WRITING: How the FRBie might unwind?

Friday, August 4, 2006

Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

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It was Sunday June 25th. The president’s addressed the nation. On Friday, oil was trading at 7,750 gold dinars per barrel. Gold was selling at $160,000 per ounce. The dollar had traded Friday the new low of a hundred thousand dollars to the gold dinar. He looked grim.

Here is a transcription of his speech:

My fellow Americans, in the light of the world markets, in consultation with leaders of Congress, and with the approval of the Supreme Court, we have been decided no longer to recognize the Federal Reserve Banknote, the FRBie, as legal tender.

Be not afraid!

Your Federal Government and make good on its obligations. We have decided to join the world with using the new Golden Dinar as our new national currency. I am declaring a Bank and Stock Market holiday to allow for an orderly market transition. Because of the Independence Day holiday, banking and markets will resume on the Fifth of July

Effective on the fourth of July, the Federal Reserve Bank will liquidate its operations. Each citizen may redeem up to 10,000 FRBies in cash for ONE of our new gold dinar receipts. Citizens may engage in market transactions for the balance of their cash FRBie holdings. FDIC insured deposits will be converted at the current market rate from FRBies to gold. While I don’t know what the rate will be on the fifth, but today it was 160,000 FRBies to the ounce. Non-FDIC entities will establish their own policies.

Also, effective also on the fourth of July, all taxes and fees to your government must be paid in gold dinar receipts.

Stay calm. All is well. God bless you. And God bless America.

End of Transcription.

There was wide spread panicking and rioting. Many were killed and injured. Banks were surrounded with troops trying to hold off, in some cases unsuccessfully, masses of depositors. Eventually, some stores were protected like banks. Eventually, the powers-that-be recognized the futility, and sent the troops and police home. At least, those that hadn’t deserted yet.

That night, stores were besieged with shoppers buy literally anything they could with their FRBies. Most stores were caught unaware. Only WalMart had new gold based prices at the end of the President’s speech. Several car dealers, unaware of the speech, sold cars for FRBies before they heard about the President’s speech. Stores quickly closed but not before doing a brisk business in high ticket items. Also hit by panic buying, were grocery stores, drug stores, gas stations, convenience stores. People drove around seeking anything to buy with their soon to be worthless currency.

Gangs began to line up drunks and derelicts for the currency conversion. Holding them hostage, they were “selling” them for use when the currency exchange window opened. Informal black markets started trading FRBies for things of value. Currency markets around the world traded FRBies as low as 450,000 to the ounce before being suspended by their local regulators.

On the Fifth of July, when the US markets opened, FRBies began trading at 1.7 Million to the ounce and kept dropping. By the sixth, there were no buyers at any price.

The United States government was in high level talks with almost every nation and their respective central banks about FRBie held as a reserve currency. The talks were termed “interesting” by all involved. Leaks from the various different sources seem to sum up the US Government’s attitude as “tough luck”. Only the US military keeps the “debt collectors” away.

In the end, as in Argentina, the far East when currency collapsed, the pre WW2 Wiemar Republic, the middle class was destroyed! Savings were wiped out. A life’s work gone in an instant. The rich took a slight haircut. And, the poor were plunged into abject poverty. Some groups were completely unaffected: the Amish, the Mormons, the survivalists, the Gold Bugs, the underground economy, and families with small farms.

And, everyone in the free State of New Hampshire. The New Hampshire people had been using the Liberty Dollars for a long time, and had weened themselves off of the FRBie. It was interesting in New Hampshire, the FRBie had always been discounted and discouraged. Tourists were routinely warned to get rid of that “FEE YAT” currency and get some “good money”. In New Hampshire, there was plenty in circulation: bullion — silver, gold, platinum and palladium — coins; NORFED silver and gold certificates; New Hampshire bank depository receipts; something called the “free state script” issued by the New Hampshire state government; as well as Japanese yen, Chinese yuan, British Pounds, Euros, Swiss francs; and of course gold dinars and silver shekels. No currency was as universally hated as the FRBie.

There had been thriving black markets in New Hampshire for years where the FRBies were routinely smuggled across the border into Vermont, Massachusetts, and New York where FRBies were the only legal tender. The Socialist Protectionist gubamints in those states had instituted currency controls to “protect” the people from these predators. Even though they couldn’t keep drugs illegal drugs out, they thought they could keep out “illegal” untaxed currency.

