I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking about laying in provisions for the coming Depression. (Selling my stock has already become irrelevant and, unlike others, I’m not planning to go John Galt. I’m just too instinctively entrepreneurial… too many years in Hollywood… for that. ).
Anyway, time to get to it because “time’s a-wasting.” According to James Pethokoukis in US News, the odds of a depression are already 40%. I think they may be bigger than that, but it’s all definitional, isn’t it? So time to get ready. One of the things I’m doing is reading Amity Shlaes’ The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression on my iPhone. (Yes, you read that correctly. It was either that or buy more bookshelves. I chose to download the new iPhone Kindle app and bought Shlaes’ book for $9.95 – I know, I’m already overspending, but, as an author, some things are sacred: meaning royalties.) Anyway, the book is terrific and, even though it must have been written before the arrival of the current administration, it contains many eerie and disturbing parallels between the mistakes of Hoover and Roosevelt and, now, Obama. What’s the old expression? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What about fool me ten times?
In truth, I don’t have any plans. Like many of you, I assume, I had no real suspicion this would be coming – not in my lifetime anyway. Depressions were long gone, something that happened to my parents when they were young along with Prohibition and early Benny Goodman. And now to think my children may go through it in the prime of their lives. Well, it’s still nothing like fighting in World War II. I’m still a relative virgin.
But speaking of World War II, one of the most startling things I have read in the midst of all this madness is the story of a ninety-year old Madoff victim going back to work. This man has lived through the Great Depression and World War II. He, of all people, has a lot to tell us.
Read Amity Sclaes’ book last year. Realized America was making a huge mistake in electing Obama with the economy on the brink. Now we have gone over the edge and his policies are taking us right to the bottom.
Odds of a depression are increasing because Obama appears to be more interested in his marxist-redistributionist policies than in helping the economy. Its all good if we are equal. Equally poor, yes, but equal nontheless.
Me, I’m spending the time learning Japanese for no particular reason. I plan to not worry while Obama burns down our economy. I suppose this is the only way some people will get over their socialist fetishes. Besides, the roots of our economy are in the knowledge and industriousness of our people, which won’t be destroyed.
With prediction of FDIC collapsing by year’s end, it could be a good time to get the savings back under the mattress.
You weren’t expecting anything to happen? I was. I grew up during the 70′s, and knew better than to ever assume that the good times would roll on — especially in light of how many incredibly bad ideas are still mainstream and taken seriously in ethics, economics and politics.
When as magnificent an achievement as America ends up in the hands of people who have no concept of what it really is, let alone how or *why* it works, it is just a matter of time until their ignorant tinkerings and vandalizations of the thing manage to break something essential to the works, and it all comes down.
Another great book with startling similarities to today is Ron Chernow’s The House of Morgan. His description of the late 20s with the Latin American bonds being securitized in small lots and sold to small investors sounds very familiar. The book was written after the S&L collapse but is timely today.
Read “The Forgotten Man” several months ago on my Kindle [the print on my I-pod is just too small]. She’s quite good on the radical vision that informed some of the New Deal and the ruthlessness with which it was prosecuted. There has been a lot of revisionism on the New Deal in recent years and hers is a good summary of much of it. Her central argument that the New Deal retarded rather than bringing about recovery is a good one, backed by solid research. Happy reading.
The problem of the coming depression, maybe?, is that government will just assume more power. Your paper money will be more worthless, we’ll learn again why dimes had the little ridges on the edges…oh, no that was real money! Finally, we’ll see exactly how many people know how to clean a fish. I’m not expecting many to start learning this since we have spawned a generation that groans at baiting a hook.
What is scary is that Obama’s approval rating is still in the high 50s. Why is it not falling? If it did, he might cease and desist from his destruction of the US economy.
Black people will still support Obama no matter what, even if they suffer the most. They don’t grasp what causes wealth and poverty. Look at Zimbabwe after the white people stopped being in charge.
Why is Obama still popular?
I’ll guess I’ll ride the rails looking for honest work!
Frankly, Americans deseve a decade of suffering in order to learn their lesson.
There are morons who owe $40,000 on $25,000 cars (when new), because they rolled their old loan onto a new one when they traded a partially-paid old car in for a new one.
Americans are also stupid enough to elect a monster like Obama to office. No other time in history would have enabled someone with this type of resume to rise so high, simply due to a set of leftists getting excited about the idea of themselves voting for a half-black man.
Americans deserve a decade of hardship in order to learn their lessons. All the young women who are gaga over Obama will see their fertility window pass unused during this time. People who bought homes they could not afford will have negative net worth for a decade. This is how Americans will learn the right values again.
