Read it and weep!

Hello Red, What a depressing article. Yup, sometimes the truth really hurts, eh? The article effectively serves to reinfore the truth about the folly of the fiat financial fiasco. Well, there's an alliteration for ya. The absurdity of no longer releasing the M3 stats is just about as ridiculous as any other manipulated indicators of the economy, like excluding fuel costs from the overall inflation rate indicators. Gee, the term 'fuzzy math' comes to mind, and in a big way! There IS a reason why gold prices have jumped from around $300/oz in 2004 to over $900/oz today. There are four issues of great concern for me regarding our economy: 1. Our intangible, fiat economic policies. I've never been a big supporting of trying to live in a fairy-tale world. 2. The unconstitutional authority of a private, for- profit business entity (The Federal Reserve Bank) being in charge of our nation's economy, and being unduly authorized to artificially inflate the nation's cash reserves by inserting worthless, printed dollars into the system. 3. The transition of some OPEC nations into valueing oil against the Euro, rather than the U.S. Dollar. And, the conscious attempt at de-stabilization particularly by at least two of the world's big oil exporters. 4. Foreign ownership of intangible, though most egregiously tangible U.S. assets. I cringed when I saw how the market positively reacted to the Citibank infusion by Chinese & Saudi investors. Or worse yet, the vast amount of tangibles being bought up by foreign investors. These are not reasons to rejoice! If this nonsense doesn't stop, we'll see the day where the USA no longer owns the USA. Our insatiable appetite is very dangerous indeed! 5. Oh, and don't even get me started on the national debt. "At some point, they may decide to abandon the US dollar in favour of euros. Russian premier Vladimir Putin and Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez have both publicly announced that they may begin to price oil in euros in the near future. Even Saudi Arabia has stated that it is considering pricing its oil in euros, as well as in US dollars. There have even been discussions among Arab nations about pricing oil in Islamic gold and silver dinars. If this happens, other producers may follow suit and opt out of accepting US dollars for oil. Demand for the currency will plummet, sending the dollar into a freefall while demand for euros, gold and silver soars. In addition, Middle Eastern oil producers would be forced to diversify their vast US dollar holdings into precious metals and other currencies to protect themselves from further losses. As losses mount, other large, non-oil producing, US dollar holders such as Japan, China, Korea, India and Taiwan may also seek to diversify out of US dollars. Eventually, this could result in a dollar sell-off and a corresponding increase in oil and gold prices." http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/bms/2005/0422.html If this isn't a wake-up call, then I don't know what is. To all those Americans who have, for thirty plus years, fought tooth and nail to prevent oil exploration and extraction from within our own borders -- you'd better get off of your high horse before this environmental policy, coupled with the fiat economy, and the illegal power of the for-profit Federal Reserve Bank instituting our national economy based on their own profit projections, completely bankrupts this country. Geez, while some of our current Presidential candidates are hooking the public on the promise of the largest and most expensive social program ever in our nation's history (Universal Health Care), we are teetering on the verge of financial collapse. On a more personal level: Yes, Hubby and I are trying to protect ourselves by not accumulating debt, more broadly diversifying our portfolio, converting out of Large Cap (and yes, Blue chip) into more tangible & resources oriented small, mid-cap, & smart emerging holdings, and building our savings. I believe that building savings is a HUGE part of the equasion. Not just for self-preservation, but as a boost to lendable U.S. dollars. Americans today enjoy the highest rates of personal income ever, yet our savings are at an all-time low, while our personal spending habits are out of control. Wow, talk about a mixed up recipe, eh?