E-Cow-nomics

Our friend Joe, from Volcano, sent this to us the other day. I thought it would be a good primer for all of you econ dummies like myself.

SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM
You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.

CitiGroup VENTURE CAPITALISM
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cowcartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.

A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity. You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows. You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. No one believes you, so they bomb the shit out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy.

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

The Iconic Image from GD 1.0

Below is a story about one of the children hiding their head in shame while Dorothea Lange took one of the most memorable and iconic photos in history. I have always been very moved by this photo since I first saw it in my days as a young photo journalist in high school. I wondered about this mother and what happened to her. How did she manage to keep her children fed and in one piece through an unimaginable hardship?

Will there be a new iconic photo for this age? I imagine it will be of a foreclosed family of four from Stockton, California living in their Chevy Suburban in a campground somewhere near the Sacramento River. Kids will be shown all sullen and downcast with their beat up portable dvd players and Nintendo DS's. Mom will be shown on her cell phone talking to bill collectors.

For now, the story of Katherine now 77 years old is a simple lesson for us all as we careen and skid into GD 2.0. Yep, she says so down at the end of the story, "Save your money and don't overextend yourself. It doesn't get any more simple than that!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/12/02/dustbowl.photo/index.html

By Thelma Gutierrez and Wayne Drash
CNN

MODESTO, California (CNN) -- The photograph became an icon of the Great Depression: a migrant mother with her children burying their faces in her shoulder. Katherine McIntosh was 4 years old when the photo was snapped. She said it brought shame -- and determination -- to her family.

"I wanted to make sure I never lived like that again," says McIntosh, who turns 77 on Saturday. "We all worked hard and we all had good jobs and we all stayed with it. When we got a home, we stayed with it."

McIntosh is the girl to the left of her mother when you look at the photograph. The picture is best known as "Migrant Mother," a black-and-white photo taken in February or March 1936 by Dorothea Lange of Florence Owens Thompson, then 32, and her children.

Lange was traveling through Nipomo, California, taking photographs of migrant farm workers for the Resettlement Administration. At the time, Thompson had seven children who worked with her in the fields.

"She asked my mother if she could take her picture -- that ... her name would never be published, but it was to help the people in the plight that we were all in, the hard times," McIntosh says.

"So mother let her take the picture, because she thought it would help." Video Watch "we would go home and cry" »

The next morning, the photo was printed in a local paper, but by then the family had already moved on to another farm, McIntosh says.

"The picture came out in the paper to show the people what hard times was. People was starving in that camp. There was no food," she says. "We were ashamed of it. We didn't want no one to know who we were."

The photograph helped define the Great Depression, yet McIntosh says her mom didn't let it define her, although the picture "was always talked about in our family."

"It always stayed with her. She always wanted a better life, you know."

Her mother, she says, was a "very strong lady" who liked to have a good time and listen to music, especially the yodeler named Montana Slim. She laughs when she recalls her brothers bringing home a skinny greyhound pooch. "Mom, Montana Slim is outside," they said.

Thompson rushed outside. The boys chuckled. They had named the dog after her favorite musician.

"She was the backbone of our family," McIntosh says of her mom. "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. That's one thing she did do."

Her memories of her youth are filled with about 50 percent good times, 50 percent hard times.

It was nearly impossible to get an education. Children worked the fields with their parents. As soon as they'd get settled at a school, it was time to pick up and move again.

Her mom would put newborns in cotton sacks and pull them along as she picked cotton. The older kids would stay in front, so mom could keep a close eye on them. "We would pick the cotton and pile it up in front of her, and she'd come along and pick it up and put it in her sack," McIntosh says.

They lived in tents or in a car. Local kids would tease them, telling them to clean up and bathe. "They'd tell you, 'Go home and take a bath.' You couldn't very well take a bath when you're out in a car [with] nowhere to go."

She adds, "We'd go home and cry."

McIntosh now cleans homes in the Modesto, California, area. She's proud of the living she's been able to make -- that she has a roof over her head and has been able to maintain a job all these years. She says her obsession to keep things clean started in her youth when her chore was to keep the family tent clean. There were two white sheets that she cleaned each day.

"Even today, when it comes to cleaning, I make sure things are clean. I can't stand dirty things," she says with a laugh.

With the nation sinking into tough economic times and analysts saying the current economic crisis is the worst since the Great Depression, McIntosh says if there's a lesson to be learned from her experience it is to save your money and don't overextend yourself. iReport: Are you worried about losing your job?

"People live from paycheck to paycheck, even people making good money," she says. "Do your best to make sure it doesn't happen again. Elect the people you think is going to do you good."

Her message for President-elect Barack Obama is simple: "Think of the middle-class people."
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She says she'll never forget the lessons of her hard-working mother, who died at the age of 80 in 1983. Her gravestone says: "Migrant Mother: A Legend of the strength of American motherhood."

"She was very strict, but very loving and caring. She cared for us all," McIntosh says.

Hawaii's Banks Stand Up to Financial Poo Storm

The November 24th Associated press headline about Hawaii’s banks http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081124/BUSINESS/811240329/1071 should make everyone feel very lucky they live Hawaii. In fact, when I googled this headline it showed it being published in media all over the world. This is a very big feather in our States' papale (hat)! The only other state I have checked out as having a stellar banking system is Vermont! (Maybe were not such a bunch of sub third world hillbillies after all!)
Not only that, for the most part our island residents have strong work ethics and even stronger saving habits. I had heard from a reliable source many years ago, that Hilo had the highest per capita savings rate in the state. Now that high savings rate may have a lot to do with the lack of places to spend the money but nevertheless it is something to be very proud.
If readers are so inclined and have an internet connection, a site called Bankrate.com rates every banking and credit union in the United States. First Hawaiian Bank is rated as a 5 star bank with Bank of Hawaii earning a solid 4 stars. I will not sling any mud towards the others banks but will urge anyone NOT in these two banks to check out their institution to see how it rates. If anyone is tempted by the great yields being advertised by certain local institutions on checking and savings then I definitely urge you to take a little side trip to the internet and check it out. With the FDIC under a lot of stress these days I would not want my money in any bank with less than 4 stars. This year alone, over 22 banks have gone under FDIC receivership and many more are waiting in the wings for 2009.
With our two stellar banks there is NO reason to be stuffing the Bank of Sealy. At least with these two we can earn their pathetic 2% interest rate.
And that’s how you tell the difference between a sick bank and a healthy bank. The interest rate yield. If the ad says 4% on checking accounts, then run my friend, run fast to your computer and check the health of your bank. Now is not the time to be chasing high yields. High yields, especially attached to checking accounts are a huge red flag. That’s like your keiki with a 105 degree fever. Not good.
There are hundreds of “Zombie” banks in the US stumbling and lurching like legions of undead. Citibank is a prime example. Deemed to Big to Fail they got bailed out with no embarrassing questions to the CEO, (unlike the Automaker bosses and their private jet itineraries). It is a bit like a brain dead accident victim being kept alive by a heart and lung machine. I suspect that the major shareholder, the Saudi Prince, Al Waleed must have thrown a tantrum and made some ugly threats about the oil spigots if his pet bank didn’t get hooked up to the cash transfusion. Paulson and Bernanke pulled out the checkbook and hooked up the massive IV bag and did it over the weekend without the glaring scrutiny of Congress and CNBC cameras. Clever and sneaky, those ones.
If I were a UAW worker I might just be dusting off a rusty pitchfork and loading up the F150 for quick drive to Washington so I could run my mouth off about that little bailout thingy.

