this letter.
I'm going to walk you through exactly what I am doing personally, and what you can do as well. I can't promise you'll emerge from this crisis completely unharmed – but I can just about guarantee you'll be a lot better off than people who don't follow these simple steps.
But I'm getting ahead of myself just a bit.
Let me back up and show you in the simplest terms possible what is going on, why I am so concerned, and what I believe will happen in the next 12 months...
The Greatest Danger
America Has Ever Faced?
In short, I believe that we as Americans are about to see a major, major collapse in our national monetary system, and our normal way of life.
Basically, for many years now, our government has been borrowing so much money (very often using short-term loans), that very soon, we will no longer be able to afford even the interest on these loans.
Again... I say these things as an expert in accounting and financial research.
You may not think things are THAT BAD in the U.S. economy, but consider this simple fact from the National Inflation Association:
Even if all U.S. citizens were taxed 100% of their income... it would still not be enough to balance the Federal budget! We'd still have to borrow money, just to maintain the status quo.
That's absolutely incredible, isn't it?
Yet I've never seen this fact reported anywhere else.
Normally I study these kinds of numbers when I'm looking at a business to invest in or to recommend to my readers. But lately I've spent most of my time looking into our national balance sheet, because as the banking system collapsed in 2008, all of the bad debts were absorbed by the world's governments.
For example, when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed in the summer of 2008, the U.S. government responded by simply guaranteeing all of their outstanding debt.
Since then these companies have recorded hundreds of billions of losses – all of which were passed along to the government. Yes, you can still get mortgages today. And yes, Freddie and Fannie are still in business. But costs associated with these programs are piling up at the U.S. Treasury – and they are enormously expensive.
These losses and trillions in other private obligations are now the responsibility of the U.S. government.
The problem is, even before this crisis, our government was deeply in debt. With each additional commitment we sink further and further into debt... closing in upon the moment that we can simply no longer afford even the interest payments on our obligations.
According to even my most conservative calculations (using numbers provided by the Congressional Budget Office) a debt default by the U.S. government would be inevitable – were it not for one simple anomaly... the one thing that has saved the United States so far.
I'm talking about our country's unique ability to simply print more money.
You see, the U.S. government has one very important weapon to use in this crisis: It is the only debtor in the world who can legally print U.S. dollars. And the U.S. dollar is what's known as "the world's reserve currency."
The dollar forms the basis of the world's financial system. It is what banks around the world hold in reserve against their loans.
That's a secret that most politicians don't understand:
As things stand now, the U.S. government can't go broke in any ordinary sense of the word because it can simply print dollars to pay for its bad debts. (It's been doing so since March of 2009).
That might sound pretty good at first. Since we can always just print more money, what is there to worry about...?
Well, let me show you...
You see, as things stand today, America is the only country in the world that doesn't have to pay for its imports in a foreign currency.
Let's say you're a German and you want to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. You can't just pay for your oil in German marks (or the new euro currency), because the oil is priced in dollars.
So you have to buy dollars first, then buy your oil.
And that means the value of the German currency is of great importance to the German government. To maintain the value of its currency Germans must produce at least as much as they consume from around the world, otherwise the value of its currency will begin to fall, causing prices to rise and its standard of living to decline.
But in America...?
We can consume as much as we want without worrying about acquiring the money to pay for it, because our dollars are accepted everywhere around the word. In short, for decades now, we haven't had to produce anything or export anything to get all the dollars we needed to buy all the oil (and other goods) our country required.
All we had to do was borrow the money.
And boy did we. Take a look at this chart...
Even as late as the 1970s, America was the world's largest creditor. But by the mid-1980s we'd become a debtor to the world. And since the late 1990s we've been the world's LARGEST debtor.
Today, our government owes more money to more people than anyone else in the world.
And that was before the financial crisis!
In short, with all of these bad debts piling up, we've had to begin repaying our debts by printing trillions of new dollars. The impact of this is only just now beginning to be felt.
And once our creditors figure out what's happening, they're going to be very angry.
I believe they will either completely stop accepting dollars in repayment... or greatly discount the value of these new dollars. I'm sure you think that sounds crazy, but as I'll show you, it is already happening.
And that will make our consumption-led way of life impossible to afford.
Just think about the price of oil...
Access to cheap oil has been America's #1 gift of owning the world's reserve currency.
This has made gas cheaper in the U.S. than almost anywhere else in the developed world. I know you may think gas prices have skyrocketed in recent years... but look at how much less we pay than other developed nations...
* United States: $2.72 a gallon on average
* Oslo, Norway: $7.41........ (172% higher)
* Berlin, Germany: $6.82.... ( 151% higher)
* London: $6.60................(143% higher)
* Rome, Italy: $6.40............(135% higher)
* Paris, France: $6.04...........(122% higher)
* Tokyo, Japan: $5.40..........(98% higher)
* Toronto, Canada: $3.81......(40% higher)
And here's the thing...
If oil is no longer priced in dollars, the price of oil for Americans will skyrocket immediately. It will change our lives, overnight.
Airline travel will get much more expensive. The cost to ship goods by truck to grocery stores around the country will get much more expensive. Farming itself will get a lot more costly... so will commuting to work... taking a taxi... just about everything we do will suddenly get much more expensive.
And just remember: In order for prices to start skyrocketing, all that has to happen is that other countries start preferring payments in something besides U.S. dollars.
The U.S. dollar has been the world's currency for decades now... so most Americans don't have a clue about what the repercussions are of losing this status.
You might think this could never happen... but it happens all the time when countries get too far in debt or when they consume too much or produce too little.
In fact, the same thing happened to Great Britain in the 1970s.
Most people don't know this, but British Sterling was the reserve currency for most of the world for nearly 200 years... for most of the 18th and 19th centuries.
It continued to play this role until after World War II, when America was forced to prop up Britain's economy with foreign aid – remember the famous Marshall Plan, when we gave billions to help European countries rebuild?
Unfortunately though, Britain pursued a socialist national agenda. The government took over all of the major industries. Like Barack Obama, Britain's leaders wanted to "spread the wealth around." Pretty soon the country was flat broke.
The final straw for Britain came in 1967, when things got so bad the Labour Party (the socialists) decided to "devalue" the British currency by 14%, overnight. They believed this would make it easier for people to afford their debts.
In reality, what it did was make anyone holding British sterling 14% poorer, overnight, and it made everything in Britain, much, much more expensive in the coming years.
And for the country as a whole, it ushered in one of the worst decades in modern British history.
Most Americans don't know about Britain's "Winter of Discontent" in the late 1970s, when the government put a freeze on wages. There were continuous strikes in nearly every sector... grave diggers, trash collectors... even hospital workers. Things got so bad at one point that many hospitals were reduced to accepting emergency patients only.
In 1975, inflation in Britain skyrocketed 26.9%... in a single year!
The government also imposed what was known as the "Three Day Week" in 1974. In short, businesses were limited to using electricity for only three specified consecutive days' each week and they were prohibited from working longer hours on those days. Television companies were required to cease broadcasting at 10.30pm... to save electricity.
The extreme problems in the economy led to Britain being nicknamed, "the sick man of Europe."
Just how bad were things, exactly?
Well, listen to several Brits tell of their experiences. Their stories were collected recently by the BBC television channel...
John Blackburn, from Wetherby said:
"I was a control engineer at Huddersfield Power Station at the time and part of my duty was to switch off the supply to various substations around the town, according to an official rota. On many an evening shift I would have to switch off the power to my own home before going back for a candle-lit supper!"
Richard Evans, from London, recalls:
"My mother had to cross a picket line to get into the maternity hospital (they told her she couldn't come in....). My Grandmother had to bring in food for her to eat, and clean towels and bedding."
David Stoker, Guildford, said:
"I lived in the North East near Newcastle and I vividly remember my grandmother and I walking from one shop to another in search of candles to buy. All were sold out. Innovatively, butchers placed string down cartons of drippings which we bought... These worked although the smell and risk of fire made them less practical than candles."
Imagine... Britain was a global superpower for 150 years. But when they started intentionally devaluing their currency, things went straight down hill.
Maybe you don't think something similar can happen here... but I'm telling you... it's already underway!
In fact, the exchange value of the U.S. dollar has fallen about 8% so far this year. And its rate of decline is accelerating.
What happened to the British currency is now happening to the U.S. dollar.
Not only will the price of gas, oil, and other commodities skyrocket in America, almost EVERYTHING we consume will immediately get more expensive. All the clothing, furniture, and household goods we import from China.
All the food we get from Central and South America... all the electronics, televisions, computers, and cars we get from Asia and Europe.
In fact, it's happening, right now before our eyes: The price of gold is up 85% since the financial crisis. Oil prices have doubled. Soy beans are way up. Copper prices are up more than 170% since 2009. Cotton prices are up 80%... in just the past few months, since July of this year!
As Wesley Card, the head of a clothing company that includes brands like Dockers and Anne Klein, recently said: "It's really a no-choice situation. Prices have to come up."
The chart below shows how much a few key commodities have skyrocketed in price, just since the beginning of 2009...
Of course, skyrocketing commodity prices are just the beginning.
There are other disastrous consequences to the U.S. dollar losing status as the world's currency...
For example, there would be much less demand for U.S. dollars around the globe, so interest rates will skyrocket. Instead of getting a mortgage at today's incredibly low rates of 4.5%, it might cost you 8% or even 10% or 15%.
Imagine what that would do to housing prices!
Stock prices will likely plummet by at least 40% in a matter of weeks as a result of this event in the currency markets.
It will cost every American business A LOT more money for supplies and materials. No one will be able to get a loan... and no bank will want to make loans.
In short, when the U.S. dollar loses its spot as the world's ‘reserve currency,' it will cause a brutal downturn in the economy, which I expect will be about 10-times worse than the mortgage crisis of 2008.
You see, what will also happen as a result of this currency crisis, and the end of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, will be massive inflation, the likes of which we have never seen before.
When everyone is trying to get rid of their dollars, the government is printing more and more to pay debts, and no one wants to own them, the crisis will reach epic proportions.
Just look for example, at what happened to one European country that faced this type of crisis in the 1990s...
This is what happens during a major hyperinflation in the real world.
By the early 1990s, the national government of one European nation had spent nearly all its savings. So what did they do next? Simple... they began to steal the savings of private citizens by limiting people's access to their money in government-controlled banks.
And of course, to finance the daily operations of maintaining their basic infrastructure, they started printing money, big time. Even so, the country's basic infrastructure began to fall apart. There were potholes in the street, broken water pipes... elevators that never got repaired... and entire construction projects that simply shut down, before being completed.
At this point, the unemployment rate was more than 30%.
Not too bad, right?
But it got worse... much worse.
You see, once you start down the dangerous road of printing money, things can get extremely bad, very quickly.
As San Jose State University Economics Professor Dr. Thayer Watkins, an expert on countries that try to inflate their way out of big debts, wrote on this particular disaster:
"The government tried to counter the inflation by imposing price controls. But when inflation continued, the government price controls made the price producers were getting so ridiculously low that they simply stopped producing. bakers stopped making bread... slaughterhouses refused to sell meat to the stores... other stores closed down"
So what did the government do next to try to curb inflation?
Well, one bright idea they had was to force stores to fill out government documents every time they increased prices. They thought that this would slow down price increases, because the paperwork would take so much time!
But like many government plans, this one had terrible, unintended consequences.
Since stores had to dedicate an employee to do nothing but register this paperwork, and since the process took so long, stores began to raise prices on basic goods at even higher rates, so that they didn't have to come back and file more paperwork!
Incredible, isn't it?
Then, of course the government did what all governments do during periods of hyperinflation: They created a new currency... which basically removed six zeroes from the old one. So 100,000,000 old units were soon worth 100 new units. Of course, this didn't work either... it never does.
Between October of 1993 and January 1995, prices increase by, get this: 5 quadrillion percent. That's...
5,000,000,000,000,000%
In other words, a loaf of bread that cost $1 in 1993, suddenly cost
$50,000,000,000,001
Yes, that's $50 TRILLION.
I know, it's laughable... but I can guarantee that the people of this once proud European country weren't laughing one bit, especially those living on a fixed income.
Of course, at this point, the country completely fell apart. As Dr. Thayer Watkins wrote:
"The social structure began to collapse. Thieves robbed hospitals and clinics of scarce pharmaceuticals and then sold them in front of the same places they robbed. The railway workers went on strike and closed down the country's rail system."
At this point, businesses and citizens across the country basically refused to take the local currency.
Instead, everyone started dealing in German Marks. Keep in mind, the daily rate of inflation was nearly 100%.
Can you imagine the panic in a society when the price of just about everything doubles... every single day? It was absolute pandemonium, and the economy basically came to a grinding halt. It was like living in a war zone. Truckers stopped delivering goods. Stores, restaurants, and gas stations all shut down.
In fact, the only way to get gas was to buy it on the side of the road, from someone selling it out of a plastic can.
Steve Hanke, an Economics professor at Johns Hopkins, wrote that:
"People couldn't afford to buy food in the free market – they kept from starving by either waiting in long lines at state stores for irregularly supplied rations of low-quality staples, or by relying on relatives who lived in the countryside.
For long periods, all [the] gas stations were closed, with the exception of one station that catered to foreigners and embassy personnel. People also spent an inordinate amount of time at the foreign-exchange black markets, where they traded huge piles of near-worthless money for a single German mark or US dollar note."
