Peter Schiff: stock up on supplies, necesseties, and alcohol and cigarettes for batering

reply to post by Anonymous Avatar


I know a little about finance and economics, but this guy always confuses me.
I agree that companies and corporations should have been allowed to fail.
It's survival of the fittest. It's correct that a business which has failed through its own mistakes and greed should fail, and be replaced by another with greater chance of learning from those mistakes and not doing the same.

No doubt it would have been difficult, and many would have lost their money. But that is their risk. It is their responsibility to know where their money is. Senior management staff could have been sued for their bad business actions and money could have been secured. Just as it was in previous years.

What I don't agree with is is allowing for more deregulation, which is what he seems to propose. These bankers and senior business people have shown consistently that they have no moral compass. They will happily take millions in payouts while their lower employees lose their jobs and while their company goes belly up. They are corrupt, and allowing that to continue will only create more greed and corruption in the future.

So, I agree with him on allowing companies to fail. But I completely disagree with him in his ideas about allowing big business to act without restraint or limitations from government.

On the stocking-up of supplies...
I think in this day and age this is a good idea. I think we all need to be heading toward preparing for self-sufficiency. In all honesty we should never have allowed our own responsibilities to be so completely transferred to external sources (business and government).
Wherever possible we should be growing our own food, producing our own energy, reusing and recycling everything we can ourselves or trading such things with others.
We've all become far too complacent, and we've forgotten how to provide for ourselves and our families "just in case".

I am certain that over the next few years we'll see a marked increase in the use of solar and wind energy for the home. This will lead to improvements in development, advances in technology and lowering of cost in manufacture.
Those who refuse to accept it will find their energy bills rocketing as energy companies try to stay in position with fewer and fewer customers on the grid, so eventually people will have no choice but to follow the energy revolution.
It would be cheaper to prepare for it now than find yourself paying double for what you use on the grid.

I think he has gone a little overboard on the cigarettes and alcohol. On this occasion he does seem to be imagining things a lot worse than they will be. Sure in inner cities it will be worse and I can agree with needing these to keep certain people off your back. But for most of us, I don't think it will be THAT bad. You'll be better off having vital goods to swap, things that others actually NEED rather than WANT.

For most of us a complete collapse will require improved home security, trips to a local trading market a few times a week, community initiatives, home farming, home energy production and minimal use of it.

And to me, that sounds good rather than bad. It's what we should be doing anyway. More time with family and friends, appreciating the important things in life.
We already have the technology to live like this, so why aren't we using it?

"What I don't agree with is is allowing for more deregulation, which is what he seems to propose. These bankers and senior business people have shown consistently that they have no moral compass. They will happily take millions in payouts while their lower employees lose their jobs and while their company goes belly up. They are corrupt, and allowing that to continue will only create more greed and corruption in the future. "

The Banks run the Gov. "Regulators" are bought, so the public has a false sense of security. They rely on the "regulators for truth only to find out they let there own guard down.

reply to post by Pinktip


Well, I guess my main point is based on national finance rather than the actions of big business.
I think it is a matter of national security to ensure that your nations financial structure is not reliant on another.

The fact that a blip in the US caused a global crisis should be a severe warning to every nation. Each nation should be ensuring that they have adequate plans to limit global finance and the damage a problem could do to their own nation.

And that will ultimately come down to leading business and bankers. Their actions need monitoring and their freedoms need limiting. Their pay and bonuses should be made public and then the public encouraged to make moral choices.

But government has a role to play here too. They allow through inaction risky trade and dodgy deals. With a few laws this would be gone.

However it is done, it needs to be done now, but they don't seem to have learnt a thing. This will happen again, even before this current crisis is over.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
Its funny bc this guy is LONG the market as well, so I am not sure what he is peddeling here (i cant watch video, athlon 1400 256 ram hurts!)

he's long in cetain areas of investment. I have been listening to his advice for a while. The only thing I have heard him "peddle" , is common sense. Everyone does what they think prudent. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Right now, people are deciding whether they want to believe the pundents who are saying buy, buy, or the other side, saying this is a suckers' rally.

Soon enough, we will know, won't we??

I have been listening to the Schiff weekly podcasts from Itunes. The point of barter items like whiskey and cigarettes is that when the US dollar fails and is worthless, items like that may be of value in trade. This was a response to a caller inquiry. I think he'd rather see you invest in China or gold. Why China? Unlike the US where we live on credit and production is greatly reduced, China is cash rich and has growing production of real goods. So China may tumble if we fall, but they will bounce back while we won't. They will sell to consumers inside their borders instead of us.

Unless you have a warehouse, how long do you think a few case of cigarettes and whiskey will go? Several months?

Don't overlook his greater message of moving cash into foreign currencies to maintain value and into China stocks to create income.

Why is he running for office. My understanding is he wants to fix things the way they should be to free the market to do the necessary corrections. I agree, but if not him, people like him.

