Entitlement Nation!

"A record 49 percent of Americans live in a household where someone receives at least one type of government benefit, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. And 63 percent of all federal spending this year will consist of checks written to individuals for which the government receives currently no services, the White House budget office estimates. That’s up from 46 percent in 1975 and 18 percent in 1940."

"Those figures will climb in coming years. The 75 million baby boomers have only begun their long march into retirement, while President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul will extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million additional people."

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-28/americans-hooked-on-government-as-record-number-get-benefits.html

This is why owning gold and silver is imperative. Ignore the noise from the jackasses and the elephants concerned only with keeping their jobs (Ron Paul excluded). One party is pissing down our backs, and the other says it's just raining! The US dollar is 100% doomed. That's the great secret they don't want you to know until it's too late.

I don't blame the people getting Federal benefits. Many are genuinely needy. However, the USA has been playing rich uncle (Sam) for 80 years now, and there's no sign of a reverse in course or even a slowing of the growth of cash outlays. Rich uncles are great when they actually have the money available to hand out. But our Uncle Sam is borrowing trillions of dollars a year (in our names) to continue to send out more and more entitlement checks. Even if the US doubled taxes (revolution time) and cut benefits in half (more revolution), it still wouldn't be enough. Not even close either to pay off all debt and establish a constitutionally mandated balanced budget!

The US is doing exactly as ALL COUNTRIES with fiat money have done in the past - print, print, print, paper money in an attempt to keep itself afloat until the US Dollar isn't worth the paper and ink that went into it! Paper money unbacked by gold and silver (or another valuable commodity
like land) has always and will always fail, dragging down the vast majority of its citizens into the black abyss of absolute financial ruin.

Gold & Silver are the only precious metals that have been used as money for 6000 years. They are the Once and Future Kings. An owner of gold and silver gurantees that he will NOT be a slave to any man or government...ever!

"Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" - Patrick Henry

“Specie [gold and silver coin] is the most perfect medium because it will preserve its own level; because, having intrinsic and universal value, it can never die in our hands, and it is the surest resource of reliance in time of war.” ~Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, 1813

Rick

Silver - What Better Investment?

When thinking about an investment, the best managers look for returns that beat what they perceive to be average. In the long run, wealth is a relative measure—today, even the poorest people are wealthier than the richest people five hundred years ago, though we’d still say that today’s poor are poor.

Investments work along the same lines, with the simple concept being that an investment must have performance that is preferable to your current financial trajectory, and it must have a return that beats holding money in cash, as well as the negative returns incited by inflation.

Whether or not you are a current silver holder or not, ask yourself one simple question: what price would it take for you to sell your metals or buy government debt? At what rate would it be favorable for you to invest your money in stocks, bonds or any other investment?

Now, take that number, which is likely quite high, and compare it to past performance of all the markets out there. You can compare it to stocks, bonds, and commodities, and see simply which asset type has produced returns that you would see favorable. It would be a safe bet to see that the returns and performance that you want out of your investment portfolio haven’t been found in stocks nor bonds for the past twenty years.

Silver Bubble is Not

For the individual investor, an exercise that looks into what he or she wants in an investment isn’t a daily happening, though it is for the institutional investor. The markets measure just like wealth—you can do well, as long as the other guy doesn’t do as well as you do.

So when the hysteria of a bubble emerges, investors should ask bubble promoters where they should go from silver. Should they buy stocks, which are priced as many as twenty years into the future? Should silver investors pile into fixed-income investments and take home 4-5 percent per year?

It is here that we reach the end of such an argument. Not only are the opportunities present in stocks and bonds weak, but they’re also offering returns that aren’t consistent with their risk profiles. So why would you hold silver, if you wouldn’t own cash flowing stocks, bonds, or an assortment of mutual funds? Because silver is the new cash.

Investors who have amassed massive positions in the metals markets are telling the market that the options aren’t exciting. If you’ve only a small selection of underperforming bonds, underperforming and expensive stocks, or negative-return generating cash, is it really much surprise that you want an alternative? Traditional investments have a best possible outcome of returns equal to a few percent per year, after inflation, and cash has a best possible outcome of negative returns each year.

The bubble isn’t in silver ownership, but in low rates and indebted economic institutions. When investors hold commodities, they’re holding the new cash, and they are insulated from risk to a degree that everyone should appreciate. Silver is “in a bubble” because the remaining opportunities are stuck in a rut. At what point would silver investors swap their holdings for paper assets? You might have to bring back Volcker to make that happen.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
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Is Silver Getting Bubbly?

Silver's rising prices as measured in US government fiat dollars (alias paper funny money) spawns new articles on a daily basis predicting that surely now silver is in a bubble (a price that is irrationally higher than the intrinsic value of the product or investment). I suspect that as the "tears of the moon" metal approaches the 1980 high of $50 per ounce, the uninformed scare-mongering will only increase in volume. But is silver really in a bubble just because its worth as measured in rapidly devaluing 2011 US dollars is nearing the former 1980 peak?

