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For years,
I have discussed the key reason why so few people grasp REALITY; and
consequently, why PROPAGANDA is so effective during difficult economic times.
That reason, of course, is that “precious” few have the means to
PROTECT themselves from what’s coming; and thus, choose to believe
in – and/or pray for – the “Polyanna
Platitudes” of Washington, Wall Street, and the MSM (or their overseas
equivalents).
Joseph
Goebbels – Hitler’s “Minister of Propaganda” –
famously stated “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it,
people will eventually believe it”; and no statement could be truer
– particularly amidst today’s GLOBAL economic collapse.
Nary one
in ten journalistic pieces reflect TRUTH these days;
and many such “truth-pieces” are created solely to market
products and services. Some might even say the same of me; although I
was writing of such things years before working in the bullion
industry. In other words, identifying an unbiased truth-teller is like
finding a needle in a haystack; and when I do, such “good, smart
people” are immediately incorporated into my close-knit world –
or as Robert DeNiro would call it, my “Circle
of Trust”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHJGoZpFeM8
Last week,
I listened to a keynote speech given by Kyle Bass; one of the
nation’s most successful – and TRUTHFUL – investors. He
spoke of numerous “Goebbels-esque”
LIES; such as that ‘Japan is self-funding’ and ‘Germany a
bastion of financial soundness.’ However, what stuck out most was a
concept he termed “OPTIMISM BIAS”…
An
Hour in The Company Of Kyle Bass
Basically,
he spoke of how in essentially every city he’s visited, investors told
him they agreed 100% with his bearish views; except, of course, on the
potential ramifications on their own hometowns and asset holdings
– which in their view, would be immune.
Such
“OPTIMISM BIAS” is EXACTLY what I have spoken of; so I thank Mr.
Bass for giving it a name. That is, if you own a home, you brainwash
yourself to believe real estate markets are “recovering”; while
if you rent, you tend to be the biggest real estate bear around. It’s
no different for Warren Buffett “talking his book” – U.S.
equities; “Bond King” Bill Gross doing the same with fixed
income; or Bill Gates speaking of Microsoft’s superior operating
systems.
Human
nature is entangled in dozens of such biases; which is why you can
NEVER truly believe someone until you understand their context. And
when it comes to “financial life and death,” such biases could
not be more blatant – or immovable.
In all
such decisions, do your due diligence as objectively as possible. But
keep in mind, objectivity is nearly impossible in a world fraught with
“OPTIMISM BIAS.”
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