Phat Unplugged

Mostly the latter, though organized crime needs a swift kick in the teeth.

Always running to the race card, are we? I never even think that way until you bring it up. I suppose we owe the world everything for our evil and exploitative past. Or maybe we should just let them grow up without giving them everything we have. I don't really see too many truly poor people in this country, but I do see addicts and con artists. Yes, there are good people too and I applaud their selfless altruism. I can learn from many of them and do. What I won't accept is some consensus that I owe anybody anything.If one gives, it should not be mandated by taxation. (Also no "white" guilt.) It should be anonymous, voluntary, and cheerfully done. Give America back its freedom and individuality.

It only matters to me if it is a way to dampen speculative freedoms. The jury is out at the moment. Gold and the dollar are countercyclical. Pumping liquidity into the markets is a method of control. Personal initiative is squashed in favor of group consensus and the "needs of the many." If they want to help Americans they could fix (and pay back) social security, let the markets fail and self-correct, and get off their soapbox. In an airplane with no oxygen, you put on your own mask first before trying to help others.

For many many months we (employees) would see the same transgressors come in, usually with a backpack that was clearly empty , and watch them leave through the security gate (which beeps and snaps a photo) with bulging bags. Not only that, we would often catch them in the act of ripping open a box of large garbage bags, stealing one or two empty bags, and stuffing them full of various products frequently stolen. We were not allowed to engage them in any way. It was frustrating as these repeat offenders would often steal more in product than we were paid in a week!!It was also frustrating to see them do it again and again and again! Finally, after turning in a bunch of incident reports, our store manager was able to get corporate loss prevention (as opposed to our usual security guard who too could only observe) and 2 of them showed up one week, 3 the next week, and 4 the week after that! All told they were there one month. They caught and recovered several carts FULL of expensive products and meat EVERY DAY! Our store officially reported losses approaching over $4,000.00 a day. How hurtful would it be if I lost my job because others were allowed to steal? I do not believe that people should be led to believe that there are no consequences beyond a misdemeanor. Most of the time they do not even get that. Our store is one block off of the Colfax corridor and organized criminals (yes, they are criminals in my mind) utilize the bus system to hit many stores a day every day of their lives. To be fair, many of them are drug addicts and are feeding a habit, so I would as much like them to receive help. At the same time, I and others believe that there should be consequences for stealing. This means rich people too! *cough* Trump*cough*. Occasionally we would see a middle-class non-addicted couple conveniently *forget* to press pay. Of course, as they were on their way out the door they never heard us shouting "sir! sir! You forgot to pay!It's bad enough that inflation is eating up our discretionary income. To see so many others feel justified at stealing adds insult to injury.

How about just being responsible and honest? How about trying to work for a living as many of us have had to do? How about taking ownership of your own country rather than feeling entitled to some sort of reparations in life? I'm talking about America today.

I have no degree in economics so, according to your standards, am no expert. I do see a wide variety of facts.

The precious metals markets are manipulated by not so much the government but by private banks such as JP Morgan Chase and other "big fish" investors. Among other tricks, these entities employ dishonest tactics such as *spoofing* as well as legal yet greedy tactics such as betting on short positions, keeping the metals from ever being a bubble. My guess is that these big fish enjoy the benefits of a system that is hopelessly rigged in their favor. I predict that there will come a day when the public-at-large will jump on the bandwagon and buy precious metals again...in large quantities. One must note that precious metals should never be thought of as an investment...like bitcoin and its many bubbles. What they are is an insurance policy against the decline in purchasing power of the US Dollar, be it digital or paper.

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Speaking of paper, ask me about paper silver vs the real deal.

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Theo writes:

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It seems to me that people who can afford to invest are doing quite well. You won't do better if the rich do better.

True. You have a good point. We will always have the rich among us as well as the poor. One Texas woman recently bought 55 million dollars worth of physical silver. Her biggest worry will never be going broke. Mine might be.

Hopefully we as a nation have learned a little bit about ourselves. TBH I am in a bit of a manic phase every day, though I have not been diagnosed with manic depression. I Do acknowledge both my manic phases as well as my depressive phases. I have been sober fom gambling for a couple of months and am reading differing opinions rather than remaining in my echo chambers. My friends have many differing opinions and likely would never get along in the same room.

How come you get to call me out on personal attacks and yet make them with impunity? Note the topic we are in. Phat Unplugged. Or perhaps your fancy college degree can clue me in on what *you* think to be relevant. I await with bated breath. Do you? Here is a clue. Gold backs money. Money does not back gold. Perhaps a good question to research is precisely how Treasury Secretary Connally (1970)separated gold and the dollar and what it meant since then. I don't expect you to. We are simply having a discussion. Note that you are buying breakfast, however...not me. I am the poor one here.

WTF are you talking about? I rarely gamble anymore. It's been two months since I even looked at a machine. 64 and 6 months. I am still working. My goal is to get to full social security (66 and 10 months) and keep working part-time. If I quit working and sat around hre brooding on the internet I would likely die far sooner.

Good question. IIRC I never addressed the problem for twenty years. I felt entitled and even went so far as to assume that God would bless me! My first real attempt to stop lasted a little over 1 year. I relapsed when my Mother went into assisted living and I rapidly lost control, spending $10,000.00 in six months! That was sadly my savings and I picked up the pieces and started again. I never lose control for more than a day or two but I still gamble far too much. The bottom line is that fantasy never works. It isn't real. It's been 4 months now, with a couple of 1-2 day relapses. I see a counselor.

Likely so. I've had addictions all or most of my life. You always bemoan my YouTube habit, but I don't just fall for any con. Sproul is a good example. I have listened to a lot of preachers, Pastors and teachers, and Sproul is one of only a handful who impress me to any degree. Critics may scoff and say that my religion lacks evidence and thus they don't even go so far as to accept the premise, but I was never coerced into accepting the premise. One could say that the premise(promise) found me and that His name was Jesus. As I have said before, I rarely attend church.Gambling was a dopamine pump. The more I did it the more I had to do it more often until I won. That itself was a logical fallacy. Rarely would I be ahead for a week, but when I was I spent the surplus on groceries and essentials. Only later when I stopped the action and took inventory did I realize that it was a con. The feeling of the possibility of winning (getting blessed) was so overwhelming and felt so good. I was entitled or so I thought. Not winning was simply not fair.As far as conspiracy theories, I reject most of them. The ones I consider have the devil in the details.
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Assuming for a moment that I live in fantasy, what should I do? I refuse to drink any kool-aid.In my opinion, we have two old-man candidates and two cults.My Niece wants a younger option.My conservative friend says that there is only one truth.Hopefully, he means God and not Trump.

Had to look this up. My conservative friend is like me in that he believes in Jesus and yet unlike me in that he is pro-Trump.We even disagree on Jesus. I believe Jesus was likely of darker skin tone as many in the Middle East are. My friend believes that He was more white.
We do agree that Jesus is the only way to God, Truth, and Life.By and large, my Conservative friends are Christians.
I do have some progressive friends who, like myself, are pro-Jesus and anti-Trump.