The U.S. Government, over the past year or so, has seen fit to purchase 1.4 billion rounds of ammunition.  And surprisingly none of it was for the military.

The Department of Homeland Security has purchased the majority of it.  I know what you are thinking … target practice, right?  Well, an awful lot of the ammo they bought is hollow point cartridges which are not used for target practice.  They are used, almost exclusively, to kill humans. Oh, did I mention that none of this ammo is going overseas?  It’s all staying right here in the good old USA.  Are we expecting an invasion by a huge military force?  If not, then who do they expect to be shooting at? Perspective: 1.4 billion rounds is enough to shoot every man, woman, and child living in this country at least four times.

Here is an oddity.  The Social Security Administration has purchased 174,000 rounds of 40 caliber hollow point cartridges.  What? Is this some kind of a new plan to reduce the number of claimants?  I know they have told us they can’t continue to fund those crazy “entitlement” programs (wait, Social Security retirement and Medicare programs were supposed to be funded by payroll deductions and matching employer payments.  Where did all “that” money go?)

Now let’s move to the "Twilight Zone”!  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration purchased 46,000 rounds of 40 caliber hollow point cartridges too.  That’s the national weather service … for crying out loud!  What do they need 40 caliber ammunition for … cloud seeding … reducing the number of pesky sharks at the beach that are frightening people?  Wait … I know … maybe they think a few warning shots will keep tornadoes out of America’s trailer parks.

Do you suppose it’s because they love us and want to buy up all the ammunition before we do … so they can beat it all into plowshares and move the entire population back to subsistence farming?

A Final Thought:  Does anyone think any of this is even a little bit odd?  Is anyone troubled by the thought that none of this ammo is going overseas (where all the people live we have been told we should be afraid of)?

How come the suits in Washington frighten me more than … … … oh never mind!

See the link …

https://www.prisonplanet.com/dhs-classifies-ammo-purchase-following-controversy.html

From Wikipedia we get the following characteristics of a corporation. With notes from the author of this blog

1.    It is a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. This particular characteristic has made the corporation the single most popular business form in the world because it effectively separates the corporation, as a legal entity, from the people who own it, run it, or trade for it on the stock exchange.  You’ll see why that is so attractive as we look at the other aspects of corporations.

2.    Stockholders enjoy limited risk and limited liability. The total risk of any stockholder is limited to the original investment.  If the corporation goes bankrupt stockholders have no liability for the debt.  Stockholders want profits and pressure corporations to perform on a no-matter-what basis.  Which brings us to the liability question: even if the corporation is found to have broken the law, cheated, stolen something, contaminated the environment, or caused someone’s death ... the stockholder has no liability.  Such liability lies solely with the corporation and extends, theoretically, to the full extent of the corporations ability to pay.  In other words the corporation’s liability is limited to the size of its assets.

3.    The Board of Directors, Executives, and employees also enjoy limited liability.  The BOD follows the directions of the stockholders, executives follow the orders of the BOD, and employees do what they are told (lest they lose their jobs).  Literally speaking, if the corporation breaks the law, lies, cheats, steals, and etc … no one gets in trouble … no one goes to jail.  The corporation gets a slap on the hand and maybe a fine.  Simply put … you cannot put a corporation in jail … the most you can hope for is to put it out of business.

4.    Despite not being natural persons, corporations are recognized by law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons. Corporations can exercise their rights against natural persons, as well as, the state (government).  Like natural persons they can be convicted of fraud, manslaughter, and etc.  However, unlike natural persons, no one is put in jail.  Our only recourse is fines. 

5.    Corporations are conceptually immortal.  Corporations live in a “charter” which means that unless the corporation is dissolved by action of law, it can never die.   At one time corporations were limited to the activities stated in their charter but now corporations have few, if any, limitations.

6.    Corporations are not considered living entities in the same way humans are. Again, no corporation has ever been put in jail.  Corporations typically don’t suffer under seven years of bad credit ratings from the rating agencies … they typically restructure corporate holdings, refinance, or have personnel shake-ups.

