Since 1996, the American economy has been experiencing a “pump and dump.” During the pump, players made profits from transactions as assets rose in value. While doing so, they and a variety of opinion leaders and media that they funded touted how great the economy was. They failed to mention the fundamental difference between liquidation and growth.

Now that the dump has begun, experts make a big deal about how terrible things are. Beware who you listen to and quote, lest you help those engineering the dump make money on the contraction of economic activity.

Almost everything we need to know about the economy we learned when we were kids. If a growing percentage of the population eats bad food, drinks bad water, watches 8 hours of TV a day, gets no exercise and develops skills at printing currency, printing securities, dealing drugs, engineering financial frauds (big and small), putting young people in prison, manipulating media, engineering the excuses for more warfare, administering legal and financial systems and debating distractions, there is no hope. If, however, enough of us shift our time and investment to activities that are life giving and productive, miracles are indeed possible.

Please don’t promote armagedon scenarios promoted by the economic hit men and women poised to buy your land and your community and municipal assets for cheap. While you are at it, please take a look at your bank deposits, IRA, 401k and other investments and make sure you are not financing their efforts at a subsidized rate as well.

If you want to help your civilization and best the dumpsters, take advantage instead of the opportunities they are hoping to hoard for themselves as they encourage you to fear the future and so disinvest, leaving the diamonds in your backyard to them.

Things were not as good as the experts said during the pump and they are not as bad as they are saying during the dump.