Titanic America

I’m not old enough to have been on the original Titanic and I’m sure none of you are either, but the activity in Washington reminds me of what it must have been like on board that ship after they hit the iceberg and realized there were not enough life rafts!

Is it just me, or does it really not make any sense to try to fix our current economic problems with the very vehicle that got us in this mess in the first place? How can we solve this decline by irresponsible lending and borrowing in the short term? The ripple effects of the Federal Reserve printing more ‘debt notes’ and selling them to the US Government to circulate among us are going to be felt for multiple generations to come.

Prior to all this economic decline, Steve Walker, the ex-comptroller of the US left in disgust after over ten years because of what he called the “$400,000 hidden mortgage” our children are saddled with due to our Social Security problem. I shudder to think what “hidden debt” our Grandchildren have now been stuck with.

Using fiscal policies of last century (predominently based upon data during the times of the Gold Standard, and prior to globalization) are not going to solve our current dilemma. It’s rather like trying to fix a hyrid car with a bow and arrow!

But nobody seems to be making much noise. That is except Glenn Beck. I have diligently been following his show and his forecasts, as mine have been spookily similar - and I’m no economist either.

The answer? We need to go back to basics. Obviously, MBE-barter is an integral part of the solution. Frugality is too. The MBE-barter system cannot solve the entire economic problem, but it is a large step in the right direction.

Unfortunately I see things getting much, much worse before we hit rock bottom towards the end of 2009. Once folks have spent their tax rebates and realized the Obama Administration has no solid plan for economic survival, I predict bankruptcies escalating to record levels, as ordinary folk just pass on the bad debt to good, taxpaying citizens. The credit card bubble will finally burst. And the effects of printing TRILLIONS of new debt-dollars will start to effect pricing.

Natural forces have a way of righting the boat, but in this case, we’ve put the iceberg directly in the way. Things will have to crash in order to fix the real problem. Hopefully you are already bartering, if not, heed my words: “Barter or go bust!”

[This is just my opinion. Anthony Donnelly]