The number of operating busses dropped by 60%... and busses were so crowded that drivers couldn't even collect fares. Government ordered blackouts left people without heat and electricity for long periods of time.
In another ridiculous government move, they actually made it illegal to NOT accept a personal check.
Imagine... you could write a check... and in the several days that it typically takes for a check to clear, inflation would wipe out almost all of the cost of covering your check.
Of course, as is typical, the government took none of the blame. As Dr. Thayer Watkins reported, the government's official position was that the hyperinflation occurred "because of the unjustly implemented sanctions against the people and state."
Again... I know what you are thinking... "just because it happened in Europe doesn't it mean it can happen here, right"?
Well guess what...
The same thing that happened in this European country – Yugoslavia – also just happened in Iceland and Greece, but on a less dramatic scale. Of course, the only reason the situations in Greece and Iceland weren't worse is because of giant foreign bailouts. Yes... that's right... more debt to solve the problem of already existing, insurmountable debts.
It's all going to come to a head soon. Much sooner than most people think.
Remember too that in roughly the past 100 years this type of debt crisis has reared its ugly head in Germany, Russia, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Poland, the Ukraine, Japan, and China.
And I believe it will soon happen right here in the United States.
Don't believe me?
Well, the truth is that it's already happening at the local and state levels. Take a look...
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank, at least 46 states face huge budget shortfalls for 2011, on top of the deficits they still haven't completely figured out for 2010.
The center reports that the total state budget shortfall could reach $160 billion.
And although many states got federal help over the past year, that aid is now gone.
So what are these desperate governments trying to do?
You probably won't believe their proposals...
* SELL EVERYTHING: The state of Arizona, for example, announced earlier this year that it is selling $735 million worth of government-owned buildings, but will still occupy them by paying a 20-year lease. The government is selling the legislative buildings, the House and Senate, the State Capitol Executive Tower, the state fairgrounds, even prisons.
* RELEASE PRISONERS: In California, the state has taken the radical step of opening its prison doors and releasing thousands of inmates. About 11% of the state budget ($8 billion) goes to the penal system (more than they spend on higher education).
So California is slashing the number of inmates by 6,500 next year. In other words, they are cutting loose about 4% of the prison population.
Incredibly, other states, including New York, may soon do the same thing.
* LIFE INSURANCE: In Georgia, the government is proposing taking out "dead peasant" policies on state employees. When these folks die, the money won't go to the dead person's family... but to the state coffers, to help pay for more programs, insurance, and pension liabilities!
It's simply incredible, isn't it?
State and municipal governments are so broke, and so desperate, that they are taking unprecedented steps to at least temporarily avoid bankruptcy. Nearly every state in the union is talking about legalizing some form of gambling, to boost tax revenue. California still wants to legalize marijuana, even though it was defeated in the recent election.
Of course, none of these ridiculous steps will work on the long run.
And the truly amazing thing is that the U.S. Federal government is in even worse shape than the local governments! The only reason we haven't seen the full brunt of this crisis yet on the federal level is because we've just continued to pile on more and more debt.
The states can't print money... but the Federal government can (at least for now). And for the moment, this is all that is preventing a currency collapse of unprecedented proportions.
And this is the important point: What most people don't realize is that the U.S. government can only continue printing dollars... as long as the U.S. dollar remains the world's reserve currency.
In other words, this is all going to fall apart much sooner than people think. In fact, it's already happening...
The first steps are already well underway. It is happening right now... before our very eyes.
I can't stress this enough: You need to act now in order to protect your assets, and grow your savings in the next few years. In the next few minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how I'm protecting my own money, and what I recommend doing with your own.
But first, let me show you what exactly is going on right now...
"America... must be very worried"
Like I said, most Americans don't believe the U.S. dollar could ever lose its spot as the world's reserve currency.
But I am here to tell you... this process is already well underway.
For example, although it went almost completely unreported in the U.S. press, last fall, a group of the world's most powerful countries, including China, Japan, Russia, and France, got together for a secret meeting – WITHOUT the United States being present or even knowing about the meeting.
Veteran Middle East report Robert Fisk reported on this even in the Britain's Independent newspaper:
"In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese Yen, Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar."
Fisk also interviewed a Chinese banker who said:
"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions. America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."
And sure enough, after Fisk published the details of this secret meeting, U.S. officials and central bankers from around the globe denied these plans.
But as the old central banking adage goes... how do you know exactly when a currency will be devalued?
The answer: Right AFTER the head of the central bank goes on television to adamantly deny that any such transaction will occur. (And guess who just went public in recent weeks with a statement about how the U.S. will "not devalue its currency"? Yes, you guessed it... U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.)
You see, the last thing a central banker wants to do in the midst of a devaluation is to give people a warning BEFORE he can devalue. So they have to deny, deny, deny. After the announcement is made, it's too late for citizens and investors to get out.
Like I said, what's incredible is that this story of a secret meeting among most of the major powers besides the U.S. was greatly under reported in the American press.
But you know what... the way I see it, it's much more telling to look at actions rather than government press releases.
For example, here is what is happening, right now in the real world.
When you read these facts, I think you'll agree with me that the U.S. dollar's days are numbered, as far as remaining the world's reserve currency.
China is getting out
Cheng Siwei, a former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, said that China is going to stop putting so much money into U.S. dollars, and will instead look to the Japanese Yen and the Euro.
China holds more U.S. dollars than anyone else on the planet. But China is getting out of the U.S. dollar as fast as they can without crashing their own economy.
Look at this chart...
It shows that China's holdings of U.S. dollars peaked in 2009, but China is unloading as many dollars as they can, as quickly as possible.
And this is just one sign of the end of the U.S. dollar standard.
There are many more...
The dollar is no longer good here
As I am sure you are aware, for years the U.S. dollar has been accepted almost universally around the globe.
Heck, many times when I've traveled, I never even bothered to convert to the local currency, because I knew everyone would take my dollars.
Well, that's simply not the case anymore...
HSBC, one of the largest banks in Mexico, no longer allows you to deposit U.S. dollars into their banks. They've done this on the heels of money-laundering allegations, but we suspect they also simply don't want to be stuck with tons of U.S. dollars, as the currency continues to decline.
This move would have been unfathomable 10 years ago... that a big bank in Mexico would no longer accept U.S. dollars for deposit. But today it is the harsh reality.
And Mexico is not the only place this is occurring...
Reuters reports that the same thing has happened in 2008 in one of Europe's most popular tourist spots...
Currency exchange outlets in Amsterdam have been reportedly turning away customers who want to exchange their U.S. dollars for Euros.
As one traveling American told the Reuters news agency: "Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here," said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana, in front of the Anne Frank house. "It's hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office."
In India, the country's tourism minister said in 2008 that U.S. dollars will no longer be accepted at the country's heritage tourist sites, like the Taj Mahal. And the U.S. dollar is no longer good anywhere in Cuba.
The New York Times reports that: "now, many shops in China no longer accept dollar-based credit cards issued by foreign banks... and foreigners cannot convert American dollars into renminbi beyond a given quota."
Iran, of course, has already moved all of its reserves out of U.S. dollars, and Kuwait de-pegged it's currency from the dollar a few years ago:
Bloomberg News recently reported that China and Russia plan to start trading in each other's currencies to diminish the dollar's role in global trade. "Given the risk to the dollar and U.S. assets from their fiscal position, they want to reduce their dependence on the dollar as an invoicing currency," said Bhanu Baweja, of UBS bank.
It's even happening here in the USA
Most Americans don't know that some states in the Mid-West are already using "alternative currencies"...
An NBC News affiliate in Michigan reports that
"new types of money are popping up across Mid-Michigan and supporters say, it's not counterfeit, but rather a competing currency. Right now, for example, you can buy a meal or visit a chiropractor without using actual U.S. legal tender."
What most Americans don't realize is that this is all totally legal.
The U.S. Treasury Dept web site says that, according to Coinage Act of 1965: "There is... no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."
I saw one report that says there are now 150 of these alternative local U.S. currencies being accepted around the country!
USA Today reports that the largest of these local currencies is a currency called "Berkshares," which are being used in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts.
According to the paper:
"Since its start in 2006, the system, the largest of its kind in the country, has circulated $2.3 million worth of BerkShares."
And even in places that do not yet have local currencies, store owners may now actually prefer foreign currencies rather than U.S. dollars...
In Washington, DC, just 25 miles from my office, some stores have begun accepting euros. Of course, the euro isn't much more stable than the dollar right now. But my point is that most people don't understand there is NO FEDERAL REQUIREMENT in the United States for a private store to accept dollars for non-debt transactions.
You see, no matter what the government decides, stores and businesses will accept whatever they believe is a strong currency.
As Texas Senator Ron Paul wrote recently:
"If you walk into a 7-11 to buy a soda, the clerk doesn't have to accept your dollars, he could demand euros, silver, or copper. But because legal tender laws backing the dollar have caused the dollar to drive other currencies out of circulation, [right now] it is easier for stores to accept dollars."
Well, all that is quickly changing...
Many places in Texas now accept Mexican pesos for payment. "Euros Accepted" signs are popping up in of all places: Manhattan. And not only Manhattan, but in New York's favorite summer playground... the Hamptons.
There, an art gallery assistant was quoted by The Real Deal: "I wouldn't want to discourage a sale in any way because of a currency issue."
And it's not just small stores that are accepting other methods of payment besides U.S. dollars.
The Chicago mercantile exchange the world's largest futures and commodities exchange board), now accepts gold to settle futures contracts. Until recently, the exchange typically accepted only U.S. treasuries and bonds as payment.
These guys obviously see the writing on the wall.
This would have all been completely unthinkable 10 years ago, but today it's a reality. And this trend is going to keep moving incredibly fast.
That is why...
The smartest investors are taking action...
Bill Gross, who probably knows as much about currencies and debt as anyone in the world, runs the world's biggest bond fund. He was quoted by Bloomberg:
"We've told all of our clients that if you only had one idea, one investment, it would be to buy an investment in a non-dollar currency. That should be on top of the list."
Jim Rogers, one of the world's most successful multi-millionaire investors writes:
"The dollar is not just in decline; it's a mess. If something isn't done soon, I believe the dollar could lose its status as the world's reserve currency and medium of exchange, something that would lead to a huge decline in the standard of living for U.S. citizens like nothing we've seen in nearly a century."
I know... you probably still don't believe it can happen here in the United States. But think about it...
Are we as Americans really immune to the laws of economics and finance?
I don't think so.
And every circumstance I know of, in which a government has tried to inflate its debts away, has ended in disaster. It will happen here too.
As Jim Rogers says:
"History teaches us that such imprudent monetary and fiscal behavior has always led to economic disaster."
This is why World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, in a speech at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, recently said: "The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar's place as the world's predominant reserve currency. Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar."
And this is why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published a paper calling for a new global world currency.
A paper entitled "Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability," written by the Strategy, Policy and Review Department of the IMF, recommends that the world adopt a global currency called the "Bancor" with a global central bank to administer the currency.
The report is dated April 13, 2010... and no, unfortunately this is not just a bad rumor.
This is a deadly serious proposal in an official document from one of most powerful institutions in the world.
Do you see where this is all heading?
As Brazilian economist and strategist Ricardo C. Amaral wrote recently:
"The US dollar served its purpose since the end of WW II and became the major foreign exchange reserve currency... [but] the days of the US dollar playing that special role... has reached the end of the line, since today that system is very sick and it is dying a slow death...
Mr. Amaral added that we will soon see: "the major collapse of the US dollar creating the biggest international monetary crisis the world has ever seen..."
This is why gold and silver prices are soaring:
It's not a matter of "if" the U.S. dollar will lose its status as the world's reserve currency... it's simply a matter of "when."
Investors know there are serious, serious problems with the U.S. dollar, so they are fleeing to precious metals, which have historically been very reliable when a country has major currency problems.
In short: It's not hard to see why people are no longer accepting U.S. dollars... and why many foreign countries are pushing for a new world reserve currency.
The good news is, no matter what happens, I've found several ways for you to protect your savings – and you could even make 3- to 5-times your money over the next few years.
I'll show you exactly what to do in a moment. But first let me explain why the collapse of the dollar as the world's reserve currency could happen much sooner than most people expect...
The REAL State
of the U.S. Economy
I know many of my friends, colleagues, and family members are still in serious denial.
In the world of psychology, they call this the "normalcy bias."
You see, the normalcy bias actually refers to our natural reactions when facing a crisis.
The normalcy bias causes smart people to underestimate the possibility of a disaster and its effects. In short: People believe that since something has never happened before... it never will. We are all guilty of it... it's just human nature.
The normalcy bias also makes people unable to deal with a disaster, once it has occurred. Basically... people have a really hard time preparing for and dealing with something they have never experienced.
The normalcy bias often results in unnecessary deaths in disaster situations. For example, think about the Jewish populations of World War II...
As Barton Biggs reports in his book, Wealth, War, and Wisdom:
"By the end of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 still [remained]. Wealthy Jewish families... kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over...
Many of the German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too complacent. They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they simply couldn't believe there was going to be a crisis that would endanger them. They were too comfortable. They believed the Nazi's anti-Semitism was an episodic event and that Hitler's bark was worse than his bite. [They] reacted sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine."
This is one of the most tragic examples of the devastating effects of the "normalcy bias" the world has ever seen.