[edit on 17-9-2009 by A52FWY]

He's right - stock up! There is going to be a collapse. How bad it will be is anyone's guess at this point, but we are on the eve of it. The dollar is tanking, quantitative easing is failing, COMEX gold contracts far exceed the available supply. Foreign leased gold contracts are being called and the gold doesn't exist. The Fed and Treasury are monetizing our own debt through a very tricky shell game using "off-shore" banks to make it look like foreign investment in the dollar - no one is fooled. There are quadrillions in derivatives waiting to fold and China has already announced that they have no intention of honoring any of those contracts. China, Japan, Germany and others are moving away from dollar reserves to a "Basket of currencies" approach which further erodes the dollar's power in the global market. Commercial paper is going bad at an accellerating rate which is going to push even more banks underwater. And finally, the US Government is BROKE - almost completely bankrupt.

All of the above requires one MASSIVE correction that is going to be very painful for this country. Look for production and commerce to be reduced to bare minimums for awhile as gold is likely to be the only negotiable instrument by which business and trade will occur. That leaves us "little people" to fend for ourselves for awhile - through bartering with each other for basic necessities and/or select comforts. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I would hope instead of people acting in a savage way that they would act more mature.

Stocking up on things is a good idea ALWAYS just to have around. Seeds for growing food would be nice and I would think there would at least be one person in a community that would/could speak out and have there community gather all goods together in a community location and care for one another all equally.

I rather evolve by trying to help others then become a hermit and go back to being a caveman.

reply to post by kozmo


Indeed prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Anyone who doesn't see the storm coming I would suggest needs to study a little bit more the power of compounding debt.

reply to post by Agree2Disagree


Actually, Toilet Paper and Ammunition would be a more valuable investment.

Also, have two supplies. 1 the nightly raiders can easily find and take, so that they dont leave empty handed and think your holding out on them. Say like your pantry.
2. Your real well hidden storage that you will be prepared to protect with deadly force if need be.

Its better that the raiders go away with a little bit, no matter how meager, then to have them frustrated and think you are holding out on them. Remember, people are going to see that you arnt losing weight while the world perishes in famine.

We're stocking up, but I'm not laying up the whiskey for barter. I'm putting it back for me! Whiskey is a good tranquilizer when you can't sleep, a good medium for administering medication, and a good antispetic, although I'd hate to use it that way. As far as barter, there are other ways to barter. Some of us will need help with our places. Might be able to swap work for goods, which is what we essentially do at our jobs now.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
(i cant watch video, athlon 1400 256 ram hurts!)

Oh dude I have old stuff in my closet faster than that I could fix you up with... I hate slow computers... Feeling your pain...

reply to post by detachedindividual


From I can gather from Schiff is that guys like Bernie Madoff were regulated and the approval of the regulators encouraged investors. He is saying if things were unregulated, people would be way more cautious with their hard earned money before investing. They would have to do their own due diligence before investing. Another issue is that if the government takes the risk out of investing, it creates a moral hazard that the tax payers end up resolving when there is a failure. And what is the government doing when it rescues a failed venture? It perpetuates the failure while punishing those that did not fail in more taxes. Schiff is bothered by executives of failed institutions that still expect bonus pay. This does not make sense to him.

Order up some veterinary antibiotics.

Fish Antibiotics

Same as human antibiotics, without a scrip.

Medicine will be better than gold in a collapse.

Edit to add: The "cycline" type antibiotics are used to treat anthrax, but don't know if they would be useful against a weaponized version.

[edit on 17-9-2009 by hotrodturbo7]

Originally posted by arcnaver
reply to post by Agree2Disagree

 

Actually, Toilet Paper and Ammunition would be a more valuable investment.

Also, have two supplies. 1 the nightly raiders can easily find and take, so that they dont leave empty handed and think your holding out on them. Say like your pantry.
2. Your real well hidden storage that you will be prepared to protect with deadly force if need be.

Its better that the raiders go away with a little bit, no matter how meager, then to have them frustrated and think you are holding out on them. Remember, people are going to see that you arnt losing weight while the world perishes in famine.

I have been told that it's a good idea to try to blend in. Stand in soup lines, etc and act like everyone else who didn't prepare for some reason.

We can always make moonshine.
Valuum would be a good idea.

And for heaven's sake, don't eat too much. Folks will know something is up when you are standing in the soup line looking fat and happy, and they are emaciated.

If you are well prepared, you may just want to stay away from the sheeple altogether. Stay in a defensive posture and hole up.

[edit on 17-9-2009 by hotrodturbo7]

Originally posted by Agree2Disagree
Reply to post by Anonymous Avatar

 

The majority that haven't prepared for a collapse like this will see that you are "holding" and try to raid you for your supplies.

 

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Give me the pump, the oil, and the gasoline. Just walk away. I will give you safe passage in the wasteland. Just walk away and there will be end to the horror.

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[edit on 17-9-2009 by andrewh7]

Rest easy. This isn't the early 1900's. Things will be different. Realizations made, people uncovered. We will prosper eventually. This is a natural evening of the global playing field. Never the less, the ability to hunt deer and plant crops will sustain plenty of people if necessary.

About fitting in and not looking well-fed, another tip I read somewhere is to have some clothes that are too big and hang loose on you (easily found at a thrift shop) so that it looks like you are losing weight.

Well Schiff has found his niche and he won't ever have to worry about a job now will he. I do have some respect for the man, for a time he was the prophet but now... I'm not so sure, it seems like he has grown to like the spotlight and knows how to play to his audience. If he runs for the Senate might he win? sure, will suddenly the halls of DC see the light? No. Will he bow out and continue to make money selling doom and gloom. You can bet on that.