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An
American Horror Story for Halloween...
Dear Diary,
Today I awoke to the news that the dollar is no longer acceptable in
settlement for the purchase of foreign goods from foreigners. This news was
immediately disconcerting because I have hundreds of thousands of these
dollars saved up over the past 30+ years, and I'm planning to retire soon.
The President was on all channels assuring us that this is not a big deal,
and certainly meaningless unless we're planning to buy a foreign car or
travel abroad. My dollars, he said, will still be "as good as gold"
here in the United States. The US, he said, has the most important economy in
the world, and the dollar is our currency. The government, he said, would not
miss a beat. The government, he said, can never run out of money. Our dollars
are safe.
The President said that this news today was only because of the international
money speculators who, because they thrive on crises, help to create them. He
said that these "speculators" have declared war on the American
dollar. He said that this is extremely foolish because the American economy
has the largest GDP and also because the American government can never run
out of money.
So, in response, he has directed his people to halt all international
payments except those deemed to be in the vital interest of the United
States. And for those deemed vital, he said that any government agency can
independently authorize payments of any size needed to keep the vital foreign
goods flowing in. America won't be held hostage by either our own internal
budgets or foreign currency exchanges, he said.
I'm not generally one to panic at anything, but even as reassuring as the
President's words were, I started to panic. So after a little reflection I
decided that I needed to call in sick to work and run out to stock up on a
few last-minute necessities, just in case. What I found was deeply troubling.
Many stores were simply closed for the day, and the ones that were still open
were overrun with people who, I guess, had the same idea as me. Most of the
stuff on my list was already gone from the shelves. So I went back home to
call my broker.
I've been talking about a dollar collapse and buying gold for weeks now. Ugh.
And I've been reading about it for months, but I was so sure that this was
just one of many possibilities. And even if it happened, all signs seemed to
be pointing to 2014 or later, so I was goddam cocksure that I had plenty of
time before making a big move. To my credit, I did at least have my broker
sell all of my bonds and put the proceeds into cash and money markets, just
so I could move quickly into gold on a good dip.
I called my broker to make sure it was still liquid, what with the news and
all. He said it is, as long as I'm not planning an international transfer.
Next I called the largest gold dealer in my state, the one that had been
recommended to me. But he said that he is only buying today, not selling. He
said he couldn't make any sales because his suppliers aren't quoting sell
prices today to replace his inventory. He said I should try again tomorrow. I
tried a couple more dealers and got the same run-around. WTF?
So here I sit, writing this pathetic entry. I'm not sure what comes next, and
I am literally beside myself in confusion, dismay, dread, despair and regret.
I cannot decide what to feel. I have this deeply foreboding sense that I
really screwed up this time. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what
tomorrow will bring. But I think I already know.
The dollar is crashing abroad and my government's response is going to
compound the problem taking it to depths never before imagined in a global
reserve currency. My retirement money is already as good as gone. It's not
gone, but it is now trapped while being sapped of all real value. It is
trapped because I waited one day too long, even though I knew what I wanted
to do with it. This is the real world, and there is no reward for knowing,
only for doing. I didn't do, and now I will have to face whatever reality
delivers while knowing what I knew. What an absolute
horror.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEKdJlnlPCc&feature=player_embedded
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