How We’re Killing America

I read an article on Wal-Mart today from FastCompany.com and I want to share some highlights with you.

“Wal-Mart is more powerful than any retailer has ever been.” It is, in fact, so big and so furtively powerful as to have become an entirely different order of corporate being.

On basic products that don’t change, the price Wal-Mart will pay …..must drop year after year …… To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bras to bicycles to blue jeans have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas.

Wal-Mart….. has doubled its imports from China in the past five years alone, buying some $12 billion in merchandise in 2002 [imagine how much more it is now!]. That’s nearly 10% of all Chinese exports to the United States.

“People ask, ‘How can it be bad for things to come into the U.S. cheaply?’ ‘How can it be bad to have a bargain at Wal-Mart?’ Sure, it’s held inflation down, and it’s great to have bargains,” says Dobbins. “But you can’t buy anything if you’re not employed. We are shopping ourselves out of jobs!“

America needs it’s workforce back

First

Cheaper taxes and less regulations on corporations, so it’s not cheaper to run a business in China. This is not some republican 1% agenda, it’s simple math and common sense. Stop letting the media and politicians turn this into a flashpoint! That’s the root of the problem.

If I have to pay 500% more  taxes to keep my business in America then I can’t compete on prices. If I have to hire a team a lawyers just to read the laws and regulations of my industry and pay millions of dollars in government mandated fees and fines, how can  I compete in price?

The simple answer is I can’t. I have to do what everyone else is doing and shut down my factory. If I want to stay in business and not file bankruptcy I am forced to move my business overseas.

If you want higher taxes on the corporations and more regulations, then shut down all foreign trade so we can compete locally on a fair playing field. It’s the only way. New laws and taxes will NOT help curb the deficit or bring you safer products, it will simply ensure you now buy those same products from China, India, or elsewhere overseas with even less regulations than before.

Second

Mega-stores such as Wal-Mart, Home-Depot, and Costco (to name only a few out of hundreds) must be made to stop forcing suppliers to drastically lower their prices. This is where it all starts, most have absolutely no choice but to move their factories overseas if they want to to compete because of the mega-store’s aggressive  pricing policies.

I know it sounds hyopcritical to say we need less regulations but then ask for more regulations on mega-corp’s, but it’s not. I’m not saying do away with all known regulations (we don’t need lead in our paint or mercury in our fish), but we need smarter regulations instead of the blanket laws that are nothing but taxes in sheep’s clothing or obvious panders for the vote of special interest groups.

The only people profiting from our current system are Mega Corporations. Most of the laws we have now that are holding back small business (and in turn our economy) were lobbied by, you guessed it, mega-corporations. Fix these laws and you will begin the snowball that will fix our economy.

What YOU can do right now

Stop waiting around for the government to change. You can break the cycle. Buy just one thing locally this week. It WILL make a HUGE difference! If only 10% of the Americans complaining about the economy would buy just ONE thing at a local store every week, or at the very least just ONE thing made in America, it could add up to $36,400,000,000 every single year!

That may not seem like much compared to our debt, but that’s still a lot of money; more money than most small countries make in a year. That’s real money back into the American economy every year. That’s real change, that’s the deficit being cut, that’s the economy getting back on track, and that’s fixing America.

Read more about how Wal-Mart is killing the economy at http://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know

Politics And Survival – How Congress Is Destroying Our American Way Of Life

Some might wonder what politics and economics has to do with survival and preparedness. The answer is simple. I don’t just want to survive; I want to thrive! I prepare to survive only because I think its a necessity that cannot be avoided, and I resent those who make it more likely that hard times will come. In times like we are living in now not only is our liberty threatened by the economical and political whims of a select few, but our very existence is as stake. 

I’m going to rant for a moment, I urge you to consider the following assertions with an open mind.

Socialism Is Worse Than Communism

Communism is a theoretical ideal that doesn’t exist and never has. Communism is a fictional ideal where there is no government and everyone voluntarily produces as much as he can and puts it into the community pot (hence the word communism, meaning community), then withdraw only what he needs. In a utopian socity where greed, lust, and theft does not exist, Communism could manifest itself as a true government… but in the real world these ideals could never be met. Governments the world over know this and their solution is much worse – Socialism.   

Socialism is government-enforced communism, where the government takes it from you under threat of force and imprisonment and gives it to someone else.  Some of you probably think Socialism could never happen in America. “Those things only happen in China or Russia”, you say…things like welfare, social security, economic “stimulus” bills, and nationalized health care….Socialism is right here at home, in America. And unfortunantly it is here to stay.  

Political Labels Mean Almost Nothing

Political lables are dictionary words, not hard won values set in stone. An American liberal or Democrat favors government control of the economy. In Europe, a “liberal” is someone who supports economic liberty and less government control of their money, the complete opposite of an American liberal. In Europe an American liberal or Democrat would be called a socialist, and in America a European liberal is called a libertarian. In Russia, “conservatives” want to go back to the way things were in the old Soviet Union. We call them “communists.”