If a smuggler could avoid the Border Patrol and the Currency Police, then he could earn huge amounts. One enterprising fellow they caught would drive a junk car over in the morning and bring back a new car in the evening. He was caught when several tourists and citizens in Massachusetts reported seeing a horse on the side of the Interstate. It turns out that this fellow’s wife would ride across the White Mountains with an Indian squaw sledge loaded with FRBies and meet him by the Interstate. He’d traded in the old car for a new one paying the difference in FRBies. When he brought the new one home that night, they’d sell it. The currency police estimated he was earning hundred thousand ounces every year. When asked he just smiled. Our estimate is that, since FRBies in New Hampshire trade at about 300,000 to the ounce, each car trade netted him much much more than the estimate. Maybe a hundred times as much. The currency police were never able to prove more than the car scheme. There case was weakened by car dealers in the NY, Vermont, and Massachusetts denying ever dealing with him. However, they did have the border crossing records and video tape. The bail was set at thousand gold ounces to try to keep him in the jurisdiction, but it was guaranteed by his local NH bank in about 30 minutes. NH banks, protected by strict bank secrecy laws, are believed to have deposits in excess of a trillion ounces in reserve. Their word is truly as good as gold. The villain went home to Hampshire never come back across again. After that, the currency police formed a cavalry unit to patrol the New Hampshire border. It was rumored that the fellow was building a tunnel from Keane to Albany to accommodate the demand.

Remember: Gresham’s law says bad money drives out good! But eventually the chicken come home to roost.

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LIBERTY: “market failure” … … and only the gubamint can save us!

Thursday, August 3, 2006

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/taddeo1.html

Socialist Water
by John Taddeo
***Begin Quote***

According to the City of Cleveland’s Division of Water, a man by the name of Benhu Johnson started a water delivery company in 1810. He would deliver 2 barrels of Lake Erie water to your home for 25 cents. They go on to say that others started water companies but none were able to handle the development of a water works for an entire city. Therefore, government had to step in and fix the problem. This is the classic “market failure” argument that is used to justify government action. Now since government maintains a monopoly on water distribution, we will never see what alternatives the free market can deliver. However, we can compare it to another utility that is much less regulated: cellular telephone service.
***End Quote***

Ahh, yes, the old market failure argument. Interesting that there is never a “government failure” argument.

Take schools for instance. The gubamint runs the schools lock, stock, and barrel. The output is defective. Children come out dumb as stumps at best or with heads filled dumb ideas (i.e., the gubamint knows best; global warming is a fact; business is bad; and how to put on a condom). Yet we never discuss alternatives to the gubamint skool failure. Why is that?


LIBERTY: “Open Space”, like “Eminent Domain”, is another enforced gubamint program!

Thursday, August 3, 2006

http://sbeva.blogspot.com/2006/07/do-you-want-to-help.html

***Begin Quote***

If you are interesting in helping preserve the Van Dyke Farm, here is a list of important people who need to hear of your support for this important project.
<List of Politicians>

***End Quote***

If you are creating a private fund with no government funding, then I’d love to help. Voluntary solutions are best. If this is more government open space where we are going to take tax dollars extracted at gun point from unhappy taxpayers, count me among the opposition. The hallmark of a bad idea is if you can’t convince people to support it voluntarily. “Tin cupping” or “passing the hat” good; taxes bad.

Yes, yes, I KNOW Open Space is GOOD for me. Yes, Mommy Government, I’ll take the medicine that you think I need. And, of course, Father State, you’ll take all the money you need, or give me a good whuppin, and I’ll shut up ’cause you’ll give me what I need to teach me some respect for my betters. :-(


PROD: Dates are a hassle. Don’t add to your keypunching load!

Thursday, August 3, 2006

Ahh, in life understanding comes late.

When I record dates in my paper notebook I write 03AUG06. When I poke that keyboard I tap out 2006-08-03. For a while, I was doing yymmmdd. Then I tried two letter months. JY for July and JN for June. But that didn’t sort or set well.

Then I was doing 2006-7JY-04.

That sorted well. Survived the international test. (You do recognize that 2006-07-04 CAN be misinterpreted by a Brit. I used to work for one! I became a beleiver in GMT for everybody but that’s another story.) Bottom line I think the dashes are a waste of keystrokes.