I’m keeping my government job. The way I figure it, the pay might go down but the job won’t go away…
I’m all for suffering that’s required to learn important lessons but I have a question or two.
I’ve saved money over the years, financed my house with 40% down, paid cash for my cars and am generally in ok shape financially despite he hard and disimproving times.
Now my taxes are going up (since filing jointly with income over $250k I’m RICH) in order to pay for the mistakes other people made – overborrowing, buying homes at peak bubble prices they couldn’t afford. WHAT is the lesson I’m supposed to learn from that?
People used to laugh at “preppers” like me. I have appx 1,000lbs of food. Gallons upon gallons of drink. Guns and ammo. Medical supplies. Gardening supplies. Hardware supplies. Fuel of Gas, propane, Briquettes. Books from the past on cooking, surviving. How did your Forefathers survive? A plan to defend the fore mentioned. Imagine one day there are no more stores open or stocked. Go from there. A helpful site:
http://www.survivalblog.com/
As a lifelong woodworker I am going to learn coopering so I can outfit my fellow citizens in the soon to be popular “barrel”. It’s a good look that has come and gone over the years, but given the massive obesity one sees among Americans, I am thinking that this year’s barrels can be strapless and still stay in place.
It is a difficult thing to be so forward looking and talented.
Roger, one thing you’re going to have to learn in the coming Depression is you don’t actually pay for books or movies anymore; you simply download them from bittorrent sites for free.
Anarchus,
I think the lesson is: work is for suckers. Take a second passport, become an expat (get that Form 2555 exclusion), or just quit paying taxes to the greatest extent possible, filing as many schedules, exemptions, etc as possible. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you send the IRS enough papers, they’ll just accept the fat bundle (and its accounting) as is. But a passport will be handy in case my prognostication is incorrect.
Roger, you are not alone in wondering what to do to prepare for the possible hard times to come. Perhaps I am a pessimist, but I have always been aware that a depression could come again. Some of my in-laws survived the Dust Bowl, and my mother survived the occupation of her homeland by the Nazis. Human events move in cycles, and history tells us that every boom is followed by a bust. Today’s depression may not look like that of 1935, but that does not mean it cannot occur.
What lies in store if the dollar is suddenly and drastically devalued due to inflation, or perhaps by our foreign creditors calling in their notes? A similar fate could await us if the world ecnomic system “decides” that the US dollar is no longer the best reserve currency, and migrates to the yen, euro, or other currency.
Barter anyone??
As long as we are looking darkly into history’s looking glass, anyone remember how the last depression ended? In the largest and most destructive war in human history, that’s how. Here’s praying that doesn’t happen again…
“Besides, the roots of our economy are in the knowledge and industriousness of our people, which won’t be destroyed.”
Yes, but people in other First World countries are no less knowledgeable, and not considerably less industrious. They just obey the stimuli they’re given. When the European governments figure out how to tax downtime and vacation, they’ll work their little keisters off, until they they close shop in August and head to the beach.
What we stand to lose this time is the flexibility and efficiency of our supply systems, and if you want to talk about putting a hitch in your national get-along wait until we run out of money (deflation) to make the system work. To use an engine metaphor, we’re a highly-balanced turbine happily spinning away, but there’s only so much perturbation a turbine will stand before it fails.
The subprime crisis, the CDS minefield, the stock market collapse, rising unemployment — these are the geese that are getting sucked into the intakes of our national A320 right now. The Hudson is fast approaching. And quite frankly the guy in the cockpit is no Sullenberger.
“As a lifelong woodworker I am going to learn coopering so I can outfit my fellow citizens in the soon to be popular “barrel”. It’s a good look that has come and gone over the years, but given the massive obesity one sees among Americans, I am thinking that this year’s barrels can be strapless and still stay in place. ”
That is the funniest thing I have read all week.
But how will these Americans go to the bathroom if they tightly fit in the barrel with no straps?
You could go high-tech with plastic barrels (like those found at roadside construction), thus enabling multiple colors.
Hmm, for the past few months the leading refrain is, “the sky is falling.. the sky is falling.” I, however, must be an optimist, despite my best efforts otherwise. I have seen more of the world than most and less than some, but do not feel the end is neigh. Americans are not just another nation, but “the” nation and shall weather this hiccup of an event. Against all odds, and obstacles, we have succeeded against far worst trials and tribulations. So, dear ones, take heart and do not fear the night.
A Texan
I don’t think there will be a depression like the one in the 30′s.
But, just in case…I am growing a huge garden, taking on no new debt and I am also armed.
We may have less time than we think. If the stock market continues to lose about 300 points a day, like it did today, and we’re at 6,600 now… we could be at ZERO in less than a month. Do the math.