Just think about what was going on at the time. Jews were arrested, beaten, taxed, robbed, and jailed for no reason other than the fact that they practiced a particular religion. As a result, they were shipped off to concentration camps. Their houses and businesses were seized.
Yet most Jews STILL didn't leave Nazi Germany, because they simply couldn't believe that things would get as bad as they did. That's the normalcy bias... with devastating results.
We saw the same thing happen during Hurricane Katrina...
Even as it became clear that the levee system was not going to work, tens of thousands of people stayed in their homes, directly in the line of the oncoming waves of water.
People had never seen things get this bad before... so they simply didn't believe it could happen. As a result, nearly 2,000 residents died.
Again... it's the "normalcy bias."
We simply refuse to see the evidence that's right in front of our face, because it is unlike anything we have experienced before.
The normalcy bias kicks in... and we continue to go about our lives as if nothing is unusual or out of the ordinary.
Well, we're seeing the same thing happen in the United States right now.
We have been the world's most powerful country for nearly 100 years. The U.S. dollar has reigned supreme as the world's reserve currency for more than 50 years.
Most of us in America simply cannot fathom these things changing. But I promise you this: Things are changing... and faster than most people realize.
For a moment, just look at a tiny fraction of the evidence around us....
** 13% OF POPULATION ON FOODSTAMPS
Did you know that there are now nearly 42 million Americans on food stamps? That's nearly 13% of the entire population. Those numbers are up 17.5% from last year... and the number of Americans on food stamps has gone up every month for 19 months.
Can a country really be in good shape when 13% of the population can't even afford to buy food?
Or how about this...
** SHANTY TOWNS COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Although it's gone almost completely unreported in the mainstream press, in a dozen or so cities across the nation (like Fresno, Sacramento, and Nashville), there are hundreds of people living in modern-day, Depression-era shanty towns.
The Fresno shanty town has received the most publicity, after a visit by Oprah Winfrey. There, about 2,000 residents are homeless. They even have a security desk at the shelter, because the encampment has gotten so large. City officials say they have three major encampments near downtown, and smaller settlements along two local highways.
Also...
** 43% OF AMERICAN FAMILIES ARE ESSENTIALLY BROKE
According to a recent article on MSN Money, about 43% of the American families spend more than they earn each year.
Look at this chart... it's unbelievable..
The average household carries $8,000 in credit card debt... and personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade.
How in the world can we possibly spend our way out of the current crisis?
We certainly can't do it with savings... the only answer is to print more money, which will hasten the fall of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.
** THE MYSTERY OF DISAPPEARING JOBS
There's simply no one better at bending statistics than the U.S. government. Take the unemployment rate, for example. Back in the 1930s, anyone without a job but not retired was considered "unemployed."
Today, however, the government calculates unemployment mainly by counting the number of people receiving unemployment benefits. So when people's benefits expire, they are no longer counted... and the unemployment rate actually falls! Ridiculous... I know.
But the reality is, the true unemployment rate is much, much higher than what the government is reporting.
If you don't believe me, look at two recent job postings I read about last week..
In Long Island City, an estimated 2,000 people waited in line at the local employment office – some for as long as four days! – to apply for 100 elevator mechanic apprenticeship positions.
And in Massillon, Ohio, 700 people recently applied for a single janitorial job... paying $16 an hour, plus benefits!
The point is, our country is not growing jobs, because the government makes it harder and harder for businesses. With current regulations in place, our country will never experience the type of growth necessary to dig our government out of the hole they've put themselves in.
I'm sure you think I'm exaggerating, but just look at what the CEO of one of America's most important companies said just a few weeks ago..
Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a recent speech: "I can tell you definitively that it costs $1 billion more per factory for me to build, equip, and operate a semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States"
He said that 90% of the additional costs are not from higher labor rates... but from higher taxes and regulatory charges, which other nations simply don't impose.
Cypress Semiconductor CEO T.J. Rodgers agreed that the problem is not higher U.S. wages, but anti-business laws. He was quoted in an interview with CNET News: "The killer factor in California for a manufacturer to create, say, a thousand blue-collar jobs is a hostile government that doesn't want you there and demonstrates it in thousands of ways."
Few Americans today realize that we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. And since Japan's new prime minister just announced that he plans to reduce the country's corporate tax rate by 15%... the U.S. will soon have THE highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Why would anyone want to start a business here, when they can do it for less money...and keep more of the money they make... by locating elsewhere?
It's just another good reason to avoid the U.S. dollar...
So is this:
** DEBT-RIDDEN U.S. COMPANIES
Did you know that in 1979, there were 61 American companies that earned a top-level AAA credit rating from Moody's?
Today, there are only four: Automatic Data Processing, Exxon, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft
Does this sound like an economic recovery to you... when only four companies in the entire country are stable enough to earn a triple-A credit rating?
Me neither. But it's nothing compared to what's going on in the housing sector...
** A CRAZY LAS VEGAS ECONOMICS STORY
You want to know how crazy things are in the U.S. right now...
Consider the bizarre state of the Las Vegas housing market, where The New York Times reports that building is booming again in a city where nearly 10,000 new houses are empty, thousands are in foreclosure, thousands of regular people have simply stopped paying their mortgages and average prices are down more than 60% since 2006.
What could possibly be driving this building mania?
Well, it turns are that buyers don't want homes that were built during the boom, because they sit in neighborhoods that look like ghost towns, and because many of these never-occupied houses are filled with cockroaches and other critters.
So local builders are doing the worst possible thing they could be doing in Las Vegas right now... building more homes! Similar scenarios are taking shape in Phoenix and other U.S. cities.
Of course, this might look good for economic numbers, but all it does is make the situation much, much worse in the long run.
Want to see another crazy trick some businesses are using to artificially boost their earnings numbers?
This is just incredible to me...
** OUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: NEW JERSEY'S HOMELESS
If you've been reading my work at all over the past few years, you know that I am extremely bearish on the "for profit" education sector, such as University of Phoenix.
What could possibly be wrong with these institutions that offer inexpensive education to tens of thousands of students across the country?
Well, to me it's just another symptom of how distorted and crazy our economy and country has become. Here's what I mean...
One of the crazy practices institutions employ is to actually enroll homeless people into their programs.
You probably think I'm making this up... but even Business Week recently ran a report on this practice.
Why would they do this?
Well, because these folks qualify for federal grants and loans used to pay for college tuition fees. According to reports I read, the University of Phoenix, for instance, relies on federal funds for more than 85% of its revenues.
At another for-profit school, Drake College of Business, almost 5% of the student body at its Newark, N.J., campus is homeless, Business Week recently reported.
Of course, the majority of these students will never be able to repay their loans. But the colleges certainly don't care... that's the government's problem... not theirs.
Once again, it's the taxpayers like you and me who will be left holding the bag.
And here's another good reason why investors are afraid of holding dollars right now...
** IN THE STOCK MARKET, IT'S 1937 ALL OVER AGAIN
One of the most worrisome problems in the stock market right now is that we are basically repeating the exact same situation that occurred from 1937 to 1942.
Most Americans think we've had this amazing stock market recovery since the financial crisis of 2008... and we have to a certain extent.
But we are by no means out of the woods.
In fact, during America's last real economic collapse, in the 1930s and 1940s, we saw a similar drop and recovery... before the markets crashed all over again.
In fact, the situation is eerily similar.
Look at this chart... it's one of the scariest I've seen in a long time. It shows an overlay of what happened in the stock market in 1937 compared to 2008.
In both situations, we saw big crashes, of about the exact same magnitude... then a big recovery, again of about the same size.
But what will happen next?
Well, if history is any guide, we could well have another big leg down in the stock market. That's exactly what happened 70 years ago.
And with all of the problems left unresolved in our economy today, it could certainly happen again, especially if the U.S. dollar loses its reserve status.
As The Wall Street Journal reported:
"Over the last year the stock market has followed a path eerily similar to 1937. First, a strong, rapid run to a recovery high – same pace, same magnitude. Then a correction – again, the same. Will we continue on the path that led the correction of 1937 into a collapse in 1938?
The point is, the cards are seriously stacked against us.
This looming currency crisis is inevitable.
Almost every state in the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. We have borrowed an impossible amount of money, which we'll never be able to pay back.
Our economy is an absolute mess. Taxes are sky high already... and will certainly go much higher over the next few years. And nearly all of the world's major financial players are preparing for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.
To me, it is so obvious that we are about to experience a serious currency crisis, that I can't believe people can deny this reality with a straight face.
Again, if you don't believe a currency crisis is coming, just take another look at the price of gold and silver compared to the U.S. dollar over the past decade.
It's obvious that smart investors want to hold gold and silver, not U.S. dollars.
Anyone with any sense or basic understanding of economics can tell that the U.S. dollar is doomed. And it's going to have major repercussions, which the average American has not yet even considered.
So, what can you do?
Well, I've done a lot of research on this, and have found that there are a surprising number of simple things you can do to not only protect what you've currently got, but to also potentially make quite a bit of money as this currency crisis unfolds.
Here's what I recommend...
What You Can Do to Protect
Yourself and Actually Make Money
So what should you do... to protect and possibly even grow your wealth in the next few years?
Well, there's a series of pretty simple financial moves I believe you should begin making, immediately.
And here's something I want you to keep in mind: I'm really only going to talk about your finances here.
As far as protecting your family... well... it depends on your circumstances. If you live in an urban area, I recommend making sure you've got somewhere you can go in case there are riots or food and water shortages. I think there's a very good chance we'll see that in the next two years.
Wherever you're going to wait out the chaos, I recommend you have basic food, water, and medical supplies to last you for at least six months.
Remember, you won't be able to count on the government during this crisis. Think about it... if the government couldn't even save the city of New Orleans during hurricane Katrina, how in the world will it save an entire country when all hell breaks lose?
And as I said earlier, the truth is, the government won't even try to save individual American citizens... the government will be much more concerned with saving itself.
As far as taking care of your money – to make sure you don't lose money and even use this situation to come out quite a bit ahead – well, that's where I can help you.
All of the moves I recommend are simple and fairly straightforward to implement – at least right now. If you wait to do these things, however, they will almost certainly get very expensive, difficult, and even impossible to do.
If you do these things now, not only will you be better prepared to weather the coming storm, I believe you could also make quite a bit of money over the next few years.
And if I'm wrong... well... that's the best part... I think you'll still make very good gains.
Even if all we get out of this crisis is a mild inflation, you will still be set up to do very, very well.
So here are the specific steps you should take...
STEP #1. GET SOME OF YOUR MONEY BEYOND THE REACH OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT (it's perfectly legal, and a lot easier than you think)
I know you probably don't believe me when I tell you that the U.S. government is going to implement policies to save itself, which are unimaginable right now.
But remember, desperate governments will do very desperate things. That's why they outlawed the ownership of gold 80 years ago.
That's why they are already talking about "nationalizing" automatic 401(k) and retirement plans... and it's why it might soon be against the law to open a foreign bank account, or to move your money overseas without paying outrageous taxes.
The good news is, I met recently with a man who is considered one of the top "asset protection" attorneys in America.
In short, I learned that there are four simple investments you can make right now, which you DO NOT have to report to the U.S. government.
Don't get me wrong...
When and if you ever sell these things, years down the road, you are still required to pay taxes on your gains. But the great thing is, while you are holding these investments, so long as you play by the rules, neither you nor anyone else is required to report them to the government.
And this benefit should be obvious...
The less the government knows about where you have your money, the better. They simply will have a very hard time taking what they don't know you have.
I am personally putting a fairly significant portion of my portfolio into one of these assets. And I plan to hold it for a long time. No matter what happens, I know I'll have a significant amount of money that is beyond the government's grasp.
I'm not going to tell you exactly what I'm doing here in this letter, but I will explain everything in full detail in my new report, called: The 4 Investment Assets You Do NOT Have to Report to the U.S. Government. And I will gladly send you a copy, free of charge.
In addition to explaining how I'm protecting my own money, I'll show you three other places you can put your money, which you legally do not have to report to the U.S. government.
Of course, normally it would cost you thousands of dollars to meet with my asset protection attorney, and to take advantage of his best strategies. But I'll reveal everything you need to know to get started in this report.
Plus, I'd like to send you the information on...
STEP #2: HOW TO ACQUIRE THE WORLD'S SAFEST ASSETS, WHICH ARE LIKELY TO PERFORM BEST DURING THIS PERIOD.
What I'm talking about here is buying as much gold and silver as you can reasonably afford. I know... gold has had a huge run, jumping more than 300% in the past decade.
But believe me, when the U.S. dollar loses its status as the world's reserve currency, this early run is going to be a mere afterthought.
I will be surprised if gold does not reach $5,000 or $6,000 an ounce in the next few years.
The smartest money managers in the world, people like George Soros, David Einhorn, and John Paulson, have all recently taken huge positions in gold. And I think you are crazy to not do the same.
How should you do it?
There are many options. And my research firm has recently published a great book, called The Gold Investors Bible, which details in full all of the best ways to own and hold gold bullion.
In this volume, we reveal dozens of secrets about the gold industry... specifically the best ways to buy, sell, and store your gold. It explains whey some gold coins are better than others. How to buy gold with ZERO dealer markup. How to easily and safely store some of your gold overseas, very cheaply... where to hide it... and so much more.
Not regularly available for sale, this book is valued at $24. I'd like to send you a copy, totally free of charge.
And what about silver?