Santa Pause and the End of Sport Shopping

Can it really be that we have entered the age of the Shopacolypse? What sport will replace America's favorite past time now? The retail numbers came in today on CNBC and they exceeded everyone's forecasts to the downside. And today, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald blasted us with news that Domino's Pizza, here for twenty years, has done the belly flop. I am sure many more will follow around here, which is a bad thing since Hilo has such a dearth of retail and dining choices as it is. My prediction for the next door closing will be the last mainland entry into the Hilo dining scene; IHOP. That place never had a chance against Ken's Pancake House.. With their high prices, bad service, and crappy food it was a sure road to pau hana. I'm certain they are hanging on by their bacon drippings. Everytime, I walk past that place, which is not very often, I see a deserted dining room and hands in empty apron pockets. The vibe from that place tells me that the mall will be looking at yet another vacant spot. I have lived on the Hilo side for nearly 14 years and have never seen that mall fully rented. Mainland corporate headquarters must get a big fat tax deduction for that loser.
So, here we be not even 6 days post Halloween, shelves are freshly stocked with Christmas paraphanalia, sparkly, streaming things adorn the ceilings, store owners wring their paws anticipating the annual runup of seasonal profits to closeout the year and deplete the inventory pile. But will we be blowing our dollar wads at Wally World, Macy's and Ross this season? From where I sit, the wallets have not only slammed shut, they have been superglued and tossed in the Bank of Sealy for safe keeping along with the rest of the meager life savings. It may be covered in fuzzy mold by the time it gets pulled out again as me thinks we are in for long ride down the Financial Doom tunnel. There is a light at the end of it but it looks like someone is holding one of those tiny little keychain flashlights from ten miles away.

I saw this trainwreck coming over a year ago, when I caught wind of the subprime mortgage fiasco. I have already done all the hand wringing, fretting, bitching, rice and macaroni hedging and wallet slamming. I am sure I drive everyone around me to the brink of Prozac prescriptions and bong hits with my hyper tightwadding and endless cost cutting measures. But like I said in another post, it is all about the Survival of the Thriftiest these days.

For the majority of folks, whether its the debt money or cash money, times are bleak and getting dimmer. Credit limits are getting battened down by Visa and Mastercard Corp and bad news daily from the Doom-O-Sphere keeps plenty folks on the edge of their diapers worried about who will get the dreaded pink slip next. The weekly jobless numbers continue to exceed expectations to the downside, sending the Dow ever deeper into the darkest reaches of Bear country. I have a client, super secure job with the state, she works in family court. After I delivered her custom tailored suits, yesterday, she exclaimed that I may not see her for a long time due to this recession. When folks with jobs that secure are worried, you know the holiday season is going to be pretty darn bleak.

Will all this bad news cancel the kind of Christmas many have come to expect for the last 50 plus years? How will we deal with the expectations of piles of gift wrapped presents under those artificial twinkling trees come Christmas morning? Will Santa be put on on indefinite Pause and be looking at an early retirement with his depleted 401K? Will folks be hitting garage sales and Sally's Shop (Salvation Army) hunting for used Gameboys, ratty old Malibu Barbies and Wii's ? Maybe this will be everyone's first big lesson in Downsizing 101? Can there be any tasty morsels rattling around here in this bottomless doom pit that can keep our eyes focused on that tiny little flashlight?

So take a taste of this cookie-I will always remember a gift I once received from a fellow tightwadder; Heather Brady was her name. She was an old school New Englander, Boston raised, a classic yankee tightwad. She could clutch a pile of dollars tighter than any girl I ever knew. She is a wildly brilliant artist, accepted at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, but never attended due to the cost. (Instead, she became an organic veggie roadie chef for the band "The Cure".) One Christmas, back in my wasted twentysomething daze I shared a house with Heather and other good chick friends. That year she had found a small jewelry box, among other trash treasures, at Goodwill for maybe a dime. She did a makeover on that little box with her outrageous style and creative flair, wrapped it up in recycled paper and put my name on it under our puny little Christmas tree. I have always cherished that present for everything that it represented. (Mind you, it wouldn't win any awards, but it was the soul of that present that held me.) Heather was never my best friend or anything but she made a huge impression on me with her style, class and creativity while being an uber frugalist. This, my friends, is that speck of light at the end of the tunnel: Creativity and innovation. Keep your eyes on it. It will make a comeback and it may just lead us out of the dark endless tunnel of Great Depression 2.0

Creativity and innovation are the qualities that once made the United States such a powerful economic force. In the last ten years or so, we have allowed the Pigmen of Wall Street, those overeducated, twentysomething, brash, Redbulled and Blackberried, Jamie Dimon wannabes, to channel all that creativity into wierd, inscrutable financial instrument products that somehow morphed into some kind of mega-maniac monster of infinite destruction stomping out wealth around the world. This monster and its co-creator, the Federal Reserve, will not stop until every material thing is in their possession and you and I are on a life sentence of Debt Bondage. Thomas Jefferson warned about it long ago and I have quoted that in a previous post. Go read it again.

It is damn near impossible to have any imagination and creativity when all of your life forces are sucked out of you by the exhaustion of debt slavery. But for us to fight back we must stir up these creative juices within us. For many of us, we will have no choice but to resort to creativity and imagination just to put food on the table if nothing else. I can tell you that picking vegetable out of my garden and serving it to my hungry boymen is one of the most soul satisfying endeavor I have ever done. It reaches into the depths and connects me to this earth. It is how God intended us to live. There is NO excuse for anyone not to grow at least one food thing. Green beans love Hawaii, can grow year round, and require little attention. Start with one thing, if time is a factor and soon you will be hooked! It is the ultimate act of creating.

I do know one thing, here at my computer in this mortgage free chicken hale on this remote rock in the Pacific, is that Creativity and Innovation will save our souls. The ability to create things from nothing with our own hands will spark our minds . With this can turn our mountains of trash into treasures. We can plant tiny little seeds and have food to eat. We can take a piece of crummy fabric and sculpt it into a wearable work of art. We can breathe new life into a discarded appliance. We can resurrect a rusting bicycle. A sheet can be torn up and turned into a rug with an old toothbrush. These acts cost nothing but ingenuity and a trip to the Recycling Center or the county dump. (Their is actually a movement of dumpster divers called Freegan !) This can put us on the road to feeling whole and worthwhile again. From this we can give birth to businesses and self employment.

Has shopping at Macy's or Walmart and coming home with that one thing you just had to have, did it ever make you feel worthwhile for more than 5 minutes? Did the feeling last long enough to make it onto the credit card statement? Western civilization is awaking from a long drunken credit card binge, and the hangover is a BITCH. But you already know that as you pop another Tylenol for the migraines. These days are over for the mass majority, as we delever out of this mess. My hope is that "Living within the Means" will be the new way cool for all.

If you do have any kalas to spend this year, and cannot muster the creative forces within, then for the sake of your local economy, spend it at places like Village Toy Shop on Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo Art and Glass, The Cutlery, Basically Books, The Book Gallery, Divas Boutique, Hana Hou, Sig Zane, Bobby Lyn's, MidPacific Wheels, and Sportsline. Go to these locally owned places first. At least you can feel you are doing a good thing for your economy. There are so many outstanding little shops in Hilo that desperately need your kalas. Walmart is doing very well, they DO NOT NEED YOUR dollars, they are a multinational conglomerate, in the Dow 30, Blue chip to the max. Do not be tempted by their drastic cost reductions on name brand items. They suck you into their flourescent souless BigBox and then confuse you with the lighting tricks and colorful displays. If you don't have a list in big black letters in your hand with what you need, you will not be able to find your butt with both hands. You may end up walking out of the place with a Fry Daddy or some crappy package of 7 for the price of six floral cotton boxershorts. People with University degrees and lots of letters after their names design these store layouts just to trick you into buying stuff you don't need. They're stock is up, their numbers are fine. Stay away from Walmart. Don't be fooled by those low prices. However, if you must enter this shrine of the yellow happy face then only buy the stuffs that they use to get you in the door. You know, those $20 dollar laptops the day after Thanksgiving loss leaders. That is how you can be subversive and revolutionary. If thats all we buy from them, then only meager penny profits for da Wally Beast. Besides, lots of poor peasants slave away under inhumane conditions for 23 cents a day so you can wear ten dollar blue jeans. Those peasants have the jobs and we DON'T. Thank you Walmart for everything you have done for America. We bow down at your sacred low price alter.