Guns and gold fer starters…..
“Besides, the roots of our economy are in the knowledge and industriousness of our people, which won’t be destroyed.”
I have problems with that remark, too.
Knowledge will be made useless…because what we know now will become dated. The rest of the world will pass us by technologically.
Knowledge will be forgotten…because you lose what you don’t use
Knowledge will never be acquired…because the upcoming generation will have no reason to study and no resources to pay tuition if they did. Of course the children of “Party Members” might get an education along with their indoctrination.
Not to mention what a generation on the dole can do to erase the trait of industriousness.
When we do finally recover from this, we could find ourselves in the same predicament as Eastern Europe after the Wall fell. Skilled at foraging and repairing obsolescent junk, but little else.
Frankly Roger, whether you sell your stock or not is totally irrelevant to me too, since I don’t own any. I work. I never believed in money for nothing so don’t expect any tears from me.
So, what was the point of this article?
“We may have less time than we think. If the stock market continues to lose about 300 points a day, like it did today, and we’re at 6,600 now… we could be at ZERO in less than a month. Do the math.”
When people start saying things like this, we know that a fierce bear-market rally back up to 9000 is imminent.
People aren’t hurting yet, though. Have people stopped going to Starbucks? Are restaurants empty? Are people discontinuing their broadband? No. Not yet.
Furthermore, you consider pseuding around in Hollywood to be work?
Puhleeeeze, do me a favour!
There’s always cattails:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XJMIu18I8Y
And don’t forget, you can eat a pine tree…
Well Rodger, my stocks are also a loss cause. Sigh. The dollar is going to fall through the basement and taxes are going for Pluto. Energy costs will soon be out of reach for us non-billionairs.
So here is my back-up plan:
Spend my money now so I have stuff to barter.
My vegetable garden is an act of love, so it is in good condition.
Bought a solar cooker, so at least we will have hot food most of the time.
Trying to remember how to raise rabbits from years ago 4-H project.
Looking at the bright side, at least my grandchildren will understand hard work, saving and how to make do.
Actually, since I have no mortage payments, except for ne’er do wells, I am in pretty good shape.
So is Obama the black Jimmy Carter, or the American Robert Mugabe?
What is really troubling to me is the naive belief that so many have is that Pres. Obama and the left-wing of the Democratic Party do not know what will result from their actions. These are not stupid people (they know exactly what they are doing and what will result – don’t underestimate your enemies). They want a certain result, the death of Capitalism and the free enterpirse system. Their plans – massive deficits, non-stimulus items in the so-called stimulus package, will either bankrupt the country or cause hyper-inflation, which will wipe out all wealth, except for that owned by the political class, the leaches of the free enterprise system. They know we can’t afford “health care reform” now. They know that the cap-and-trade policy will place American enterprise at a serious economic disadvantage. They know we cannot rely on so-called alternate energy sources to power our country. They know going “green,” in a big way, will hurt the economy.They know we cannot, nor can any country, have trillion dollar deficits for the foreseeable future. So next time someone comments and explains how bad these ideas are at this time, and what will happen from these financially irresponsible schemes – they should ask – why do they want it to happen? The questions is not “what will happen?” but “why do they want it to happen?”
I read that when Winston Churchill was financially desperate — which was often — he never thought of reducing spending or selling what he had, but of increasing income. Sometimes a rich friend would bail him out. But that won’t happen for us anymore. So keep writing books and columns of any kind and go on the lecture circuit like Winston. Remember the Liddy-O’Leary traveling show? Pair up with somebody you enjoy debating. Films so bad and sad these days, it would be more fun to watch lively debates.
How about reading “The Fourth Turning” by Strauss and Howe
next. Disturbingly “prescient”.
Ol’ Lightnin’ plans to busk on the street corner because the blues are back. Bad luck and trouble makes for timeless subject matter that people can relate to.
I say keep being yourself, pass on that trait of industriousness so that it cannot *be* erased. Fight the bull****, and those who are selling it. Invent something, reinvent yourself, reassert American values and principles by voting the bastards out and freely speaking your mind (if you’re here, you’re already doing the second part).
In short, suck it up. Put at least some of the effort you’re willing to spend on building the ultimate bunker into helping like-minded individuals preserve America yet again, because no matter how bad it looks right now, it still exists. Let’s fight for it. Above ground, in the open, and without fear.
Roger, is SOMEONE in Hollywood talking about a real movie?
The real story in Iraq has yet to be made into a movie.
Mamet and Haney have touched on part of it in The Unit.
