“I like privacy. With modern ways to generate power and building techniques it would be a fantastic place to live. I would like to build a lodge on that flat spot, reminiscent of this structure in some ways. Instead of hotel rooms I would create modern apartments or condos for family members.”
Madd was really warming to the subject.
“A foyer similar to this one, wide open and very high-ceilinged, would give us a fantastic place to gather. We could sit at fireplaces on long winter nights, connect with family. Lots of tables to play games and bond.
“I would put a coffee bar right over there, and we would have live music some nights. Down that way I would put in a plush cafeteria that served good meals and provided room for family and friends to sit and enjoy each other’s company. Lots of family members have cooking skills. Rose has a degree from a prestigious Cordon Bleu school.”
Leaning over toward Al, Madd said in a stage whisper, “I make a mean meatloaf! Lots of talented folks in the family, so we could take turns cooking.”
The man was actually excited by the prospect of cooking meatloaf for his family.
Madd went on for several minutes. By this point Madd was standing up waving his arms, pointing and describing each feature in an animated way.
Madd was in full swing with so much fervor and enthusiasm Al’s imagination was on fire, and he could almost see each feature in his mind’s eye. Madd’s vision was infectious.
Finally Madd ran down, but looking around Al could see that the cousins and even Roy seemed to be mesmerized by the eloquence and enthusiasm of Madd’s vision. They weren’t alone; Itsy and the other girls sat staring with a look of rapt attention and agreement.
Who were these people, who was this man? Al couldn’t answer that, but by the end of breakfast he was sure he wanted to find out.
After breakfast they all headed over to the Magic Kingdom. As they walked around, stopping and letting those who wanted to ride the rides do their thing, Al and Roy kept up a pleasant stream of small talk. Itsy, Rose and the girls would drag Al off to some ride and Roy would have to rescue him. Rose kept close to Roy’s group when Al was there, joining in the conversation. You could tell she was seeing what Al thought about things. Without seeming to she was interrogating the man, in a pleasant but insightful way, digging to find out what he was at the core of his being.
After lunch when it was getting really hot, they all headed to the water park. Most of the family were either in the water or keeping an eye on the smaller kids. Roy pulled Al along and sat down in the shade to talk. It wasn’t lost on Roy that Rose followed them and was sitting close to Al. She was carrying on a lively discussion on world events and Al’s view of the mess the world’s governments were in. Rose was intelligent and could make a conversation seem pleasant and light, not at all like an interrogation, when she wanted to get information from you. Roy decided he better rescue the guy.
“Rose, let up on the man, he is going to suspect you are a trained interrogation specialist.”
All that got was some eye rolling and a big grin from Rose.
“Thanks Roy, she really had me sweating. Good thing I am fast on my feet.
“That remains to be seen,” Rose told him, laughing.
“Earlier Al, you asked me about prepping, a subject you and Madd touched on. We do believe in prepping as you heard. For us, all it really means is that family members, as well as the family as a group, try to prepare for any situation that could occur. What a lot of folks call an EOTWAWKI, or an End of the World as We Know it, event. We hope things won’t get that extreme but we have come to the conclusion that being ready for the unexpected is a good idea.
“Let me call Madd over, so that he can give you some insight into why we have become preppers. Not just prepared for bad weather but for almost anything we are capable of saving the family from.”
Roy waved Madd over from the pool to the shade. He brought Itsy and her friends over with him.
“I was just telling Al that we are preppers in our own fashion, and thought you could give him some explanations as to how we got to this point in our lives. Some insights as to the possibilities that would make prepping an excellent idea for saving a person’s life would be helpful too. After all, you were the main instigator of our present concern over world events and started the family on a modern prepping campaign. You were the start of our fast track to prepping.”
“Don’t you think you might be overstating my significance just a tad, Uncle Roy?”
This produced something between a smirk and a smile from Roy, and open laughter from Itsy and Rose.
“To be blunt, no, I don’t. Let me explain something before Madd starts. When I was younger I read the book Alas Babylon. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it. In retrospect it glossed over the issues that would happen after a nuclear attack. In my opinion, the author portrayed people in a very generous light. People who were starting to starve, for the most part, were still acting pretty civilized. He presented a fairly naďve point of view. Still, it was a good read.
“When Madd was eight he found that book on one of my shelves and read it. It impressed him so much that he read similar books, not all of them Science Fiction. After thinking about what he read, he asked to talk to the council. He was a very serious child so we basically said, why not? We smiled a lot because we figured something from an eight year old would be frivolous or even humorous.
“He wanted to know if we had read that book and some other titles. A few of us had, some not. He gave an accurate synopsis of each book. Then he stood there at eight and lectured the whole council on the perils that would plague our family if we were not prepared for the worst. He looked us in the eye and asked what we had done to save the family when things went bad. You could have heard a pin drop. A council member muttered, ‘from the mouths of babes’ and we all had to agree. From that day on, we were committed to prepping to save the family.”
