Published Monday - Friday about 8 AM Central Time Except Holidays....many major typos are fixed by 8:30 dailyThursday June 4, 2009 07: 55 A CDT
This site is supported by subscription to Peoplenomics. For additional content, please subscribe.
Content mirrored at my other site: www.independencejournal.com,
Looking Ahead: Plans to Tax Gold?
Seems as though the effects of the presently evolving Second Depression are being felt in some high places and not just amongst us commoners, as I read how Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's home in Westchester County, NY, has been rented out because it didn't sell in today's crumby real estate market. Home sales are quite down even in relatively well-to-do Westchester County.
All of which wouldn't be so interesting on the surface, if along about the same time, two other stories weren't emerging which may lend some perspective on the nation's financial future.
The first story involves Geithner's plan to "unveil regulatory reform plans" on June 17th and the next day, June 18th, he's planning to make an appearance before Barney Frank's committee to explain the larger context of the plan. Regulatory reform?
OK, nothing so worrisome there, except that we're also reading this second story which has popped up in Canada about how the Canadian "Mint Can't account for missing gold."
(Not related, but perhaps worth noting on the way to my point this morning, is that some Canadian Border Service Agency (the Canuck Border Patrol) are being armed. Interesting timing.)
The Toronto Star this morning informs us that there's a question as to whether anything is really amiss, since no one knows at this point whether it's sloppy accounting, a heist, or whatever. Authorities at the Mint won't say how much is involved, but this is interesting for this reason.
According to the predictive linguistics work out of www.halfpasthuman.com, there is some indication in the data that there will be more than just this Canadian story around the 'missing gold' meme, and that by the end of the year (or thereafter a ways) there will be questions about our own gold stores at Fort Knox.
Concurrently, as the year goes on, the linguistics seem to paint a picture of the US government trying to come up with a way to tax gold transactions in some manner. Linguistically in the ALTA 1109 report it has a 'feel' of the government wanting to suppress non-paper financial asset trading because it's about to give the paper/proxy money some serious headaches.
So much so, that I will be reading the proposed new Treasury regulations cautiously, looking for wording that will go to some kind of non-paper financial assets tax at the time ownership changes. Maybe something hugely onerous, too. I mean think about it: The Canadian Mint story revealed that Canadian Maple Leaf production was up what, 352% last year? Taxpersons salivate as such, I'm sure since as inflation arrives, history gold has benefited...
---
Now let me go to the speculation on my part. From a public policy perspective I think it's likely to have the following elements in place this fall:
-
Declining revenue collection at IRS since business is down. That means an increase in Federal borrowing (from ourselves, laughably via the Fed) in order to bubblegum and bailing wire the economy into something still sellable as real. This oughta start with the mid to late summer and into early fall round two of the derivatives melt-down.
-
There are been a few blips on the interest rate front that indicate future inflation worries as the dollar is set to decline because it now represents so much more debt since there's been a flurry of borrowing to keep the economy from imploding already.
-
Then there's what reads, both in the linguistics and the headlines - "Precious metals hit by profit taking, up-trend still intact" that suggests the public is at some early-adopter level, already figuring out that gold, guns, and grub are pretty good hedges against hyperinflation which becomes possible should (or more accurately when) confidence in the dollar passes some unknowable point on the J-curve and goes vertical.
Suppose, now, that you were sitting in either Tim Geithner's chair, or Ben Bernanke's. What policies would you implement today while times are still normal (at least in a manner of speaking) that would line up requisite authority for the federal government to tax non-dollarized assets so as to prevent the overnight emergence of a competing economic and monetary system that would almost surely arise in reaction to massive (on the other of 40-60% in the coming two years) as debt for the 'too big to fail' crowd comes along with it's own piper to be paid?
Something to be considered here is the notion that even though royal/despots/PowersThatBe/central governments all like to exact as much power and control over their 'subjects' as possible, there's a line, which once crossed, takes so much away from people that they have nothing more to lose and that's how things like the French Revolution get started.