If you are truly deficient in funds, and living low on the saimin packages, then take a hint from me, rummage through all the old junk in your closets, drawers, carports, storage sheds and car trunks. See if anything sparks your imagination. Do a makeover on it. Clean it up, paint it, cover it, glue toothpicks on it, whatevahs. Give your own imagination and creativity as a gift, and spark your own one person Consumer Revolution. The Shopacolypse is a new beginning for us, and we will renew our pride and spirits with new pursuits. Invest in yourself, this is the future that leads us towards that speck of light.

Living in the Land of Plenty

We have been hearing a lot of bad news from the Doom-O-Sphere in the last year. Stories about folks in foreclosure who are losing their McMansions, banks losing their depositors and needing taxpayer bailouts. Then there are there thousands losing their jobs due to banks (losing their capital reserves!) hoarding what little loot they have and not willing to lend. It is easy to get caught up in all this and start feeling sorry for yourself and scared, too, but is it really justified?
Have we forgotten to be grateful for what we do have? This piece was sent to me by my good friend Margaret. Yes, the Margaret who rides her bike to work. Wow, what would I write about here if it weren't for Margaret sending me such good stuff to expound upon. She has inspired at least 3 of my postings, now. Mahalo, my good friend!
As we head into Great Depression 2.0 it will be a good thing to keep things in perspective. Things like how this country has so much food and stuff we send the excess to other countries. We have so much we end up hording it in our opus (stomachs)!

We consume 25% of the worlds oil yet have only 2% of the population. Is that a wakeup call or what? Should we be a bit more humble and grateful for the abundance we have been blessed with?

Most of us live in places that have indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, flush toilets, tv's in every room, 2 fairly new cars in the driveway, food in the pantry, and a stove to cook it on. We have packed fridges and freezers, washers and dryers, vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers. I am talking about the average everyday American in a rental or a foreclosure, in a mortgaged home or a paid for home.
I could write pages about what we have in this country but you get the point by now, I'm sure. We have it pretty darn good in this country. Okay?
Now the problem is that all of this bellyaching and bailout crap along with the ridiculous sense of entitlements is making us the laughing stock of the rest of the world. We come off like a nation of overfed, overstuffed waddling spoiled, jaded brats and it's high time we all sat down and counted our infinite blessings even if we cannot buy that flat screen or take the kids to Disneyland this year. Anyway, David Letterman is getting credit for this piece below and as rich and privileged as he is, has taken some time to share some of his unique wisdom.

The below is attributed to David Letterman but was actually penned by Craig R. Smith. No matter who wrote it, it bears repeating that we need to be grateful for what we have in America.

David Letterman wrote this; it's the David we don't often see... As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. 'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''


A. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?


B. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?


C. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?


D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?


E. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?


F. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?


G. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.


H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.


I. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.


J. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.


K. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.


L. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 % of teenagers own cell phones and computers.


M. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?


Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ung rate ful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it...... are y ou upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.
Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have
volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by justifying them in one way or another.
Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane! Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative. With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?

Did that punch you in the gut or what?

Now check out these statistics if you are still feeling down about your sorry ass life. I got this off of Tickerforum awhile back and now is a good time to post it. I do not know who wrote it but it sure will make you feel very BLESSED and FORTUNATE to be a citizen of this United States of America.

If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportion of all the people living on Earth, that village would consist of:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
13 Americans (North, Central, South)
8 Africans
There would be:52 women and 48 men
30 Caucasians and 70 non-Caucasians
30 Christians and 70 non-Christians
89 heterosexuals and 11 homosexuals
6 people would possess 59% of the wealth and they would all come from the USA.
80 would live in poverty
70 would be illiterate
50 would suffer from hunger and malnutrition
1 would be dying1 would be being born1 would own a computer
1 would have a university degree

Now, if you woke up this morning in good health, you have more luck than 1 million people, who wont live through the week. If you have never experienced the horror of war, the solitude of prison, the pain of torture, were not close to death from starvation, then you are better off than 500 million people. If you can go to your place of worship without fear that someone will assault or kill you, then you are luckier than 3 billion people. If you have a full fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep tonight, you are wealthier than 75% of the world’s population. If you currently have money in the bank, in your wallet and a few coins in your purse, you are 1 of the 8% of the privileged few amongst the rest of the population. If your parents are still alive and still married, you are a rare individual. If you can read this, then you’re not part of the 2 billion people who can’t read.

If this does not stop your complaints then God help you and your sorry ass!

Monkeynomics and the StockMarket

This was emailed to me by my good friend Margaret. She's the wahine that rides her bike from mauka Kurtistown to South Hilo. You can check out her story near the bottom of this blog.

Once upon a time, in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at $20 for a monkey.
This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each, and the supply of monkeys became so small that it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35, and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each."
The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys.
They never saw the man nor his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!
Now you have a better understanding of how Wall Street works. SOLD TO YOU!

Survival of the Thriftiest

Yesterday, I saw a bit of news crawl by on CNBC. It stated that for the Chinese to weather the global slowdown that they would need to become more consumer oriented instead of relying on exports. Meaning, they need to quit hording those yuans and start buying all that Walmart junk or else no more jobby job. "Oh really?!" Does anyone think that 5000 years of ancestral history of constant famines and droughts can be glossed over somehow and turned into a some kind of polished up dyed in the wool Westernstyle uber consumer? How does that sit with the average Chinese person who has the god given intstincts towards thrift and savings? This instinct is a well known trait in Hawaii and we have a word for those Chinese tightwads: Pake. (I say this with love and pride mind you!) This pake-ness is as integral to the Chinese collective character as say, hot dogs, hamburgers and Fourth of July is to Americans? The Chinese know that they have 1 billion people dependent on a land that has not proven to be a dependable rice basket due to natures frequent capriciousness . I would say austerity and thrift is quite hard wired into their DNA.
Why, is it the US is so opposite when it comes to that essential character trait for survival? THRIFT.
Could it be that we have a free market capitalist system that by its inherent nature is rigged to blow when it reaches critical mass? Have we been brainwashed into this mass consumption to keep the hungry beast full of profits? Or is it because we live in a land so abundant with natural resources we have never known real famine and starvation? Will we ever have our collective souls tested like the Chinese have over and over for 5000 years?
Following is written by a well respected blogger, economic pundit and successful businessman by the name of Karl Denninger of Market-Ticker. He is a smart money guy, a no holds barred Bear but a true Patriot as well. He saw this current financial train wreck years before the derailment and has been shouting and writing from his soapbox to anyone who will listen. Here is what he has to say to say about our impending DEBT NUKE.

http://market-ticker.org/archives/623-The-Stark-Choice-Now-Facing-America.html
The truth is that our nation, and indeed the world, has too much debt for its ability to earn income and has had since 1968. As this became apparent to the people at The Federal Reserve and Treasury, in the 1980s starting with Alan Greenspan, interest rates were artificially kept low for a long period of time to encourage you and others to go into that debt - debt you and these firms cannot possibly repay.
This is why we had the crash in 1987, why LTCM blew up in the 1990s, why we had an Internet Bubble and now why we had a Housing Bubble.
All of these bubbles were intentionally created by The Fed, Treasury and Wall Street Banks to keep the charade alive that you could take on more and more debt and they could make more and more money.
We are now out of bubbles and ability to support bubbles, and America (and the world, in fact) is out of the ability to support more debt.
We are now borrowing money to cover up the fact that millions of Americans and tens of thousands of companies are bankrupt, and the banks and other institutions that loaned them money are likewise bankrupt, as the people who owe them that money can't and never will be able to pay.
The people who in turn loan America the money it needs to operate - over $2 billion a day - have become aware of this fact.
This is very bad, because nobody will loan money to someone forever when they have no reasonable belief that they will ever be paid back.