The events in Anbar as retold by Couch and Yon cast into the eyes on a skeptical but dedicated NCO on his 3rd tour who speaks Arabic who unites with the local Sunnis against AQI would do the trick. The story is there – all it needs is a writer and a producer and it will make bank. Throw in a dumb Colonel and a smart General, add in a local girl and some blown up kids. Add in a Liberal HT analyst, foreign journalists who see the light, and some clueless American journalists as well. Bring them all together for the climax.
Well, if it’s as bad as some of you say, some of us won’t last more than a few months, because we rely on medicines and other things that will be in short (and low-quality) supply. That can relieve one of worry in a back-handed way.
i just finished a book by rawles “patriots how to survive the coming collapse” it is a novel that doubles as a manual for survival in our country after the financial markets collapsed and civil order no longer existed. very worth while read. gbest, m.d.
I just can’t imagine that we are worse off than the 70s under Carter. Is Obama really worse? He sure seems like it.
I’m reading The Forgotten Man too and it is truly frightening. But we made it through that time. And we will make it through this one.
Is it weird to hope that things don’t recover too soon? If they do, Obama will get credit, even though I believe any recovery will be in SPITE of his actions. And he’ll be re-elected easily.
Perish the thought.
# 14 – I do agree with the point you are making. Still and all and speaking purely for myself, the lesson I am relearning is that I can only control my own choices, and if I’ve made the best choices I can for my family and myself – well, Heinlein said it best in one of the books that shaped my worldview more than I realised at the time – Starman Jones. Written on a gravestone: “he ate what was set before him”.
Let others do what they may, because they will. Let us do what we can, because we can. Can’t say I always succeed in living that… but it beats giving up.
Five years ago I planted an orchard, eight grapevines, a garden, and I have a few boxes of MRE’s. My weapons, ammo, and dogs are with me. I work in the healthcare field now, so I sould lose my job last. The only thing I do not have enough of is wine for me, and the wife.
Wine appears to go fast at my house. I’m thinking wine celler with wood working, and some sharp Marine Corp posters in black frames. Bar stools would be topped with red, and the counter tops in dark green.
Now, any of you Commies out there want my weapons, Come, and Get Them!
Nothere:
Those obese types are going to shed a lot of weight when the worst of this hits. Better add straps for later…
Learn how to cook from scratch from staple foods, and stock up on those. (They’re healthier anyway.) Learn a tradeable skill, like sewing or auto repair. Plant a garden– if you don’t have a yard, grow what you can in containers and plant a community garden or find some land someone’s not using and ask if you can garden there, possibly in exchange for a share of the produce. Make sure you own enough non-electricity-powered equipment to get by, and/or enough electricity generating capacity to run what you need.
I’m going to go long lithium stocks – it’s used both as a mood stabilizer and in those green car batteries. Figure it should be pretty profitable for the next four years.
Amity Shlaes wrote a column for the Financial Times for five years, for which she won the International Policy Network’s Bastiat Prize for Journalism in 2002.[3]
Claude Frédéric Bastiat (June 30, 1801 – December 24, 1850) was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amity_Shlaes
==================
So you are reading a revisionist book by a liberal on the Depression.
nuff said.
Oddly, I’ve been hoarding clothing, food and ammo this last couple of years. I’ve felt the rumblings of internal struggle in our country. We the people are angry at our politicians on both sides of the isle.
The raping of our liberty is the undoing of our country that is causing this unraveling into a meltdown.
I am afraid for us and that is not ‘tin-foil hat’ speak. That’s from my heart… I am truly scared.
America is too expensive to subsidize anymore, most especially the perks of its felonious financial class. The rest of the world is pulling out our artificial supports.
Goodbye, America! It’s time to compete with a much cheaper world that has the same technology, the same talent, the same resources and the same skill-set…only a LOT cheaper.
Still believe in “American Exceptionalism”? Fine. Go jack off in your hat. That shit doesn’t fly anymore.
So sorry if any of you didn’t see this coming. Time to learn a second language.
There is nothing wrong with being scared. It takes a sane, and brave person to admit they are scared.
You still have to lay down a base of fire when the time comes. The prone position is the best, as it makes you a small target.
Over.
Rotwang,
I learned two other languages. One is Spanish. For example; Ben da ho. The other is Ebonics. Like Fuk u homey.
SFB’s.
Leatherneck,
Our weakness is not believing we can be STRONG. You are right…sometimes we have to be an army of ‘UNO’ [that's for pissy Rotwang].
Ebonics? I’m well-studied in st00pid. ‘Ghetto’ is not a ‘culture’ though… I *DO* know how to make tongue clicking sounds when I speak… I also once learned how to speak ‘Valley Girl’… Then, I grew up and realized how silly it was.