On the other hand, by cleverly imposing a system of control now with a tax on anything that could compete with paper money - created for a few cents a copy using paper and ink which is passed off as a store of value, what would youi do? I mean if you were Mr. Secretary and didn't want to fall victim to a society which, upon seeing the potential to 'go Zimbabwe', wouldn't on its own start moving away from paper assets, what's within the realm of doable?
Register and tax.
Consider something which would require registration of all gold, silver, and precious metals and exact an initially low tax on transactions, which could then be quickly ratcheted up.
Given a huge fine and/or jail time for failing to register gold and silver, no doubt some people would see the game and fail to do so. What would follow would be example prosecutions yet - and this is important to the PTB - there would be ultimate deniability. "We're not confiscating gold, we're just trying to insure you hoarders pay your tax on the gain when it comes time to sell it. Can't have you continuing to cheat on your fair portion of income taxes with your gold gains!"
Ah, it's all so predictable. Turn the 'haves vs. have-not's' dialectic around on the People and then orchestrate further confiscation of gains. And, I'd note, without fear. After all, when the CONgress ignores the will of the public on things like the $650/per capita give-away to the crooked banksters of $200-billion who over-levered the financial system, this is merely a walk in the park.
Buying companies up without giving the ultimate shareholders (us) any durable title or representation on the boards of companies like GM and AIG, well, we're apparently dumb enough to go for it.
All of which gets back to the register and tax model. The prototype for this kind of behavior came from automobiles. People in the early days would build their own cars and run them on wagon-track roads. But, over time, registration came along, and then we all dumbly and lamely started paying for permission to use something we'd already paid for through our taxes. Yet, that's how government works.
Same thing with property: you never really own it. You pay the government property tax - a sort of partnership at gunpoint to strong-arm you into paying for public education, rather than have another mechanism for accomplishing that. Fail to pay property taxes and out comes the local sheriff with a gun - after some period of time - to kick you off the land you thought you bought. Like my tax attorney says "Government's your silent partner in property anyway." So long as you pay the hush-money.
So to bottom line you on what I'm presently worried about: I'm looking over the next four months, or so, for the groundwork to be laid for the mechanism here in Depression 2 under which government can (and no doubt will) confiscate non-paper wealth from you without the necessity of direct confiscation.
Requiring you to buy 'gold stamps' and 'silver stamps' without which, you would not be able to legally sell your gold to anyone is probably sellable public policy in the Prozac'ed and foxnotized Once Great Republic for which we stood.
Long as we're at it, how about an ammunition tax? Only a matter of time... It's like drugs and the Harrison Act - it's all about taxing.
Especially when I see headlines like "Northwestern Mutual Makes First Gold Buy in 152 Years."
Better Loan Sharking Department
"Fed said to toughen terms for banks to repay TARP" is deliciously ironic.
"How so?" Remember all those times you got jacked around with bank card terms being changed on you without notice that was readily actionable and ugly terms in all the fine print? Nice to see how Universe turns around and smacks back at the Banksters. This is what 'change of terms we didn't agree to" feels like. T.S. - and get over it. That's what we consumers were told, right? Deal.
BOE: Rock Not the Boat
Until the PTB can line up the next steps in the further concentration of wealth in the hands of the 300 richest families in the world, I see that the Bank of England has left rates unchanged.
I'll just put that on the news hook labeled "Don't Rock Boat' and move on.
Rock-Not 2
Ditto the European Central Bank.
Productivity
Latest (revised) Q1 estimates from the Labor Department:
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor today reported revised productivity data--as measured by output per hour of all persons--for the first quarter of 2009. The revised seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity change in the first quarter were:
1.8 percent in the business sector and 1.6 percent in the nonfarm business sector.
In both sectors, the first-quarter productivity gains were greater than the preliminary estimates reported on May 7, due solely to revisions to output growth.
In manufacturing, the revised productivity changes in the first quarter were:
-2.7 percent in manufacturing, -10.4 percent in durable goods manufacturing, and 1.9 percent in nondurable goods manufacturing.