“Eight, you say?”
“Unlikely as it sounds, Al, yes he was eight years old. I mentioned before, he was a serious child.”
“I believe I better start learning about prepping. You folks are nobody’s fools, if you are prepping then there are good reasons for it.”
“He makes it sound worse than it was.” For once Madd seemed a little uncomfortable with the way the conversation had gone.
Al couldn’t help himself, he had to rub it in. “Bet he didn’t!”
“Whatever, Al. We will just continue past the tales of my boyhood indiscretions and talk about prepping.”
At this point Itsy started to excuse herself and the girls. Madd stopped her.
“No need to leave, honey. Your input is as valuable as anyone’s, you know as much or more than I do about currencies. You know as much as I do about what is happening in the world and what needs to be done to prepare. Why don’t you start this off by giving Al a quick look at the currency and financial systems we are trying to deal with in our world today?”
“Wow, no pressure, right?” Laughing, Itsy started with, “Let me give you some insight into why and how socio-economics and monetary manipulation can precipitate SHTF situations.
“Most people believe the government controls our money or currency. The truth is the government hasn’t controlled the money for a very long time.”
She asked Al, “Got a dollar bill in your pocket? What does it say on it? Right at the top?”
Al pulled out a few bills and read, Federal Reserve Note. “Since you had me pull this out and read it, I take it that there is something wrong that I’m not seeing right off. If this isn’t money from our government, what is it, Itsy? Enlighten me as to what it is.”
With a smile she told him, “Very good, a lot of people wouldn’t catch on at this point.
“The Federal Reserve Bank issued that ‘NOTE’, and a note is a DEBT, just like a promise by you to pay your mortgage company or the people who lent you the money for a car. Since it is a promise to pay, it is only good if there is a way t
o fulfill that promise. So you go to work, collect your pay and send in your payments to the various entities you ‘promised’ to pay. If you lose your job, and have no other income, how good is that promise?”
Itsy continued on with, “We now use Fiat money, which is currency that derives its value from government regulation or law. It differs from commodity money, which is based on a good, or a precious metal such as gold or silver, which has uses other than as a medium of exchange. The term derives from the Latin fiat, ‘let it be done’ or ‘it shall be’. In reality that NOTE is worthless and has been since we went off the gold standard. What that means is the Federal Reserve NOTE is a DEBT to you. But if they have no way or no intention of redeeming that note, it is nothing more than paper. It’s not even good for wiping your behind; too slick, ya know.”
Her small joke got a chuckle from those seated around.
“It’s true that the Federal Reserve is backed by ‘volunteers’ via FICA. That means that if a sufficient number of Americans leave FICA, the notes become under-capitalized and cease to be legal tender, so the volunteers will guarantee the notes. Federal Reserve notes may not be technically Fiat money. Consider this though. The volunteers are promising to support the notes via the banking system. But what are they promising to support any failure with? What are they promising to support those notes with? Why, more Fiat money of course. Wouldn’t you say that is a little like trying to lift oneself up by one’s boot straps? If the notes you are guaranteeing to support are backed by the same currency that failed, how does that save anything or anyone?
“Actually, Congress has no power to create money. At one point they had the power to coin money from precious metals, etc., known as stamp bullion. Since leaving the gold standard that power is now a moot point. They gave up any power that they might possibly have had to print money. In other words, the government has no power to create money nor to give such a power to anyone else any longer. Can you guess who does have the power to ‘create money’?
“Basically, this money,” she continued as she held up a five dollar bill, “is created out of thin air. In 1913, the US government signed away the right to issue money and gave that right to the big banks. We have been in debt to those big banks ever since then and it keeps getting worse. They print more currency each year, issue more debt to the government, and the hole keeps getting deeper.
“The Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States, was created by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. The Federal Reserve banks are jointly responsible for implementing the monetary policy set forth by the Federal Open Market Committee.
“The authority of the Federal Reserve System is derived from statutes enacted by the U.S. Congress and the System is subject to congressional oversight, in theory. The members of the Board of Governors, including its chair and vice-chair, are chosen by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The federal government sets the salaries of the Board’s seven governors.
“Now that doesn’t sound too bad, Al, but the reality is The Federal Reserve System is considered an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government. It does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.
“It is fairly obvious from this that those running the Federal Reserve can do pretty much what they want. And with things set up this way, it is open to all kinds of manipulation and misuse. It is ripe for manipulation by the good ol’ boys.
“I don’t want to sound like I am preaching Al; are you still with me and more importantly, are you still interested?” Itsy asked.
“I think you could say I am way more than interested at this point. It may take me time to digest the minutiae but I think I am getting the basics. Please continue, you have my full attention.”