So maybe the answer is just 20068AU03. Sorts well, looks ugly, and is olny 9 characters aot the 11 I first thought of using.

Sigh, darn those calendar makers. Maybe I should just use 2006.215?


LIBERTY: The Acton think tank nails half the problem with the minimum wage increase.

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

http://www.acton.org/ppolicy/comment/article.php?article=336

Acton Commentary
– bringing moral reflection to bear upon current issues
August 2, 2006
The ‘Moral’ Minimum Wage Increase Hurts Teens and Minorities
by Anthony B. Bradley, Research Fellow

**Begin Quote***

Religious activists are stumping for a minimum wage increase as a way to help the disadvantaged. But do they understand the economics? Anthony Bradley observes that government-mandated pay hikes “actually hurt teens and low-skilled minorities in the long run because minimum wage jobs are usually entry-level positions filled by employees with limited work experience and few job skills.”
***End Quote***

I’ve ranted about this before. The Republican Statists are just trying anything to avoid being defeated in November. So they try and make themselves more like the Democratic Statist. Guess the figure you won’t be able to tell them apart.

The article misses the impact on the politican’s salaries, the gubamint workers’ salaries, the union members’ salaries, and such related since they will all go up in lock step with the minimum wage. Then when all those added costs come due, there will have to be additional taxes to close the budget gaps that they created. Or, if it’s the federal gubamint’s cost we’re talking about they will just raise the inflation tax we pay to cover the gap.

They know we are too dumb to realize it.


LIBERTY: Why is healthcare screwed up … tech industry stupidity and gubamint making it worse!

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Network World’s Messaging Newsletter, 08/01/06
Why is the healthcare industry slow in adopting messaging technologies?
By Michael Osterman

>We all know that the healthcare industry has been fairly slow to adopt a variety of communications

I would call it glacial, or possibly even negative progress if such is possible.

I blame the technology industry primarily. Yes, you can pick your jaw off the table and let me explain.

No one has a good easy public key encryption system. I look for a “solution” with identification, authentication, authorization, accountability, confidentiality, non-repudiation, continuous protection, and recovery across the problem spaces of Users, Systems (Platforms and Operating Systems), Applications, DataBases, and Networks. Technology Industry has know the problem space for at least four decades. I remember being lectured about it when the personal computers were first put into use! This is all our faults. I could go on for hours.

PKI and GSSAPI are, were out there. Encryption engines abound. Yet, I can’t sit down and email, fax, call, or im my doctor. AND, the doc can’t communicate with me.

Next in line for derision is the gubamint and it’s asinine attempt to control every aspect of our lives worthy of a Communist country. They have ruined health care with several things: flawed policies (e.g., WW2 wage and price controls that created “company benefits”, disconnecting the payer from the consequences of their decisions, and many many others), regulations (e.g., FDA), licensing (e.g., Doctors, nurses, hospitals), Medicare / Medicaid rules ‘n’ reimbursements, the War on Drugs, and taxes. The inet has demonstrated what we knew in the late 1800s. No centralized control allows everyone to make decisions efficiently. The marketplace gives everyone the freedom for all participants to make the best decision for them.

Let’s look at one aspect of the current system that kills people, runs up costs, and is terribly inefficient. Paper prescriptions make me laugh. First, you have to payoff the doctor. Then you take this government order (It’s partially printed on the government’s official pad with the doc scribbling the important part in sanskrit.) The pharmacy checks with your insurance company to see if you can have it. That’s if the FDA has “approved” its use. Arghhh.

I have a solution. The doc tells me what I need and I go buy it. Period. I pay the doc for his advice like I do the tax accountant, the dentist, the vet, the lawn guy. I buy the products I need in a Home Depot or Wall Mart. No government, no rules, no expensive infrastructure. What do you bet that Wall Mart could have it all done with one trip to the store like eyeglasses, mobile phones, McDOnalds, and a bank if they’d let them.

So the problem is that industry did NOT solve the KNOWN general problem of which healthcare is a subset. Then the gubamint continues policies that guarantee the problem is unsolvable. IMHO


MONEY: A eggsplanation of the Rule of 72

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

http://www.eons.com/money/feature/644?section=growthenestegg

***Begin Quote***

If you know either the interest rate or the time period desired to achieve a financial goal, the Rule of 72 will help to estimate the unknown element. For example, if the interest rate is known, say 9 percent, the time period to double our investment is estimated by dividing 72 by the rate (72/9). It would take about 8 years to double our investment at 9 percent.