Well, I believe silver will serve a unique role during this currency crisis.
Let me explain...
For most of recorded history, the price of gold has been around 16 times the price of silver. This ratio – the so-called "silver ratio" – has fluctuated from time to time based on silver discoveries and attempts by governments to regulate the silver-to-gold ratio. But... in a free market, where demand for silver as money exists, I'd expect the natural supply and demand balance to lead to a silver price around 1/16 times the price of gold.
Based on the historical ratio, with the price of gold around $1,400, the price of silver should be around $87. It's not, of course. Today, silver is trading around $27. Today then, gold is selling for more than 50-times the price of silver.
What explains the difference between hundreds of years of history and today? Why is silver still so cheap relative to gold?
When silver is "demonetized," as it is now (meaning it's not being used for money, but just for industrial purposes), supplies soar as people sell silver for gold and other currencies.
On the other hand, during periods of monetary crisis, demand for silver as money pushes the silver ratio heavily in silver's favor.
For example, the ratio returned to its historic range (16) during World War I. It happened again in the early 1970s, when Nixon abandoned the gold standard. It also happened most famously in 1979-1980, when it seemed as if America was really entering a serious money crisis
Most people don't know this, but silver is actually the best-performing asset of this century... not gold.
As my friend Chris Weber pointed out in his November 1st newsletter, Gold has risen from $256 to $1,365 since 2000. That is a rise of 433%. Silver has risen from $4.02 to $24.96. That is a rise of 521%.
And in the days that Chris has written this, silver has jumped another 7%!
In short, silver is the best hedge against a money crisis.
As the dollar fails, silver will once again be in demand as money.
And as this demand materializes, the free market price of silver will likely return to around 1/16 the price of gold. When gold hits $2,000 an ounce, and assuming the price of gold is 16 times the price of silver, silver should be worth about $125. My multimillionaire friend and currency expert, Chris Weber, believes silver will likely hit $187 an ounce.
If that happens, you could make gains of around 600% if you invest at today's prices.
So what are the best ways to buy silver?
Well, my firm has done a ton of research on this precious metal. We have found great ways to hold the metal personally... to have it stored in a secure location in the United States or overseas... and more. We've put everything we know into a valuable guide called: Secrets of the Silver Market.
I'd like to send you this valuable resource, also free of charge. I'll show you how to get it in a second.
But first let me get to the 3rd financial step I recommend you take right now:
STEP #3: LEARN THE STOCK MARKET "QUITTER'S" SECRET
If you want the opportunity to make a lot of money during the coming crisis, one sure way to do it is to learn the intricacies of an unusual investment strategy that is now making some investors an absolute fortune.
At my research firm, we have been teaching readers this method for several years.
And get this: You don't have to buy a single stock to begin using this strategy... and it has nothing to do with "shorting."
In a nutshell, this is a secret that could enable you to safely extract gains of exactly 100% from the market, over and over again... without ever owning or touching a stock.
Keep in mind: the most you can make using this strategy is 100%... and as with all investments, there is some risk involved. Also, it's important to note that this strategy will probably not be right for everyone...
But it can be so safe and easy, once you learn how it works, you might decide to never buy ordinary stocks, ever again.
Like these folks I taught this secret to in recent years...
Last March, for example, Peter Kos of Boise, ID quit stocks and used this secret instead. He says he now makes an average of $10,000 per month. Randy Bowman of Annapolis, MD, also quit stocks. So far he's made over $87,500. Bernard Henderson of Carmel, IN, now collects an average of $100 a day. Another, Harold Welchik of New Brunswick, NJ, has made over $20,000.
Tim Hewitt from Sacramento probably put it best when he wrote me and said: "This has saved my portfolio."
I repeat... to begin using this investment strategy, you DO NOT have to touch the stock market, and you don't have to buy anything in the options market either.
That's why financial author Lee Lowell writes: "I've been a professional trader for 17 years... but many people have never heard of a [this investment], let alone used this strategy. This is a great way to get your hands on instant cash."
Pulitzer Prize winning author James Stewart learned this secret recently and said: "[These payouts] are so rich I consulted a colleague to make sure they were real."
This seldom-understood strategy is how we've helped dozens of people make incredible gains, even in a terrible stock market. And in all likelihood, when the stock market gets really bad, as I expect it soon will, this will be incredibly lucrative and safe strategy.
I'll show you exactly how this investment strategy works, and how you can take advantage of it immediately, starting today. Everything you need to know is in my new report called: The Stock Quitter's Secret – The Easiest Way in the Markets to Make 100%.
As the stock market begins to unravel, this incredible technique will likely get more and more lucrative.
And that brings me to:
STEP #4: MAKE SURE YOU OWN THE ONE ASSET THAT CAN HELP SAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS GET
There's no telling exactly how bad things are going to get as this crisis unfolds.
I firmly believe there could be riots, marches in the streets, bank runs, massive arrests, and periods of uncontrollable mayhem... at least for several months as things begin to unravel.
But the good news is that there is one asset you can own (now widely available in America), which should help protect you and your family from this chaos... and could also likely make you a fortune in the years to come.
I'm not talking about guns or bonds or gold or other precious metals... or anything like that. And of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the stock market.
What I'm talking about is a very powerful asset that wealthy families have used for centuries to protect themselves... and preserve and build their fortunes.
An index tracking this asset has absolutely crushed the stock market between 1991 and 2009, by returning about 430% more than stocks during that period.
Best of all, it provided these gains with almost no volatility. Just look at the chart below.
See how that blue line goes straight up, without any hiccups?
Multimillionaire investor Barton Biggs wrote that this type of asset, throughout history, "protected both your wealth and your life."
During World War II, for example, when millions of families lost their entire life savings through inflation or government seizure, this was the one asset that enabled some families to protect, preserve, and grow their money.
What the average American doesn't realize is that many of the richest people in the United States have a significant ownership stake in this asset: The Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame), Bill Gates, Ted Turner, the Hilton family, Charles Schwab, Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, the Hunt family (of Texas oil fame), the Hearst family, the Ford family, and more
As I mentioned, you can easily make this investment today, here in America. Probably less than 1% of the population owns it today... but it is readily available, and fairly inexpensive.
I've written up all of the details on everything you need to know. My full report is called: The World's Most Valuable Asset in a Time of Crises.
There are several ways to make this investment. I'll show you what they are.
Like I said, this has nothing to do with stocks, bonds, precious metals, guns, medicine, or anything like that. Yet it could save your family... and make you very wealthy in the coming years.
As my multi-millionaire friend Doug Casey says, it's the ONE THING you should own in the years to come.
I don't want to say any more about it than that, here in this letter. The truth is, the fewer people who know about this investment secret, the better.
So how can you begin taking these simple steps, right away?
Well, my company, Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, is a financial research firm.
We have a staff of about 50 people, and our main objective is to find safe and profitable investment ideas that you are not likely to hear about anywhere else.
Since we started this business a decade ago, we have helped a lot of people make a lot of money...
Harold Thiessen from Montana wrote recently to say: "My IRA has gone from a low of $315,000.00 to the present high of $952,000.00. I can only thank [you] for changing my life so much."
Dan Koffin, from San Diego, also contacted us recently to say: "Since joining, my portfolio has grown by several hundred thousand dollars. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."
We even got an interesting note recently from a reader named Ulysses Reuter, who says he has been making a "small killing" – enough to buy a nice-sized boat and a house in Mexico. Here's the photo he sent (below). He writes:
Mr. Reuter added: "We took delivery of her 3 weeks ago and are cruising the Bahamas. In October we will take her through the Panama Canal over to the Pacific side since I just bought a home in Mexico..."
Then there was the nice note from Mitchell Donavan, from Ithaca, New York. He said: "I was working long hours with overtime to make a living when I joined you. The excellent results have allowed me to retire early."
Believe me, nothing makes me feel better than receiving notes like these.
But I have to tell you, right now, I am really worried that a lot of our subscribers and many, many hard-working Americans are going to get caught totally by surprise when this inevitable crisis hits.
That's why I created this letter, and that's why I'd like to send you the full details on exactly how I believe this is all going to unfold... and exactly how to protect yourself and even prosper during this crisis.
Remember: The government is not going to save you:
If the government couldn't save one small city from the disastrous news coming, then how is it going to save all of us when the [beep] really hits the fan?
You can either let things happen to you... or you can take a few simple steps and take charge of your family's fate.
Please, just give the work I've done a look... and I believe you will have all the information you need at your disposal.
The best part is, you can take a look at my research, and receive everything I've mentioned here, at absolutely no risk or obligation.
Simply let me know you'd like to take a trial subscription to my monthly newsletter, called Stansberry's Investment Advisory, and I will immediately rush you:
Research Report #1: The 4 Investment Assets You Do NOT Have to Report to the U.S. Government
Research Report #2: The Gold Investor's Bible
Research Report #3: Secrets of the Silver Market
Research Report #4: The Stock Quitter's Secret – The Easiest Way in the Markets to Make 100%
Research Report #5: The World's Most Valuable Asset in a Time of Crises
Also, on the first Friday of each month, I'll send you my monthly newsletter, Stansberry's Investment Advisory. I'll keep you up to date on exactly what's going on regarding this financial crisis, and I'll show you some unusual and incredible ways to make money now and as it begins to unfold.
We have found some great ways to make a fortune as the government continues to try to bail out one failing industry after another.
I'll also keep you up to date on what I am doing to protect myself. I'll make sure you stay abreast of changes to the laws and government interventions.
And... every day the markets are open, I'll send you my paid-subscribers-only e-mail called the Stansberry & Associates Digest.
In short, I report on all the work my firm is doing... the most interesting investment ideas... what we're researching now... and what we expect to happen in the months to come.
So how much does my work cost... and how can you get started?
Well, a one-year subscription, including everything I mentioned here, normally costs $99 per year – that's what many others have paid.
But right now, you can try my research, for HALF-OFF the normal rate. You'll pay just $49.50 for an entire year.
Why so cheap?
Well, to be honest, our business really only works if our subscribers stick with us for the long-term. But we realize you've got to try our work first, to see if it's right for you.
And that's why, through this letter, we're making it so cheap, and essentially risk-free to try. What I mean is, you'll have the next four months to take a look at the Research Reports I've just described, plus the next four issues of my newsletter... and the next four months of my daily Digest reports.
If you decide for any reason my work is not right for you, just let us know and you can receive a full refund... and keep everything you've received so far.
In other words, by taking me up on this offer, you are agreeing only to TRY my work to see if you like it.
I hope you'll consider this offer seriously. I know in my heart it will be one of the best financial moves you ever make.
To get started, simply click on the link below, which will take you to a secure order form. Your order will be processed immediately, and you'll have access to all of my work in a matter of minutes.
Sincerely,
Porter Stansberry
Founder, Stansberry & Associates Investment Research
December 2010
It's Coming in 2011
WARNING: What you are about to see is
controversial, and may be offensive to
some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
--------------------------------------------
CLICK ANY OF THESE FOR THE LINK
TheSecretMeeting.tk
OtherMoney.tk
AlternateMoney.tk
TheDeathOfAmerica.tk
RonPaulSays.tk
ItCanHappenHere.tk
WorseThanKatrina.tk
TheNormalcyBias.tk
AmericanShantyTown.tk
AnotherCrashIsComing.tk
SilverAndGoldHaveINone.tk
--------------------------------------------
Hello. My name is Porter Stansberry.
A little over ten years ago I founded Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. It has become one of the largest and most recognized investment research companies in the world, serving hundreds of thousands of subscribers in more than 120 countries.
You may know of our firm because of the work we did over the last several years – helping investors avoid the big disasters associated with Wall Street's collapse.
We warned investors to avoid Fannie and Freddie, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and General Motors and dozens of other companies that have since collapsed. We even helped our subscribers find opportunities to profit from these moves by shorting stocks and buying put options. To my knowledge, no other research firm in the world can match our record of correctly predicting the catastrophe that occurred in 2008.
But that's not why I created this letter.
I reference our success and experience with Wall Street's latest crisis because we believe there is an even bigger crisis lurking – something that will shake the very foundation of America.
And that is why I've spent a significant amount of time and money in the past few months preparing this letter.
In short, I want to talk about a specific event that will take place in America's very near future... which could actually bring our country and our way of life to a grinding halt.
This looming crisis is related to the financial crisis of 2008... but it is infinitely more dangerous, as I'll explain in this letter.
As this problem comes to a head, I expect there to be riots in the streets... arrests on an unprecedented scale... and martial law, enforced by the U.S. military.
Believe me, I don't make this prediction lightly and I have no interest in trying to scare you.
I'm simply following my research to its logical conclusion.
I did the same when I tracked Fannie and Freddie's accounting. The same with General Motors. And Bear Stearns and the rest. And when I began giving this warning in 2006 no one took me very seriously... not at first. Back then, most mainstream commentators just ignored me.
And when I presented my case and exposed the facts at economic conferences, they got angry. They couldn't refute my research... but they weren't ready to accept the enormity of its conclusions either.
That's why, before I go any further, I have to warn you...
What I am going to say is controversial. It will offend many people... Democrats, Republicans, and Tea Partiers, alike. In fact, I've already received dozens of pieces of hate mail.
And... the ideas and solutions I'm going to present might seem somewhat radical to you at first... perhaps even "un-American."
My guess is that, as you read this letter... you'll say: "There's no way this could really happen... not here."