7.    Corporations can be multi-national. It is simple, and welcomed, for a corporation to be multi-national.  But generally speaking the idea behind this maneuver is to avoid laws, taxes, and tariffs.  In other words, a multinational corporation uses the confusions of international law to place themselves above government interference, taxes, rules, tariffs, and controls.  For example, if one nation is going to apply huge fines for some mis-adventure the corporation had … that corporation simply moves its major assets out of reach to another country and then allows itself to go bankrupt.  Then they re-open in the same country under a different name.

8.    Corporations themselves have limited liability.  As indicated above, and regardless of the circumstances, the liability of any corporation is capped by its net worth.  The problem is that most corporations now use “holding companies” to shelter their assets.  Since they are completely aware of this … most modern corporations keep their actual asset levels under 10% of their net worth on paper.

9.    Corporations have no minimum capitalization requirements.  At one time minimum capitalization was required.  This is no longer true and that means many corporations actually owe much more than they are worth in hard assets.

10.  Corporations can actually own chunks life … in the form of “DNA Sequences”.  Does it seem odd to anyone that we would let a non-living “legal entity” like a corporation … actually own life?  Does anyone suspect that this could prove to be highly dangerous … or even fatal to life?

11.  Corporations concentrate the monetary wealth of many hardworking investors into a single unit under the control on an elite few. As described, the wealth of the many is placed into the hands of an elite few …who have no real liability as to what they do with that money.  Should that be of concern?

12.  The Golden parachute. Now we get to the best part.  Most board members and corporate executives have employment contracts with what is called the “Golden Parachute”.  Essentially what it means is that regardless of the performance of the individual, or the performance of the corporation, or even whether the full term of the contract is met … the executive is guaranteed a package of benefits on their exit.  It could be company stock, pensions, insurance, annuities, or any number of other long term benefits.  But the single proviso for all this is “non-disclosure” … meaning that whatever that executive saw or knew about the corporation is to be kept a secret … even if that knowledge was about something illegal, immoral, or fattening (haha)!

Now I ask you!  Do you really think corporations are such a great model for our long term economic welfare?  It seems plain that as soon as you eliminate the personal liability issue … it becomes a recipe for disaster and gives human greed a place to hide. 

Because Air and water are so necessary to life … I’ll bet you assumed you had certain rights (to that air and water)?  Not so fast there … !

Are you aware that certain multi-national corporations and some unscrupulous (and extremely wealthy) individuals are buying up water rights all across the world?  See https://www.newsfocus.org/water_grab.htm.  Well get prepared for a shock.  T.Boone Pickens has reportedly purchased 68,000 acres of land, as well as, the rights to drain away up to 50% of the Ogallala aquifer (according to the link above).  The Ogallala aquifer lies beneath 8 of our “Heartland” states providing water for an estimated 27% of our irrigated land and the drinking water for 82% of the people that live in those 8 states.

But Pickens wants as much as 50% of this water to boost his personal wealth.  That’s right … he is not planning to give it away … he is going to sell it back to the people one gallon at a time … and so far Pickens has spent $1.2 billion on legislation to make sure no one gets in his way.  Worse, he claims draining the Ogallala aquifer is nothing more than “… selling surplus water.”  And Pickens isn’t the only one … this nonsense is happening all across the globe (read the whole article in the link above). 

Still not a believer?  Did you know that there are a number of states where collecting rainwater is illegal?  That’s right … in some states the legislatures have decided that rain water belongs to someone else (as in, not you).  Therefore you can’t have that water either.  See https://www.thetotalcollapse.com/collecting-rainwater-now-illegal-in-many-us-states/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheTotalCollapse+%28The+Total+Collapse%29

Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1uWSmclzWY   Also see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOsSyGexcKQ&feature=em-uploademail

So … are you thirsty yet.  Here’s a question.  If you had all the money in the world … and I had all the water … how much would I charge you for that first drink?

