I've always respected Jim Rogers, even if we have different points of view. However, in this latest interview he manages to hit the nail on the head. We are facing an economic disaster of an unprecedented magnitude. This disaster (as I have discussed in previous posts) will be caused by: Hedge Fund gamblers on Wall Street putting hundreds of Trillions in the derivative market; the Federal Reserve that constantly increases both the money supply and cheap credit, thus putting incredible inflationary pressure on the US dollar which can only result in a period of drastic deflation; and the structural economic weaknesses that have been caused by the Elites within both major political parties with their spreading of Marxist ideology and implementation of so called "free-trade" agreements which have caused immeasurable damage to US industry.I am a firm believer in Capitalism and the benefits of the free market system; however, greed, corruption, and sneaky politicians, have no business being in the marketplace.
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2017/02/tyler-durden/headed-way-economic-catastrophe/
Monday, February 13, 2017
Friday, February 10, 2017
I'VE BEEN VERY BUSY.
I've been extremely busy these past two weeks: a family member in the hospital, employees calling in sick, employees not coming to work when they are supposed to, and even my wife has been under the weather. I hope my previous post "WHY ARE WE STILL USING 130 YEAR OLD BULLET TECHNOLOGY?" was informative and entertaining. It took me several days to write, I kept dozing off every time I tried to finish it. Hopefully, my schedule will return to normal next week.
Thursday, February 9, 2017
WHY ARE WE STILL USING 130 YEAR OLD BULLET TECHNOLOGY?
Gunpowder has been around for quite a long time, for just
over a thousand years. Historians have been able to trace the origins of the
first weaponized use of gunpowder to sometime before Genghis Khan and the rise
of the Mongol Hordes that swept through China. When gunpowder reached Europe,
sometime during the Thirteenth or Fourteenth Centuries, the first cannons and
hand held weapons were invented. Those early muzzle loading muskets were large
and heavy, and required a sort of bipod to be used properly. Musket technology
continued to advance until the earliest breech loading muskets came onto the
scene during the late Eighteenth Century. Breech loading muskets were the first
weapons to use self-contained cartridges, and were much easier and more
efficient to load than the earlier muzzle loading variety.
Improvements to technology and warfare proceeded on an even
pace, until the late 1800's when modern smokeless powder was invented.
Smokeless powder was a vast improvement over black powder. Cartridges could now
be loaded much hotter than any black powder weapon; this meant greater
projectile speed which increased accuracy, projectile distance, and penetration
power. The first application of smokeless powder was for military use, but it
was soon adopted for hunting and personal use.
Smokeless powder has improved over the past 100 years;
modern powders provide bullets with ever increasing speed and power. However,
the technology has remained the exact same. A cylinder is filled with primer
and powder, capped with a bullet, and then inserted and fired from a firearm.
Why are we still using weapons that are based on technology developed during
the 1800's? There must be modern alternatives to this process of shoving
exploding powder filled cartridges into a gun and hoping the gun will fire, and
not blow up in our faces as has happened many times throughout history.
Over the past century there have been a few attempts to
replace weapons that use gunpowder. The 2013 Annual of Guns & Ammo magazine
featured a story that was originally printed in the year 1965, the topic was
something called the "Gyrojet". This weapon used a rocket type
projectile that was far more advanced than anything that uses exploding powder.
The various guns ranged in caliber from 7.52mm through 20mm could be fired at
various velocities, without any perceptible recoil. The Gyrojet could have
revolutionized the world's understanding of small arms technology.
Unfortunately, it never gained the interest of either military or civilian
customers.
Modern science has developed several alternatives to powder
filled cartridges. Among those alternatives are: electric guns, directed energy
weapons, and some other ideas using advanced technologies. Directed energy
weapons, such as microwave weapons, have been in military use for decades; but
it is unlikely they will ever be popular or made available to the civilian
market. Perhaps the most practical and realistic option for the near future is
the electric gun. The electric gun uses an electromagnetic pulse to propel the
projectile down the barrel of a gun. This allows the projectiles to reach
incredible speeds, with far greater power and distance than any gunpowder
weapon. The History channel featured an episode of its "Modern
Marvels" program dedicated entirely to the electronic gun, about 20 years
ago. The US Navy is beginning to place "rail" guns of some of its vessels;
these are the same electric guns that were featured on the History Channel
program 20 years ago. The Navy estimates that when fully implemented the rail
gun will be able to shoot projectiles for distances of more than 100 miles. The
rail gun technology can be miniaturized and adapted to civilian style weapons;
however, traditional gun manufacturers would be put out of business as a
consequence.