But just remember:
No one believed me three years ago when I said the world's largest mortgage bankers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would soon go bankrupt.
And no one believed me when I said GM would soon be bankrupt as well... or that the same would happen to General Growth Properties (the biggest owner of mall property in America).
But again, that's exactly what happened.
And that brings us to today...
The same financial problems I've been tracking from bank to bank, from company to company for the last five years have now found their way into the U.S. Treasury. I'll explain how this came to be. What it means is critically important to you and every American...
The next phase in this crisis will threaten our very way of life.
The savings of millions will be wiped out. This disaster will change your business and your work. It will dramatically affect your savings accounts, investments, and retirement.
It will change everything about your normal way of life: where you vacation... where you send you kids or grandkids to school... how and where you shop... the way you protect your family and home.
I'll explain how I know these events are about to happen. You can decide for yourself if I'm full of hot air. As for me, I'm more certain about this looming crisis than I've been about anything else in my life.
I know that debts don't just disappear. I know that bailouts have big consequences. And, unlike most of the pundits on TV, I know a lot about finance and accounting.
Of course, the most important part of this situation is not what is happening... but rather what you can do about it.
In other words: Will you be prepared when the proverbial $@*% hits the fan?
Don't worry, I'm not organizing a rally or demonstration. And I've turned down every request to run for political office.
Instead, I want to show you exactly what I'm doing personally, to protect and even grow my own money, and how you can prepare as well.
You see, I can tell you with near 100% certainly that most Americans will not know what to do when commodity prices – things like milk, bread and gasoline – soar. They won't know what to do when banks close... and their credit cards stop working. Or when they're not allowed to buy gold or foreign currencies. Or when food stamps fail...
In short, our way of life in America is about to change – I promise you. In this letter I'll show you exactly what is happening.
You can challenge every single one of my facts and you'll find that I'm right about each allegation I make.
And then you can decide for yourself.
Will you act now to protect yourself and your family from the catastrophe that's brewing right now in Washington?
I hope so. And that's why I wrote this letter.
I'm going to walk you through exactly what I am doing personally, and what you can do as well. I can't promise you'll emerge from this crisis completely unharmed – but I can just about guarantee you'll be a lot better off than people who don't follow these simple steps.
But I'm getting ahead of myself just a bit.
Let me back up and show you in the simplest terms possible what is going on, why I am so concerned, and what I believe will happen in the next 12 months...
The Greatest Danger
America Has Ever Faced?
In short, I believe that we as Americans are about to see a major, major collapse in our national monetary system, and our normal way of life.
Basically, for many years now, our government has been borrowing so much money (very often using short-term loans), that very soon, we will no longer be able to afford even the interest on these loans.
Again... I say these things as an expert in accounting and financial research.
You may not think things are THAT BAD in the U.S. economy, but consider this simple fact from the National Inflation Association:
Even if all U.S. citizens were taxed 100% of their income... it would still not be enough to balance the Federal budget! We'd still have to borrow money, just to maintain the status quo.
That's absolutely incredible, isn't it?
Yet I've never seen this fact reported anywhere else.
Normally I study these kinds of numbers when I'm looking at a business to invest in or to recommend to my readers. But lately I've spent most of my time looking into our national balance sheet, because as the banking system collapsed in 2008, all of the bad debts were absorbed by the world's governments.
For example, when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed in the summer of 2008, the U.S. government responded by simply guaranteeing all of their outstanding debt.
Since then these companies have recorded hundreds of billions of losses – all of which were passed along to the government. Yes, you can still get mortgages today. And yes, Freddie and Fannie are still in business. But costs associated with these programs are piling up at the U.S. Treasury – and they are enormously expensive.
These losses and trillions in other private obligations are now the responsibility of the U.S. government.
The problem is, even before this crisis, our government was deeply in debt. With each additional commitment we sink further and further into debt... closing in upon the moment that we can simply no longer afford even the interest payments on our obligations.
According to even my most conservative calculations (using numbers provided by the Congressional Budget Office) a debt default by the U.S. government would be inevitable – were it not for one simple anomaly... the one thing that has saved the United States so far.
I'm talking about our country's unique ability to simply print more money.
You see, the U.S. government has one very important weapon to use in this crisis: It is the only debtor in the world who can legally print U.S. dollars. And the U.S. dollar is what's known as "the world's reserve currency."
The dollar forms the basis of the world's financial system. It is what banks around the world hold in reserve against their loans.
That's a secret that most politicians don't understand:
As things stand now, the U.S. government can't go broke in any ordinary sense of the word because it can simply print dollars to pay for its bad debts. (It's been doing so since March of 2009).
That might sound pretty good at first. Since we can always just print more money, what is there to worry about...?
Well, let me show you...
You see, as things stand today, America is the only country in the world that doesn't have to pay for its imports in a foreign currency.
Let's say you're a German and you want to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. You can't just pay for your oil in German marks (or the new euro currency), because the oil is priced in dollars.
So you have to buy dollars first, then buy your oil.
And that means the value of the German currency is of great importance to the German government. To maintain the value of its currency Germans must produce at least as much as they consume from around the world, otherwise the value of its currency will begin to fall, causing prices to rise and its standard of living to decline.
But in America...?
We can consume as much as we want without worrying about acquiring the money to pay for it, because our dollars are accepted everywhere around the word. In short, for decades now, we haven't had to produce anything or export anything to get all the dollars we needed to buy all the oil (and other goods) our country required.
All we had to do was borrow the money.
And boy did we. Take a look at this chart...
Even as late as the 1970s, America was the world's largest creditor. But by the mid-1980s we'd become a debtor to the world. And since the late 1990s we've been the world's LARGEST debtor.
Today, our government owes more money to more people than anyone else in the world.
And that was before the financial crisis!
In short, with all of these bad debts piling up, we've had to begin repaying our debts by printing trillions of new dollars. The impact of this is only just now beginning to be felt.
And once our creditors figure out what's happening, they're going to be very angry.
I believe they will either completely stop accepting dollars in repayment... or greatly discount the value of these new dollars. I'm sure you think that sounds crazy, but as I'll show you, it is already happening.
And that will make our consumption-led way of life impossible to afford.
Just think about the price of oil...
Access to cheap oil has been America's #1 gift of owning the world's reserve currency.
This has made gas cheaper in the U.S. than almost anywhere else in the developed world. I know you may think gas prices have skyrocketed in recent years... but look at how much less we pay than other developed nations...
* United States: $2.72 a gallon on average
* Oslo, Norway: $7.41........ (172% higher)
* Berlin, Germany: $6.82.... ( 151% higher)
* London: $6.60................(143% higher)
* Rome, Italy: $6.40............(135% higher)
* Paris, France: $6.04...........(122% higher)
* Tokyo, Japan: $5.40..........(98% higher)
* Toronto, Canada: $3.81......(40% higher)
And here's the thing...
If oil is no longer priced in dollars, the price of oil for Americans will skyrocket immediately. It will change our lives, overnight.
Airline travel will get much more expensive. The cost to ship goods by truck to grocery stores around the country will get much more expensive. Farming itself will get a lot more costly... so will commuting to work... taking a taxi... just about everything we do will suddenly get much more expensive.
And just remember: In order for prices to start skyrocketing, all that has to happen is that other countries start preferring payments in something besides U.S. dollars.
The U.S. dollar has been the world's currency for decades now... so most Americans don't have a clue about what the repercussions are of losing this status.
You might think this could never happen... but it happens all the time when countries get too far in debt or when they consume too much or produce too little.
In fact, the same thing happened to Great Britain in the 1970s.
Most people don't know this, but British Sterling was the reserve currency for most of the world for nearly 200 years... for most of the 18th and 19th centuries.
It continued to play this role until after World War II, when America was forced to prop up Britain's economy with foreign aid – remember the famous Marshall Plan, when we gave billions to help European countries rebuild?
Unfortunately though, Britain pursued a socialist national agenda. The government took over all of the major industries. Like Barack Obama, Britain's leaders wanted to "spread the wealth around." Pretty soon the country was flat broke.
The final straw for Britain came in 1967, when things got so bad the Labour Party (the socialists) decided to "devalue" the British currency by 14%, overnight. They believed this would make it easier for people to afford their debts.
In reality, what it did was make anyone holding British sterling 14% poorer, overnight, and it made everything in Britain, much, much more expensive in the coming years.
And for the country as a whole, it ushered in one of the worst decades in modern British history.
Most Americans don't know about Britain's "Winter of Discontent" in the late 1970s, when the government put a freeze on wages. There were continuous strikes in nearly every sector... grave diggers, trash collectors... even hospital workers. Things got so bad at one point that many hospitals were reduced to accepting emergency patients only.
In 1975, inflation in Britain skyrocketed 26.9%... in a single year!
The government also imposed what was known as the "Three Day Week" in 1974. In short, businesses were limited to using electricity for only three specified consecutive days' each week and they were prohibited from working longer hours on those days. Television companies were required to cease broadcasting at 10.30pm... to save electricity.
The extreme problems in the economy led to Britain being nicknamed, "the sick man of Europe."
Just how bad were things, exactly?
Well, listen to several Brits tell of their experiences. Their stories were collected recently by the BBC television channel...
John Blackburn, from Wetherby said:
"I was a control engineer at Huddersfield Power Station at the time and part of my duty was to switch off the supply to various substations around the town, according to an official rota. On many an evening shift I would have to switch off the power to my own home before going back for a candle-lit supper!"
Richard Evans, from London, recalls:
"My mother had to cross a picket line to get into the maternity hospital (they told her she couldn't come in....). My Grandmother had to bring in food for her to eat, and clean towels and bedding."
David Stoker, Guildford, said:
"I lived in the North East near Newcastle and I vividly remember my grandmother and I walking from one shop to another in search of candles to buy. All were sold out. Innovatively, butchers placed string down cartons of drippings which we bought... These worked although the smell and risk of fire made them less practical than candles."
Imagine... Britain was a global superpower for 150 years. But when they started intentionally devaluing their currency, things went straight down hill.
Maybe you don't think something similar can happen here... but I'm telling you... it's already underway!
In fact, the exchange value of the U.S. dollar has fallen about 8% so far this year. And its rate of decline is accelerating.
What happened to the British currency is now happening to the U.S. dollar.
Not only will the price of gas, oil, and other commodities skyrocket in America, almost EVERYTHING we consume will immediately get more expensive. All the clothing, furniture, and household goods we import from China.
All the food we get from Central and South America... all the electronics, televisions, computers, and cars we get from Asia and Europe.
In fact, it's happening, right now before our eyes: The price of gold is up 85% since the financial crisis. Oil prices have doubled. Soy beans are way up. Copper prices are up more than 170% since 2009. Cotton prices are up 80%... in just the past few months, since July of this year!
As Wesley Card, the head of a clothing company that includes brands like Dockers and Anne Klein, recently said: "It's really a no-choice situation. Prices have to come up."
The chart below shows how much a few key commodities have skyrocketed in price, just since the beginning of 2009...
Of course, skyrocketing commodity prices are just the beginning.
There are other disastrous consequences to the U.S. dollar losing status as the world's currency...
For example, there would be much less demand for U.S. dollars around the globe, so interest rates will skyrocket. Instead of getting a mortgage at today's incredibly low rates of 4.5%, it might cost you 8% or even 10% or 15%.
Imagine what that would do to housing prices!
Stock prices will likely plummet by at least 40% in a matter of weeks as a result of this event in the currency markets.
It will cost every American business A LOT more money for supplies and materials. No one will be able to get a loan... and no bank will want to make loans.
In short, when the U.S. dollar loses its spot as the world's ‘reserve currency,' it will cause a brutal downturn in the economy, which I expect will be about 10-times worse than the mortgage crisis of 2008.
You see, what will also happen as a result of this currency crisis, and the end of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, will be massive inflation, the likes of which we have never seen before.
When everyone is trying to get rid of their dollars, the government is printing more and more to pay debts, and no one wants to own them, the crisis will reach epic proportions.
Just look for example, at what happened to one European country that faced this type of crisis in the 1990s...
This is what happens during a major hyperinflation in the real world.
By the early 1990s, the national government of one European nation had spent nearly all its savings. So what did they do next? Simple... they began to steal the savings of private citizens by limiting people's access to their money in government-controlled banks.
And of course, to finance the daily operations of maintaining their basic infrastructure, they started printing money, big time. Even so, the country's basic infrastructure began to fall apart. There were potholes in the street, broken water pipes... elevators that never got repaired... and entire construction projects that simply shut down, before being completed.
At this point, the unemployment rate was more than 30%.
Not too bad, right?
But it got worse... much worse.
You see, once you start down the dangerous road of printing money, things can get extremely bad, very quickly.
As San Jose State University Economics Professor Dr. Thayer Watkins, an expert on countries that try to inflate their way out of big debts, wrote on this particular disaster:
"The government tried to counter the inflation by imposing price controls. But when inflation continued, the government price controls made the price producers were getting so ridiculously low that they simply stopped producing. bakers stopped making bread... slaughterhouses refused to sell meat to the stores... other stores closed down"
So what did the government do next to try to curb inflation?
Well, one bright idea they had was to force stores to fill out government documents every time they increased prices. They thought that this would slow down price increases, because the paperwork would take so much time!
But like many government plans, this one had terrible, unintended consequences.
Since stores had to dedicate an employee to do nothing but register this paperwork, and since the process took so long, stores began to raise prices on basic goods at even higher rates, so that they didn't have to come back and file more paperwork!
