Sep 03 2024
…and I did: A conservative estimate holds that there are 240 billion pennies lying around the United States — about 724 ($7.24) for every man, woman and child there residing, and enough to hand two pennies to every bewildered human born since the dawn of man. (To distribute them all, in fact, we’d …
Aug 28 2024
Save only real wealth. — John A. Pugsley Pugsley’s book The Alpha Strategy is one of the wisest pieces of financial advice ever penned. It’s also entertaining and hilariously funny, by turns. And now you can read it for free, at the link above. Since I retired, I’ve been unable to afford …
Aug 24 2024
I know, I know: the title “gives the game away.” And it does. But perhaps not in its entirety, Gentle Reader. I restrained myself from applying the title I really wanted to use. Breck Dumas of Fox News tells us: It takes more to be viewed as rich in the U.S. this …
Jun 17 2024
Three years back, Elon Musk was briefly in the news for this statement: “Goods & services are the real economy, any form of money is simply the accounting thereof.” That tweet was absolutely correct…but it displeased a lot of less savvy types, including a few who argued that Musk’s statement was tantamount …
May 04 2024
And you won’t believe the crap he spouts, or how he stammers and misdirects: Time was, even a schoolchild knew what money is: money n: a medium of exchange and a store of value. I was taught that before I could write a check. Note the and in the definition. Money must …
Mar 06 2024
This bit of news rang a bell for me: LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A Senate bill introduced on Tuesday would prohibit businesses from refusing cash-only payments. […] Senate Bill 306 has not been assigned to a committee yet. [Steve] McClain said the Kentucky Retail Federation will be closely monitoring it. …
Sep 28 2023
This is a very astute observation. It’s a major milestone in the death of a fiat currency when its issuers need to get bribed in a harder money. https://t.co/0l6DRFrTtR — Saifedean Ammous (@saifedean) September 27, 2023 Ponder that! Remember that when the corruptocrats of other countries solicit bribes, they usually demand that they be …
Sep 12 2023
This story provoked quite a range of reactions from readers. Mine was “Why did ‘they’ wait so long when the danger to ‘them’ is so obvious?” Bank Shuts Down ‘Silver Stackers and Gold Stackers’ Shop’s Business and Personal Accounts An Ohio-based coin shop owner recently took to YouTube to share alarming news: His …
Sep 01 2023
Bustednuckles deposeth and sayeth: One of the things that is amazing to me is the gamble the people in charge of the money supply system are taking. They are deliberately killing the dollar as they have run it as far as it will go before it becomes completely worthless, while thinking that they …
Jul 22 2023
Predators of all sorts will concentrate where the prey is fattest. — Arne Stromberg, Gallatin University Robert A. Heinlein promoted this concept of a human trichotomy: …and no third category. What follows from that partition is an even simpler dichotomy: You’re either a Maker or a Predator. Anyone who doesn’t get …
Jul 11 2023
With all the worrying going on over the ominous prospect of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), it’s just occurred to me to wonder: What is the state of the legal tender law? We know – hey, it’s printed on every BLEEP!ing Federal Reserve Note – that federally approved physical currency is “legal …
Jul 02 2023
Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce. – James Garfield “Control the coinage and the courts — let the rabble have the rest.” – Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV There’s a monitory article at Maura Dowling’s place this morning about the World Economic …
May 15 2023
Our favorite Graybeard has the story: In the last few weeks, there has been almost a constant replay of a topic I’ve written about almost since the first year of this blog: the recurring disappointment of the “debt ceiling”. This wasn’t a topic every year because the debt ceiling isn’t approached every year. …
Mar 29 2023
From Kenny “Wirecutter” Lane: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill into law that creates a process for the state to buy, sell, and hold gold and silver. This sets a foundation for Tennessee to achieve more financial independence with gold and silver reserves, and could help undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on …
Mar 25 2023
Good evening, and welcome to the Money Programme. Tonight on the money programme, we’re going to look at money–lots of it, on film and in the studio. Some of it in nice piles, Others in lovely clanky bits of loose change. Some of it neatly counted into fat little hundreds…delicate fivers stuffed into bulging …
Oct 06 2022
Our economy knows many middlemen: persons and organizations that stand between the original producer of a good and the ultimate purchaser. These past few years, certain categories of middlemen have come under pressure, owing to the rise of the World Wide Web as a retailing tool. Consider how difficult it is for conventional travel …
Aug 28 2022
Joseph Sobran once composed an instructive parable that went something like this: Davis is listening to Jones speak of some injustice done to him by Smith. Davis waits until Jones runs down, and then says, “Oh, that’s all right. I forgive Smith for what he did to you.” How do you suppose Jones …
Aug 18 2022
Today, David Reavill at Independent Sentinel writes about one of the financial mainstays of Americans who pursue home ownership: the 30-year mortgage: For most of us, purchasing our home is the largest single financial transaction we will ever make. It is also a tremendous obligation. As we sign that mortgage loan for the …
May 23 2022
If you’ve been wary about the cryptocurrencies, you’re in good company – mine. Crypto, regardless of the “brand,” is a mathematical construct implemented in a rule-based system. And a certainty upon which you, I, and everyone can rely is that it will have a vulnerability in it somewhere. Porretto’s Pessimistic Principle of Engineering applies …
Mar 23 2022
Many Gentle Readers are already acquainted with this subject, owing to the rise of cancel culture and the impediments the giants of Big Tech have dropped upon our freedom of expression. Mind you, while there are many persons ready, willing, and able to offer opinions about what should be done, the subject is considerably …