Firstly, let's make sure we're comparing apples to apples, or at least dollars to dollars. Based on the CPI, you'd need $134.29 today in 2011 to purchase the same products you bought in 1980 for $50. So, while we can talk about the NOMINAL high of $50 for silver per ounce, the real figure we should be eyeing for bubbly signs is a lot closer to the $134 mark in inflation adjusted dollars.

Secondly, exact information as to what price point constitutes pricing above an item's "intrinsic value" is always a little sketchy, to say the very least. However, I'd like to tentatively submit the inflation-adjusted high for silver of $134 as that point, since the 1979-1980 bull market is the best and only historical comparison to today's market.

Next, I think a "real world" comparison of actual buying power of one ounce of silver for the years 1980 and 2011, may aid us in our search for buying power equivalency, and perhaps the actual 2011 point at which we may be entering bubbly territory. Therefore, I've collected the economic information below:

1980 $ Price - Price in Silver Oz. @ $50 per ounce

Avg. New Home $76,400 - 1528 oz.

Median Household Income $17,710 - 354 oz.

First Class Stamp $0.15 - 0.003 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas $1.25 - 0.025 oz.

Dozen Eggs $0.91 - 0.018 oz.

Loaf White Bread $0.50 - 0.01 oz.

Next, we'll look at the 2011 - Silver @ $41 per ounce

Avg. New Home $202,100 - 4,929 oz.

Median Household Income $52,029 - 1,269 oz.

First Class Stamp $0.44 - 0.01 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas $3.75 - 0.09 oz.

Dozen Eggs $3.00 - 0.07 oz.

Loaf White Bread $2.78 - 0.07 oz.

It's easy to see from these two pricing tables that you need a lot more silver to buy everyday items in 2011 than was required to purchase the same products at the peak of the 1980 silver bubble. For example, you could purchase an average new home in 1980 for only 1528 ounces of silver, but you'll need 4929 ounces to close on that same house today!

Finally, I'd like to see how high silver would have to rise in price before it could buy the same amount of products it did in 1980. To determine the 2011 dollar adjusted figures I'll divide the current 2011 dollar product costs by the number of silver ounces required in the 1980 peak. See below:

Avg. New Home - $132 per ounce silver

Median Household Income - $147 oz.

First Class Stamp - $147 oz.

Gallon Regular Gas - $150 oz.

Dozen Eggs - $167 oz.

Loaf White Bread - $278 oz!

The incredible numbers above show that silver will have to rise to between $132 to $167 per ounce to arrive at pricing levels in 2011 dollars that proved to be overheated or bubble-ridden in 1980! In addition, if you want to eat bread again like we did in 1980, you're going to need silver at $278 per ounce! So, our tentative figure of $134 per ounce for a silver top is pretty right on the money.

Given all the information above, I'd say we have quite aways to go with silver at about $41 an ounce before we reach any frothy action! For my part, don't even wake me until silver has exceeded $100 per ounce!

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

Silver is Consumed!

Industrial Demand

The first fact that jumps off the page is that the future for silver looks remarkable with industrial silver demand rising from 15,160 tons (487 million ounces) in 2010 to 20,712 tons (666 million ounces) in 2015. Much of the growth in the global total of industrial silver consumption will be driven by stronger demand for a number of established uses including the manufacture of electrical contacts and the use of silver in the photo voltaic industry. New uses center on silver's antibacterial qualities, while other new uses tend to make use of its conductive properties, including solid state lighting and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Overall please note that silver’s importance in the technology of the day is huge. We go so far as to say that the demand from silver has transformed from a want to a need! Whether we are in a boom or bust silver’s demand will remain robust. It is now needed to make all facets of an economy run well and at all levels, even down to individual needs. This secures its future and assures us that silver prices are well supported. Here is the list of the amounts used in different applications that emphasize this point.

- Cell phones used 404.35 tonnes [13 million ounces] of silver last year.

- Computers consumed 684.29 tonnes [22 million ounces].

- Thick film PV consumed 1,461.90 tonnes [47 million ounces] in 2010.

- Automobiles which used 1,119.75 tonnes [36 million ounces] of silver.

- Electrical and electronics demand for silver reached an all-time high of 7,555.21 tonnes [242.9 million ounces].

- Solar Power in 2011 is expected to reach 2,177.29 tonnes [70 million ounces], up 40%.

- RFID tags in 2010 reached between 31 and 62 tonnes with a long way to go before reaching full market.

- Water purification used 62 tonnes [2 million ounces] set to grow to 74.65 tonnes [2.4 million ounces].

- Medical applications may grow strongly to reach 93.3 tonnes [3 million ounces] by 2015.

- The use of nano-silver in goods packaging and hygiene combined would consume 124.4 tonnes [4 million ounces] of silver over the next five years.

