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Economic Milkshakes
Doug McIntosh
I think the American economy is starting to resemble a fast food milkshake left out in the sun for too long. What appears to be economic growth, progress and reality, is, in fact, whipped air that is now being reduced to a puddle of fake ice cream syrup. I guess the mantra should be, "Where's the Milk Shake?" It's not looking good on a macro economic level, although my own personal micro economic situation is improving. I am now on unemployment, much to my former employers rage, and am surviving comfortably. See, I told you having some gold eagles stashed would come in handy! So, Maher's prayers over at TB2K have had an effect. And Kris, please respond to my e-mail asking why I have been booted. Basic courtesy never goes out of style.

Now that I have the time to look at the world around me with some leisure, things are getting interesting. In the local Oregonian, buried as usual in the inside Business section and in the one inch filler columns, was a stunning admission. It seems the stock market wrote off $750 billion, as in three fourths of a trillion dollars, in goodwill during 2002. It seems they will write off an estimated $200 billion in 2003. A prime example of this is the AOL-TIME WARNER merger. It is now a fact that the entire value of TIME WARNER has been lost since the merger. The stock losses are as gone as a pint of beer after a trip to the bathroom. Down the urinal and to be seen no more in this economic lifetime. I come not to praise Steve Case, but to bury him as soon as the stock owners finish with him. Maybe that's why Ted Turner is so morose these days? One trillion dollars is nearly ten percent of all economic activity in the United States during 2002. Yes, Virginia, ten percent of all economic activity last year was neutralized by stock market goodwill write-offs alone. However, I did warn you about it, so quit whining. Anybody who is still in the stock market gets no sympathy from me.

One of the magazines, I think it was Money, has their January issue all about how to invest in the stock market during 2003. Say what? Fortunately, it didn't seem to be selling too fast, so perhaps there is hope. At any rate, after three years of stock market declines, after all the goodwill losses and everything else going on in the economy, how any magazine can write with a straight face to invest in the stock market is beyond me. Of course, if you accept my thesis they are part of the corrupt elite; then, yes I can understand how they can write it. How anybody can ignore the looming corporate pension crisis is beyond me. Hundreds of billions in pension losses, combined with hundreds of billions in goodwill write-offs and pretty soon we are talking real money, as Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen put it all those years ago. Folks, we are in a rolling depression. This depression best resembles random strafing missions by fighters designed to cause chaos and paralysis. Looks like they are doing a pretty good job to me.

Even the mainstream shills are starting to notice the rising oil price. Gold-eagle.com readers have known for some time that Castro lite down in Venezuela has royally screwed the American economy. We get a lot of our oil from them and now we ain't getting it. I wish the CIA would at least do an impact study when they sponsor a coup attempt. Somebody should have told them it wasn't a good idea to cut off the heating oil flow in the middle of the winter. We are now at record lows in gasoline and oil reserves. We are now being hammered by rising gasoline, natural gas and heating oil prices. It's a no brainer to say that this isn't good for what's left of our economy. All those SUV loving patriots are now having a cash flow crisis when they go to the gas pumps, assuming they still have a job. The increase in gasoline and heating oil prices will come DIRECTLY out of disposable income. What that means is retail sales are iffy, at best.

Up here in Oregon, they only laid off 20% of the Oregon State Troopers. Oh, joy! The criminals they are letting out are the car prowlers, petty burglars, obnoxious panhandlers and drug dealers that make urban living such an interesting experience. The government system, at the state and city level, is melting away before my very eyes. The so-called Orange alert has been a real drain on city, county and state budgets. We must move beyond the system, for it will no longer be there for us. This survival creed I adhere too isn't some academic exercise. It is life to those who believe as I do; death to those who don't. It may not be sexy to fellow gold bugs, but I am much relieved that I have my gold stash. I know you are waiting to use it in some kind of cosmic economic collapse. Well, the times are bad now. What they will be like in five or ten years, I prefer not to linger on. Some of you wrote that I was too spiritual in my last essay. If what is going on right now on the planet earth doesn't make you think of the cosmic forces at work, then you need to take a deep breath and understand that which is true, just and eternal. Otherwise, all you will be left with is a puddle of vanilla flavored syrup when you go to drink your milkshake.

There are times that try men souls and crush them like one of those car smashers at the junk yard. We are now in them. I prefer to keep a sense of humor, a sense of perspective and a supply of food, water, gold, guns and ammo. Now what is overly spiritual about that? Besides, the point of life is to grow spiritually in my opinion. I can honestly say, that despite my current problems, I'm having a great time being alive. And the reason I can do that is I took sound preparations before my current chaos hit. We will have continued economic travails over the next few years. I'm afraid that's a done deal. The opportunities for spiritual growth come as we decide how to deal with them. If you aren't growing, then you are shrinking. I prefer to continue this great mystery called life with a sense of humor, an honest heart and a somewhat stable mind. You'll notice I said somewhat, as I have not found mental instability to be much of a hindrance living in modern America. In fact, given all the crazy people I see around me, I feel right at home. The system is a fraud, a farce and a lie. The truth is inside us waiting to be released upon a failing world. Maybe now that I'm riding low to the ground, economically speaking, I'm relearning things that I have forgotten. Things are a mess now; they will stay a mess for the foreseeable future. After that, the future is what we create with our thoughts, our hearts and our minds. And that, is something worth thinking about. Just don't throw away your weapons anytime soon in a fit of spiritual purity. I think we will need them soon enough. The subway incident in South Korea is a harbinger of what is likely to happen over the coming months and years. The system is failing. It's time for each of us individually to move on, to take personal responsibility for our lives, thoughts and actions. After all, isn't that what free will is all about?


22 February 2003

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