Yes, Leatherneck, I’m afraid and I hope my fears aren’t realized but so far…_25% of them HAVE been…
*gulp*
Rotwang,
Believe in it? I strive to embody it every day. First generation Americans often do. So sorry that the very idea bothers you enough to be vulgar about it, but thanks for sharing.
As for second languages, I could teach you German – it’s great for swearing.
“it’s still nothing like fighting in World War II”
Well the “weakness wars” have not started yet. Once America’s enemies figure out that we will never be weaker economically or run by a more incompetent party and dufis in chief, they will attack. It won’t be pretty, since by then the Military Industrial complex will have been destroyed by the dem’s in the name of the greater good.
Have a nice day!
Not agreeing with the way the S&L bailout was handled in the late 80s (using taxpayer funds), I made a vow to become a little more self-sufficient. It took a lot of work and about ten years but I paid off all debt and started looking for an “out”. About a decade ago I purchased some desert land with water and an old barn, learned how to garden, and built a new ranch house. We now have a giant garden, a couple cows, chickens, solar power, and make some of the best sweet cucumber relish & mesquite jelly in the world. I wish I would have tried it when I was younger. The depression we will all be experiencing before too long doesn’t intimidate me in the least. We won’t be changing our lives here much at all.
My plans? Now that I’ve accepted the new politics of pull and admitted my inability to combat it, I’m reconnecting with what’s important. I traded in “Atlas Shrugged” for “Ecclesiastes.” There’s nothing new under the sun, so I’m planning to get by on t-ball with the kids, walks with the dogs, and jug wine at sunset with the wife.
As for me, I am looking up. The book of Revelation and others talk about our sitution. Depression, Drugs etc and from all of this a man will appear and many will believe he will be the saviour of the world. (We are not alone in this financial mess. It is world wide) The stage is setting, and I say come Lord Jesus!
YES, THE FREE MARKET STILL WORKS
HERE’S SOME ANTI-SOCIALISM HOPE FOR A CHANGE
In this case, profits are up in the down economy.
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2009/03/wal-mart-haters-losing-argument.html
Every time I read your blog you’re reading a book I just finished. Guess we’re on the same wavelength.
It is frightening to read how ignorant the FDR administration was – they did everything wrong and you have to wonder if there would have been a depression at all if the government had made decisions that encouraged a freer market. Like now there was a class war, the rich were vilified, taxes skyrocketed.
I assumed when I read The Forgotten Man last fall that Obama and his appointees would be smart and would not repeat the mistakes of the past. Isn’t that what history is for? To teach our leaders the mistakes of the past? Alas, Obama seems hell bent to devastate the economy even faster and more thoroughly than the blundering FDR and his predecessor Hoover.
What will I do when the depression comes? I’m trying to sell property in CA and move to another state with better prospects but it won’t be easy. I don’t owe much so if I can’t sell I can still do okay here. I have a productive garden and a network of agriculture friends who barter and trade and my husband makes wine. My job is secure — I work in the global warming industry which is anticipating lots of stimulus bill money. But I worry about so many things now I never thought I’d have to think about. The collapse will come sooner in CA than the rest of the nation and it will not be pretty. Hopefully it will be instructive to our governemen; maybe there will still be a chance then, maybe Obama and the Dems will see the folly of their policies and reverse them in time to save the rest of the country.
If not, well, too bad. The idiots who elected Obama and think Government knows best how to spend money and restrict freedom will learn the harsh lesson that this is the wrong way to run a government.
I can’t say this ENOUGH. STOCK up now people while the gettin’ is good. -Most importantly on honey, raisins, dried fruits, olive oil, coconut oil, canned goods, beef/venison jerky, bottled water…anything that can sustain you through a rough 6 months of rioting and chaos.
Obama’s retarded ‘green pandering’ plans are going to ratchet up the prices on everything that uses ‘non-green’ energy which is going to make EVERYTHING that is ‘trucked’ via trucks running on gasoline to our local grocers EXPENSIVE.
I’m here for the long haul. Ge ready, be ready and stay steady.
“BE PREPARED” isn’t just an Army slogan… it should be a LIFE SLOGAN.
BE ready not ‘Ge ready’
I’m sure most of you knew that anyhow but my typos are glaring once I hit ‘submit’. ;p
Get the following non-perishable foods :
1) Rice, of course
2) At least 100 pounds of whole wheat pasta
3) Lentils : They are just about the healthiest food you can eat, and are super-cheap. An excellent source of protein.
However, I am amused with people who think this type of apocalypse is near. People have not even stopped getting $4 lattes at Starbucks yet.
62. Toads,
Rice is always a good staple. I’m loaded.
Whole wheat pasta will go rancid faster than durum wheat pasta.
Lentils and beans are ALWAYS a great pantry supply.