Silver is consumed

While photographic use of silver allows for the re-cycling of silver, reclamation of silver from most of the above uses is difficult to nigh-on-impossible. This in itself assures either a constant or rising demand for these applications. Of particular note is the growth in Asia where we are watching around half of the globe’s population developing at infrastructural level as never before. This growth will continue at double figures, per annum for at least the next decade. Gold is rarely consumed as it is deemed far too valuable. Reclamation efforts relative to the value of the gold ensures that scrap merchants will go to extraordinary lengths to recover the gold. In silver’s case these efforts would cost more than the sale of the silver so used. As the silver price rises further reclamation efforts will become profitable and more silver will be recovered, but we are still a long way off from that day.

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies, APMEX Gold and Silver and Silver American Eagles.

Rick
CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!

Monopoly Money vs. US Dollars

Everyone has played the game Monopoly at one time or another on a rainy day. A key feature of the game is the paper money used to buy everything from properties to railroads and pay rents and luxury taxes. In the "real world" we use the US Dollar for the very same purposes. I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast the two paper currencies to see just how eerily similar they are to one another.

US Dollar - A paper fiat currency unbacked by any commodity like silver or gold. Backed solely by the "good faith and credit of the United States" government.

Monopoly Money - A paper fiat currency backed by the good faith and credit of Parker Brothers.

US Dollar - accepted on some level in most of the 195 countries of the world. The world's reserve currency...for now at least.

Monopoly Money - Played with by people in 103 countries.

US Dollar - About $829 billion dollars in circulation.

Monopoly Money - About $3.8 billion dollars in 250 million games sold.

US Dollar - The Federal Reserve Notes first issued in 1913 have fallen victim to inflation in the last century and have lost 97% of their buying power.

Monopoly Money - In the Monopoly Here and Now edition all dollar values are multiplied by 10,000, so a player collects $2,000,000 for passing go instead of $200. Another way of looking at this game change is that the Monopoly Money has lost much of its value as well.

US Dollar - When the Fed wants to tinker with the economy it just prints more money and floods the market with devalued dollars sparking inflation, and perhaps someday hyperinflation.

Monopoly Money - When Parker Brothers needs more money for their games they just print more.

US Dollar - All paper fiat currencies backed by nothing have eventually lost value through inflation. Many have been hit by hyperinflation and lost all buying power, becoming worthless pieces of printed paper. The US Dollar and the current policies of the Fed seem custom-designed to hurry the US Dollar to this same ignominious fate.

Monopoly Money - The game money only has value while the game is in play. When the game is complete, the money reverts to its inherent worthless status as pieces of colored paper valued by none.

Lastly, I'm reminded of a time that my brother and sister decided to play Monopoly out of sheer boredom. To try to make the board game more interesting, we decided to start the game with 4 times as much money as the rules typically called for. In addition, we decided to mimic real life and allow for everyone playing to bid against one another for each and every property sold. Without meaning to, we simulated an inflated economy littered with too much fiat paper money. We didn't end up with any additional property of course, as there was a finite number of properties available in the game (as in the real world). Instead, we only ended up paying 4x as much for Boardwalk, Marvin Gardens, and those darned railroads as we normally would've using the standard game rules!

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

Rick

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Silver Liberty Dollar = Terrorism?!

The creator of the Liberty Dollar and NORFED (National Organization to Repeal the Federal Reserve Act), Bernard Von Nothaus, was recently convicted of counterfeiting and faces thousands of dollars in fines, $7 million dollars of copper, silver, and gold bullion confiscation, and 15 years in prison! The silver & gold Liberty Dollars along with precious metal certificates were conceived by Von Nothaus as an alternative currency backed by PM's and competing with the US fiat money. Von Nothaus had hoped to play a part in restoring the US to a sound monetary precious metal standard. Unfortunately, the Federal government with its printing presses busily flooding the country with trillions of dollars of green funny money, felt threatened by the tiny organization and its gold and silver medallions.

The Fed's case rested on the similarity of the Liberty rounds to US coins, with obverse figures "emblematic of Liberty" and a "Trust in God" inscription instead of "In God We Trust". Reverses of the Liberty Dollars featured recommended dollar values as well. Differences like a website address on the reverse of the Liberty Dollars obviously weren't sufficient to avoid his prosecution, or is the proper term "persecution"?

After the verdict the Federal prosecutor, Anne Tompkins, said, "Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country. We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption, and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government."

It is sheer nonsense and unabashed hyperbole that Von NotHaus engaged in behavior that is a “clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country.” But that’s a pretty good description of Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and his actions to date.

Rick

Time is running out fast! Hyperinflation seems unavoidable as fiat paper money is being printed as fast as the US presses can run. To protect your wealth and your family, buy gold and silver now from these top companies (below):

CLICK ADS BELOW FOR FREE DISCOUNT!