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Alt-Market.com - The Ultimate Market Hedge?
Alt-Market.com - The Ultimate Market Hedge?
By Ilene at Phil's Stock World
Interview with Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com
Brandon Smith, who for many years has written under the alias Giordano Bruno, has launched a new website called Alt-Market.com. The goal of Alt-Market is to facilitate barter networking and the exchange of knowledge and ideas for thriving in a faltering monetary environment. Alt-Market's developers would like to de-centralize and de-globalize our system of commerce and help us re-localize our economy, in order to insulate cities and states from a possible (and ever more likely) collapse of the dollar.
An 1874 newspaper illustration from Harper's Weekly, showing a man engaging in barter: offering chickens in exchange for his yearly newspaper subscription.
Ilene: Hi Brandon, I've been enjoying your blog Neithercorp and was interested in your project "Alternative Market Movement," and its newly launched website, Alt-Market.com. Could you tell me a little bit more about who you are, and what you're trying to accomplish?
Brandon: As far as my background, it's funny, because the question I am asked the most is what kind of academic credentials and accolades I've received, and "how long have I worked on Wall Street"? To be honest, everything I know about economics was self-taught, and I've never worked on Wall Street. I work a regular day job, and I try to stay as far away as possible from any association with mainstream economics. Just look at how many "Ivy League" financial analysts were completely blind to the derivatives and ARM mortgage bubbles, and how many are continuing to ignore the massive bubble forming in Treasuries and the dollar.
My fascination with macroeconomics began a decade ago after the World Bank riots in Seattle. I had never seen such massive political action against an establishment construct, and I wanted to know every detail about what globalization really was. 9/11 reinforced my concern for the state of America. I was very disturbed by how easily the average person was led to support the invasion of Iraq, and how quick they were to accept the progressive dissolution of civil liberties that was being undertaken by the government. In 2004, I read G. Edward Griffin's book 'The Creature From Jekyll Island', covering the dark history of the private Federal Reserve. After that, I found myself finally seeing the whole truth for the first time. In 2007, I felt steeped in enough information to begin writing my own analysis. My goal was to produce economic articles for the common American, instead of writing for investors and other analysts. If anything is to change, we have to educate regular people who don't have a decade to pour over IMF white papers and stock charts.
Ilene: How can Neithercorp achieve its stated purpose: to "help bring you a possible solution to the economic debacle we now face as a country"? How are you going about that and do you feel you're reaching your goals?
Brandon: Neithercorp is an anti-corporation that operates on copyleft principles, and it is designed to support the larger efforts of what we call the "Liberty Movement". Everything on the site is free, we don't post advertisements, and any other website is welcome to republish our articles as long as they link back to us as the source. Our purpose is to get the information out to the public.
The first step to any solution is to first educate the people about the intricacies of the problem. We've spent the last four years of Neithercorp doing just that. Our web traffic is very high, and I think we have done well in this regard. Now a substantial portion of U.S. citizens are at least aware that the economy is not in recovery and that mainstream statistics are fraudulent, we have moved into the second phase, which is to provide a realistic and concrete plan to confront the situation. Our new project, the "Alternative Market Movement", is meant to offer that plan without centralizing all control of the Liberty Movement under one roof. Interested parties can read more about it here:
http://neithercorp.us/npress/2011/02/the-alternative-market-project-a-sneak-previewIlene: What do you see as the biggest problems facing our economy and our government?
Brandon: The biggest threat to our economy has always been globalization. We have allowed corporate banks to centralize nearly all financial control into the hands of a select few, and we have allowed our economic system to be forced into interdependency with numerous other countries. Globalists claim that this process is natural and inevitable, but in reality, it is the product of deliberate engineering.
Now, the economy of every nation is tied together like a string of dominoes; one falls, and we all fall. The only solution to this dire situation is to decentralize the economy, and bring back local and community based commerce again. Only with flexibility and redundancy will the system be able to survive a collapse of broader markets or the dollar.