The people still buying $tarbuck$ are the idiots who voted Zero into office… which brings me to this ridiculous question: Is Starbucks too big to fail?
I have so much honey stocked up you’d think I’m a bee-keeper.
Well, it’s still nothing like fighting in World War II.
My greatest fear is Depression will lead to wars.
If it does in fact occur, can we call it “The Great O-pression?”
With the economic downfall already in effect the new depression is taking over America. People are having to change their lives and are preparing for the worst when things are really not as bad as people think as of yet, but I think it is better for the country if we everyone would be preparing for the worst and stocking up on perishable food items to live off of when times are still somewhat good for most people who have not already lost their job. Even if nothing occurs out of the downed economy, stocking up on supplies to live off of for an excess of a couple of months will be putting money back into the economy which in the long run will help out in bringing the economy back to life. The slogan that Delia states above of “Be Prepared” being a life slogan should be thought by more people in America and the country would not be in the terrible situation that we are in with a new president, bad policies, and a no good economy.
Very simple: look up the word deguello in an English-Spanish dictionary. I won’t be alone.
John Gault, If you have issues with what Amity Schlaes wrote, refutation of her arguments might enlighten us. A snarky comment about revisionist history by a liberal isn’t really andvancing or hindering an argument. Especially from a fictitious character.
I haven’t read the Schlaes book and I can’t comment on what she wrote. I’ll take a look for it at the library. I did read a synopsis of the UCLA economists’ research which seems to support the premise that FDR’s policies lengthened the Depression. I’m convinced, but I can’t state the case for why they might be wrong, so I am hardly an expert.
SEERAK
#6
Your observations ore on point, sir. Well thought out – perfectly expressed.!!
“Claude Frédéric Bastiat (June 30, 1801 – December 24, 1850) was a French classical liberal theorist, political economist,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amity_Shlaes
==================
So you are reading a revisionist book by a liberal on the Depression.
nuff said.”
Wow, you should really read up on your economics and economists. When they refer to Bastiat as a CLASSICAL liberal theorist, what they mean is that in the 18th and 19th centuries and still to this day in Europe the term liberal and liberalism refer to free market politics and economics. Bastiat is one of the original Classical economists, he was like the Henry Hazlitt of his day, a popularizer of the ideas of the great free market economists, like Smith, Say, Ricardo etc., So Amity Shales receiving that award confirms her free market credibility. She is not a liberal by the current American understanding of the term.
Indeed, Ann NY. One of the interesting portions of Shlaes’ book is where she explains how FDR is responsible for the connotative change in the word liberal from, as you point out, classical liberal – in which the individual was prominent to the contemporary version based on interest groups.
Buy low, sell high, that is the often quoted key to success that most folks just never have the fortitude to take advantage of.
Roger,
It’s really a shame too. Liberal is a much better term to describe me than conservative, a term I absolutely hate. That book has been on my to do list for quite a while (I did spell her name wrong, my mistake). I do live with a classic liberal – Austrian school – free-market economist, so I’ve been educated about the Hoover recession and FDR compounding it into a depression, for some time. By the way Obama just spoke and the stock market went from being up to crashing again. Hard times are upon us.
LEATHERNECK
#50
Fine, appropriate advice….Semper Fi.!!!
It ain’t so tinfoil cap anymore is it?
Food and bullets people,, food and bullets.
OsamaHusseinIslamObama 2012′ (the terrorist choice)
-It’s never to early to campaign-
Hitting the gym more/working out at home to get the physical conditioning up is a good idea. I have been swimming at my gym and then walking home a lot lately.
Bastiat cet illustre inconnu, nul n’est prophète en son pays
http://bastiat.org/fr/guillaumin.html
still to this day in Europe the term liberal and liberalism refer to free market politics and economics.
yes indeed !
All of the stored food, tools, and primitive skills will only get you dead quicker if you don’t have the weapons, the training, and the will to use both!
I saw this coming and by April of 2008 – when it looked like it would be McCain vs. Clinton or Obama – I was out of the market before it hit 12,000. Socialism is doomed to fail every time it is tried because it destroys freedom and people who are not free do not produce enough to feed themselves. That’s just the way it is and has been since before Plato wrote The Republic. (If you think that socialism has failed simply because the right people have not been in charge or because us right wing kooks fight you every time you try it – you are a fool. We fight you because it is a failed and murderous ideology.)
Buy silver – only stamped with purity and weight. Gold will be confiscated to pay our national debt just like FDR did in 1933.
Get out of debt.
Buy food – dried, canned, freeze dried
Make sure your home is burglar proof – old school security such as wrought iron, good locks and weapons.