Incredible, isn't it?
Then, of course the government did what all governments do during periods of hyperinflation: They created a new currency... which basically removed six zeroes from the old one. So 100,000,000 old units were soon worth 100 new units. Of course, this didn't work either... it never does.
Between October of 1993 and January 1995, prices increase by, get this: 5 quadrillion percent. That's...
5,000,000,000,000,000%
In other words, a loaf of bread that cost $1 in 1993, suddenly cost
$50,000,000,000,001
Yes, that's $50 TRILLION.
I know, it's laughable... but I can guarantee that the people of this once proud European country weren't laughing one bit, especially those living on a fixed income.
Of course, at this point, the country completely fell apart. As Dr. Thayer Watkins wrote:
"The social structure began to collapse. Thieves robbed hospitals and clinics of scarce pharmaceuticals and then sold them in front of the same places they robbed. The railway workers went on strike and closed down the country's rail system."
At this point, businesses and citizens across the country basically refused to take the local currency.
Instead, everyone started dealing in German Marks. Keep in mind, the daily rate of inflation was nearly 100%.
Can you imagine the panic in a society when the price of just about everything doubles... every single day? It was absolute pandemonium, and the economy basically came to a grinding halt. It was like living in a war zone. Truckers stopped delivering goods. Stores, restaurants, and gas stations all shut down.
In fact, the only way to get gas was to buy it on the side of the road, from someone selling it out of a plastic can.
Steve Hanke, an Economics professor at Johns Hopkins, wrote that:
"People couldn't afford to buy food in the free market – they kept from starving by either waiting in long lines at state stores for irregularly supplied rations of low-quality staples, or by relying on relatives who lived in the countryside.
For long periods, all [the] gas stations were closed, with the exception of one station that catered to foreigners and embassy personnel. People also spent an inordinate amount of time at the foreign-exchange black markets, where they traded huge piles of near-worthless money for a single German mark or US dollar note."
The number of operating busses dropped by 60%... and busses were so crowded that drivers couldn't even collect fares. Government ordered blackouts left people without heat and electricity for long periods of time.
In another ridiculous government move, they actually made it illegal to NOT accept a personal check.
Imagine... you could write a check... and in the several days that it typically takes for a check to clear, inflation would wipe out almost all of the cost of covering your check.
Of course, as is typical, the government took none of the blame. As Dr. Thayer Watkins reported, the government's official position was that the hyperinflation occurred "because of the unjustly implemented sanctions against the people and state."
Again... I know what you are thinking... "just because it happened in Europe doesn't it mean it can happen here, right"?
Well guess what...
The same thing that happened in this European country – Yugoslavia – also just happened in Iceland and Greece, but on a less dramatic scale. Of course, the only reason the situations in Greece and Iceland weren't worse is because of giant foreign bailouts. Yes... that's right... more debt to solve the problem of already existing, insurmountable debts.
It's all going to come to a head soon. Much sooner than most people think.
Remember too that in roughly the past 100 years this type of debt crisis has reared its ugly head in Germany, Russia, Austria, Poland, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Poland, the Ukraine, Japan, and China.
And I believe it will soon happen right here in the United States.
Don't believe me?
Well, the truth is that it's already happening at the local and state levels. Take a look...
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based think-tank, at least 46 states face huge budget shortfalls for 2011, on top of the deficits they still haven't completely figured out for 2010.
The center reports that the total state budget shortfall could reach $160 billion.
And although many states got federal help over the past year, that aid is now gone.
So what are these desperate governments trying to do?
You probably won't believe their proposals...
* SELL EVERYTHING: The state of Arizona, for example, announced earlier this year that it is selling $735 million worth of government-owned buildings, but will still occupy them by paying a 20-year lease. The government is selling the legislative buildings, the House and Senate, the State Capitol Executive Tower, the state fairgrounds, even prisons.
* RELEASE PRISONERS: In California, the state has taken the radical step of opening its prison doors and releasing thousands of inmates. About 11% of the state budget ($8 billion) goes to the penal system (more than they spend on higher education).
So California is slashing the number of inmates by 6,500 next year. In other words, they are cutting loose about 4% of the prison population.
Incredibly, other states, including New York, may soon do the same thing.
* LIFE INSURANCE: In Georgia, the government is proposing taking out "dead peasant" policies on state employees. When these folks die, the money won't go to the dead person's family... but to the state coffers, to help pay for more programs, insurance, and pension liabilities!
It's simply incredible, isn't it?
State and municipal governments are so broke, and so desperate, that they are taking unprecedented steps to at least temporarily avoid bankruptcy. Nearly every state in the union is talking about legalizing some form of gambling, to boost tax revenue. California still wants to legalize marijuana, even though it was defeated in the recent election.
Of course, none of these ridiculous steps will work on the long run.
And the truly amazing thing is that the U.S. Federal government is in even worse shape than the local governments! The only reason we haven't seen the full brunt of this crisis yet on the federal level is because we've just continued to pile on more and more debt.
The states can't print money... but the Federal government can (at least for now). And for the moment, this is all that is preventing a currency collapse of unprecedented proportions.
And this is the important point: What most people don't realize is that the U.S. government can only continue printing dollars... as long as the U.S. dollar remains the world's reserve currency.
In other words, this is all going to fall apart much sooner than people think. In fact, it's already happening...
The first steps are already well underway. It is happening right now... before our very eyes.
I can't stress this enough: You need to act now in order to protect your assets, and grow your savings in the next few years. In the next few minutes, I'm going to show you exactly how I'm protecting my own money, and what I recommend doing with your own.
But first, let me show you what exactly is going on right now...
"America... must be very worried"
Like I said, most Americans don't believe the U.S. dollar could ever lose its spot as the world's reserve currency.
But I am here to tell you... this process is already well underway.
For example, although it went almost completely unreported in the U.S. press, last fall, a group of the world's most powerful countries, including China, Japan, Russia, and France, got together for a secret meeting – WITHOUT the United States being present or even knowing about the meeting.
Veteran Middle East report Robert Fisk reported on this even in the Britain's Independent newspaper:
"In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese Yen, Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar."
Fisk also interviewed a Chinese banker who said:
"These plans will change the face of international financial transactions. America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate."
And sure enough, after Fisk published the details of this secret meeting, U.S. officials and central bankers from around the globe denied these plans.
But as the old central banking adage goes... how do you know exactly when a currency will be devalued?
The answer: Right AFTER the head of the central bank goes on television to adamantly deny that any such transaction will occur. (And guess who just went public in recent weeks with a statement about how the U.S. will "not devalue its currency"? Yes, you guessed it... U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.)
You see, the last thing a central banker wants to do in the midst of a devaluation is to give people a warning BEFORE he can devalue. So they have to deny, deny, deny. After the announcement is made, it's too late for citizens and investors to get out.
Like I said, what's incredible is that this story of a secret meeting among most of the major powers besides the U.S. was greatly under reported in the American press.
But you know what... the way I see it, it's much more telling to look at actions rather than government press releases.
For example, here is what is happening, right now in the real world.
When you read these facts, I think you'll agree with me that the U.S. dollar's days are numbered, as far as remaining the world's reserve currency.
China is getting out
Cheng Siwei, a former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee, said that China is going to stop putting so much money into U.S. dollars, and will instead look to the Japanese Yen and the Euro.
China holds more U.S. dollars than anyone else on the planet. But China is getting out of the U.S. dollar as fast as they can without crashing their own economy.
Look at this chart...
It shows that China's holdings of U.S. dollars peaked in 2009, but China is unloading as many dollars as they can, as quickly as possible.
And this is just one sign of the end of the U.S. dollar standard.
There are many more...
The dollar is no longer good here
As I am sure you are aware, for years the U.S. dollar has been accepted almost universally around the globe.
Heck, many times when I've traveled, I never even bothered to convert to the local currency, because I knew everyone would take my dollars.
Well, that's simply not the case anymore...
HSBC, one of the largest banks in Mexico, no longer allows you to deposit U.S. dollars into their banks. They've done this on the heels of money-laundering allegations, but we suspect they also simply don't want to be stuck with tons of U.S. dollars, as the currency continues to decline.
This move would have been unfathomable 10 years ago... that a big bank in Mexico would no longer accept U.S. dollars for deposit. But today it is the harsh reality.
And Mexico is not the only place this is occurring...
Reuters reports that the same thing has happened in 2008 in one of Europe's most popular tourist spots...
Currency exchange outlets in Amsterdam have been reportedly turning away customers who want to exchange their U.S. dollars for Euros.
As one traveling American told the Reuters news agency: "Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here," said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana, in front of the Anne Frank house. "It's hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office."
In India, the country's tourism minister said in 2008 that U.S. dollars will no longer be accepted at the country's heritage tourist sites, like the Taj Mahal. And the U.S. dollar is no longer good anywhere in Cuba.
The New York Times reports that: "now, many shops in China no longer accept dollar-based credit cards issued by foreign banks... and foreigners cannot convert American dollars into renminbi beyond a given quota."
Iran, of course, has already moved all of its reserves out of U.S. dollars, and Kuwait de-pegged it's currency from the dollar a few years ago:
Bloomberg News recently reported that China and Russia plan to start trading in each other's currencies to diminish the dollar's role in global trade. "Given the risk to the dollar and U.S. assets from their fiscal position, they want to reduce their dependence on the dollar as an invoicing currency," said Bhanu Baweja, of UBS bank.
It's even happening here in the USA
Most Americans don't know that some states in the Mid-West are already using "alternative currencies"...
An NBC News affiliate in Michigan reports that
"new types of money are popping up across Mid-Michigan and supporters say, it's not counterfeit, but rather a competing currency. Right now, for example, you can buy a meal or visit a chiropractor without using actual U.S. legal tender."
What most Americans don't realize is that this is all totally legal.
The U.S. Treasury Dept web site says that, according to Coinage Act of 1965: "There is... no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services."
I saw one report that says there are now 150 of these alternative local U.S. currencies being accepted around the country!
USA Today reports that the largest of these local currencies is a currency called "Berkshares," which are being used in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts.
According to the paper:
"Since its start in 2006, the system, the largest of its kind in the country, has circulated $2.3 million worth of BerkShares."
And even in places that do not yet have local currencies, store owners may now actually prefer foreign currencies rather than U.S. dollars...
In Washington, DC, just 25 miles from my office, some stores have begun accepting euros. Of course, the euro isn't much more stable than the dollar right now. But my point is that most people don't understand there is NO FEDERAL REQUIREMENT in the United States for a private store to accept dollars for non-debt transactions.
You see, no matter what the government decides, stores and businesses will accept whatever they believe is a strong currency.
As Texas Senator Ron Paul wrote recently:
"If you walk into a 7-11 to buy a soda, the clerk doesn't have to accept your dollars, he could demand euros, silver, or copper. But because legal tender laws backing the dollar have caused the dollar to drive other currencies out of circulation, [right now] it is easier for stores to accept dollars."
Well, all that is quickly changing...
Many places in Texas now accept Mexican pesos for payment. "Euros Accepted" signs are popping up in of all places: Manhattan. And not only Manhattan, but in New York's favorite summer playground... the Hamptons.
There, an art gallery assistant was quoted by The Real Deal: "I wouldn't want to discourage a sale in any way because of a currency issue."
And it's not just small stores that are accepting other methods of payment besides U.S. dollars.
The Chicago mercantile exchange the world's largest futures and commodities exchange board), now accepts gold to settle futures contracts. Until recently, the exchange typically accepted only U.S. treasuries and bonds as payment.
These guys obviously see the writing on the wall.
This would have all been completely unthinkable 10 years ago, but today it's a reality. And this trend is going to keep moving incredibly fast.
That is why...
The smartest investors are taking action...
Bill Gross, who probably knows as much about currencies and debt as anyone in the world, runs the world's biggest bond fund. He was quoted by Bloomberg:
"We've told all of our clients that if you only had one idea, one investment, it would be to buy an investment in a non-dollar currency. That should be on top of the list."
Jim Rogers, one of the world's most successful multi-millionaire investors writes:
"The dollar is not just in decline; it's a mess. If something isn't done soon, I believe the dollar could lose its status as the world's reserve currency and medium of exchange, something that would lead to a huge decline in the standard of living for U.S. citizens like nothing we've seen in nearly a century."
I know... you probably still don't believe it can happen here in the United States. But think about it...
Are we as Americans really immune to the laws of economics and finance?
I don't think so.
And every circumstance I know of, in which a government has tried to inflate its debts away, has ended in disaster. It will happen here too.
As Jim Rogers says:
"History teaches us that such imprudent monetary and fiscal behavior has always led to economic disaster."
This is why World Bank president, Robert B. Zoellick, in a speech at the School for Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, recently said: "The United States would be mistaken to take for granted the dollar's place as the world's predominant reserve currency. Looking forward, there will increasingly be other options to the dollar."
And this is why the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published a paper calling for a new global world currency.
A paper entitled "Reserve Accumulation and International Monetary Stability," written by the Strategy, Policy and Review Department of the IMF, recommends that the world adopt a global currency called the "Bancor" with a global central bank to administer the currency.
The report is dated April 13, 2010... and no, unfortunately this is not just a bad rumor.
This is a deadly serious proposal in an official document from one of most powerful institutions in the world.
Do you see where this is all heading?