The biggest threat to our government is, again, those organizations which are attempting to herd us towards globalization. I think it has become patently obvious that the leaderships of both major parties have been thoroughly corporatized, and that regardless how we vote, the Democrats are going to continue the policies of the Republicans, and the Republicans are going to continue the policies of the Democrats. Instead of paying attention to the empty rhetoric of the party heads, we need to look at their voting records. Barack Obama is a blaring example of this hoodwink. Not only is his administration awash in global banking proponents, he has fully supported the Patriot Acts, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even the FISA bill which allows the government through telecom companies to spy on anyone it pleases without fear of legal reprisal. He's a clearer speaking clone of Bush Jr, and that's all.
Ilene: Is Alt-Market ready for use in bartering now?
Brandon: Yes, visit us here.
Ilene: How does it work: Is it like a trading version of eBay? For example, If I want to sell a cow in order to get medical care, will I have to find a doctor who wants my cow? If transactions with just two people prove difficult to efficiently match up, is there a way that many people can make multi-person exchanges? Am I even picturing this correctly?
Brandon: No, transactions wouldn't take place in an online market, rather relationships would be developed. The new site is meant to help participants meet like minded individuals to expand their barter network. All trade must be done privately between those individuals, not on the website. People are going to have to start walking away from their damn computers and dealing with each other face to face. (Click here to join a group in your area)
Ilene: So you're not looking to hook up people from across the country to make online trades with each other - you're wanting to introduce people who are nearby each other and interested in forming more physical networks?
Brandon: Yes. I think the secret to a successful bartering network is to keep open as many options as possible for transactions. You could trade gold, silver, your cow, a useful skill, or even dollars if someone is willing to still take them. The point is not to force Americans to turn away from the dollar based system only to be limited again by gold, or their livestock, but to use all means of trade until the dollar collapses. After which, we will have grown used to several alternatives beyond the greenback, instead of none. If we do not have an alternative system in place to shield citizens from a dollar implosion, we WILL see unprecedented chaos in this country, along with a crackdown on our civil liberties most people can't even fathom.
Eventually, when we rebuild the monetary system, we can return to a paper currency backed by real commodities, or a basket of commodities. The concept of fiat has to go. The Keynesians got it terribly wrong.
Ilene: If this takes off, do you worry that the government will start taxing the value of the services exchanged?
Brandon: The government has already tried to institute policies which would allow them to micro-manage private commerce. The Food Safety Modernization Act s510 is a good example. Its language is so broad that it could even be interpreted to illegalize having a personal garden. The problem is that, for the government, it would be nearly impossible to enforce this legislation. Frankly, I hope they do try to push that kind of control, because it would merely galvanize the populace even more against the globalization process. The most they can hope to do is pick out a few people and charge them with a criminal offense in an attempt to frighten off the participation of the greater movement.
Ilene: Is there a special significance of your "stage" name, Giordano Bruno?
Brandon: Giordano Bruno was a priest and philosopher who lived in the late 1500's. He spoke out against the vicious nature of the Catholic Inquisition, the limited view of the universe (he was the first European to truly promote the idea of "infinity"), and he stood firmly against the elitist nature of the stifling Aristotelian view dominant in the academic culture of England. Of course, he was burned at the stake for his defiance. Giordano stood firmly by the truth, regardless of the consequences, and this is why I use his name on my articles.
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this is a very good idea... the more you do outside the official (rigged) system the better off you'll be when the meltdown reaches bottom ..try the farmers and black market too (anything not in the sphere of Govt and bwankers influence)
the web is going to prove a Godsend during this Depression and prove its worth many times over
<up>
Good timely post Ilene. Thanks
Bartering will only work as a short-term solution in times of sever necessity. Research 'the condition of mutual needs'. In order for barter to work, the needs of both parties to the transaction must match. Now think about how many different needs you have and how many discrete traders you would have to identify to have all your needs satisfied [1x1, 2x2, 10x10, 100x100]. Money solves this issues by acting as a unit of account, which is not possible in barter. "How many steaks is a pair of shoes worth?" Money will not go away any time soon, get over it...