How have we gotten ourselves into such a stupendous mess? Have we not been here before in 1929? Why did we make things so complicated? How is it that we keep doing the same thing over and over again yet think that somehow the outcome will be different ? Is that not the definition of insanity?
I am not a scholar, and can only explain things from my own limited knowledge. The way I see it is in this Free market, Democratic, Capitalist system anyone can start a business with basic entrepeneurial spirit, common business sense, hard work and ambition. Add some bank fairy dust to the mix and voila- a successful business for those whose horsey happens to stop at the gold ring. I will use Martha Stewart as an example just for clarity and noteworthiness.
She started out selling gourmet pies in a boutique food market in Turkey Wing, Connecticutt (yes, I am making up the name of the town but her house is called Turkey something, I know that for a fact) back in the late 70's. Soon everyone wanted to buy her pies, she jacked up the prices and sold even more. Next thing she needs more ovens and a big commercial kitchen to mass produce the pies. Then, she hits up her Wall Street Banker buddies and gets big fat loans since she in fact used to be a stockbroker and is well connected. Next thing you know, she is a media darling and eventually a billionaire. We will stop right there and spare the rest of the story with the jail time and ugly crocheted poncho and all.
Beyond this well known tale of American Entrepeneurialship is all the rest of the Martha's who think their pies are pretty damn good, too. They get their loans and sell their pies to millions, well maybe not as many as Martha but you get the point. Soon we consumers, have 65 different pies to choose from. Maybe they're not all at the same store, but nevertheless we have a shitload of pies, all gourmet kine, to compete for our limited dollars. How can we support all these pies when we only have so much money? Remember Martha's Wall Street Banker budz?
Those ingenious banker dudes came up with an idea back in the 60's that was to revolutionize the average consumer. Bank of America was behind this brainiac idea: the Bankamericard. For the banks, this was the jackpot, the great big fat cash cow!. It was a way for them to loan money to anyone no matter how shitty the credit score. In fact the worse the score the more money the bankers could make since they could charge outrageous mafioso Guido type rates. (Are you getting a little pissed off yet? Good, you should be.)
The next hurdle was to get the masses to believe that having one in the wallet was a sign of having arrived on the American Dream Machine. This became the kuleana of slick advertisers from Madison Avenue along with their cohorts in Tinseltown. By the 1980's the ad campaigns sucked 'em up by the millions. When the digital millenium clock went from 1999 to 2000 most everyone was receiving these little plastic rectangle offers daily via the US Postal system. By then the Capitalist Machine was full throttle, consumers were saturated with unimaginable choices for anything and everthing, from burgers and fries, fried chicken and fish to designer bags and shoes. It was almost infinite and I am not even adding the consumer mecca of online shopping, either!
In true democratic spirit anyone could have it all for the price of paying a minimum balance at 25% apr compounded monthly. So here we are in the point of evolution where to be a valid human being we are taught that "Life takes Visa" and you are an idiot if you leave home without your Mastercard. Good one, huh?
The problem as Mr. Denninger states above is now we find ourselves in so much debt that not only can we not pay it back, we don't have any money to buy any more STUFFS, either. This is called an Economic Depression, kids. It is a BIG black sucking hole and no matter how thrifty and austere one may have lived their life no one is going to come out of this without some kind of sacrifice and loss of wealth. If you are a saver, then Mr. Helicopter Ben Bernanke wants to lower those Effective Fund Rates so your bank can only pay you a pitiful interest rate on all your hard earned loot.
Real smart folks, have invested in (Big Island?)farm land, solar power, heirloom seeds, livestock and rototillers. They may be the only ones who come out unscathed from this trainwrecked economy (that is if they were not stupid enough to buy it in 2005!).
It is going to be very painful, people may starve, cities may turn into New Orleans post Katrina, and certain goverment entitlements like Social Security and Medicaid/Medicare may not get funded. I hope it does not get this bad but the risk is highly there because the system we have has no where to go but BOOM as in mushroom kine.
The upshot of all this doom and gloom is that we will learn what the Pake's have soddered into their brainwires, that thrift, sacrifice and putting self indulgence aside, can have great future returns when events beyond control turn on us. It IS all about Survival of the thriftiest.

How to be a Revolutionary Without Doing Jailtime

How does one fight a revolution without getting killed or going to jail? Read the letter below by a guy by the name of John Dini. Guaranteed you have never heard his name but someday your great, great grandchildren may read about his letter helped fuel the American Peoples' Revolution of 2008. He explains what this Bailout thingy is really all about. This very respectable businessman, John Dini, took the time to read the 450+page bill and managed to weed through all of the mumbo jumbo and pork fat and lay it all out for us dummies and slackers in a clear and concise format. Please read the entire letter, because if you skip the part about all the hidden porkfat, you will not be mad enough to do something.
His conclusion, is that we must vote out everyone who voted for this unbelievable travesty and robbery of taxpayers (and their descendants for multiple generations). I am adding that esoteric and mystical word; Revolution. Esoteric and mystical for the root of the word is evolve. And in the middle of this magical word do you see the word LOVE? The Creator is everywhere isn’t she? (Much like Dog when spelled backwords=God! and Yes, I realize I have segued off the point.)
There is a day for a revolution of the people. That day is Nov. 4th. One day. This revolution can be fought and won in one day with no jail time, no gun shots and not even a broken press-on nail. You may not realize it due to the main stream media’s tendency to treat us like a Mushroom Ranch (kept in the dark and fed shit) but there are other respectable candidates that we could vote for. Candidates who actually have old fashioned respect for that nifty little document called the US CONSTITUTION that was signed by those bad boys of history who had the fired ass balls to kick those friggin English tea drinking biscuit eaters outta here, back in the last quarter of the 1700's.
Here's some other candidates that I am sure most have never heard one tiny word. There’s the Libertarian dude, Bob Barr, the Green Party Wahine; Cynthia McKinney (a black woman no less, now that would be way cooler than Obama with his old white guy vp!) and of course the venerable, irrepressable and nearly invisible Ralph Nader. If enough of us woke up by some strange miracle or some kind of 100th Monkey event, then we could stop these crimes and take back our country from the blatant thieves, er, I mean the Government.
“WE THE PEOPLE” have been robbed, raped, spit and crapped on by the Facist Wall Street Banking /Paulson/Bush/Cheney Cartel on October 1st with this phony bailout bill. They have stuffed the wadded up constitution up our butts and are laughing their asses off in their plush, well stocked, booze laden bunkers. They have given us the choice of Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee and think we are all STOOOPID and too pre occupied with “Dancing with the Stars” to give a crap. They fart in our face, and wave their fingers at us and dance around with all of their hot off the press FRN’s.
What is going on now, as the Bush Regime loots the taxpayers in plain daylight, is way more catastrophic than those twin towers' horrific controlled demolition on September 11th, 2001. Those towers were a portent of more to come. Seven years later, a monster named GREED has morphed into a blood thirsty GODZILLA with tyransaurrus size fangs and testicles stumbling around and devouring the entire economy in its path. No one, and no thing is safe. It would be fascinating to see how history tells this story five hundreds years from now, of how the most powerful nation on earth was laid to waste and ruin by a government run by an Oil cartel who did what they could to secure a dwindling resource barely available in their own nation.
Okay, enough of my lunacy, read this letter and please get pissed off enough to vote out ALL of these idiots, even our dear, sweet, Mazie Hirono, bless her pea picken little kitten heart. I like her but she did not think for herself and bowed down to the Dictator, Herr Paulson. (Sorry Mazie, you blew it. You should remained in Marcy Kaptur’s camp.

Okay, faithful readers, check this out:



This is not a conservative or liberal, Republican or Democratic letter. This is for anyone who is angry about how our government is running, or who is frustrated by a feeling of helplessness, or who feels unable to do anything about our current mess.