OK, no worries!  You can still breathe the air … right?  Well, for now the answer is yes.  But have you heard of the “Carbon Tax”?  see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tax.   Wikipedia makes it sound like it’s such a great idea.  We are told that carbon taxes will save the earth from the perils of global warming … and Al Gore talks about carbon emissions being the common thread pointing at global warming … but then … how does he explain that the entire solar system is showing signs of warming?  See https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread221608/pg1 .  It makes you wonder what else might be in his plans.  Sure our automobiles and industries belch carbon gasses but what are other potential sources for carbon.   Let’s see … we breath in (and need) oxygen to stay alive … but what is that stuff we exhale.  OMG … its carbon dioxide … OMG how long before he wants to tax that too (and don’t think it isn’t already in the plan).  What about our bodies … we are a carbon based life form.  Will we soon be taxed to bury our loved ones?

OOPS … were you still thinking that air and water were some sort of inherent right?  Sure they are … until they figure out a way to tax you for them. Not to worry, they’ll still be a right (LOL) as long as you have the resources to pay  to use your rights (LOL).

Maybe you think air and water should be one of those “entitlement” issues … and not a new profit center for greedy corporations and the exceedingly wealthy! 

You do!?  You’re funny!

I just threw out the trash … but once it is discarded where does it go?  According to the Environmental Protection Agency (in 2008) approximately 250 million tons of garbage was produced (which means thrown out) … and 83 million tons of it was recycled (about 1/3).  (See https://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1869772)   The most common things to be recycled are paper goods, yard trimmings, food scraps, and plastics.  Oh, by the way, these figures are for the US only.

What about the rest of our garbage … you might ask.  Well, the greatest majority of it ends up in landfills.  Landfills can be defined as the place where, after a product’s useful life, we store its remains.  This progression is a function of two rather misguided economic strategies.  The first is what is called “planned obsolescence” and the second is called “resource extraction”

Issue #1:  Planned obsolescence is a design policy that limits the useful life of a product so that it forces the user to buy again and again.  The idea is to stimulate demand rather than provide longevity.  (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence)  Obviously this stimulates sales but does little to protect the environment or to preserve resources.

Issue #2:  Resource extraction can be described as … “To take, in the quickest and cheapest manner, the most profitable portions of any naturally existing commodity … and then … to move on the next!”  Obviously this is intended to stimulate a company’s bottom line but, once again does little tp protect the environment or the preserve our natural resources.

Issue #3:  Landfills are filling up!  (See https://www.ecoevaluator.com/lifestyle/recycling/filling-our-landfills.html)  But that is not the worst part of the problem.  The real problem is that “eventually” every landfill is going to leak and they contain some of the most toxic substances known to man.  (See https://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/09/29/how-dangerous-is-it-really-to-live-near-a-landfill-and-how-near-is-too-near.htm)  Simply put that means that … twenty years from now … or fifty years from now … or a hundred years from now … those toxins are going to begin to leach into the air, the water, and the soil.

Issue #4:  Until a leak is detected (which means it has already begun to contaminate things) no one knows it is happening.  The reason I am voicing concern is that on a local basis it appears we may have a leaking landfill … with toxins getting into local wells (you know … the water we drink).  The company operating the landfill acknowledges that there are high levels of toxins in local wells but claims there is no proof the toxins are coming from their site.  I think you can see the path this might take; i.e. you continue to use the contaminated water while the courts take years (possibly decades) to decide who is at fault,

Native Americans had great wisdom.  They said, “We do not own the land … we only borrow it from our children!”

OK … you may not get sick from the toxic substances in the air, the soil, and the water … but what about your children?  Do we want to put up with this so that some corporation can maintain it precious profit line?  Really?

How much money is there?

According to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System there was $1.1 trillion dollars in circulation as of July 18, 2012 … of which $1.07 trillion was in Federal Reserve notes.  (see https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/currency_12773.htm)

According to the U.S. Debt clock (see https://www.usdebtclock.org/) the total U.S. Debt is almost $57 trillion or $181,357 per citizen ($684,548 per family).

Does anyone find it odd that we have a debt that amounts to 57 times more money than than even exists … to pay for it?  Does anyone find it odd that the interest due on our debt (see debt clock) is $3.8 trillion (three times more money than is actually in circulation)?  Should we be concerned with a debt of $57 trillion … when the gross domestic product is just $15 trillion?

Are our representatives in Washington doing an appropriate job when our “U.S. Unfunded Liabilities” amount to almost $119 trillion … indicating a liability per taxpayer of (wait for it) $1.05 million each?

