After spending
an hour on Joe Cristiano’s Liberty Talk Radio program the other night,
I was filled with an excitement that I haven’t felt since I posted my
first ‘Two Cents’ piece back in early 2006. I got to thinking
about all the progress that we together have made in the past half dozen
years regarding the public’s knowledge of the causes of the financial
crisis, to the role of the federal reserve in our economic fate. The great
thing is that outside the political realm, this massive outpouring of information
and coalescence of support has basically been leaderless, which is exactly
what is needed for a meaningful change to be made.
There is no
doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are heading towards some very dark days
here in America. No, we are not immune. Our sins are many, economic and
otherwise, and the day of reckoning is coming. For many, it has already
arrived. Every time I read an article about foreclosures, I pinch myself and
force myself to remember that we’re not just talking about inanimate objects.
We’re talking about real people; our fellow countrymen for whom their
own personal great depression has started. And it isn’t just
foreclosures. A quick look at the labor market could provide enough stories
of personal strife to write a thousand books. And so it goes across the
board.
We are truly
becoming a country of two classes; the haves and those preyed upon. Please
don’t misinterpret what I am saying here; I am a huge advocate of
personal responsibility and I know there were scads of people who foolishly
embarked on financial paths they had no business being on. They signed the
bottom line. But much in the way Greece has become subordinate to the ECB/IMF cartel, many Americans are now indentured to our own
banking cabal. The terms are outrageous, but tell that to a father
who can’t feed his wife and kids. People are living in their cars. For
them, austerity isn’t just a buzzword on some melodramatic television
program, rather it is a reality.
However, with
all the negatives come some great positives as well. We as a society are
empowered with information like never before in history. Can we really wage a
war armed only with information? Absolutely. If we choose to ignore the tools
at our disposal, then we do ourselves, our families, and our country a great
disservice. ‘But the system is too powerful’ many people say. It
is my hope that the following resolutions will help guide inclined
individuals in initiating a bottom up transformation of this country. Believe
me, if you set yourself up and are able to dodge or deflect the economic
freight train that is bearing down on all of us, your family, friends, and
neighbors WILL pay attention and they’ll want to know how you managed
to accomplish it. This is by no means intended to be a complete list, but
simply to provide some food for thought.
1) I hereby
resolve to disconnect myself from the fiat monetary system to whatever extent
I am able. Myself and my family have
core competencies, skills, and trades and we need to leverage those in the
direct exchange marketplace with like-minded families. There is no law in the
United States against direct exchange (bartering) and a group of a half dozen or so families can put a serious dent in
everyone’s exposure to the fiat monetary swindle. Why is this
important? By the federal reserve’s own admission,
the dollar has lost nearly 96% of its purchasing power under its stewardship.
This is an institution that simply cannot be trusted. The fed’s
pathetic record regarding the value of the dollar (one of its two original
mandates was price stability) is proof positive that we need to trim our
exposure to the ongoing robbery committed by this institution.
2) I hereby
resolve to leave the arena of national politics. The
Supreme Court in one of its most misguided decisions ever has declared that a
corporation has the same rights as a natural person in terms of its ability
to influence elections and candidates. I resolve instead to seek out, support
(and run if necessary), and motivate candidates on the local level who
understand that the Constitution is the law of the land and is not to be
taken piecemeal. In this way, I can promote the concepts of liberty, freedom,
and equal protection under the law and have my efforts count for something.
The framers of the Constitution gave the states the ultimate power, not the
federal government. We need to shore up our states, starting with local
school boards, judges, District Attorneys, and Sheriffs.
3) I hereby
resolve to be my own best advocate in all areas of my life.
Clearly, Two Cents is aimed at financial and economic issues, but ultimately,
it is time we as a nation stop this foolish mindset that ‘someone else
will take care of me’ or whatever unpleasant situation is going on. If
those who came before us had the same attitude we have today as a nation, we
wouldn’t have even a fraction of what we do have. I don’t know of
any parent who doesn’t want their children to have a better life than
they did. I certainly do. Well it isn’t going to happen on its own.
Liberty needs to be defended. It is a sacred treasure, and it is slowly being
stolen from us in so many areas of life that I could write for a year and probably
not cover them all.
4) I hereby resolve to eschew new personal
debt in all its forms. Personal debt for the most part is
grossly unproductive in that there is no way for most of the things we buy on
credit to even begin to pay for themselves. One possible
exception is a car loan since it can be used to transport an individual to
work. However, we can resolve to be sensible too. We don’t need $50,000 SUVs do
we? We don’t need
7 and 8 year car loans when there is a good chance our car won’t even
last as long as the payments. The bottom line is we Americans borrow way too
much money and pay usurious interest rates for things we don’t even
need. Our needs and wants have become so confused by our own greed and
avarice. Madison Avenue has been more than willing to help, portraying credit
as some utopia where you can have it all. Just be willing to pay several
hundred dollars a month for the rest of your life. The big problem here is
banks create money from nothing to lend out to you. But you have to struggle
– and mightily – to get the dollars to pay the bank back.
5) I hereby
resolve to assist others in implementing these (and additional or similar)
resolutions. One of the things that made the Continentals such a
tough adversary for the British Armed forces was the fact that the Colonists
first had a clear vision of what it was they wanted their new land to look
like and secondly, they realized they were all in it together – for
better and for worse. How many Americans today would be willing to endure a
freezing winter in Valley Forge, PA without proper food, clothing or shelter?
Faith is one of the most powerful motivators a person can have and those
folks truly believed they had the moral high ground and believed they could
win. And guess what? They did win. Somewhere in each and every one of us,
there is a patriot. Sure, it might be covered over by layers of complacency,
a cushy lifestyle or whatever, but it is there. We need to find it –
and quickly. Then we need to help others find it too and instead of throwing
up walls between ourselves and our neighbors, we need to be tearing down
those walls and working together.
There is no way
any of this is going to happen quickly for anyone. It took this country a
long time to get to where we are today and it is going to take a long time to
change the culture we live in to one that demands liberty rather than a
continuation of the status quo. The key in my opinion is to start small,
especially if you’re first becoming aware of all the events swirling
around you. It is easy to get overwhelmed and just throw in the towel and
continue as you were previously. Pick something small, whatever that may be.
Make the first ‘battle’ if you will one that you can win easily.
Win that battle and then pick another easy one. Win that one too and the next
thing you know, confidence has replaced the sense of learned helplessness
promulgated by many of our leaders today on a global basis.
I am well aware
that much of the writing I do centers around the negative in terms of
economic trends, policy decisions, and our own wandering about in the
darkness as Americans. However, deep down I really am an optimist and still
believe we can have a national revival, both in terms of faith and
the temporal issues that we have to deal with on a daily basis. This is a
movement that doesn’t need a persona or a leader in the strict sense of
the word. We can each be our own leader in terms of how we choose to live our
lives. We need to be creative and show our government that it is simply
easier to restore that which is guaranteed by the Constitution than to
continue to attempt to abrogate and displace its principles.
The time has come America to either put up or shut
up. If we choose the latter, history has shown repeatedly that it may well be
a long, long time before we experience true freedom again.
Until Next Time,
Andrew W. Sutton, MBA
Chief Market Strategist
Sutton &
Associates, LLC
Interested in what is going on in the markets and the
economy? Read Andy Sutton's weekly market and economic commentary 'My Two
Cents' - go to www.my2centsonline.com