***End Quote***

I use 4% for the rate of return assumption, and 6% for the rate of inflation (that hidden tax increase). So that means that every dollar I’m holding is worht 2% next year UNLESS I do something with it. Arghhhh!


TECH: What is a blog?

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

http://community.eons.com/blogs/index/17146

***Begin Quote***

What’s a blog?

A blog is like an online journal that allows somebody to share their thoughts with the public in the form of blog posts. This page shows recent posts on whatever topics are of interest to the author.
***End Quote***

I’m not so sure that this is the best definition. But, it’s a good start. Currently an internet blog is a collection of DIKW of one or more people around a topic or theme.

I would assert that when it is done by one person alone. It becomes a “personal web log”, a plog! It then is an online journal of sequential musings, ramblings, rantings, or opinions about one or more topics. It does have privacy issues. For example, in my blog, I say I am “lazy”. Does that make it so? How would a potential employer, family member, friend, or acquaintance react to something in my plog? Can I assume an identity in a plog that isn’t really me? Remember Ghandi’s thought about “departments of life” and spillover. Interesting?


TECH: “EONS” a site for old folk has an obit search that’s broken

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

http://www.eons.com/

I track news of Manhattan College alums. It interested me that perhaps this might be a resource I could use. Unfortunately a search with “manhattan college” fails with a ruby error message. Searching for a well known obit by name returns no result. Maybe the dbs aren’t loaded yet? Hmmm. Maybe the “what I want to do before I die” section will work better.


LIBERTY: NJ Guv’s dumb suggestions!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

http://channel-surfing.blogspot.com/2006/07/reform-minded.html#comments

> Reform pension and health benefits received by government workers

Already covered, eliminate the pension and health benefits. Workers can save on their own and buy the benefits they want on their own.

>Encourage shared services and consolidation among towns and school districts

Change the state Constitution to put the gubamint out of the education business. I wrote a 40 year transition plan that would do it in baby steps to minimize the human impact. It took decades to get into this mess; it’ll take decades to emerge out of it. BUT, let’s change the paradigm!

>through a $250 million fund created with new sales tax revenue.

More money down the rat hole.

>Reduce debt to free up funds to use for property tax relief.

Cut State, County, and Municipal government 10%. The guv did on Wall Street. It was a common exercise. Zero base budgeting. Exercises in spending reduction. Let’s put gubamint on a diet.

>by selling, leasing and naming state assets.

Oh I see, we paid for these assets. So sell and lease back so we can pay for them again! Dumb.

# a local sales tax.

NO NEW TAXES! NO TAX INCREASES! Period, exclamation point, Carved in stone.

# Create a state comptroller to audit all departments, agencies and programs.

Another gubamint bureaucrat! Nope. Let have external private auditors who get paid based on the fraud, mismanagement, waste, or stupidity they can find an eliminate. Let them “bid in” for the right to look and we get our money up front!

# Move school budget votes to November.

Why bother … …  unless defeating a school budget means something!

# Cap property tax increases at 4 percent.

Wrong. This guarantees that taxes will increase at 4%! I’d suggest that property tax decrease of 4% of year instead!


MONEY: Credit card versus no card versus debit card

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51320

>You can use them to scrape the frost off your windshield in winter …

True the best use for them.

>No, there’s NEVER a good reason to hold a credit card! Get a debit card. You can use it for virtually anything a credit card
>will do like get a hotel room, buy stuff online or rent a car almost anywhere. A few rental car companies do have pretty silly
>requirements for debit card use or only accept them in certain parts of the country, but those guys are too expensive, anyway!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of credit cards. They are the “crack cocaine” equivalent for the financially naive.

BUT I do think they have a place and use.

FIRST, legally, there is a distinct difference between debit and credit cards. You have rights under the various state and federal laws, statutes, regulations, and policies. They treat a credit card differently than a debit card.

SECOND, financially, with DEBIT, you’re money is gone and you are arguing from a position of weakness.  With a CREDIT card, the bank’s money is gone and you are arguing from a position of strength about accepting the bank’s opinion.

Not that I want to depend on either to protect me, but, there is anecdotal evidence that it can come in handy.