Wikipedia tells us that the total U.S. debt to the Federal Reserve is just over $11 trillion … ten times more money than there is in circulation.  Odd … wouldn’t you say?  (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

Here is a good one … the Debt Clock shows the U.S. has a little more than $91 trillion in assets (including corporate and household assets).  However, between the $57 trillion in Total U.S. Debt and $119 trillion in Unfunded Liabilities … our National Net Worth looks like a negative $85 trillion.  (Yikes !!!!)

1.    So who do we owe this too … and what will we do when they come to collect?

2.    Are you satisfied with this situation?

Everything is Monitized!

Everything has value!  Now that seems like a fairly simple statement.  But what does it really mean? 

A tribesman living in an aboriginal forest would say that forest is the birthplace of everything he or she needs for life.  It provides shelter from the sun and the rain, wood for their cooking fires and for warmth at night, and a habitat for the plants and animals that provide sustenance.  In other words the value of the forest is in its continuing existence as a living environment.  So value = living habitat = life support vehicle!  But this is not the way modern society views anything (except, perhaps, for a quaint reference to the way aboriginal peoples might have lived). 

Modern society tends to subdivide everything into smaller and smaller components.  Rather than having a supportive function as part of a cooperative environment each resource is disconnected from its original purpose/contribution and re-functionalized as a commodity in the sequence of supply and demand economies.  Trees would be seen in terms of board foot to harvest.  Plants might be seen as a source for DNA to be manipulated as a food source or for medicinal use.  The rich aboriginal soils might be used as top soil for a farm.  Stones and rocks might be pulverized to use as a base layer under asphalt.  The animals and birds might be captured and put on display at a zoo … and so on. 

The aboriginal forest is a natural resource.  Wikipedia describes natural resources as follows; The natural resources are materials, which living organisms can take from nature for sustaining their life or any components of the natural environment that can be utilized by man to promote his welfare is considered as natural resources.  The word resource sounds innocent enough when it is defined like that but modern society has changed one key element.  Where the aboriginal tribesman sees the forest resource as an environment in which to live as an equal partner/contributor … modern society views resources in terms of monetary value.  The panorama of the forest becomes a “wealth acquisition statistic” and the process of attaining that wealth is called “resource extraction” which is an economic term defined as … “To take, in the quickest and cheapest manner, the most profitable portions of any naturally existing commodity … and then … to move on the next!”. For commodity see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity.  So each commodity is removed from its originating purpose, given a monetary value, and sold for its profit potential.

Our natural resources were put in place by processes that took place over tens of millions of years.  Every product we manufacture has what is called a life expectancy (example: https://askville.amazon.com/life-expectancy-dishwasher-refrigerator/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=8811878).   Effectively that means at the end of anything’s economic usefulness we send it to the garbage dump and that average life span is 10 to 15 years.  Tens of millions of years in the making … and we discard in less than two decades.  As a species we are so clever we even coined the idea of “planned obsolescence” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence) so that a manufactured item must be replaced periodically … just to feed our artificial economy.  But it also means we need to carve more resources out of the environment … so we can throw that stuff out in a few years too.

The question I would like to ask is … does everything need to be reduced to a monetary value … or should we begin to see our natural resources and environment as irreplaceable and precious?

If the Earth was perfectly round the average depth of water would be 1.6 miles … the average dept of soil would be about 8 inches … the average depth of breathable air would be about 3 miles.  Without any of those three things … life is unsustainable.

Every element of the living earth is a component that contributes in some way to the only environment we know of that sustains life.  Consider that vast reaches of intergalactic space … and then consider that life as we know it exists in a sliver of a place less than 5 miles thick.

Here is a quip I heard recently that deals in perspective:  If you had all the money in the world and I had all the land … how much rent would I charge you for the first day?

Budget Cuts

On April 20^th, 2009 Fox News reported that newly elected President Obama had ordered $100 million dollars in Federal Budget cuts.  (see  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/20/obama-orders-million-budget-cuts-worries-confidence-gap/)  According to the article that is equivalent to 402,000 iPods, or 2.16 million barrels of oil, or some 4500 Toyota Prius cars.   The readers of this article, I’m sure, were appropriately impressed.  But let’s take another look.