As Brazilian economist and strategist Ricardo C. Amaral wrote recently:
"The US dollar served its purpose since the end of WW II and became the major foreign exchange reserve currency... [but] the days of the US dollar playing that special role... has reached the end of the line, since today that system is very sick and it is dying a slow death...
Mr. Amaral added that we will soon see: "the major collapse of the US dollar creating the biggest international monetary crisis the world has ever seen..."
This is why gold and silver prices are soaring:
It's not a matter of "if" the U.S. dollar will lose its status as the world's reserve currency... it's simply a matter of "when."
Investors know there are serious, serious problems with the U.S. dollar, so they are fleeing to precious metals, which have historically been very reliable when a country has major currency problems.
In short: It's not hard to see why people are no longer accepting U.S. dollars... and why many foreign countries are pushing for a new world reserve currency.
The good news is, no matter what happens, I've found several ways for you to protect your savings – and you could even make 3- to 5-times your money over the next few years.
I'll show you exactly what to do in a moment. But first let me explain why the collapse of the dollar as the world's reserve currency could happen much sooner than most people expect...
The REAL State
of the U.S. Economy
I know many of my friends, colleagues, and family members are still in serious denial.
In the world of psychology, they call this the "normalcy bias."
You see, the normalcy bias actually refers to our natural reactions when facing a crisis.
The normalcy bias causes smart people to underestimate the possibility of a disaster and its effects. In short: People believe that since something has never happened before... it never will. We are all guilty of it... it's just human nature.
The normalcy bias also makes people unable to deal with a disaster, once it has occurred. Basically... people have a really hard time preparing for and dealing with something they have never experienced.
The normalcy bias often results in unnecessary deaths in disaster situations. For example, think about the Jewish populations of World War II...
As Barton Biggs reports in his book, Wealth, War, and Wisdom:
"By the end of 1935, 100,000 Jews had left Germany, but 450,000 still [remained]. Wealthy Jewish families... kept thinking and hoping that the worst was over...
Many of the German Jews, brilliant, cultured, and cosmopolitan as they were, were too complacent. They had been in Germany so long and were so well established, they simply couldn't believe there was going to be a crisis that would endanger them. They were too comfortable. They believed the Nazi's anti-Semitism was an episodic event and that Hitler's bark was worse than his bite. [They] reacted sluggishly to the rise of Hitler for completely understandable but tragically erroneous reasons. Events moved much faster than they could imagine."
This is one of the most tragic examples of the devastating effects of the "normalcy bias" the world has ever seen.
Just think about what was going on at the time. Jews were arrested, beaten, taxed, robbed, and jailed for no reason other than the fact that they practiced a particular religion. As a result, they were shipped off to concentration camps. Their houses and businesses were seized.
Yet most Jews STILL didn't leave Nazi Germany, because they simply couldn't believe that things would get as bad as they did. That's the normalcy bias... with devastating results.
We saw the same thing happen during Hurricane Katrina...
Even as it became clear that the levee system was not going to work, tens of thousands of people stayed in their homes, directly in the line of the oncoming waves of water.
People had never seen things get this bad before... so they simply didn't believe it could happen. As a result, nearly 2,000 residents died.
Again... it's the "normalcy bias."
We simply refuse to see the evidence that's right in front of our face, because it is unlike anything we have experienced before.
The normalcy bias kicks in... and we continue to go about our lives as if nothing is unusual or out of the ordinary.
Well, we're seeing the same thing happen in the United States right now.
We have been the world's most powerful country for nearly 100 years. The U.S. dollar has reigned supreme as the world's reserve currency for more than 50 years.
Most of us in America simply cannot fathom these things changing. But I promise you this: Things are changing... and faster than most people realize.
For a moment, just look at a tiny fraction of the evidence around us....
** 13% OF POPULATION ON FOODSTAMPS
Did you know that there are now nearly 42 million Americans on food stamps? That's nearly 13% of the entire population. Those numbers are up 17.5% from last year... and the number of Americans on food stamps has gone up every month for 19 months.
Can a country really be in good shape when 13% of the population can't even afford to buy food?
Or how about this...
** SHANTY TOWNS COMING TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
Although it's gone almost completely unreported in the mainstream press, in a dozen or so cities across the nation (like Fresno, Sacramento, and Nashville), there are hundreds of people living in modern-day, Depression-era shanty towns.
The Fresno shanty town has received the most publicity, after a visit by Oprah Winfrey. There, about 2,000 residents are homeless. They even have a security desk at the shelter, because the encampment has gotten so large. City officials say they have three major encampments near downtown, and smaller settlements along two local highways.
Also...
** 43% OF AMERICAN FAMILIES ARE ESSENTIALLY BROKE
According to a recent article on MSN Money, about 43% of the American families spend more than they earn each year.
Look at this chart... it's unbelievable..
The average household carries $8,000 in credit card debt... and personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade.
How in the world can we possibly spend our way out of the current crisis?
We certainly can't do it with savings... the only answer is to print more money, which will hasten the fall of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.
** THE MYSTERY OF DISAPPEARING JOBS
There's simply no one better at bending statistics than the U.S. government. Take the unemployment rate, for example. Back in the 1930s, anyone without a job but not retired was considered "unemployed."
Today, however, the government calculates unemployment mainly by counting the number of people receiving unemployment benefits. So when people's benefits expire, they are no longer counted... and the unemployment rate actually falls! Ridiculous... I know.
But the reality is, the true unemployment rate is much, much higher than what the government is reporting.
If you don't believe me, look at two recent job postings I read about last week..
In Long Island City, an estimated 2,000 people waited in line at the local employment office – some for as long as four days! – to apply for 100 elevator mechanic apprenticeship positions.
And in Massillon, Ohio, 700 people recently applied for a single janitorial job... paying $16 an hour, plus benefits!
The point is, our country is not growing jobs, because the government makes it harder and harder for businesses. With current regulations in place, our country will never experience the type of growth necessary to dig our government out of the hole they've put themselves in.
I'm sure you think I'm exaggerating, but just look at what the CEO of one of America's most important companies said just a few weeks ago..
Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a recent speech: "I can tell you definitively that it costs $1 billion more per factory for me to build, equip, and operate a semiconductor manufacturing facility in the United States"
He said that 90% of the additional costs are not from higher labor rates... but from higher taxes and regulatory charges, which other nations simply don't impose.
Cypress Semiconductor CEO T.J. Rodgers agreed that the problem is not higher U.S. wages, but anti-business laws. He was quoted in an interview with CNET News: "The killer factor in California for a manufacturer to create, say, a thousand blue-collar jobs is a hostile government that doesn't want you there and demonstrates it in thousands of ways."
Few Americans today realize that we have the second highest corporate tax rate in the world. And since Japan's new prime minister just announced that he plans to reduce the country's corporate tax rate by 15%... the U.S. will soon have THE highest corporate tax rate in the world.
Why would anyone want to start a business here, when they can do it for less money...and keep more of the money they make... by locating elsewhere?
It's just another good reason to avoid the U.S. dollar...
So is this:
** DEBT-RIDDEN U.S. COMPANIES
Did you know that in 1979, there were 61 American companies that earned a top-level AAA credit rating from Moody's?
Today, there are only four: Automatic Data Processing, Exxon, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft
Does this sound like an economic recovery to you... when only four companies in the entire country are stable enough to earn a triple-A credit rating?
Me neither. But it's nothing compared to what's going on in the housing sector...
** A CRAZY LAS VEGAS ECONOMICS STORY
You want to know how crazy things are in the U.S. right now...
Consider the bizarre state of the Las Vegas housing market, where The New York Times reports that building is booming again in a city where nearly 10,000 new houses are empty, thousands are in foreclosure, thousands of regular people have simply stopped paying their mortgages and average prices are down more than 60% since 2006.
What could possibly be driving this building mania?
Well, it turns are that buyers don't want homes that were built during the boom, because they sit in neighborhoods that look like ghost towns, and because many of these never-occupied houses are filled with cockroaches and other critters.
So local builders are doing the worst possible thing they could be doing in Las Vegas right now... building more homes! Similar scenarios are taking shape in Phoenix and other U.S. cities.
Of course, this might look good for economic numbers, but all it does is make the situation much, much worse in the long run.
Want to see another crazy trick some businesses are using to artificially boost their earnings numbers?
This is just incredible to me...
** OUR HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: NEW JERSEY'S HOMELESS
If you've been reading my work at all over the past few years, you know that I am extremely bearish on the "for profit" education sector, such as University of Phoenix.
What could possibly be wrong with these institutions that offer inexpensive education to tens of thousands of students across the country?
Well, to me it's just another symptom of how distorted and crazy our economy and country has become. Here's what I mean...
One of the crazy practices institutions employ is to actually enroll homeless people into their programs.
You probably think I'm making this up... but even Business Week recently ran a report on this practice.
Why would they do this?
Well, because these folks qualify for federal grants and loans used to pay for college tuition fees. According to reports I read, the University of Phoenix, for instance, relies on federal funds for more than 85% of its revenues.
At another for-profit school, Drake College of Business, almost 5% of the student body at its Newark, N.J., campus is homeless, Business Week recently reported.
Of course, the majority of these students will never be able to repay their loans. But the colleges certainly don't care... that's the government's problem... not theirs.
Once again, it's the taxpayers like you and me who will be left holding the bag.
And here's another good reason why investors are afraid of holding dollars right now...
** IN THE STOCK MARKET, IT'S 1937 ALL OVER AGAIN
One of the most worrisome problems in the stock market right now is that we are basically repeating the exact same situation that occurred from 1937 to 1942.
Most Americans think we've had this amazing stock market recovery since the financial crisis of 2008... and we have to a certain extent.
But we are by no means out of the woods.
In fact, during America's last real economic collapse, in the 1930s and 1940s, we saw a similar drop and recovery... before the markets crashed all over again.
In fact, the situation is eerily similar.
Look at this chart... it's one of the scariest I've seen in a long time. It shows an overlay of what happened in the stock market in 1937 compared to 2008.
In both situations, we saw big crashes, of about the exact same magnitude... then a big recovery, again of about the same size.
But what will happen next?
Well, if history is any guide, we could well have another big leg down in the stock market. That's exactly what happened 70 years ago.
And with all of the problems left unresolved in our economy today, it could certainly happen again, especially if the U.S. dollar loses its reserve status.
As The Wall Street Journal reported:
"Over the last year the stock market has followed a path eerily similar to 1937. First, a strong, rapid run to a recovery high – same pace, same magnitude. Then a correction – again, the same. Will we continue on the path that led the correction of 1937 into a collapse in 1938?
The point is, the cards are seriously stacked against us.
This looming currency crisis is inevitable.
Almost every state in the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. We have borrowed an impossible amount of money, which we'll never be able to pay back.
Our economy is an absolute mess. Taxes are sky high already... and will certainly go much higher over the next few years. And nearly all of the world's major financial players are preparing for an alternative to the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.
To me, it is so obvious that we are about to experience a serious currency crisis, that I can't believe people can deny this reality with a straight face.
Again, if you don't believe a currency crisis is coming, just take another look at the price of gold and silver compared to the U.S. dollar over the past decade.
It's obvious that smart investors want to hold gold and silver, not U.S. dollars.
Anyone with any sense or basic understanding of economics can tell that the U.S. dollar is doomed. And it's going to have major repercussions, which the average American has not yet even considered.
So, what can you do?
Well, I've done a lot of research on this, and have found that there are a surprising number of simple things you can do to not only protect what you've currently got, but to also potentially make quite a bit of money as this currency crisis unfolds.
Here's what I recommend...
What You Can Do to Protect
Yourself and Actually Make Money
So what should you do... to protect and possibly even grow your wealth in the next few years?
Well, there's a series of pretty simple financial moves I believe you should begin making, immediately.
And here's something I want you to keep in mind: I'm really only going to talk about your finances here.
As far as protecting your family... well... it depends on your circumstances. If you live in an urban area, I recommend making sure you've got somewhere you can go in case there are riots or food and water shortages. I think there's a very good chance we'll see that in the next two years.
Wherever you're going to wait out the chaos, I recommend you have basic food, water, and medical supplies to last you for at least six months.
Remember, you won't be able to count on the government during this crisis. Think about it... if the government couldn't even save the city of New Orleans during hurricane Katrina, how in the world will it save an entire country when all hell breaks lose?
And as I said earlier, the truth is, the government won't even try to save individual American citizens... the government will be much more concerned with saving itself.
As far as taking care of your money – to make sure you don't lose money and even use this situation to come out quite a bit ahead – well, that's where I can help you.
All of the moves I recommend are simple and fairly straightforward to implement – at least right now. If you wait to do these things, however, they will almost certainly get very expensive, difficult, and even impossible to do.
If you do these things now, not only will you be better prepared to weather the coming storm, I believe you could also make quite a bit of money over the next few years.
And if I'm wrong... well... that's the best part... I think you'll still make very good gains.
Even if all we get out of this crisis is a mild inflation, you will still be set up to do very, very well.
So here are the specific steps you should take...
STEP #1. GET SOME OF YOUR MONEY BEYOND THE REACH OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT (it's perfectly legal, and a lot easier than you think)
I know you probably don't believe me when I tell you that the U.S. government is going to implement policies to save itself, which are unimaginable right now.
But remember, desperate governments will do very desperate things. That's why they outlawed the ownership of gold 80 years ago.
