The U.S. dollar....RIP

[jajbellsouthnet]

I have always been a patriotic American. Served in the military, fly a flag at home, attend patriotic functions and have NEVER missed an election, no matter how minor. Always bought American products and American cars.
So why am I now driving a Japanese car and taking all of my money out of the U.S. dollar?
1. The car: Try as I might, I could not convince myself that the American product was better. Patriotism, when it becomes self-destructive or not productive, is stupid. The American car which was comparable to a Japanese model was $2,000 more than the import and the quality just wasn't there and I know from painful experience that American dealer service leaves MUCH to be desired.
2. The dollar: Early on, I put most of my savings in the stock market. If the market fails, doesn't America fail? If America fails, just about all hope is lost. Right? Until the P/E ratio on most stocks went from 10/1 to 100/1 or 300/1. That's not investing. That's gambling. You are hoping that the greater fool will come along and pay more for your stock than you did. A funny footnote: The last two stocks I held were GM and Ford because I thought that they were too large to fail. LOL. Being of retirement age, I took the path of least risk and put everything into CD's. Thanks to Mr. Obama's management of the Fed, the interest rate on CD's is not even keeping up with inflation.
A guaranteed loss. The only option left, if I want to preserve what I have worked for is to liquidate my IRA and go into gold. I feel disloyal and the bank is not really happy, but where does loyalty end and stupidity begin? I think I have reached that point and stupidity did not win.
Rest In Peace, U.S. dollar. We had a lot of successes and good times in the past, but the party is over. I will be watching and hoping that you can regain your past glory, but I can't in my heart convince myself that it will happen and I really don't want to go down with the boat.

[Anon001]

Gold is sure volatile... And has a history of low returns over time. Even if SHTF, people aren't going to want gold. And when the markets start to come back and when the economy begins to recover, gold will fall in value because people will be dumping it to get back into Wall Street.... or that is what I think history will show. I also heard that on talk radio. It may or may not be true, but it is something to think about.

[jajbellsouthnet]

Economic recovery means that we increase the value of our money/resources. Last time I checked, there are only three ways to create wealth. Agriculture, Mining and Manufacturing. Everything else is just moving around existing resources.
1. Agriculture: From my experience in Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Florida, present-day agriculture is a losing proposition. I have an orange grove which has been left to fend for itself for the last two years because it costs me more to fertilize it than I can get for the fruit. Thank you, South America.
2. Mining: Last time I checked, the environmental wackos (with the help of environmental wacko Congressmen) had pretty much shut down any form of mining in this country. We are the Saudi Arabia of coal but "Bubba" Clinton put all of those resources into the category of "Protected Wilderness".
3. Manufacturing: I give you the examples of USS Steel, GM, Ford and Chrysler. Aren't you glad that there aren't more lawyers in Congress than engineers? Given governmental/environmental restraints, this country couldn't build it's way out of a closet.
Recovery? Yeah, it'll happen........hope you don't hold your breath until it does.

[Anon001]

Ag doesn't have to be a losing proposition. I have made a profit every year for the last 15 +. This 160 acres was paid off in 10 years with cattle profits. So, ag can be profitable. I see farmers and ranchers everyday that are making a decent living.

I won't dispute about only 3 ways to build wealth, but I am not so sure about it, either.

[readra21]

I have always been a patriotic American. Served in the military, fly a flag at home, attend patriotic functions and have NEVER missed an election, no matter how minor. Always bought American products and American cars.
So why am I now driving a Japanese car and taking all of my money out of the U.S. dollar?
1. The car: Try as I might, I could not convince myself that the American product was better. Patriotism, when it becomes self-destructive or not productive, is stupid. The American car which was comparable to a Japanese model was $2,000 more than the import and the quality just wasn't there and I know from painful experience that American dealer service leaves MUCH to be desired.
2. The dollar: Early on, I put most of my savings in the stock market. If the market fails, doesn't America fail? If America fails, just about all hope is lost. Right? Until the P/E ratio on most stocks went from 10/1 to 100/1 or 300/1. That's not investing. That's gambling. You are hoping that the greater fool will come along and pay more for your stock than you did. A funny footnote: The last two stocks I held were GM and Ford because I thought that they were too large to fail. LOL. Being of retirement age, I took the path of least risk and put everything into CD's. Thanks to Mr. Obama's management of the Fed, the interest rate on CD's is not even keeping up with inflation.
A guaranteed loss. The only option left, if I want to preserve what I have worked for is to liquidate my IRA and go into gold. I feel disloyal and the bank is not really happy, but where does loyalty end and stupidity begin? I think I have reached that point and stupidity did not win.
Rest In Peace, U.S. dollar. We had a lot of successes and good times in the past, but the party is over. I will be watching and hoping that you can regain your past glory, but I can't in my heart convince myself that it will happen and I really don't want to go down with the boat. *


I completely feel your pain here. It is a sad day when everything that we have been told has been a cover up for a grander scheme.

I have been an estate planner for 8 years now after I retired from building custom homes for almost 15

As I have researched, especially after 9/11 I started noticing a trend, (all the call options on various companies that pertained to the events on 9/11)
And during the research I have found that no matter what has happened, Insurance companies (including AIG) have not failed. In fact, during the depression, those who had their money in cash value life insurance did not loose anything, in fact, the smart ones actually supplemented their income by taking systematic withdrawals from their policy and made it through just fine. I verified this with my grandfather in law before he died at 94 and his family was one of the lucky families that was able to use their cash values.

So my point being, we knew this was coming, and warned all of our clients to move their money to the insurance companies, and those who did (85%) did not loose a dime, in fact all of them actually earned between 3-6%
Depending on the taxable structure (pre or post) those who paid the taxes when they had the money instead of when they needed it, they earned it tax free.

With the insurance companies required to keep a cash reserve of no less than 75% of total policy values on hand, and with the actuarial tables and the fact that all of us will die, they have to mitigate their risks. and have always done a great job of it.

AIG tried to tap into their cash reserves, but the state would not allow it to happen, and being suckered into insuring the risky market makers, and sub-prime paper, their mortgage company is the one who failed and was ultimately bailed out. Remember that they have 58 different subsidiaries of AIG, the media propaganda is required to discredit AIG as an insurance company to make people afraid of insurance, when in all reality, they are stronger than ever.

I personally represent 28 different life and annuity companies, and as of this morning, my clients continually thank me for stopping the bleeding. The most common quote I get is where were you when I got into the markets.

You don't go to a podiatrist to have your heart operated on. You go to the specialist. I call them insecurities for a reason.

good luck with the gold/silver read your history on what happens to gold and silver during the depression.

They are control freaks. Protect your assets from the #1 predator, you know who.

D

[readra21]

If you want a copy of my book Proactive Planning in a Reactive World, get me your address and I will send you a copy.

Don