First … from Wikipedia we get; “A budget (from old French bougette, purse) is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. A budget is not actual money saved … it is only a plan to “hopefully” save.  So a budget cut is not the same as an actual reduction in spending.

Second … For just a moment let’s suppose that there was a real spending cut of $100 million.  The 2010 census reported 308,745,538 people in the U.S … so the savings per individual would equal 32 cents.  I wonder if you ever got notification from the IRS that your tax bill would be reduced by that amount.  No … are you saying your tax bill was the same?  Assumedly that means they spent the money anyway … just (perhaps) on something else.

Let’s look at it another way.  With a total annual budget of $3.6 trillion … a $100 million budget reduction amounts to a staggering .002777%.  To put that into perspective I recently calculated it is 3.5 miles from my home to the local food store (or 18,480 feet).  If I decided I wanted to save gas … in equal proportion to our Federal budget cuts … I would have to walk the last six inches of my trip.  What a sacrifice they have made … I’m in awe, aren’t you?

The next question is what were they planning to cut from the budget.

Veterans Affairs cut $17.8 million by cancelling 26 conferences.  I’m not sure what is discussed at these conferences but at $684,615 each … they sound like fun.  And ask any veteran … they already feel like they are well cared for.

The Department of Agriculture claims they can combine 1500 employees from seven offices into one facility to save $62 million.  In “government speak” the word “combine” means they are reducing staff so un-employment will go up.

The Department of Homeland Security (you know … those nice people that grope your wife and children at the airport) claim they can save $3 million buying office supplies in bulk.  I had no idea those rubber gloves they use cost so much!  Personally I never bought into the fable about the “scary man in the turban” so I think we can cut more corners by eliminating the illegal groping.

The Department of Justice and State Department propose going paperless to save $6.7 million.  If they go paperless we have no paper trail to trace their mis-adventures … and they get a “delete” button.  Hmmmm … does that sound like a good idea?

The Department of Education expects to save $2 million by reducing the number of computers it provides to staff (what … they should provide their own computers?). 

 That’s enough of the snippy remarks.  I think you get the point.  If there was any money “not spent” they never passed any of the savings on to us … the taxpayers … and to me that means there was no reduction of spending because my cost (tax) remained the same.  It also means we are frequently bombarded with rumors of huge savings that, when put into an appropriate perspective, become miniscule compare to what they are really spending.

It's time to take our government back!

Let’s Play Monopoly

You remember the board game Monopoly … well let’s play a game.  However, I want to make a few little changes so that you can begin to see how The Federal Reserve plays the game.

There will be four players to begin the game and each player gets $10,000 from the bank (Federal Reserve).  It’s not free money … each time you pass “Go” (equivalent to one year) you owe 3% interest on the $10,000 you started with.  Each player proceeds around the board, buys property, builds houses or hotels, makes trades, plus pays and collects rent.

As each player passes “Go” they must pay 3% interest on their original $10k ($300 in interest each).  With four players that amounts to $1200 total interest for each circuit.  So each time all four players circle the board the original $40k is reduced by another $1200.  It doesn’t take a great genius to realize that after the group of four players has circled the board 34 times … there will be none of the original $40k cash left. 

I know what you’re thinking.  During each circuit of the board the players are buying/selling/trading/paying and collecting rent.  But none of those activities produces new money … those activities only redistributes the money that already exists, nothing more.

But the situation gets worse from there.  Even though there is no actual cash left in the game … the original $10k at 3% interest (per player) still stands … and the interest continues to accrue.

Don’t worry … the head of the bank (Federal Reserve) says you can never default on your debt in our little game of Monopoly, because he’ll just print more money!  So he loans each player another $10k and now each circuit of the board costs $600 in interest.  But, you don’t have the original $10k any more … so the $600 comes out of the 2^nd installment of $10k you borrowed.  Now it only takes 17 trips around the board before you’re out of money again.  So what now?  Print more money?  I think you can see where this is going … there will come a time when no matter how much money is printed it won’t be enough.

So next … the bank says to each player … “Maybe you have no money to pay your loan but you own property!  Give that property to the bank … and you can work off the rest!”  (It’s called economic slavery)

I’ll not do this research for you.  Do a little digging on your own for the following points.