A legislature that has a 9% approval rating, ONE MONTH before an election, just passed a bill that constituents' comments ran 100 to 1 AGAINST. Not only did they ignore voter opinion, but under extreme scrutiny, they STILL added lots of breaks for cronies, and they did so KNOWING that 90% of them would be re-elected ANYWAY. This letter is long, but at the end I will tell you how I think we can do something about it.

My name is John F. Dini. I am a small business owner in Texas, with 4 employees and well under a million dollars in gross revenue. I have lived in both red and blue states, on the east coast and the west. I don't think what I have to say should offend anyone. That's why I'm willing to put my name on it. My email is jdini@mpninc.com. Unlike many of our legislators, I will take personal responsibility for my actions. You are welcome to let me know what you think, and whether you're signing on to this.

If you don't want to read about the bailout bill, skip down to "END OF BAILOUT BILL DISCUSSION".

Last week Congress passed HB 1424, the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act." As you've probably heard, it was a bit more than just the bailout bill. I've gone through all 451 pages. Here are some highlights:
• Sec. 103: The Treasury can also purchase mortgages on apartment buildings. To my knowledge, those who own apartment buildings aren't usually in danger of having their house taken away.
• Sec. 110 allows the regulators (there is a whole new bureaucracy being formed) to make any change to any troubled mortgage, including giving the property away.
• Sec. 116: Keeps the bureaucracy in place until the last asset is sold, or the last loan is paid.
• Sec 122: Raises the debt ceiling to $11,315,000,000,000. For historical reference, we broke the $1 trillion debt limit in the Reagan administration. That runaway borrowing is what George H.W. Bush called "Voodoo Economics." Last week we borrowed another trillion in a day.
• Sec. 132 suspends FASB 157. That's what made banks show the real value of their assets on their books, even if it had fallen to zero. That is no longer necessary, (but we WILL form a commission to decide later on what they should be showing to their shareholders, presumably something other than the actual value of their assets.)
• Sec. 136 raises the FDIC published coverage limit to $250,000 per account. What they haven't mentioned is that this higher "coverage" expires in 15 months, and the FDIC is ordered NOT to adjust the insurance for these new risks. That law actually just orders the FDIC to change the number $100,000 to $250,000 everywhere, nothing else.

That is the first 112 pages. The next bill (actually several different laws, passed on the same vote) extends a bunch of energy tax breaks for wind, clean coal, biofuels, geothermal, and others. It also gives credits to the steel industry, for plug in vehicles (in addition to the $25 billion handout to GM and Ford last week), for the black lung trust fund, and for home appliances that recycle gray water.

The next bill tacked on is a Tax Relief bill. That one raises the AMT trigger by a fraction (from $66K to $69K) and has special tax breaks for:
• Restaurant and retail depreciation
• Rum from Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands
• Businesses in American Samoa
• Mine rescue training
• Businesses on Indian Reservations (casinos)
• Railroad tracks
• Motorsports Racing Facilities (the "NASCAR" break)
• Employees of companies affected by Hurricane Katrina
• Investing in Washington DC
• Wool producers
• Film and television production
• Wooden arrow manufacturers
• Winners of Exxon Valdez lawsuits
• Farming Machinery purchases

Also, the failed 2007 Paul Wellstone mental health bill is included here, which requires all health insurers to cover mental health treatment just like physical illness. I'm not sure how long this bill has been trying to get passed, but Senator Wellstone DIED in 2002.

Under "other" THAT bill has another 100 pages including the following:
• Funding for schools, roads, weed control, forest ecosystems, improved cooperation among Federal agencies and the Oregon & California Railroad.
• Secure payments for states with Federal Lands, which you would think was everybody, but is defined as only LA, CA, OR, PA, SC, SD, TX and WA.
• A call for proposals to cooperate with Federal agencies, which upon reading is actually a requirement that BLM accept a minimum of 50% of timber logging contracts over the next 3 years.
• Doubling of the "Mine Reclamation Fund"
• Rewording of the Katrina relief bills to include IL, IA, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, and WI
• Further extension of Katrina Relief to ANYONE "affected" by Hurricane Ike.

My sympathies to the folks in Maine and North Dakota, who appear to have been left out (unless that's where the wooden arrow makers cluster.) Actual outlays are not $700 billion, but an estimated $852 billion, apparently not counting tax reductions.

Are you angry yet?

END OF BAILOUT BILL DISCUSSION

In her 1957 novel "Atlas Shrugged" Ayn Rand foresaw an America where corrupt businessmen and politicians allied to loot the country for all they could get. They got away with it because most people either believed that a bit more hard work, a bit more struggling, would see things turnaround eventually, or that everything was beyond their ability to control anyway. Many people disagree with Rand's conclusions and philosophy, but on this she was truly clairvoyant.

Most voters believe that Congress is full of bad actors, EXCEPT FOR THEIR GUY! Your congressman (or woman) came to your Rotary meeting, or saved a local industry, or got funding for your favorite park, and therefore is one of the "good guys." I put forward the idea that if any one of them was truly above the corruption, he or she would have been back in your district screaming bloody murder rather than in DC casting a vote for or against this farce. Instead, every single Congressman is telling you that it was the other guys who got us into this mess. They are cultivating and depending on our fear of each other to stay in power.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SAVE AMERICA

I don't "do" chain letters, even the ones my relatives send me that say "return this to show you care for me." This is my first-ever exception. I care enough to risk your annoyance with me for sending this. It's up to you to decide whether you care more about saving this democracy, or having a friend, customer or client think you are "too political."

I believe that if we continue "business as usual" by returning over 90% of Congress to office, we are rewarding their arrogance; and surrendered any fantasy that our government is answerable to the people. They obviously don't believe it. That is why Congress has exempted itself from labor law, equal opportunity, OSHA, Social Security and any liability. This may be our last chance to remind our elected officials that this is supposed to be a government by the people.

"My vote can't do anything"


You can't vote to throw out the other guy's representative, you can only vote for or against your own. In 2006 the Democrats won their average district with a 54.8% vote, considered a landslide. The so-called Republican Revolution of 1994 was won with an average of 51.6% of the vote. So if one person in twenty changed their vote, the result would be an almost complete turnover in Congress!

Our Founding Fathers designed the checks and balances of government well. The Senate is supposed to change slowly, so that it provides a longer-term perspective. The House changes every two years because it is supposed to reflect the current mood of the people! Returning 90% of Congress to office year after year, decade after decade, is surrendering the responsibility that Jefferson, Adams and Washington placed in us. It confirms their belief that they are untouchable.

On November 4th, vote for whomever you feel would be the better President, Senator, Governor, and for any state or local office, BUT VOTE AGAINST YOUR INCUMBENT CONGRESSMAN OR CONGRESSWOMAN. It doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter who the other candidate is. Cross party lines. Close your eyes or hold your nose when you do it, but do it. In 30 days we can send the biggest message to Congress of the last 100 years. It's a message that says "You aren't above the law. You are answerable for this mess. You still serve the people of this country."

And pass this along widely and quickly. Remember, we have less than 30 days, and it will only take one in twenty.

Thank you.

John F. Dini, CMBA, BCB, CBI
President, MPN Incorporated
(210) 615-1800
www.MPNinc.com


Profile of John F. Dini:




John Dini

• Bachelor's Degree: B.S., Accounting, Rutgers University
• Master's Degree: MBA, Pepperdine University
• Certifications: Professional Behavioral Analyst
• Certified MBA
• Certified Medical Practice Executive
• Strategic Business Leadership
• Board Certified Broker
• Certified Business Intermediary

John Dini has over 30 years of experience in entrepreneurial management. He has owned and operated start-up or turnaround companies for the last 21 years, and consulted for start-up organizations for 10 years. John founded The Alternative Board-TAB® in San Antonio in 1997, and has overseen its growth to its current status as the most successful TAB chapter in North America.

He has owned companies ranging from $2,000,000 to $15,000,000 in sales, including a warehouse distributor (automotive), a manufacturer (automotive and sporting goods) and a management services company (healthcare). John is a member of Jim Blasingame's "Braintrust", a group of business experts who appear regularly on the Small Business Advocate a nationally syndicated radio show. He is also the author of "103 Tips for Better Hiring" and co-author of "11 Things You Absolutely Need to Know About Selling Your Business".