Decide now which family and friends you will be willing to feed and provide a place to live – but don’t tell them and don’t tell anyone else. The more people who know you are prepared, the more who will show up at your door when they feel the hunger pangs (because they were not prepared).
And to those of you who think government officials will learn from past mistakes and make better decisions in the future, or that Obama will be forced by reason to “move to the center” – put down the bong.
Can you believe we’re actually talking about this? Talk about a “perfect storm”. When you look at who we have as president, the way the housing industry has evolved, Americans personal debt load, the government’s debt load, the most liberal congress ever in our history, folks, we’re screwed. I read that we may just have hard times for awhile but we’ll get through this. I don’t think so. I don’t know what’s on the other side, but I’m going to do my best to make it there. And I don’t think wise men like Warren Buffet are really leveling with us. He’s a lot more perceptive and we could use the advice of men of his caliber. We’re in a world of shit. I was thinking today if someone stole from me, what would I do. Of course I’m looking out for me and my family, but how can I seek retribution from someone who’s just trying to survive himself? I’m not so much worried about the have not’s stealing from the have’s, my fear is an attack from outside, and not necessarily other countries, if you know what I mean. To be honest, I want to network with people that read this website, I live in CA and I’m tired of the leftests and their BS.
Rotto,
My husband and I have been putting all our resources into our business, so we didn’t have any stock, but if we had, I would have sold as soon as McCain got the nomination as well. We are now going to sell the company and perhaps buy a farm in a country that will be a bit easier to weather the storm. An island would be good…
I don’t understand why we are blaming Obama for a mess he inherited. He’s been president for less than two months and somehow two decades of crap is all his fault? The blame lies with greedy short-sighted CEOs and politicians who are more interested in stuffing their pockets with our money than in the future of America. So now nearly everyone I know is broke, including me. I have been stocking up, but what will I do when I can no longer pay my skyrocketing property taxes and utility bills with my meager Social Security? Will I end up in a tent cities for the homeless like they have in California?
83. sharonsj:
I don’t understand why we are blaming Obama for a mess he inherited. He’s been president for less than two months and somehow two decades of crap is all his fault? The blame lies with greedy short-sighted CEOs and politicians who are more interested in stuffing their pockets with our money than in the future of America. So now nearly everyone I know is broke, including me. I have been stocking up, but what will I do when I can no longer pay my skyrocketing property taxes and utility bills with my meager Social Security? Will I end up in a tent cities for the homeless like they have in California?
~
Sharon, it’s a scary time right now for ALL of us. When Bush had the purse-strings he spent a bulk of it on protecting our @sses from terrorists__ THAT I can excuse. -In the last two or so years we also had a Democratic Congress who led the charge with Fannie/Freddie to our economic proverbial grave. There is fault on BOTH sided to be sure. TARP? HELLO? -But, the dipshit in office is just ramming more crap down our throats rather than helping us. He deserves scorn for sitting on his hot house hiney while he lets Pelosy [the jet setter on tax payer dime] and all of his croneys create an ugly mess out of our already frail economy.
I’m disgusted by the Left AND the Right but I’ve always held a little disdain for politicians in general but what Barack wants to do to our country is so vile, evil and frightening that if you don’t have your eyes open…frankly, you haven’t been paying attention.
Roger,
Like you no plans – but less ambitious than you in an entrepeneurial (SP)- somewhat – sense. I accepted one turn around (company) more for 2 years before the wheels fell off of everything and am glad I did. What I will recoup over the two years won’t equal what I have lost in the firestorm but will help. I will retire to the Philippines where the cost of living is low, buy into a business or two and try and enjoy life with a lower level of expectations. Current bride is 24 years my junior and we have a 2 1/2 year old child so I guess I won’t be ceasing to work forever, unless I can earm back what has been lost in the melt down. which does not look do-able.
THERE WILL BE NO MORE TENT CITIES WHEN ALL THIS HITS THE FAN!!!! When the riots start, Martial law will be declared, people will be rounded up for their own safety. Why do you think the Gov’t has been preparing all the so-called “FEMA CAMPS” all over the country. They have so-called “FEMA PRISONER TRAIN CARS”,double decker rail cars fitted with benches and shackles, stationed all over the country. They even have hundreds of thousands so-called “FEMA CASKET LINERS”, stockpiled in fields all over the country. You will not have to worry about what you are going to do at this time. You will be re-educated to understand the new “Progressive” point of view. If you are not willing to be “re-educated”, then you will probably find what all those “casket Liners” are to be used for. If you are lucky enough to get “re-educated”, there will plenty of Gov’t housing to go around.