Issue #1:  The real Federal Reserve is a private corporation owned by the Banksters and is not an agency of our federal government.

Issue #2:  Even though the federal government is empowered to coin its own currency (which would be interest free) … the Federal Reserve has been granted that power.  For each and every dollar “printed” … the federal government has agreed to pay interest (in other words they agreed that you, as a citizen, would be responsible for the debt).

Issue #3:  The money “printed” by the Federal Reserve is what is called “fiat” money … which means it is printed out of thin air (having no actual value of its own).  Even worse … most of this “thin air” money is never even actually printed … it is simply an entry on a ledger somewhere.  Yet we still owe interest on it (ahhhh … life’s many mysteries!)

Issue #4:  This could never have happened had our people in Washington not voted and approved it.  (Kind of makes you wonder whose side they’re on, doesn’t it?)

Issue #5:  Are you aware that most of the money collected by the IRS for income tax goes to pay the federal debt … and very little, if any, goes to operate the government?

Issue #6:  Essentially this example creates money in exactly the same way as the Federal Reserve creates money.  In the case of the Federal Reserve each dollar it creates (printed or digital) is sold to the government at face value … creating a note (or loan).  Since the government doesn’t actually pay for the money (like, in gold or other solid assets) it becomes a debt (of the people’s) and accrues interest.  Literally speaking every dollar in circulation today is a debt owed to the Federal Reserve … including all of its accruing interest.  Now you know how we got into so much trouble!

I just thought you might like to know what our people in Washington are up to.

Fracking

In the Gulf of Mexico we just witnessed what happens when, in spite of the expertise and professionalism of the oil companies … something goes wrong.  Raw crude oil exploded into the gulf and not only did it create havoc for the local economy … it also wrecked the ecosystem. 

One thing is clear; damage was done on an incredible scale.  We also know there has been a massive effort to put a positive spin on the clean-up process.  What we don’t know is what the long term effects of this disaster might be.

Obviously, in today’s world, when technology fails us (as it does with predictable frequency) the damage can overwhelm us very quickly.  Crude oil spewed into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico for months before we found a way to cap the leaking well … and there is some speculation that it is still leaking (at a much lesser rate).  Fortunately there were deep sea robotics that could operate a mile deep in the ocean … indicating we had access to the point of the leak.

Now comes the idea of fracking (see Wikipedia … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fracking) which is also a creation of the oil industry.  The best way to describe fracking is that they drill deep into the rock beneath our feet and then turn the drill so it continues horizontally.  They pump in high pressure steam with heavy concentrations of special chemical agents.  The high pressure steam is intended to actually fracture the rock strata and the chemicals are intended to help release any oil or natural gas held in that rock strata.   The companies that use this technology have a TV commercial that touts the jobs that will be created and the necessity to find additional sources of energy.  We are told this is good for the economy.

Issue #1:  The chemicals they use are probably extremely toxic.  We are talking about natural gas and oil products ... so the toxicity of these chemicals is not hard to imagine.  Equally, the chemical mixes used are seen as “corporate secrets” and they refuse to reveal what is in this stuff they are pumping at high pressure into the ground.

Issue #2;  Fracturing rock means opening spaces between the broken pieces … which in turn means that the rock strata around the targeted area must also be fractured (expanded by high pressure).  While they only want to fracture the stratum that contains the oil/gas … there is no way to fully control what other rock strata might fracture.  And as we already know, most rock stratum already has fissures of its own.  So, leaks are inevitable (or should I use the word guaranteed?).

Issue #3:  High pressure steam leaks containing toxic chemicals can migrate to the surface … or to our incredibly precious water aquifers … or even into our soils and air.