Most Government Services Are Simply An Excuse To Tax

Some say that government services are necessary,  but in fact government services are almost always better done voluntarily by charities and private civic organizations. When a company provides a service, Greyhound Bus Transit for example, it means more jobs for everyone, more money put into the system, and generally a more free and open work enviroment. When governments try to emulate the same services, Public Transportation, it only results in a heavier tax burden upon the entire nation and lowers the standards of the entire industry. Governments provide services that private businesses can do better simply because they want and need your money. Taxation is a way to exercise power over individuals, because power gives politicians a rush, and they’re addicted to it.

Inflation Cannot Just Happen, It Must Be Caused

Inflation is, by definition, an increase in the money supply. Our government spends more and more money. To keep up with their spending they must print more money and this causes the currency to become worth less and less. Congress goes into multi-trillion dollar debts and then prints money to pay for it. They do this so they can spend money they don’t have without taxing you for it. The “gold standard” makes this impossible, which is why in the last century all governments around the world have abandoned the gold standard….and why you should invest in it.

Socialism Causes Low Standards Of Living

Capitalism is based on liberty, but socialism is based on the dispensation of political favor. Socialists need a large voting group dependent on them and in exchange for political power they promise to take money from others and give it to those who vote for them. Capitalist economies have large middle classes with high standards of living for the vast majority of people. In fact, more people have a higher standard of living in a capitalist economy than any other form of government or economy. Socialist economies have small middle classes, very small rich classes, and very large poor classes. If the poor become wealthy, they won’t need the socialists anymore, so the socialists deliberately keep the population poor.

A Well Regulated Militia Is The Best National Defense, From External And Internal Attacks

The Second Amendment states that a well regulated militia to be “necessary to the security of a free State.” The United States government would rather have an offensive military which allows our politicians to “project” their power all over the world. While yes, we do need a military, we also need a strong militia made of every day citizens! Switzerland is a perfect example. Its entire population is a militia, and this is the reason it has not been in a war in over 200 years, even though it lies in the center of one of the bloodiest region on Earth, Europe.

Imagine if every man of age was still ready at arms in the manner we were in the 1700-1800′s. America could also be a shining example like Switzerland. I don’t believe this could happen anymore. Not only has the vast majority of our population been fattened like cows for slaughter and been taught that guns are a thing of danger and fear over the past generation, our government does everything it can to enforce laws against such militia’s and to crush our rights to protect ourselves from those that intrude against our liberties. The main reason being, the government is fearful of a nationwide militia because knows it’s the real intruder and wants no resistance.  

Social Security Is A Joke And The Money Doesn’t Even Exist

Social Security is forced Socialism no matter how you look at it. We are forced to pay social security taxes into the government. They hold your money prisoner, interest free and impossible to touch. They tell you when you can have your money back and subsequently when you can quit work and retire.  Worse yet politians see Social Security as a giant sack of cash just sitting there; when they need a few million they just stick their hand in and pull out a wad of cash. Nearly all social security taxes have already been spent by the government, and there’s not enough money to pay those who were forced to pay it in. The federal government owes over $2.5 trillion in Social Security, and starting in 2010 social security payouts exceed the taxes coming in. We’re broke, and it will never get paid.

Our Judicial System Doesn’t Do Justice

The courts interpret laws enacted by politicians who are only responding to political pressures of the moment, with no regard to whether they are right or wrong. In most cases the politicians do not even read the laws they pass. Our judicial system used to be based on English common law. Common law is not about domestic issues, but is the process of discovering the underlying principles of right and wrong that determine justice. This whole concept has been completely lost in the past 50 years. 

In many cases politicians even exempt themselves from the laws they pass as if they are special or “holy”. For example, Congress exempted itself from the requirements of the national health care law that has been layed upon all other American citizes. 

Conclusion

After reading this I hope you understand why you should keep a close eye on politicials, congress, and the government as a whole. We cannot contine as we are, something must change or there can only be two outcomes, either we will continue to degrade into a Socialist country and this great experiment called America will be over, or we will collapse before we ever get to that point.

America was founded on principles of liberty and freedom, yet after World War II everything seemed to change. Perhaps we brought back the old thoughts of Europe, or perhaps the powers that be saw it as a perfect time to grab even more power.  Anything that takes away liberty chips away at our founding principles. Whenever politicians tell you they need more power or a “Czar” to do something, be very skeptical….and clean your guns.

 

“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Author Is Prepping For An Economical Collapse

Rich Dad, Poor Dad” author Robert Kyosaki is not convinced that the worst days of the recession are behind us. “There are two possible extremes, or financial concerns. We can either go into a depression, or we can go to hyperinflation,” says Mr. Kyosaki in a recent web video. “Or we could also go to war which is one way people think we could solve the problem:”

Mr. Kyosaki suggests investing in precious metals, buying a gun and storing food, in a cautious “rather be safe than sorry” mindset. He also suggests investing wisely and organizing your fiscal house. For example, he cautions that if the credit card systems shut down, the world shuts down. “If I’m preparing for the worst, there is a good chance it won’t happen.”

“Remember this, the police cannot prevent a crime, only you can do that,” he adds. “They can only investigate it after you’re dead.”

Mr. Kyosaki is best known for authoring the “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” series and has sold over 26 million books. He has previously spoken in regards to what he calls “the conspiracy of the rich,” and the “new rules of money”.

 Watch the video of his interview below.