"I See Debt People" Uncleoxidant

I was talking story with my neighbor, Kathy, today, hearing yet again, how worried she is about money. Bill collectors call at all hours, credit card statements pile up beneath the cigarette debris littering the coffee table. Senses dulled with pharmaceuticals, she frantically treads water, barely keeping her nostrils above the waterline. My friend suffers from the debilitating disease of “affluenza”. This pandemic has tangled so many into the ball and chains of DEBT SLAVERY. My friend should become the poster girl for those SLAVES. Banks love her, Home Shopping Network loves her. With her 30 credit cards and a low FICO score she is filet mignon for the Credit Monster.
How is it that this society has collectively mastercarded itself into economic oblivion? When did it become sensible to take on such massive debt?
Some, such as columnist George Will, blame government and its infinite debt ceiling for this catastrophe. Others, blame Alan Greenspan. We may not have elected Alan but we sure did elect the guys who put him in charge of the money.
The Financial Idiot Meter has now reached CODE RED as we look down the maw of a blood thirsty credit monster rampaging through the streets. No one knows what to do. If an asteroid was headed in the direction of “Target Earth” would elected officials know what to do? Well this IS THE asteroid headed our way, and the problem is that it is already too late. This asteroid has a name and it is called “DECADES OF FINANCIAL IDIOCY”. No bailouts or bazookas can knock this baby down. We MUST GO BACK to basics folks. We will hear this message over and over again in this century as we slowly climb out of this mess we have all created: WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS.
We have broken the basic laws of economic physics for so long now, that it may take generations to heal from this. It has been nearly 80 years since the last depression and few are around to lecture us, anymore. Besides, when they were around, most of us thought they were just a bunch of tight fisted old fuddy duddies, about as much fun as poop in da punchbowl.
Once WE all go back to the sense of our forefathers, like Thomas Jefferson, or the sages of the Old Testament, we may begin to live a different life.
The transition period, I fear, is going to be a REAL BITCH. Fasten your seat belts, folks, its going to be a trippy ride.
As a society, now is the time to demand intelligence and common sense from our leaders. The two presidential candidates are basically dishing out the same vapid promises with Disney vacations and tax cuts for all. I do not have the answers but I sure am desperate for a TRUE leader who will tell us this: “We are deep doo doo and we are all going to have to pitch in and clean up the mess.” Is that leader even out there?
We need someone like Representative Marcy Kaptur from Toledo Ohio who had the brass balls and bosoms to stand up the Paulson and his ilk to blast the stupidity of this bailout. This brave democrat embraced our own Mazie and others to stand fast against this travesty. Her courage, wisdom and down to earth sense are the marks of the true leader of the people. Google her and You Tube her to see her ferocity against the TITANS of government. She is my HERO for now.

Is That a Revolution I'm Smelling?

Aloha readers, all six of you, that is! Its been awhile since I posted anything. Much of my creative energy is getting directed towards events regarding the Epic Financial crisis we are facing. I am no geek about the history of Banking and only have a bare overall view of how we have gotten to this catastrophe. I can tell you that today’s events are the sum of parts that began in 1913 with the creation of the Central Banking System and its Federal Reserve. We may all need to have a speed lesson on the Banking System as this mess unfolds at warp speed.

Thomas Jefferson had a lot to say about the dangers of the Central Banking sytem and I seem to be seeing the same quote trotted out over and over again. It is mind boggling how prescient that man was. I am proud that a man of his brilliance was a founding father of this country. Here is the famous quote that is so pertinent for these times. I believe this will be the creed and motto that will fire this revolution that I so clearly smell.


I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs. —Thomas Jefferson, 1802

And another great quote from Mr. Jefferson that spells the dire warnings of the perils of DEBT SLAVERY. This is a pretty clear statement for where many of our fellow citizens now find themselves.

"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds...[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers... And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for[ another]... till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery... And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt. Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression"-- Thomas Jefferson

Now the rest of this text is from Ticker Forum and is posted by a character who goes by Jjkp777. His commentary is regarding the current Bailout battles. I don’t know da dude but he expresses many of the same thoughts that make me want to take up a Revolutionary role. His words are inflammatory and filled with anger and profanity but are reasonable and just.

So with the recent financial turmoil, some things should be clearly evident:1) The banks and wall street run the Federal Reserve and consequently, they control the federal government. And for “self preservation”, they will do everything in their power to stay in power. All the money is controlled by them and politicians are servants to them. Watch how the politicians continue to act in the next few days and see for yourself who “owns” them. And observe how all the laws and rules of our country have been thrown out the window in order to protect them.2) Because the banks and wall street have all the power, all the trillions of dollars in losses that they incurred in taking the wrong bets will now be entirely paid by you, Joe Six Pack sucker, because you're too stupid to know what's going on. This bailout means bailing out the banking mafia. Plain and simple.3) False Flag anyone? You dumb shits are being scared into bailing out financial institutions that have committed the greatest fraud in the history of our country. Read Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein to understand what's happening here.4) Accept the bailouts and your dollars will be worth shit. You'll be able to use it as toilet paper as the Treasury prints dollars to “preserve the banks and wall street”. Recent events have shown that the bailouts just keep getting bigger and bigger. Now a super bailout is being proposed. I say fuckk that. Fuckk the banks.5) “But what can we do?”, you say. I say fuckk the banks and withdraw all your money now.. Oops... we have a fractional reserve banking system which means that for every dollar, there are about 10 dollars that the banking system lends (or in more recent events, loses). This is the great ponzi schemes of all ponzi schemes.. That means, first one to withdraw gets the “actual” cash. So take your fucking money out and say “to hell with you fucktard banks”. They're not lending anyway, nor are they giving any decent return on certificates of deposit. Plus, your cash is being used to pay for their losses. I say fuck that. Take your money out now.6) Second, I say stop paying your unsecured debts. If these assholes at these financial institutions can get bailouts in the trillions of dollars to be paid by the taxpayer, why the fuck would you pay your debts that is a pittance in comparison? They're just going to get paid anyway, right? Who knows, they might even get paid twice. Once by you and then by the government. I would NOT put it pass these bankers and wall street assholes. Moral hazard, my ass. Fuck you banking industry!7) Third, I say liquidate all your stock holdings and say “fuck you” to wall street and the banks. We enable these assholes by purchasing stocks and by giving them our money. Now that they've changed the rules (ban on short selling) about selling and buying, sell everything cause the game is officially fixed.8) Wall street and these banks are the leeches that earn off production but actually don't produce a damn thing. They just push paper around and earn a “vig” off of every transaction, kinda like Mastercard/Visa/American Express. I say fuck them and stop using your credit cards and only pay with cash.. Cause everytime you use a credit card, between 2 to 5% of that money goes to Mastercard, etc.... for doing absolutely fucking nothing. Plus they charge you, the card user interest! Fuck that!So fuck the bailouts and fuck wall street and banking industry. Votes don't mean shit to these bankers, but your money does. Take out your cash and buy gold or buy some other tangible asset, like food, shelter or clothing. The death of Wall Street has finally arrived. Liquidate what you have before it's not worth anything anymore. There's a rush for the exits and the first ones out just might survive this mess that Wall Street created at the expense of us all.