Manufacturing productivity in the first quarter of 2009 fell at a slower rate than was reported on May 7. Output and hours in manufacturing, which includes about 11 percent of U.S. business- sector employment, tend to vary more from quarter to quarter than data for the aggregate business and nonfarm business sectors. "
Meantime, the jobless rate dropped for the first time in 20 weeks in the latest reporting period, which ought to be candy for the markets today. I think an improved jobless report tomorrow would throw some gas on the rally.
That's Some Quote
While President O is in Egypt this morning, here's a rather interesting quote from a report of his speech: "“Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail."
---
That's an alternative reality, for you. Here in the world I live in, "He who pays the Piper calls the tune..." And China owns the pipe.
---
While Obama's call for opening dialog with the Islamic world might seem a reasonable thing, it's a bit late with "Iran's Khamenei saying the US is 'deeply hated' in Mideast." I mean, doesn't anyone appreciate that it is US Manifest Destiny to conquer all lands, liberate all people, and take what resources we want, whether labor or liquid? I mean really...we got us a paradigm to defend here!
Up In Smoke
Speaking of...did you see where the guy who founded the Liberty Dollar alternative economic concept is reported to have opened the "free Marijuana Church of Honolulu"?
Wonder if 'church papers' are Zig-Zags now?
123 Real Change
Hmmm...along about here on the timeline, we're supposed to see serious energy going into the 'secrets revealed' meme along with a lot of focus on 'whistleblowers' being invited and coming to the fore. What's this? "Project Expose MSM Reports" is now up and running with a website.
---
A story about how "Secret Canada nuclear papers left in a TV studio" has me wondering how much of this is accidental, or are we about to really get a wave of 'secrets revealed' and major 'whistle-blowing"?
----- snip and save department ---
Coping: With High Strangeness
Mention yesterday of the [many] problems encountered with trying to be on 'right path' with Universe does bring up an interesting point. Once you start looking, you'll often find what time-monks-in-training are instructed are 'sync-winks' from Universe.
"Nonsense! George, Ure out there on a limb again..." True that, but in case youi didn't know, one of the most widely described and referenced cases of a 'sync-wink' - labeled in psychology as Carl Jung's experience with the Golden Scarab is worth a serious read before tossing out the concept as unworkable and unreal.
In that case (to summarize it because I know you're busy and all, Jung one day was working with a patient as the great psychiatrist that he was, and his patient was describing a 'golden beetle of scarab."
Well, wouldn't you know? Along comes one to bang into a cabinet window at that precise moment. Which surprised Jung enough to also go tripped down sync-wink/dancing with Universe Road...
OK, with the long lead-in, here's the sync-wink of the day email:
'"So I'm here in Chicago, letting my radio scanner cycle through all available frequencies, out of nothing better to do on a Wednesday night, and it ends up on 492.0875, and it sounds like some suburban police department, but I can't quite tell which one, so naturally I plug "492.0875" into Google to see what comes up. That brings up websites which link it to a couple different locations, both of which being quite far away from northeastern Illinois.
I take one last glance at all of the search results, and suddenly this hit from Google Books comes up:
Getting Started in Commodities - Google Books Result by George A. Fontanills - 2007 - Business & Economics - 507 pages ... [0%] 492.0875 Wave 5 reached projected target on 2/1/06. Actual Wave 5 high was S579.5 a day later. 3 days to exit trade after Wave 5 profit target was ... books.google.com/books?isbn=0470089490... [...]
Cue the Twilight Zone theme music! There is no escape from the Elliott Waves!
Love your site by the way, even though, being unemployed, I'm much too broke to have spending money for Timebot reports and such. Though Clif's recent comment about "Powerful people disappearing and being taken to a bad, bad place/PTB's hiring bodyguards en masse, but to no avail" can't help but make any rational person wonder. "
I'm no Jung, but I'd sure be out buying lottery tickets with those numbers for Saturday's drawing. Or, check the Wednesday drawing if you had one, LOL. Or, maybe Universe is trying to get you to call someone with that phone number? Maybe the difference between the exact frequency and the ISBN is an area code you're supposed to be calling? Who knows...but let us know if you hit on the lotto, or call somewhere to discover a long-lost friend, or something. Universe has an odd way of being odd.
