Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Explore some alternatives to banks

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for March 19, 2023)





How concerned are you when it looks like the banking system is teetering on the verge of collapse? Do looming nationwide economic disasters worry you?

Banks are encouraged, perhaps even required, to follow government's poor financial policies. Sometimes this is going to come back to bite them and hurt their customers. It's smart to have alternatives.

It's fine to keep using government's money-- the equivalent of Monopoly "money", if you know what money is-- as long as it still generally works. Always be ready to abandon it and have other options when it stops working. Every government money in history-- if it wasn't gold or silver-- has stopped working eventually.

Back when former president Trump started handing out money-from-nothing and calling it a "stimulus" I warmed family and friends that this was going to cause inflation, and to get ready. No one cared or listened. All they saw was "free money", and the future wasn't something to worry about.

When inflation started getting worse than it had been in decades, they acted surprised.

Other economic disasters happen when you have a banking system which is regulated by counterproductive government rules. There are going to be consequences whether you want to admit it or not. If you're surprised when consequences happen it's only because you weren't paying attention to the right people. Government officials are never the right people to listen to.

A "central bank digital currency"-- a "CBDC"-- isn't going to be any better, but watch for government officials to start pushing the idea harder if the financial system keeps crumbling. Such money would have all the drawbacks of traditional government fiat money, plus several others.

If I were you, I would get real, physical silver and gold, some cryptocurrency which isn't tied to or controlled by any government, and other things of real-world value. Things you can use or trade for other things you need. Things like food, water, medicine, and fuel.

Even if the banking system avoids collapse this time, you're not worse off if you've protected yourself by being prepared. You can always trade those things for more Federal Reserve Notes-- mistakenly called "dollars" by most people-- anytime you want.

Keeping all your eggs in one basket, including all your wealth in one form of money, is never the smart move. So don't. Explore alternatives while you have time, and hope you still have time.
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And a HUGE thanks to all those who already have.

I'm relieved


I went to The Big City today for a follow-up with the surgeon, and he released me. He was very pleased with his work and said my scars look great. He was satisfied with my healing process.

I'm relieved.

I still have to see the urologist one more time, on May 4th, and he's already told me he wants to send me to a urology specialist in one of the Mega-Cities in the state. I have no intention of going through with that at this time. They aren't touching that region of my anatomy again unless I'm under general anesthesia, and I already know they aren't going to take that line in the sand seriously. I'm not budging on that.

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Reminder: Help me cover the expense of the surgery, however you can. 
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