If Obama was implementing policies that would help businesses to get the economy moving again, I’d give him a pass on the continuing market crash and chalk it up to the business cycle. However he’s implementing FDR’s policies. They didn’t work during the great depression, everyone knows that and that’s why the market continues to crash. People look at Obama’s policies and see an impending depression. That makes it Obama’s fault.
Why is he doing it? He’s not stupid and his advisers aren’t stupid. I conclude he wants the country on its knees because that will make it easier to permanently install socialism. My plan is to try to the best of my admittedly meager ability to get some opposition into the congress in 2010. Fortunately we’re too big of a country to be destroyed in two years but it is long enough to get everyone really upset with Obama and the Democrats. We can come back.
Hey, Rog – we still have the Lakers (yeah) and be sure to check out the new Wagner Ring at the LA Opera! It is terrific!
Wheat and Water…you can live on wheat sprouts…don’t need fuel to cook, and just munch on the sprouts through the day.
Can’t eat gold and bullets.
Jenny
It’s not over until googly eyed Pelosi’s vat of rotting thigh fat lipo leavins’ sings.
Let’s be FIGHTERS. Let’s get fired up.
I refuse to lose.
Damn the Torpedoes! I’m mad as hell and I’m not about to take this now or later.
YES. Them’s fightin’ words.
89. Jenny Hatch:
“Wheat and Water…you can live on wheat sprouts…don’t need fuel to cook, and just munch on the sprouts through the day.
Can’t eat gold and bullets.
~
Jenny, let’s hope to GOD we never have to resort to wheat sprouts for survival. I’ve lived vegan for a short while…it was HELL. I like meat. What can I say? I’m a Ted Nugent kind of gal.
My plan comes from Josey Wales, courtesy of Chief Dan George
“Endeavor to Persevere”
(if I recall correctly, that was actually said to him by the guys in Washington, but it was a heck of a lot more positive than what we are hearing from the guys in Washington these days….)
Besides, two things be true
1. no alternative planet to emigrate to yet
2. and none of us getting out of here alive
Still and all I would like to leave my children a better inheritance…
# 86 Joe the Citizen: truly, I don’t see this as at all likely. Why? It would require a degree of passion, coherency, synchronised effort, high-level planning and low-level leadership (okay, “community organisation” if you will) that this administration is incapable of providing…
If I was younger I’d get pregnant and go on welfare, but that’s not an option anymore. In 3 years I can start withdrawing from my IRA. Oh, that won’t be an option cuz it’ll probably all be gone. I guess I better stock up on wine and lentils and plant a garden.
I suppose it was the late 70′s, with the Carter debacle, when food supply/hoarding became an option for lots of folks.
I thought one of my older brothers (all of whom were in the military)made a good point when he said there’s no point in accumulating a bunch of food unless you’re willing to kill to keep it.
We’re stocking up some, too, as we see local stores moving toward short inventory to cut their costs…but still think brother had a point.
My questinon for Amity Shlaes deals with World War II. Wasn’t the economic turn-around that happened after 1939 proof positive that Keynsianism DOES in fact work? You often hear “the New Deal didn’t end the Depresssion, World War II did.” But the massive deficit spending and military conscription that put people back to work was simply the New Deal on steroids.
Markus, the New Deal got a tailor arrested for charging five cents less than his competitors.
The New Deal on steroids, honestly considered, would have been a great deal more of that.
Well, then, if big government and high taxes and printing lots of money all hurt the economy, just what was it that made the economy do so well both during and after the war?
In the coming depression I will have to cancel my Bucket List and revert back to enjoying the simple inexpensive pleasures of childhood like kite flying and tiddlywinks. Kick the Can anyone?
-Snippy “
I was thinking of climbing a tree and re-reading “The Great Depression Of 1990″ by Dr Ravi Batra. Remember how bad that depression was?
Markus, I don’t have all the information handy but there is a huge economic difference between military spending and welfare spending which is basically what the New Deal was. If I dig out my econ books from the attic I’ll put in the details.
One point is…….the war only lasted for 4 years (for us) the New Deal was running for 8 years. Why did 8 years of New Deal not work when 4 years of war spending did? Simple answer is that the two kinds of spending are not equivalent.
There is no doubt the banking system will go belly up. I think they will keep pumping it until they decide to pull the plug and all hell will then break loose. I don’t know if they can create another bubble or not. Obama inferred that he sees things turning around in his recent speech. BS. Once people start losing everything once the banks go under and the dollar is worthless, all hell is going to break loose. And crim will be through the roof. FEMA camps aren’t there for no reason. Why would they have them? To lock up Afghans floating across the sea to the US? Doubtful. I think they will round up a bunch of people. Who the hell knows what catastrophic event that is going to happen. I think that is the one thing no one has mentioned. There will be another 911.