“Fine, let’s take the housing bubble burst as an example. When the economy started tanking in 07-08 the Fed started printing something in the neighborhood of $600 billion in currency. At various points they were purchasing something like $45 billion plus a month of mortgage-based debts. Remember, money is a promise to pay and has no intrinsic value. They used that to stimulate the economy, or so they claimed, by buying mortgage-based debt, etc. At the same time the Federal Reserve purchased Treasury securities at an accelerated rate with more money that, again, is a promise to redeem. There is no sure way to know if what the Fed did actually pulled us out of a recession or if we started to rebound in spite of what they did.
“For any of this to work, people, companies and governments have to believe or have faith that the U.S. can at some point pay or redeem their promises. Foreign governments hold about 46 percent of all U.S. debt, which is in unbelievable numbers of trillions of dollars. The largest foreign holder of U.S. debt is China, which owns upwards of 1.2 trillion in bills, notes and bonds, according to the Treasury. What would happen if China decided that the U.S. wasn’t good for the debt? If they started trying to sell off their Treasury Bonds? Other countries would look around and say, if China has no faith, why should we?
“Printing more and more money isn’t a long term solution in anybody’s book. There is too much danger of hyperinflation, a condition caused by large, persistent government deficits financed primarily by money creation. This can happen when there is a crisis that make it difficult for the government to tax the population.
“A sharp decrease in real tax revenue coupled with a strong need to maintain the status quo, together with an inability to borrow, can lead a country into hyperinflation. In Germany in the twenties, the government tried to print money to pay off debts and get out of financial trouble. The money became so hyper-inflated that people were known to burn it in their stoves, since it was cheaper than trying to buy wood with the worthless bank notes.
“People might say, well since we can’t print more money we will just tax people more. That might work in the short term but it isn’t actually very sustainable. According to the Census Bureau, 49.2% of Americans receive benefits from one or more government agencies. Lots of luck taxing those folks or cutting the benefits of their EBT cards. Take the shooting of a young black man in Missouri. Outrage and anger are a natural thing for those of his community to feel. This tragedy was used as an excuse to loot and pillage stores. If you look at the footage of the break-ins, there are men and women carrying out all sorts of merchandise. There are plenty of examples of this type of behavior in recent events. So, what do you suppose would happen if you cut back their EBT amounts or even suspended them?
“Take a look at what the government of Cyprus did when they couldn’t pay their debts. Cyprus introduced radical solutions to meet the demands of the European Union and International Monetary Fund IMF. Cypriot bank depositors have lost chunks of their savings, the government of Cyprus has imposed currency controls, and the central bank may be forced to sell the majority of its gold reserves. Depositors lost anywhere from 39% to 62% of their accounts’ values.
“The list of governments in trouble goes on; look at Greece and Spain. Great Britain still has banks that are failing or in trouble because of the toxic housing derivatives from the U.S. The whole international banking system is merely a house of cards. So far the world has been lucky, but when that luck runs out, governments will collapse and people will starve.
“People shouldn’t feel that the U.S. is immune to these issues, considering what we went through beginning in 07. By all accounts Wall Street, the big banks, and the housing industry lenders are still up to their old tricks. They have renamed things and shuffled them around, but they are still finding ways to play fast and loose with other people’s money.
“Sorry if that was too dry or technical, but it really isn’t as complex as it seems. The bottom line is that we are only one misstep away from disaster. The bail out of companies too large to fail and printing money to bail out the bank
ing and housing industries could have gone the wrong way very easily. Had that happened there is no way we could all be sitting here enjoying the sun and good company. Most likely we would be scratching in the dirt trying to grow a vegetable garden.”
“I feel like I should be grabbing the sides of my head with my hands to keep my brains from pushing out,” said Al. There would have been laughter at the mental picture if the subject matter were not so grim.
“Thank you sweetness, you did a great job. Uncle Roy seems to have put me on the spot. I will try and follow that presentation with some other scenarios that might present themselves, ones that would make prepping a very good idea.” Every day Madd saw something in Itsy that made him love her even more; her presentation was just one of those many things.
“Have you seen any of the shows on TV shows that portray preppers as wild-eyed fanatics, or read any of the End of the World as We Know it books you can find on Amazon, Al?”
“Actually, I have read a couple of those types of books and found them entertaining, especially the zombie ones. When you are stuck in other countries waiting around for an assignment there isn’t much else to do but read.”
“There is good information in some of them if you weed out the zombie apocalypse ones and the folks trying to push their personal religious agendas.
“You don’t need fiction stories to find some unsettling scenarios though.” Counting off on his fingers, Madd started, “NASA has reported that the earth will at some point experience a CME or a Coronal Mass Ejection of material from our sun. We are not talking hundreds of years here, we are talking anytime from today forward. According to NASA it could happen any time. There was an incident of this type back in the 1800s where telegraph wires overheated and caused fires in the wooden buildings they were hooked up to. There were no computer chips or anything similar at that time. We can only use that event as a guideline. That event doesn’t give us any insight into what would happen to computers, but it does tell us what could happen to wooden buildings.
So, You Want to Live Past Next Tuesday Page 6