102 Comments

1. A few short notes on misstatements in the last two AC about Goldbacks. Goldbacks are considered coins, thought they are shaped as bills. They are not documents. There is no way to digitize them.

   They contain actual easily-recoverable gold. The 50 Goldback contains 1/20th oz of gold, and each lower denomination contains gold in proportion to that, so the 1 Goldback is 1/1000 oz of gold. I don’t know of any other gold-containing medium of exchange that has very small quantities of gold in reliable measures. goldback.com

   1. Kevin – I have also wondered about the possible “recovery” of the gold in the goldbacks. I’ve looked at them, they are beautiful and sturdy, very creative idea but ultimately I have to agree that there usefulness is limited if the gold could never be recovered. Has that question been addressed?

      1. The recovery process is mentioned on the manufacturer’s website: https://valaurum.com/aurum-homepage/aurum-recovery/
         However, if you have Goldbacks and just want the gold, you would not want to recover it from these small-quantity items by destroying them. Rather you would sell them into the ready market (getting a good premium) and buy a larger piece with a low premium. For example, if you want an oz of pure 24k gold, you would not buy 20 1/20 oz Maple Leafs and melt them, but rather a 1 oz Maple Leaf or Buffalo.
         Because the fractional amount of gold in these is minimal compared to other coins, the premium per oz is quite high (just like it’s high on other 1/20 oz items, for example).

   2. Having looked at one, I just don’t see how it will be practical to maintain a recoverable amount. So I am a skeptic.

2. Let me say that I thoroughly and categorically disagree with a judicial principle that debtors of student loans have been fraudulently induced to take the loans. The banks lent the money, the students consumed it, and the institutions of colleges and universities benefited from it. It is not the public responsibility for caveat emptor. Furthermore, for people who play by the rules, like me, the students either achieved scholarships due to merit, or they were funded by their sugar daddy, either way, they have no student debt. How can you possibly give money back to those who borrowed for fancy diplomae while punishing those by comparison who funded their own educations?

   All those big university endowments should be disbursed to students making valid claims of having been defrauded. If instead, forgiveness is enacted, two things ensue: lawyers get rich, fraudulent left-wing education stays rich, and taxpayers get hosed.

   1. I wish you were right John. However, we are going to have to disagree on this. Until the financial crisis, the students and their parents believed that the education would buy much more income – based on history. They did not see what was coming and the leadership of media and the financial system actively suppressed it. If you look at the origination process for a young person, it was not the financial equivalent of informed consent. Failure to disclose, changes in the law not clearlyl disclosed, material omissions, and on and on. If you did not wisen up by 2010, I am with you. You are failing to take responsibility.

      1. I just don’t see the abdication of due diligence responsibility by parents and students as being my expense.

         I think what we have here is prodigal sons wanting birthrights restored, which can be done, but they shouldn’t get a double dip of loan forgiveness and then social security. You take the one and forego the other. In fact, this might be a way to balance the books of Social Security.

         1. I will not argue against personal responsibility. It is the only way out.

3. Technological suggestion: since WWIII includes constant attacks on the US internet, perhaps saving videos at a lower quality would improve their ability to be received on an uninterrupted basis. There really isn’t much activity going on in interviews that can’t be absorbed fully at lower resolution.

4. My son bought what he thought was bulk sausage in Poland. He can’t read their language. When he cooked it it was quite gray and fell apart like grit. That’s also what it tasted like. It was inedible – insects.

   1. Ugh!

      1. Remind him to check Deep L

5. Michael Shuman’s information and workshops are very good. It is a boots on the ground approach to reclaiming financial and investment control in neighborhoods and communities. There are many small communities in the heartland using this information to invest locally and bring like-minded people together. In my humble opinion, this is one powerful way to rebuild America the Beautiful.

   Thank you for shining a light on his work!

6. the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is listed as a strategic member of the W.E.F.

7. It seems to me that making energy cheaper via Russian oil sold to India and China, and more expensive in EU/USA is deflationary in two ways. First, tt makes production of “stuff” cheaper, and also helps to make the shift of production capacities from China to India and other countries cheaper. Second, higher energy costs dampen demand from consumers, keeping people from buying too much and driving up prices. Inevitably demand for products will be eaten up by higher livong costs.So allowing this trade to go on is necessary.

   Although the sanctions may not have affected the oil trade, exchange rate or macro indicators in a disasterous way, I imagine the sanctions are devastating for average people and businesses in Russia not affiliated with the energy sector.

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