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“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” —Winston Churchill
Recovery?
Our regular readers know we’ve been skeptical of the of the so-called “recovery” — and we’ve been warning of a “Double-Dip Trip” as far back as a year ago. Recently unfolding economic news hints $trillions of government stimulus (via money created out of thin air) is not doing the trick. We never thought it would. It’s long been our opinion government spending never causes susta |
- Last Modified: 2010-08-19 08:55:22
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“Everything popular is wrong.“
—Oscar Wilde
Popular Opinion
Well maybe not “everything” – but we think Wilde makes a very good point. We tend to cast a wary eye at consensus, and like to think for ourselves. To us, following popular opinion involves a lot of “others you don’t even know thinking for you.” And having strangers doing your thinking, is to us, a potentially dangerous thing. Especially when you consider the possibility those strangers may be trying to shape your opinions for reasons which don’t necessarily align |
- Last Modified: 2010-07-22 18:18:51
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“Who goeth a borrowing
Goeth a sorrowing.“
—Thomas Tusser
What’s Really Moving the Stock Market?
The answer isn’t obvious at first glance. Some say the economy is recovering, and businesses are doing better. But we also notice weak jobs data, growing federal and state deficits and declining tax revenue – along with a real estate market facing more serious challenges ahead. The real question may be – why after $trillions of government stimulus, does the stock market seem to be indecisive at best – and perhaps teetering?
A Reveal |
- Last Modified: 2010-06-30 16:12:20
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“But the collapse of the financial system as we know it is real, and the crisis is far from over. Indeed, we have just entered Act II of the drama, when financial markets started losing confidence in the credibility of sovereign debt.” — George Soros (June 10, 2010)
“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” — Māori Proverb
“Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes.” — Henry Kissinger
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; |
- Last Modified: 2010-06-18 08:00:22
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“Be wary of a woman who only shows up when you are winning.”— The Most Interesting Man in the World
But Who’s Winning?
We get a real kick out of The Most Interesting Man in the World. His style is classic – and his advice is perfectly delivered with a knowing dryness – making the Dos Equis TV commercials truly funny, and enjoyable. And he’s usually right on the money.
And it’s not just a man who should be wary of a woman who only shows up when he’s winning. Governments who benefit from the purchases of their debt simply beca |
- Last Modified: 2010-06-03 21:41:44
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“Money, when considered as the fruit of many years’ industry, as the reward of labor, sweat and toil, as the widow’s dowry and children’s portion, and as the means of procuring the necessaries and alleviating the afflictions of life, and making old age a scene of rest, has something in it sacred that is not to be sported with, or trusted to the airy bubble of paper currency.”—Thomas Paine
Our Mission
Like Thomas Paine and other founding fathers – we’ve long been concerned about governments’ uncanny ability to debase their no |
- Last Modified: 2010-05-13 16:28:08
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“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”—Benjamin Franklin
Before We Get Started…
Investors often believe when markets go up they’re getting richer – but they may not be. The value of their portfolio or home may be higher, but the value of the dollars they own may have been diluted/devalued/printed away by the government. And this is often brought to light by the price of gold vs. dollars or things denominated in dollars – like stocks. We believe the relationship between the number of ounces of gold it takes (in doll |
- Last Modified: 2010-04-29 12:38:27
| “Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.” —Oscar Wilde
We’ll Take the Austrians
We’ve long been proponents of the Austrian School of economics because, unlike the Keynesian School, it trusts the judgment of consumers and business owners over that of government central planners.
Ludwig von Mises (1881–1973) is still regarded as one of the Austrian School’s foremost leaders. The Austrian tradition dates back to the 15th century where, at the University of Salamanca, Spain, followers of St. Thomas |
- Last Modified: 2010-03-31 11:39:13
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“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.” —Albert Einstein
It’s All Relative
Is there a better definition of relativity than Einstein’s?
And today we’re hearing of problems in Euro-land due to the fiscal woes of the “PIGS” countries (Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain). As the Europeans debate whether they should be bailed out (and the relatively fiscally sound Germans voice their displeasure at such a thought) |
- Last Modified: 2010-03-22 13:26:20
| “To contract new debts is not the way to pay old ones.” —George Washington
Ballooning Government Debt
The chart below boggles the mind as it shows the rapid acceleration of the United States national debt. In 2000 the national debt was less than half of what it is today. And stunningly, the U.S. has accumulated more debt over the past ten years than it had over the prior century.1
On December 24, 2009 the debt ceiling was raised to $12.394 trillion via H.R. 4314.2 An additional increase in the U.S. debt limit to $14.3 trillion was si |
- Last Modified: 2010-02-25 21:21:19
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