An Ongoing Conversation
A little history:
About five years ago when I first became interested in ideas like Peak Oil and the fate of industrial civilization, I would send news articles to my mom detailing these ideas. Trying to "wake her up," or at the very least impress on to her the fact that I was learning things that no one had told me that were incredibly pertinent and that everyone should be talking about and that I was scared. She was and remains dismissive.
Since then I've stopped sending her news articles. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Who knows, maybe I'm really the horse. Nevertheless in my inbox the other day I found an email from my mom, with a link to an article.
"A Nation That Won't Be Fooled Again"
http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704901104575424332141218568.html
I've read it and what follows is the email conversation my mom and I have been exchanging.
I wrote:
So I managed to find this article in the WSJ by searching Google. I
assume that you sent it to me to show me the numbers regarding the
estimated difference comparing the effects of the stimulus. While I
won't disagree that in the short term any issuance of currency will
boost economic numbers. What is ignored in this article is the long
term effects of money printing. One only needs to look at modern day
Zimbabwe to see where that leads: a worthless currency,
socio-political instability, famine and strife. Another recent
historical example would be Germany under the Weimar Republic, where
economic instability gave way to money printing to bolster the
situation, which gave way to hyperinflation. In the end the Mark had
more value as toilet paper than it had as currency. It took a wheel
barrow full just to buy a loaf of bread.
If, as a country, we continue down this path of economic manipulation
we risk losing a lot. Forget the dollar's hegemony as the world's
reserve currency. Forget cheap oil and food. Forget political
stability.
The most valuable things our "leaders" could be doing now is reining
in this out of control system, but that isn't politically feasible
when so many promises have been made. Economists call these "unfunded
liabilities" but you and I call them the social safety net: welfare,
social security, section 8 housing and food stamps. The government
made promises in the good times that now it can't keep in the bad
times, but the impetus is to make good on a deal. So it seems likely
to me that massive money printing is just around the corner.
So I'll say it again, this time quoting Robert Kyosaki ("Rich Dad Poor
Dad." He and I are on the same page). The economic fundamentals have
changed. It is no longer smart to hold stock in ANY company, unless
you're an insider. Us normal folks need to be focusing on what Mr.
Kyosaki calls the 4 G's: Guns, Gold, Ground, and Grub. You choose the
order of importance. The government is no longer looking out for the
best interests of the people over the long term. If actions speak
louder than words, then American politicians are interested in short
term political gain, and very few are in it for the long haul. And as
a result, there is less and less room for you and I in that state of
affairs.
Look out for yourself first, your family second, and your friends and
neighbors third. In the end this is who we have to rely on.
====================
To which she replied:
Or you could work on changing the government.
And i would suggest you work on your cynicism. It is not as if you do not have truth, you do, but I would advise you that you do not have all the truth.
And I truely believe that we are meant to be happy. Strive for that.
Mom
==============================
My response:
People have been working to change the government since you were a
child and it has only gotten bigger and uglier. Change will not occur
within the system. It will occur when the system is too corrupt to
stand on its own legs and it collapses.
What you call cynicism I call realism. I'm sorry that the world I have
inherited is not the roses and sunshine that your generation wanted.
But to pretend that the situation is not ugly and is not in peril
would be tantamount to closing my eyes, clicking my heels together and
wishing, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I
have to live in the world as it is presented to me, not as I'd like it
to be. To do otherwise would be foolish.
For the most part I am happy. I live an incredibly stress-free life. I
eat well, I get lots of exercise. I have good friends that I trust.
I'm pretty much set for life. I don't have a boss or a wife telling me
what to do all day. Life is good.
I'm just not going to buy into the mass delusion that Wall Street and
the White House are selling. I'd rather live in reality as an outcast,
than live in a dream world as a cubicle-dwelling serf. Frankly life is
a hell of a lot more interesting and exciting this way. I don't ask
you to agree with me or see it my way, but I do ask that you respect
my decision. It is mine to make, and I can tell you that I am a
stronger, healthier person because of the course that I have chosen. I
also think that someday, many years from now, you will come back and
say, "Wow, what smart decision making." It takes a lot of courage for
a person to go against the societal grain to pursue a vision. Many of
the greatest people throughout history have been such people. The
founding fathers come to mind.
Maybe you don't see where I'm coming from or think its lunacy, you're
entitled to your opinion, but I assure mom that I am not stupid, and I
have not been deceived. You're going to have to trust me. Someday
you're going to realize just how smart I have been.