That's why they are already talking about "nationalizing" automatic 401(k) and retirement plans... and it's why it might soon be against the law to open a foreign bank account, or to move your money overseas without paying outrageous taxes.
The good news is, I met recently with a man who is considered one of the top "asset protection" attorneys in America.
In short, I learned that there are four simple investments you can make right now, which you DO NOT have to report to the U.S. government.
Don't get me wrong...
When and if you ever sell these things, years down the road, you are still required to pay taxes on your gains. But the great thing is, while you are holding these investments, so long as you play by the rules, neither you nor anyone else is required to report them to the government.
And this benefit should be obvious...
The less the government knows about where you have your money, the better. They simply will have a very hard time taking what they don't know you have.
I am personally putting a fairly significant portion of my portfolio into one of these assets. And I plan to hold it for a long time. No matter what happens, I know I'll have a significant amount of money that is beyond the government's grasp.
I'm not going to tell you exactly what I'm doing here in this letter, but I will explain everything in full detail in my new report, called: The 4 Investment Assets You Do NOT Have to Report to the U.S. Government. And I will gladly send you a copy, free of charge.
In addition to explaining how I'm protecting my own money, I'll show you three other places you can put your money, which you legally do not have to report to the U.S. government.
Of course, normally it would cost you thousands of dollars to meet with my asset protection attorney, and to take advantage of his best strategies. But I'll reveal everything you need to know to get started in this report.
Plus, I'd like to send you the information on...
STEP #2: HOW TO ACQUIRE THE WORLD'S SAFEST ASSETS, WHICH ARE LIKELY TO PERFORM BEST DURING THIS PERIOD.
What I'm talking about here is buying as much gold and silver as you can reasonably afford. I know... gold has had a huge run, jumping more than 300% in the past decade.
But believe me, when the U.S. dollar loses its status as the world's reserve currency, this early run is going to be a mere afterthought.
I will be surprised if gold does not reach $5,000 or $6,000 an ounce in the next few years.
The smartest money managers in the world, people like George Soros, David Einhorn, and John Paulson, have all recently taken huge positions in gold. And I think you are crazy to not do the same.
How should you do it?
There are many options. And my research firm has recently published a great book, called The Gold Investors Bible, which details in full all of the best ways to own and hold gold bullion.
In this volume, we reveal dozens of secrets about the gold industry... specifically the best ways to buy, sell, and store your gold. It explains whey some gold coins are better than others. How to buy gold with ZERO dealer markup. How to easily and safely store some of your gold overseas, very cheaply... where to hide it... and so much more.
Not regularly available for sale, this book is valued at $24. I'd like to send you a copy, totally free of charge.
And what about silver?
Well, I believe silver will serve a unique role during this currency crisis.
Let me explain...
For most of recorded history, the price of gold has been around 16 times the price of silver. This ratio – the so-called "silver ratio" – has fluctuated from time to time based on silver discoveries and attempts by governments to regulate the silver-to-gold ratio. But... in a free market, where demand for silver as money exists, I'd expect the natural supply and demand balance to lead to a silver price around 1/16 times the price of gold.
Based on the historical ratio, with the price of gold around $1,400, the price of silver should be around $87. It's not, of course. Today, silver is trading around $27. Today then, gold is selling for more than 50-times the price of silver.
What explains the difference between hundreds of years of history and today? Why is silver still so cheap relative to gold?
When silver is "demonetized," as it is now (meaning it's not being used for money, but just for industrial purposes), supplies soar as people sell silver for gold and other currencies.
On the other hand, during periods of monetary crisis, demand for silver as money pushes the silver ratio heavily in silver's favor.
For example, the ratio returned to its historic range (16) during World War I. It happened again in the early 1970s, when Nixon abandoned the gold standard. It also happened most famously in 1979-1980, when it seemed as if America was really entering a serious money crisis
Most people don't know this, but silver is actually the best-performing asset of this century... not gold.
As my friend Chris Weber pointed out in his November 1st newsletter, Gold has risen from $256 to $1,365 since 2000. That is a rise of 433%. Silver has risen from $4.02 to $24.96. That is a rise of 521%.
And in the days that Chris has written this, silver has jumped another 7%!
In short, silver is the best hedge against a money crisis.
As the dollar fails, silver will once again be in demand as money.
And as this demand materializes, the free market price of silver will likely return to around 1/16 the price of gold. When gold hits $2,000 an ounce, and assuming the price of gold is 16 times the price of silver, silver should be worth about $125. My multimillionaire friend and currency expert, Chris Weber, believes silver will likely hit $187 an ounce.
If that happens, you could make gains of around 600% if you invest at today's prices.
So what are the best ways to buy silver?
Well, my firm has done a ton of research on this precious metal. We have found great ways to hold the metal personally... to have it stored in a secure location in the United States or overseas... and more. We've put everything we know into a valuable guide called: Secrets of the Silver Market.
I'd like to send you this valuable resource, also free of charge. I'll show you how to get it in a second.
But first let me get to the 3rd financial step I recommend you take right now:
STEP #3: LEARN THE STOCK MARKET "QUITTER'S" SECRET
If you want the opportunity to make a lot of money during the coming crisis, one sure way to do it is to learn the intricacies of an unusual investment strategy that is now making some investors an absolute fortune.
At my research firm, we have been teaching readers this method for several years.
And get this: You don't have to buy a single stock to begin using this strategy... and it has nothing to do with "shorting."
In a nutshell, this is a secret that could enable you to safely extract gains of exactly 100% from the market, over and over again... without ever owning or touching a stock.
Keep in mind: the most you can make using this strategy is 100%... and as with all investments, there is some risk involved. Also, it's important to note that this strategy will probably not be right for everyone...
But it can be so safe and easy, once you learn how it works, you might decide to never buy ordinary stocks, ever again.
Like these folks I taught this secret to in recent years...
Last March, for example, Peter Kos of Boise, ID quit stocks and used this secret instead. He says he now makes an average of $10,000 per month. Randy Bowman of Annapolis, MD, also quit stocks. So far he's made over $87,500. Bernard Henderson of Carmel, IN, now collects an average of $100 a day. Another, Harold Welchik of New Brunswick, NJ, has made over $20,000.
Tim Hewitt from Sacramento probably put it best when he wrote me and said: "This has saved my portfolio."
I repeat... to begin using this investment strategy, you DO NOT have to touch the stock market, and you don't have to buy anything in the options market either.
That's why financial author Lee Lowell writes: "I've been a professional trader for 17 years... but many people have never heard of a [this investment], let alone used this strategy. This is a great way to get your hands on instant cash."
Pulitzer Prize winning author James Stewart learned this secret recently and said: "[These payouts] are so rich I consulted a colleague to make sure they were real."
This seldom-understood strategy is how we've helped dozens of people make incredible gains, even in a terrible stock market. And in all likelihood, when the stock market gets really bad, as I expect it soon will, this will be incredibly lucrative and safe strategy.
I'll show you exactly how this investment strategy works, and how you can take advantage of it immediately, starting today. Everything you need to know is in my new report called: The Stock Quitter's Secret – The Easiest Way in the Markets to Make 100%.
As the stock market begins to unravel, this incredible technique will likely get more and more lucrative.
And that brings me to:
STEP #4: MAKE SURE YOU OWN THE ONE ASSET THAT CAN HELP SAVE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS GET
There's no telling exactly how bad things are going to get as this crisis unfolds.
I firmly believe there could be riots, marches in the streets, bank runs, massive arrests, and periods of uncontrollable mayhem... at least for several months as things begin to unravel.
But the good news is that there is one asset you can own (now widely available in America), which should help protect you and your family from this chaos... and could also likely make you a fortune in the years to come.
I'm not talking about guns or bonds or gold or other precious metals... or anything like that. And of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the stock market.
What I'm talking about is a very powerful asset that wealthy families have used for centuries to protect themselves... and preserve and build their fortunes.
An index tracking this asset has absolutely crushed the stock market between 1991 and 2009, by returning about 430% more than stocks during that period.
Best of all, it provided these gains with almost no volatility. Just look at the chart below.
See how that blue line goes straight up, without any hiccups?
Multimillionaire investor Barton Biggs wrote that this type of asset, throughout history, "protected both your wealth and your life."
During World War II, for example, when millions of families lost their entire life savings through inflation or government seizure, this was the one asset that enabled some families to protect, preserve, and grow their money.
What the average American doesn't realize is that many of the richest people in the United States have a significant ownership stake in this asset: The Walton family (of Wal-Mart fame), Bill Gates, Ted Turner, the Hilton family, Charles Schwab, Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, the Hunt family (of Texas oil fame), the Hearst family, the Ford family, and more
As I mentioned, you can easily make this investment today, here in America. Probably less than 1% of the population owns it today... but it is readily available, and fairly inexpensive.
I've written up all of the details on everything you need to know. My full report is called: The World's Most Valuable Asset in a Time of Crises.
There are several ways to make this investment. I'll show you what they are.
Like I said, this has nothing to do with stocks, bonds, precious metals, guns, medicine, or anything like that. Yet it could save your family... and make you very wealthy in the coming years.
As my multi-millionaire friend Doug Casey says, it's the ONE THING you should own in the years to come.
I don't want to say any more about it than that, here in this letter. The truth is, the fewer people who know about this investment secret, the better.
So how can you begin taking these simple steps, right away?
Well, my company, Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, is a financial research firm.
We have a staff of about 50 people, and our main objective is to find safe and profitable investment ideas that you are not likely to hear about anywhere else.
Since we started this business a decade ago, we have helped a lot of people make a lot of money...
Harold Thiessen from Montana wrote recently to say: "My IRA has gone from a low of $315,000.00 to the present high of $952,000.00. I can only thank [you] for changing my life so much."
Dan Koffin, from San Diego, also contacted us recently to say: "Since joining, my portfolio has grown by several hundred thousand dollars. I look forward to a long and prosperous relationship."
We even got an interesting note recently from a reader named Ulysses Reuter, who says he has been making a "small killing" – enough to buy a nice-sized boat and a house in Mexico. Here's the photo he sent (below). He writes:
Mr. Reuter added: "We took delivery of her 3 weeks ago and are cruising the Bahamas. In October we will take her through the Panama Canal over to the Pacific side since I just bought a home in Mexico..."
Then there was the nice note from Mitchell Donavan, from Ithaca, New York. He said: "I was working long hours with overtime to make a living when I joined you. The excellent results have allowed me to retire early."
Believe me, nothing makes me feel better than receiving notes like these.
But I have to tell you, right now, I am really worried that a lot of our subscribers and many, many hard-working Americans are going to get caught totally by surprise when this inevitable crisis hits.
That's why I created this letter, and that's why I'd like to send you the full details on exactly how I believe this is all going to unfold... and exactly how to protect yourself and even prosper during this crisis.
Remember: The government is not going to save you:
If the government couldn't save one small city from the disastrous news coming, then how is it going to save all of us when the [beep] really hits the fan?
You can either let things happen to you... or you can take a few simple steps and take charge of your family's fate.
Please, just give the work I've done a look... and I believe you will have all the information you need at your disposal.
The best part is, you can take a look at my research, and receive everything I've mentioned here, at absolutely no risk or obligation.
Simply let me know you'd like to take a trial subscription to my monthly newsletter, called Stansberry's Investment Advisory, and I will immediately rush you:
Research Report #1: The 4 Investment Assets You Do NOT Have to Report to the U.S. Government
Research Report #2: The Gold Investor's Bible
Research Report #3: Secrets of the Silver Market
Research Report #4: The Stock Quitter's Secret – The Easiest Way in the Markets to Make 100%
Research Report #5: The World's Most Valuable Asset in a Time of Crises
Also, on the first Friday of each month, I'll send you my monthly newsletter, Stansberry's Investment Advisory. I'll keep you up to date on exactly what's going on regarding this financial crisis, and I'll show you some unusual and incredible ways to make money now and as it begins to unfold.
We have found some great ways to make a fortune as the government continues to try to bail out one failing industry after another.
I'll also keep you up to date on what I am doing to protect myself. I'll make sure you stay abreast of changes to the laws and government interventions.
And... every day the markets are open, I'll send you my paid-subscribers-only e-mail called the Stansberry & Associates Digest.
In short, I report on all the work my firm is doing... the most interesting investment ideas... what we're researching now... and what we expect to happen in the months to come.
So how much does my work cost... and how can you get started?
Well, a one-year subscription, including everything I mentioned here, normally costs $99 per year – that's what many others have paid.
But right now, you can try my research, for HALF-OFF the normal rate. You'll pay just $49.50 for an entire year.
Why so cheap?
Well, to be honest, our business really only works if our subscribers stick with us for the long-term. But we realize you've got to try our work first, to see if it's right for you.
And that's why, through this letter, we're making it so cheap, and essentially risk-free to try. What I mean is, you'll have the next four months to take a look at the Research Reports I've just described, plus the next four issues of my newsletter... and the next four months of my daily Digest reports.
If you decide for any reason my work is not right for you, just let us know and you can receive a full refund... and keep everything you've received so far.
In other words, by taking me up on this offer, you are agreeing only to TRY my work to see if you like it.
I hope you'll consider this offer seriously. I know in my heart it will be one of the best financial moves you ever make.
To get started, simply click on the link below, which will take you to a secure order form. Your order will be processed immediately, and you'll have access to all of my work in a matter of minutes.
Sincerely,
Porter Stansberry
Founder, Stansberry & Associates Investment Research
December 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)