I am not certain how long the use of gunpowder in weapons
will continue. For the present, the use of electronic guns is still in the
experimental stages. Millions of people own gunpowder firearms, and those guns
still get the job done, so gunpowder will still be around for the foreseeable
future. But if electronic guns ever become available for civilian use I might
buy one, or I might not; it depends on the price.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
MY THOUGHTS ON TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION BAN.
Let’s examine President Trump’s
immigration ban, with reason and logic. Unfortunately, too many people have
allowed emotions, hope, anger, and political hysteria, to guide their
opinions. At this blog, I always try to
determine the Truth, even if nobody likes it; therefore, this analysis it guaranteed
to make everybody unhappy. Let’s first list the known facts, before we begin analyzing
and speculating.
First, this temporary suspension of
immigration is perfectly legal. There is no question about its legality; the
Courts will side with Trump. There is all sort of garbage being printed on the
Internet and in the mainstream media; but it’s just that: garbage.
Second, several previous presidents,
including Obama and Clinton, have implemented the same kind of immigration
suspension. Nobody cared or protested then, why should they care now? Most of
the noise and protest seems to be politically motivated, and is being spread by
the same folks that voted for the other candidate in the recent election.
Therefore, the protesting can be viewed as irrelevant.
Third, the countries being blocked
have Muslim majorities; but in several of the nations there is a definite
Christian minority that is also affected. Many Christian families have been directly
affected by the ban, so it’s incorrect to call this a “Muslim” ban, as many
people are prone to do. Discrimination or racism does not appear to be the goal
of the administration in this matter; regardless of how certain misinformed
people wish to portray it.
Fourth, the ban affects the nations
of: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. This list is rather
short and peculiar; there are several other nations that should have been added
in order to effectively block terrorists or fanatics from entering the US.
The ban is temporary in nature,
covers very few nations, and ignores nations such as Saudi Arabia which provide
the most material for terrorists groups. Like any sort of legal restriction, if
someone wishes to violate the law they will find a way around it. Drugs have
been illegal for many decades and the US government has spent billions of dollars
in the fight to eradicate them; but they are still flowing into the US by
enormous quantities. Terrorist groups spend a great deal of time and effort
when studying a potential target; they look at every detail when planning an
attack. Blocking groups is easier than blocking individuals, and most of the
terrorist attacks on US and European soil have come from individuals acting
alone.
I don’t believe this immigration ban
will prove to be effective in accomplishing its stated goal of blocking
terrorists. The countries targeted are too few, and generally speaking have
limited ties to organized terrorist groups targeting the US. There are more
effective ways in which the Trump Administration can fight terrorism and Muslim
fanatics. In my opinion, this immigration ban will ultimately prove to be
nothing more than a publicity stunt.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
THE ECONOMY IS STILL SLUGGISH
I've said it many times before, the US economy is headed to a severe downturn or recession. There are a number of reasons for this, but ultimately it boils down to consumer choices and spending patterns. The biggest problem the US voter faces is the rate of inflation, it is completely out of control and constantly rising. Basis economics tells us that the greater supply of a recourse, the less value it will hold. For example, gold is expensive because it's hard to find and difficult to mine. However, if every stream and river were filled with gold, then gold would become worthless. The same rules apply to money; the greater the supply of money, the less value it has. With a weakened dollar, prices will appear to rise. The Federal Reserve went on a money printing spree called Quantitative Easing after the 2008 recession, in the vain hopes that it would spur economic growth. Their scheme failed
This CNN article attempts to paint a rosy picture of the economy and it's very sluggish growth; however, the article's author as well as many economists failed to account for the underlying factors that have resulted in the current situation.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/news/economy/us-gdp-2016/index.html
Continuing the discussion of supply and demand. The amount of printed US currency is currently estimated to be about $1.5 Trillion by the Federal Reserve, but the amount of total us debt is about $47 Trillion. Of that $47Trillion in debt, $19 Trillion is US government debt, $14.6 household debt, and $13.4Trillion was business debt. Of the $14.6Trillion household debt, $1.2Trillion was due to student loans. What do all these giant numbers mean? The amount of debt is money that has already been spent and must be paid back. Let's consider, the greater the supply of money the less it's value. Therefore, if taken to it's logical conclusion, the amount of debt is also adding to the rate of inflation. People are beginning to ask why the cost of higher education has risen so quickly over the past twenty years. The answer lies in plain sight: the Student Loan programs are a guaranteed source of revenue for schools. Colleges can keep raising their prices because they are certain that their customers (students) can borrow the money and pay the costs. The medical care industry is operating in the same manner. Hospitals and doctors can keep raising prices because someone: the patient, insurance, Medicare, or some other program will eventually pay.
The US economy will continue to be sluggish, right up to the point that it begins fall into a recession. Regardless of who won the election, these problems will not go away without an extended period of economic deflation that will correct the many imbalances in the economy.
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