==============================
So the conversation continues.....
About five years ago when I first became interested in ideas like Peak Oil and the fate of industrial civilization, I would send news articles to my mom detailing these ideas. Trying to "wake her up," or at the very least impress on to her the fact that I was learning things that no one had told me that were incredibly pertinent and that everyone should be talking about and that I was scared. She was and remains dismissive.
Since then I've stopped sending her news articles. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Who knows, maybe I'm really the horse. Nevertheless in my inbox the other day I found an email from my mom, with a link to an article.
"A Nation That Won't Be Fooled Again"
http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704901104575424332141218568.html
I've read it and what follows is the email conversation my mom and I have been exchanging.
I wrote:
So I managed to find this article in the WSJ by searching Google. I
assume that you sent it to me to show me the numbers regarding the
estimated difference comparing the effects of the stimulus. While I
won't disagree that in the short term any issuance of currency will
boost economic numbers. What is ignored in this article is the long
term effects of money printing. One only needs to look at modern day
Zimbabwe to see where that leads: a worthless currency,
socio-political instability, famine and strife. Another recent
historical example would be Germany under the Weimar Republic, where
economic instability gave way to money printing to bolster the
situation, which gave way to hyperinflation. In the end the Mark had
more value as toilet paper than it had as currency. It took a wheel
barrow full just to buy a loaf of bread.
If, as a country, we continue down this path of economic manipulation
we risk losing a lot. Forget the dollar's hegemony as the world's
reserve currency. Forget cheap oil and food. Forget political
stability.
The most valuable things our "leaders" could be doing now is reining
in this out of control system, but that isn't politically feasible
when so many promises have been made. Economists call these "unfunded
liabilities" but you and I call them the social safety net: welfare,
social security, section 8 housing and food stamps. The government
made promises in the good times that now it can't keep in the bad
times, but the impetus is to make good on a deal. So it seems likely
to me that massive money printing is just around the corner.
So I'll say it again, this time quoting Robert Kyosaki ("Rich Dad Poor
Dad." He and I are on the same page). The economic fundamentals have
changed. It is no longer smart to hold stock in ANY company, unless
you're an insider. Us normal folks need to be focusing on what Mr.
Kyosaki calls the 4 G's: Guns, Gold, Ground, and Grub. You choose the
order of importance. The government is no longer looking out for the
best interests of the people over the long term. If actions speak
louder than words, then American politicians are interested in short
term political gain, and very few are in it for the long haul. And as
a result, there is less and less room for you and I in that state of
affairs.
Look out for yourself first, your family second, and your friends and
neighbors third. In the end this is who we have to rely on.
====================
To which she replied:
Or you could work on changing the government.
And i would suggest you work on your cynicism. It is not as if you do not have truth, you do, but I would advise you that you do not have all the truth.
And I truely believe that we are meant to be happy. Strive for that.
Mom
==============================
My response:
People have been working to change the government since you were a
child and it has only gotten bigger and uglier. Change will not occur
within the system. It will occur when the system is too corrupt to
stand on its own legs and it collapses.
What you call cynicism I call realism. I'm sorry that the world I have
inherited is not the roses and sunshine that your generation wanted.
But to pretend that the situation is not ugly and is not in peril
would be tantamount to closing my eyes, clicking my heels together and
wishing, "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." I
have to live in the world as it is presented to me, not as I'd like it
to be. To do otherwise would be foolish.
For the most part I am happy. I live an incredibly stress-free life. I
eat well, I get lots of exercise. I have good friends that I trust.
I'm pretty much set for life. I don't have a boss or a wife telling me
what to do all day. Life is good.
I'm just not going to buy into the mass delusion that Wall Street and
the White House are selling. I'd rather live in reality as an outcast,
than live in a dream world as a cubicle-dwelling serf. Frankly life is
a hell of a lot more interesting and exciting this way. I don't ask
you to agree with me or see it my way, but I do ask that you respect
my decision. It is mine to make, and I can tell you that I am a
stronger, healthier person because of the course that I have chosen. I
also think that someday, many years from now, you will come back and
say, "Wow, what smart decision making." It takes a lot of courage for
a person to go against the societal grain to pursue a vision. Many of
the greatest people throughout history have been such people. The
founding fathers come to mind.
Maybe you don't see where I'm coming from or think its lunacy, you're
entitled to your opinion, but I assure mom that I am not stupid, and I
have not been deceived. You're going to have to trust me. Someday
you're going to realize just how smart I have been.
==============================
So the conversation continues.....