This guy expressed so much justified rage, I thought it was a good idea to respond to his vitriole and cool him off a bit if nothing more than to inject some common sense and a slightly different outlook. So the following are my words:

Jjkp777, Light up the torches, lead the way, Brah. If collective j6p had a revolutionary like yourself with your rhetoric, then the Pigmen would be the main course at the GREAT Luau. Many agree, to get back our country this maybe what the people have to do. It takes extreme courage and conviction with a fired ass movement to win over the collective mindset, though. Televisions would have to be turned off so as to silence the Madison Ave. mindfuck for starters. Whats the chance of that unless the lights go off due to sudden PEAK OIL CATACLYSM? Events ARE coming together that might set off a tsunami sea change, one big collective "Aha" moment where everyone simultaneously realizes the same chain of events. I know I have been thinking this way for quite awhile, at least for over a year. I have been planting the same seeds to the more downtrodden debt zombies, cause they're so desperate to get outta their certain deathgrip of bondage.Media tools like "Maxed Out" and "In Debt We Trust" can fire up the masses. If someone like Michael Moore could get his fangs on this and deliver it to Joe and Jane, that would do it. Perhaps, though, this is already creeping into everyone's subconscious. More and more folks are exiting the Affluenza gig and sitting down on the Frugality bench. The movement is going down, it may not play out the way we think just yet. Most folks tend to be law abiding and into their 8 hour sleep habit. Breaking ten commandments and government's laws are not an easy wall to climb over.One thing I do know about the average Debt Servant, complements from my neighbor, who could be America’s Next Top Model for Debt Slavery, is that if they are doing everything to stay in their home, then credit cards are NOT being paid. My neighbor has all of the debt that 30 credit cards could pile on, plus a classic Countrywide subprime mortgage, two car loans, heloc, and god knows what else. She lost her job as an office manager at a local Water Catchment and Pool Contracting Company 8 months ago. Her replacement career as a self employed cash under the sink toilet scrubber for Hilo's upper crust barely affords her the luxuries she so enjoyed less than a year ago. (Yes, she did play her bit part in facilitating Wamu's death.)
Is my neighbor a victim of greedy bankers and FED/Gov or is she one of the perpetrators of this Financial Category 5 Shitzstorm? I know for a fact she was and (probably still is) hooked into the vibe that "Life takes Visa". A hardcore HSN, SHOPNBC addict, if there were 6 different colors going fast, she quickly picked up the phone and placed the order. Is she any less greedy than Wall Street Pigmen? If her Karma had been to be Quant geek for BSC would she have not gone for the whole enchilada there, too?Now she sits gnashing her teeth 24/7, high up the list on Bill Collector’s automated speed dial, cringeing everytime the phone rings, constantly gripped with anxiety that she will soon be back living in her ex-husband's shithole slapped together sub third world shack with polytarp roof or worse maybe sleeping in the back of her Nissan truck. (I am not making any of this up, either.) The only brightspot in her life is the 50 pounds she dropped due to excessive financial worries and being forced to live within her means!Yes, Jj, revolution is already happening and life will be far different for DebtZombies who manage to wake up and survive this crippling affluenza. Madison Ave and banking industry batted their false eyelashes, hairsprayed the bouffant, put on the 6 inch red hooker heals and promised to take us to heavenly heights of Affluent McMansion lifestyle for the small price of paying the minimum balance every month. We took the bait without a thought about the mountain of credit card statements we would have to navigate.
Karma is a bitch, and not everyone is willing to break their own personal code of ethics, but if the Constitution is being shredded and shoved up our asses then maybe we could justify a temporary detour from the same old, same old especially for a “Boston Tea Party” moment in history. I am all for it and ready to be conscripted to a leadership position when that collective “AHA” moment arrives. Hokulani (thats the name I post under)

Here’s some more ideas for a Revolutionary Lite approach from a character that goes by the name of Lizardqueen . I agreed with her methods since it just happens to be our current business model here at Hale Moa.

Another set of ideas, for those who aren't comfortable financially. legally, or morally with taking the money and running: Basically, drop out of the system as much as possible:1) Reduce what you buy. Buy used. Barter. Pay with cash if you must buy something new.2) Provide as much for yourself as you can so you don't have to buy much. Garden. Keep chickens.3) Work off the books. Barter work for items you need. 4) Change the withholding on your taxes so that nothing is paid to the .gov until a minute before it has to be. File estimated taxes.5) Reduce your income to the point where your tax liability is minimal. Make enough to live on and that's it. 6) Remove your assets from the current system as much as possible. When you must use banks, go with local credit unions. There's a lot we can do to starve The Beast that is the federal government, all legally. Figure out who is doing what with your money and cease to do business with those entities whose actions you don't agree with as much as you can.

This one makes a lot of sense. Most of us on the Big Island practice some or all of these models. This is why the Big Island will weather the coming Financial Winter (Depression lua Nui ) far better than most places. We are used to doing without a lot of the finer things in life already and will not feel as much pain as the mainlanders and our Oahu ohana.
When the real estate Party sparked itself on this island, its stay was so brief that most of us did not even get a chance to eat da pupus much less crack open the champagne. We had this brief frenzied burst of building, buying and selling and then pouf it was all over by August 2006. Most of us never got the chance to sell our shitboxes for high six figures. We were all too jammed up, stuck in long traffic lines behind fancy SUV’s with fully made up bleach blondes in the driver seat. License plates on the back with strange logos and colors. Where did they come from and who told them about this place? Then, pouf, one day we realize, no more long lines, all Hawaii plates again. What happened, where did they all go?
My thoughts are this, those people may start flooding back over here again as tension and turmoil on the mainland reaches PANIC-CODE RED. If the Mother of ALL Bailouts passes through and the Wall Street Beast calms down, then I suspect we will go back to life as we know it, but if it does not quell that monster……
Many learned minds think the asteroid has already hit and politicians are merely fighting over how to clean up the flotsam and jetsam.

The Hillbilly Life, Hawaiian Kine

I found a blog the other night while pondering how my monthly grocery bill stacks up with the average for a family of four in the US. It's called The Hillbilly Housewife. I just love the name of the blog as it so perfectly sums up the classic American symbol of the ultimate simple life. The blog is about living on less, so you might like checking it out.
Real hillbillies are some of the heartiest, resourceful, creative and frugal people I have ever had the honor of knowing. I have an honest respect of that culture. One of my favorite films of all time is the 1980 film, Coal Miner’s daughter, about Loretta Lynn. The scenes of her childhood in Butcher Holler were breathtaking in its purity and simple earthly beauty. How thrilled would todays kids be if they received one cheap pair of shoes or one item of clothing for the year?  As she grew famous and wealthy her happiness drained out of her. All the trappings of wealth could never compare to her idyllic hillbilly childhood.
Sadly, in the age of the Hummer-Suburban lifestyle, we have lost all respect for those who choose to live in a smaller footprint. I believe in the depths of our souls, like Loretta, that we truly yearn to go back to a more simple life. That is really what this blog is all about. I can tell you that I am living the life of a modified Hawaiian hillbilly. Some call people like us Puna Crud, Punatics, or Mokes. I may fall into the Punatic section, since my dwelling had a mortgage and has the seal of approval from both government and financial institutions. The true meaning of Puna Crud has to do with a downtrodden, drug riddled, government assistance dependent. A moke refers to an uneducated, domestic abusing, beer swilling, camel toed, spam and rice, pidgin speaking male of mixed ethnic blood.  Hawaii's version of the "Redneck".  Instead of playing fiddles with da buddies instead they might play da ukulele.
So, for all of you folks who are curious as what life is like on the Windward side of the Big Island, lets sit down in my little Hale Moa and have a frosty beverage and talk story.
Puna is a vast region, as big as the entire island of Oahu. It stretches from Cape Kumukahi on the southeastern tip to the town of Volcano, from sea level to over 4000 ft in elevation. It is home to Kilauea, Volcano National Park, vast acres of papaya ranches, one geothermal power plant, two public high schools, 2 intermediate schools, and 4 elementary schools and a few state and county parks. There are zero Walmarts, one McDonalds, two 7-11’s, three small supermarkets, and just a few banks and credit unions. The population of this vast district is over 50,000, though. 