Assuming that a credit card is Zero Fee AND that it is paid off at the end of month, (you can still get these IF you shop wisely), then you have a tool.

I personally have three such cards. Obviously all zero balance. One I use for household expenses. One I use for computer related expenses corresponding to a budget of 1% of my net for this purpose. One I use for books and learning materials, and such corresponding to a budget of 1% of my net for this purpose.

By using these cards in this way, it makes the accounting simple. BUT, were they to change the terms and charge a fee, over the side they go.

Again, I think you may have underestimated the value of having one no-fee zero-balance card in one’s wallet. A debit card is not as good for the above reasons.

IMHO,
Keep up the good work of bringing sanity back to American money management,
Now, can you convince the gubamint to do the same?


LIBERTY: “The Deaths of Millions” … … a gubamint crime!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51331

***Begin Quote***

Ask the 1.5 million Armenians massacred by the Ottoman Turks;
or the 6 million Ukrainians slaughtered by Stalin;
or the tens of millions of other Soviet citizens killed by Stalin’s Soviet Union;
or the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their helpers throughout Europe;
or the 60 million Chinese butchered by Mao;
or the 2 million Cambodians murdered by Pol Pot;
or the millions killed and enslaved in Sudan;
or the Tutsis murdered in Rwanda’s genocide;
or the millions starved to death and enslaved in North Korea;
or the million Tibetans killed by the Chinese;
or the million-plus Afghans put to death by Brezhnev’s Soviet Union.
Ask any of these poor souls, or the hundreds of millions of others slaughtered, tortured, raped and enslaved in the last 100 years, if “world opinion” did anything for them.
***End Quote***

Those numbers are staggering. And, many of them have no dimension to them, for example lots of Tutsis!

Governments kill their citizens. Period!

Hence we should always be keeping gubamint small, hungry, and in check. Actually maybe we should keep our government in the Check Republic (partially joking). At the very least, the politicians and gubamint workers should be in Prison Clothes. Partially so we take them as seriously as they should be.  And, partially, so they know where they’re going when they hurt a citizen. And, you know they will. Can you see the House of Representatives being in session in Orange Jump Suits? And, when they enter and leave, that will be the “perp walk”. Do NOT ask me what I have in mind for Trenton!


RANT: Hey Governor Corzine … … still wanna hear about state cars? … (continued) …

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

You don’t? TOO BAD!

This morning 01 August at 0705 edst on Route 1 thru Pton … …

… … a yellow panel truck td01475 … …

… down route 1 at a leisurely 70 (Your serf speed limit is 55)

… tailgating the poor peon in his way

… never left the left lane

Any way I am sure that he was hurrying to get to I assume trenton to protect and serve me.

Arghhh!


RANT: Hey Governor Corzine … … still wanna hear about state cars? … (continued) …

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

You don’t? TOO BAD!

Yesterday afternoon at 1718 edst on route 295 north milepost 41.6 … …

… … a car sg 21573 … …

… rushed by in the far left lane at a leisurely 75 (Your serf speed limit is 65)

… tailgating the poor peon in his way

… never left the left lane

Any way I am sure that he was hurrying to get to I assume trenton to turn in “his” “my” car after a difficult day of protecting and serving the serfs of the Pepulls Republik of Nu Jerzey. Was he working overtime? So was I paying him to speed, so he could punch the clock, and I could stop paying him. Hmmm.

Arghhh!


LIBERTY: Gubamint involuntary; every other organization voluntary.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rozeff/rozeff85.html

***Begin Quote***

Compare a corporation with many shareholders whose stock trades on an exchange. A shareholder in such a company can exit ownership at any time by selling the stock; and therefore all the owners hold the stock willingly and unanimously at a given time. A citizen of a country has no comparable low-cost means of terminating whatever arrangement he has with the state. Shareholders are not stuck with their company, but citizens are stuck with their state. Furthermore, voters disagree all the time about what they want the state to do. At any given time a large part of the electorate disagrees with what the state is doing. There is no voter unanimity, and if a voter disagrees he can’t do much about it. Shareholders for the most part are in agreement, virtually unanimous agreement, about one thing. They want their agents to select investments that raise the price of the stock. If they do not like what managers are doing, they can do something about it. They can part company by selling the stock.

***End Quote***

So here we have an organization, the gubamint, that presumes consent of the governed, but we have no way to “un consent”. Interesting!