Joeman;
That's what reserves are for! When my 12-pack of AngelSoft toilet paper doesn't measure up to your 2 gallons low-sulphur diesel, I'm going to spice up the deal with 3 ribbed condoms.
What if I already have my own condoms... and don't need any of your other reserves... Doesn't solve the problem of mutual coincidence of wants. It's math, sorry. It's why humans evolved to use currency and have been doing so for thousands of years. It takes many forms, but it will not go away. Barter is not sustainable.
If I don't have anything you want, then I won't be able to get the diesel. You debate like my wife.
You have the math skills of a chimp, er orangutan. You've missed my point entirely, not much of a debate when you don't even understand what I'm saying...
Yes; I am a baby orangutan with degrees in geology, voice performance and MA program. I also have a diploma in MicroComputer Electronics. Of course I understand what you're verbalizing, but you will never survive what's coming if you don't learn to haggle. You maintain that mankind has used some form of currency (round stones, pretty shells, credit cards, etc.) for thousands of years. True, but we used barter and trade for hundreds of thousands before that, and it worked out to evolve. It will again when we lose our fetish for pretty silver, gold and their filthy paper simulacra. If I am an orangutan, you look like a baboon.
You are saying that "money" can be a store of value to hold until needed for trade. Not a novel concept, of course. I believe you've stumbled upon a nice role for silver/gold assets. You might run outta condoms!
when's the IPO??
I've joined Alt Market, and am talking with fellow business persons in my area, persuading them to join.
As a Missourian of the Missouri Republic and the Republic for the united States of America, The IRS, or any corporate government entity has no jurisdiction over me at all! I also pay no income taxes or property taxes as they are unconstitutional! (Constitution for the united States of America c. 1787)
http://republicofmissouri.org
http://republicfortheunitedstates.org
Brandon, as 'Giordano Bruno', is one of my favorite writers re: macroeconomics and geopolitical affairs. For the reason that he understands well the weaknesses of the Macro, I trust him in this new foray into the unknown of Micro, within which I have labored for many years. It made be that the idealism of newly-converted Micro relocalizer Brandon does not transfer well to the digital readership of ZeroHedge, Alt-Market, etc. Barter really is rewarding dog work. I have worked as a Trade Broker in the field, and it is a lot of fun.
One kind of reserve requirement that brokers must maintain is a steady stream of 'STUFF', no matter if it is of the most humble kind. With this in mind, I have stored up wholesale quantities of the following items for daily barter and other considerations:
Toilet Tissue, Cigarette Lighters, Feminine Napkins and Tampons, Reading Glasses, Paper Towels, Condoms, Construction Hardware Items, Propane Bottles, MREs, Canned Goods, Canning Jars and Lids, Blankets, Shoe Repair materials and tools, Sewing items and fabric, Leather and tools, Electric generating and wiring items, writing and paper printing goods, sustainability and gardening books, fuel of several kinds.
Starting with these reserves, I believe that it possible for me to get the core group of a barter network off the ground and running. I would like to know if anyone has good ideas about using these 'reserves' as the collateral requirement for some kind of alternative currency to be circulated within such an enclosed network.
So you pay no taxes, huh?? Sure, right. If that were the case, and you were not completly 'off-the-grid', you should be expecting a visit from the authorities very soon. Death and taxes...
Does this mean the end of the Dollar as we know it ???
Watch soon for the push to move to all digital transactions and no currency; we are being trained as we speak (er...write).
As per Revelations in the Bible...no one can buy and sell, my dad used to be obsessed with that and he's getting smug now with the credit card expansion.
Talk to people? Away from the computer?
How the hell does that work?
Lol - it took me a few questions to absorb that and get away from the eBay/Craigslist model.... "well, what if the only doctor willing to treat your condition is 1000 miles away and doesn't want your cow?"..... "oh, you mean you have actually have to MEET each other...and groups? (what's that?)"