Back in the 1960’s game show contestants were awarded prizes of land in Hawaii. That land happened to be in the district of Puna. Some of that land got taken by Pele in the late 80’s and early 90’s and is now for the most part, uninhabitable.
More than 2/3 of the properties in this district are undeveloped and owned by off-island or out- of-state owners. (My small subdivision in Mountain View has over 14% of the lots owned  just by folks from the Chicago area!)  Because this large percentage of off island taxpayers, the infrastructure is poor to non-existant.  And, by infrastructure, I am talking, no electric, no phone, no county water, no cable and no high speed internet. Because of the infrastructure challenges, the property is very cheap compared to the rest of the islands and even compared to many places on the mainland.
Folks of the limited incomes have been able to buy some of these lots. They may vary in size from 1/5 of an acre to 3 acres. All kinds of flexible financing has been transacted with sellers who are anxious to get out of a property tax obligation.  Most do the “Agreement of Sale” deal if they have any sense, while the real lolos end up doing “Rent to Own".  Most of the land is arable, has plenty of water, once you set up some sort of receptacle to catch it from your roof. The Property is accessable if you have a sturdy vehicle.  However, lots of these "landowners" lack the "sturdy" part of the  description. This is another posting subject, but suffice to say that Puna is littered with thousands of rotting Car-casses.
Now compared to a typical rustic hillbilly cottage, the shacks in Puna lean towards the design style of the poorest most destitute third world civilizations. I’m talking Calcutta, Tijuana, Juarez, Port Au Prince and Nigeria. I am not exaggerating in the slightest sense, either, trust me on this. (I will supply at least some photo documentation.) The thing is, compared to those places, it still comes out worse than anyone can imagine. My friends and I laugh about this Banana republic of Hawaii and say its not even as good as the third world. If they had a Sub-third world that’s what it would be. The only thing that sets this place apart from true third worlders is the Generous Uncle Sam who supplies so many of his ohana with food and cash assistance. That is in itself a curse as much as a blessing. At least, though, unlike Haiti, people aren’t scratching the aina for crunchy dirt to make mud cookies. I won’t get into that “cock-a-roach” hole now, though.

I have a neighbor about 28 years old. Her and her S.O. are on Government assistance with six keikis all under the age of 11, living in a one room, patched together shack, full of holes and rotten wood, with no running water and not even a pot to poop in. Its really that bad. This example has way more curb appeal than others I have seen, though. I have seen shacks made of blue poly-tarps, “Vizqueen” clear plastic sheeting, old rusty corrugated metal roofing and bungee cords. These makeshift, slapped together structures are all over this Puna district. These people have babies, and toddlers running around on the mud floors. This is the windward side so we can see months of endless cold rain. It can be miserable and depressing even in an approved house. If you saw it yourself you would not believe that it was an address in the wealthiest nation in the world. I have seen other homes that were made out of wood and had roofs but were about 240 square feet more or  less with 6-8 people cramped together. The Great Depression way of life has been the normal condition for over one third of folks in Puna for a long time.  It is something we all talk about but you hardly ever read about it.
The good thing about these folks is if the shit really hits the fan, at least we are surrounded by others who have lived this life and can show us how to make do. Some of them are pretty good at getting by and will have a lot to teach the rest of us when that time comes. One of them is my neighbor, Louie.
Louie is the real deal. He is an authentic Hawaiian Hillbilly.  He is pure Portuguese, grew up on a farm in Kaiwiki which is a beautiful upcountry area just North of Hilo town. Louie is a carpenter, and has built himself a pretty nice house compared to the typical Puna crud dwelling. It’s a hand crafted house with a couple of levels, lanais, and a cute woodsy kitchen. There aren’t any building permits for the thing, but back when he was working he managed to hook up to an illegal county water line. He has no electricity and no phone service, though. It's availabe, he just uses an off the grid alternative: cell phones and Honda generators.  He does have a vegetable garden, a few chickens, and access to the adjacent State forest reserve that surrounds his 1/5 acre parcel.  He manages to keep out of the clutches of da taxman, knowing full well "No fuck wit dem guyz." He is an astute pig hunter and has a real kanaka skill with the local plants. He is out of work these days due to the building bust, but has a bicycle which he rides to Kurtistown for staples and whatnots. This guy is 54 years old and used to be a master grower of da best Puna herbs. These days, though, he keeps his mouth shut about how he makes his living. I suspect he falls back on his most marketable skills. Regardless of that fact, I have always believed he would be the Big Kahuna around here if the Big Island ever gets cut off from Young Brothers and Matson Lines.

The All-You-Can-Eat Cheap Oil Buffet

Ever wonder how many million dollar grants are fed to Universities and research facilities to study the Obesity epidemic? I have spent many unpaid hours studying why Americans are the fattest and most unhealthy humans on the planet and will gladly share my conclusion.
CHEAP OIL: This is the basis for the fabulous Western lifestyle that calls its inhabitants CONSUMERS. Unfortunately, some of the other world inhabitants think its pretty fabulous, too and want to follow in our footsteps. I am not sure if they realize what it is they admire so much about us. Do they realize the price we pay to use all of these bright shiny machines and gadgets that need derivatives of “Texas Tea” to give them their utilitarian factor?
Cheap oil has fueled every modern convenience and technological wonder of the last century. It is THE foundation of modern food production, manufacturing, communications, pharmaceuticals, and the endless array of innovative labor saving technologies.
Cheap oil brought us corporate farming. Once upon a time food production was a micro managed operation under the domain of family farming operations. Then Cheap oil revolutionized food production after WWII, much more could be produced with less manpower, making the fuel for our bodies as cheap as the fuel for our automobiles. Cheap food is something that man is not biologically geared to process. Humans are hard wired for long stretches of low calorie diets with infrequent and sparse episodes of limited binges.
Okay, we all know what is going on when we eat too much, I'm going to give you any impression I am some kind of science wonk. When faced with a constant onslaught of cheap and plenty food, storage at the cellular level kicks into overdrive and the result is massive plumping of the fat cells. Since the skin is so elastic, we just keep doing this kind of wonderous expansion.
Back in the day, say about 100 years ago, a well stocked kitchen was something only the rich would have in their households. The standard of feminine beauty in those times was 3 rolls around the middle, 48 inch hips and pillow sized breasts converted into pounds that figure would be no less than 200 pounds! Poor people were skinny, bony, underfed and sickly, kinda like the standard form of the garden variety supermodel of the last 40 years.

Suburbs, SUV’s, Walmart superstores, shopping malls, freeways, asphalt, fast food drive-thru, televisions, DVD players, Sony Playstations,computers, the internet, microwaves, frozen pizzas, washers, dryers, massage chairs, riding lawn mowers, garage door openers, cell phones, vacuum cleaners, Roombahs; all of them brought to us by more than a century of cheap, bounteous OIL. The longer this cheap source of energy flowed abundantly, the more labor saving technologies evolved that could utilize this fuel. Now we are in an age when being fat is considered ghetto trailer trash and being thin is a symbol of wealth and high society! Mind boggling isn’t it?
Cheap Oil has driven the technological miracles that allow us to store our own energy so that we have more time to do more rewarding pursuits. With the advent of television, that pursuit became the dominant activity for most of us. But when that was paired with 150 channels and a remote, the result has been a steep and slippery slope to a scale tipping, seam popping endless weight buffet. Once we sat our butts in front of that window to the world, we became sitting ducks for the the constant assault on our senses from Jack, Wendy, and the BigMac-Whopper consortiums. Add to that, fifty mile round trip family excursions in the Hummer to Outback for a 16 ounce sizzling Porterhouse with all the sides and condiments and we get this formula:
Fat/Lazy= Chronically stuffed /digestive system +Big profits/health care industry

Is it any wonder that our reptilian brains were sitting ducks for this onslaught of the consumer affluenza duality that entices us with so many time/energy saving gadget thingies and simultaneously bombards us with an endless all-you-can-eat buffet of too many choices ?

If cheap oil is the formula that made us fat and lazy will EXPENSIVE OIL see fat girls become supermodels, again? Will fat people, once again assume their rightful symbols of Wealth and class? If expensive oil=expensive food then one will never again be too rich or too fat .