Issue #4:  If (or should I say when?) a leak does occur there are no deep-rock robotic thingys we can send a mile down into the rock strata to cap the well (or the leak).  It can and will continue until the pressure equalizes and then forever-after … the leaks will continue through what is called capillary action.  So in the case of an accident the damage is permanent and ongoing.  There is solid evidence some of these uncontrolled leaks have already occurred  (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_axZpB0wZI ) 

Issue #5:  It is a well accepted fact that every landfill, no matter how well maintained, will eventually leak.  See https://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=1620084176  It is also true that every fracking site will eventually leak ... this year or next, ten years from now ... maybe a hindred years  ... but all will eventually leak!  Now imagine for a moment, if you will, that some rogue fracking site begins to leak into the Oglala Aquifer … poisoning forever the water for 8 states in America’s heartland (see Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oglala_Aquifer) and you will be able to see that the Gulf oil spill was only child’s play by comparison.  Need I mention that America’s Heartland is the source of most of this nations food … and I think you can guess at what might happen if we try to grow our nation's food with a toxic water source.

I am all for finding new energy sources, new ideas to spur the economy and a path to creating new jobs.  But I ask you … is the potential for a disaster on this scale really work a toss of the dice?

Comments? 

I Did The Math!

Recently there has been a lot of talk about government funding for what is called “Entitlement Programs”.   Among those programs is Social Security and Medicare … which our government claims are slowly going broke.  What is worse is they are trying very hard to get people to believe these “Entitlement Programs” are un-earned.

Issue #1:  The government doesn’t fund Social Security and Medicare.  These programs are funded through payroll deductions and matching employer payments.  Until just recently … Social Security was a 6.2 % payroll deduction (which the employer must match) and Medicare was 1.45% (which the employer must match).  In other words 15.3 % of every dollar in wages earned supposedly goes to fund these two programs.

Issue #2:  Let’s assume that a person might work from the age of 21 to 65 … that equals 44 years.  Let’s further assume a very modest $30,000 yearly average income … that’s $1,320,000 lifetime earnings.  At 15.3% … there should be $201,960 in funds set aside for retirement (and medicare).  But it is not quite that simple.

It is estimated that the government pays 3.29% interest on the national debt (see https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/02/uncle_sam_wants_you_.html).  If they can pay The Banksters 3.29% they can certainly pay U.S. Citizens 3.29%.  Using an HP 12C amortization calculator and compounding the interest on payroll deductions over 44 years … your 15.3% funding/deductions should have accumulated $453,890 and not just the $201,960 mentioned above (ah, the magic of compounding).

Let us also assume that you live to the ripe old age of 85 (20 years after retirement) … that equals 240 months.  Continuing to compound interest on your $453,890 … your retirement benefit should be an astounding $2,577 per month.  Who do you know that is getting this much money from their Social Security retirement check?   (it should be noted that Social Security and Medicare rates started lower than shown here and have increased over the years … but we also chose a very modest income figure with no pay increases over 44 years.  The major component of the funds that should be available turn out to be a result of the interest rates paid and not so much from the principle itself)

Issue #3:  If the government doesn’t have the money they have been entrusted with … where did it go?  Well, instead of being kept in a trust fund as was originally intended these payroll deductions (and matching employer payments)went into the U.S. Treasury … and Congress has already spent the money (see https://www.bankrate.com/finance/retirement/5-little-known-facts-about-social-security-1.aspx  especially page 6)

Issue #4:  Did you know that while the United States is empowered to create its own money … it has actually given this power over to the Federal Reserve.  Were you aware that the Federal Reserve is not part of our government it is privately owned by ... wait for it ... The Banksters?  Were you aware that the Federal Reserve prints this money out of thin air … and then charges us (the taxpayers) interest on the money (you know, that stuff that didn’t exist until they printed it)?  Are you aware that, in principle, the largest percentage of money collected by the IRS from  Income Taxes goes to pay this interest … and very little of it goes to operate the government … which make the IRS a collection agency for The Banksters that own the Federal Reserve !!!!  OUCH !!!

Issue #5:  If you put $201,960 (principle) into an interest bearing account and ended up with $453,890 the difference (of $251,930) must be earned interest.  But … the government not only claims they no longer have your “principle” … they don’t have the interest it should have earned either.   Obviously if they didn’t pay you the interest they must have paid it to The Bankers who printed the phony “fiat” money.  No wonder the government is crying poor … they spent $251,930 on interest payments from the $201,960 you gave them … meaning they had to have The Bankers print another $49,970 in fiat money just to pay the interest (an put the people of America further into debt).  Clever devils ... these Banksters !!!!