Been using Craigslist for this for years.
local time banks actually allow you to store credits that you can spend on other things.. my local one is: http://www.pa-timebank.com/
I just joined the Alt-Market as 'Trading Post' and created a 'Louisiana Gulf Coast' networking Group. It was easy and I can't wait to welcome other alternative traders there. It would be good to test our theories of 'hard' and 'honest' currency in sustainable business relationships.
Yes. These exchanges have been around for awhile in The US. Bartering exchanges. Dear Old Uncle Sam, cousin to Uncle Joe, even has tax forms for that to tax your ass. The Tax Man Already Came'th! All over the barter market. See, you still need money... Uncle Sam doesn't take chickens. He only takes your Federal Reserve Notes or, for a small fee, will put you up in a "Federal Hospitality Inn" where you can work for slave-wages building furniture or something for his corporate buddies.
Unless you get in good with old-timer Italians by knowing how to make a mean spaghetti sauce with sauteed onions.
Good Luck!
The IRS is serious...
It is by no small coincidence that both the federal reserve and the irs share a common birthday. These saimese twins were hatched in a very deliberate fashion so as to create an eventual servitude of an acquiescing populace ignorant of basic freedoms and enamored with the promise of technological advancements and marvels.
The fed and the irs are utterly dependent on each other for survival. Unfortunately most citizens in the US equate "taxpayer" with citizen so you can see why ending the fed is at this point, hopeless.
Until it is realized that taxes should be collected from those granted the privilege of conducting commerce with a free people, sovereign citizenship and the freedom associated with it will continue to be a pipe dream. imo.
Yup.
Barter is the greatest way of trading your wife for a younger girl. Without going to jail for murder... What an invention...Until the Pope spoilt all that and made divorce impossible and barter unchristian. Civilisation moved back into the dark ages...
LOL! Now that was good...
...and then one stood up. And actually DID something.
For that alone - Bravo.
+1776
I think the IRS is serious about form form 1099-B and the Supreme Court is (recently very) serious about NGO attempts to undermine the U.S. currency.
So...I wouldn't quit your day job just yet.
I'd love to see the forms submitted by Madams; though I doubt they accept much barter.
From Brandon:
1099-B pertains to a form issued by a broker or barter exchange that summarizes the proceeds of all STOCK TRANSACTIONS. The sale of a stock will be accompanied by a gain or loss, which must be reported to the IRS when you file your taxes. Specifically, figures from form 1099-B are used on IRS Form 1040, Schedule D. In any barter transaction, the IRS would have to show that a taxable income was produced from the transaction. This may be possible if you only deal in gold and silver, but I am at a loss as to how they could determine the profit derived from a transaction involving an apple for an orange, for example. The IRS would have to become the sole determinant of the market value of goods first, and then be able to enforce that value on all private trade which they would then be required to somehow track. Simply impossible. Could you imagine the IRS going to every garage sale in the country to tax people? That would galvanize opposition faster than the collapse of the dollar itself.
Whatever. Maybe I haven't cited the exactly appropriate subsection of the tax code but the bottom line here (literally) is that if you engage in the exchange of anything of value with another party, the government feels entitled to it's vig. and has unlimited resources to deploy in any particular effort to collect it. The IRS even requires you to declare income derived from any criminal enterprise. So legally at least, there's no way out.
Don't get me wrong, I'm pro-barter. But I think when the right circumstances present themselves that kind of thing will develop just fine all by itself. Various types of political agitators have propagated the idea that free enterprise is some sort of bogus capitalist construct but in reality it's as natural to human nature as food gathering, shelter seeking and sex. It's no secret that black markets thrive in pretty much direct correlation to how officially repressive the business environment is.
...Any barter transaction is reported on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business Form 1040
Treated as a "cash" transaction. People, being full of honor and probity (if that's the word I'm searching for) are on their own to volunteer the values of things "as if" both parties used cash - only they di'nt, y'see?