Another 'go where Universe says email?
"Hi George,
Just got through reading your daily comments ( I have to admit, I'm hooked), I especially enjoyed your blurb on connecting with the Universe......so I must share with you the experience I had the other day. The other morning I went to my computer and tried to open it but could not as a “virus protection” program said that the reason I could not open was because I had a virus in my computer, but, if I paid them $85.00 they would eliminate the virus for me. Well, it didn’t take long to deduce that they were the ones who put the virus in my computer in the first place. And, the last thing I wanted to do, was to reward them for thier virus. Now, this is the amazing thing. I didn’t get upset but tried my best to get past their block on my computer, I even tried to get in through system recovery but their block detected that also. So I got out the yellow pages and called a few places about removing the virus. The best price I could get was $99.00 but I would have to take my computer to them. So, I kept fiddling with the computer, trying to get in. Then, I stopped and thought to myself: If I asked the Universe for help, would I really get it? The answer came in a flash, of course I would! So I did, then without thinking I hit the start key and the block was GONE! I then used system restore to eliminate any trace of the virus, just to be on the safe side! Anyway, I just wanted to share this experience with you as it was truly amazing. "
Does seem to work that way. And, speaking of the power of powerfully visualizing (which Universe seems to reward or work toward (which is the real power behind prayer, you think?):
"Re: “…at the archetype level of consciousness…”
Sorry but I don’t have the article handy, but couple of months ago I read of experiment by a Princeton professor or graduate where: Subject students that were going to be shown a particular set of words to memorize in the future had better recall when during the initial test where they were flashed the words…
That more extroverted (optimists?) subjects seems to do better…
So: I am going memorize how a $1million in cash looks like in a suite case…"
There are actually quite a few of us who visualize several times a day what we want our idea life to come out as...and it (so far) has done a nice job of complying with the vision...
Who Was That Masked Man?
Seems those N-95 masks you have been stockpiling may be of only limited value according to a report here. Which is why we have a set of full-face N-100 gear here.
Where Do I Sign Up?
"Take five-year holiday to cut costs, Spanish bank invites employees." Oh, hell yeah...
British Brain Washing
The UK's Mail has a good article: "Little Brother is watching you: Children of ten are taught how to spot a terrorist in police DVD."
Now if they'd just teach 'em how to recognize the terrorists who run for office.... What about a line-up on the MP's who padded their expenses for a starter?
Twisted Memories
Flexible memory chips "A twist on chip-based memory" headlines a story.
And there we go reinventing ourselves in silicon. Since we already have enough twisted memories in humans, we now go to this....
---
Send comments to george@ure.net
---
Peoplenomics
Time to Kill the Advertising Industry
Want to do something revolutionary? Which if done at one fell swoop would reduce pollution, dramatically reduce crime of many sorts, and at the same time would defuse the mass consumption paradigm while reducing the public susceptibility to political jingoism and persuasion group manipulation. You see, the truth of the matter is that excess consumption and shoddy products is at the core of today's business paradigm. It's why Detroit hasn't turned out the 'million mile car' yet, but Kenworth (PACCAR) builds that level of quality into trucks every day. It's why car styles change from year-to-year in order to hype 'novelty' and 'position' since 4-wheels and a motor has been around more than a hundred years. So pour a fresh cuppa Joe and let's get real about this...starting with...
More For Subscribers Subscription Information
Maxa-Cookie Manager
Maxa-Tools has provided us with a free demo - which you're welcome to try - of their dandy cookie manager tool that I use here on all my computers. It shows both the browser-specific and the newer browser-independent cookies. Quite happy with it.
Here's the download link for the free demo:
www.urbansurvival.com/setupMCMstdGU.exe
