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Guest Post: This Is What Crisis Feels Like
Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man blog,
On December 1, 2001, Argentina’s economy was in trouble. Unemployment was high, debt was high, and recession had taken hold. But life was somewhat ‘normal’.
Basic services still functioned. And no one had to really worry about... food. Or water. Then it all changed. Literally within a day.
On December 2nd, our bankrupt government imposed measures that essentially froze everyone’s bank accounts. You can just imagine– one day having access to your funds, and the next day being completely cut off.
Within a matter of days, people were out in the streets doing battle with the police. The government soon defaulted on its debt, and the currency went into freefall.
I was doing some post-graduate work in Boston at the time. As a foreigner in the US, I wasn’t really able to work… so I was living on a tight budget from my savings.
Yet, overnight, I went from being able to pay my rent and living expenses to being completely cut off from my funds. I had nothing.
But when I spoke to my family back in Argentina, I realized that they had it even worse.
Everything became scarce. The electricity went out all the time. Even food on the grocery store shelves ran low. You would eat what you had available at home.
And in a way, food became a medium of exchange. Within just a few days, people went from having confidence in their currency to not trusting it at all. No one wanted to accept paper money anymore, especially for something as valuable as food.
And if they did, it would be at 2-3 times the normal price. With all of this unfolding, I flew back down to see my family.
My father called me and said he had stashed his life savings in US dollar cash in a bank safety deposit box. He needed my help getting it out.
When we arrived to the bank, there were thousands of people in the streets rioting. The police were there in paramilitary gear. It was so tense, we had to bribe someone just to get inside the bank.
Fortunately we were able to get access to the box. But… we had to walk 3 or 4 blocks to the car. It was half panic, half adrenaline rush walking past an angry crowd with my father’s life savings shoved down our pants.
Looking back, this was crazy. But at the time, it was the only way. Then came the even harder part– getting it out of the country.
We had friends who would take rowboats full of cash to neighboring Uruguay. But this was incredibly risky.
At the time, the only legitimate way to get money out of the country was buying ADRs (Argentine public companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange). And the only reason we were even able to do this was because we had the contacts.
But we got killed on the fees. The commission alone was 20%, and then, of course, the stocks we purchased took a dive.
So my father ended up losing about half of his savings trying to get it out of the country at the wrong time.
What’s funny is that we eventually ended up suing the government. They had destroyed everyone’s life savings, and even seized pensions as well.
The government dragged out the legal process for years, almost a decade. They were hoping that all the retirees who were suing them would simply die off, and the problem would go away.
Eventually, we won the case (along with thousands of others). But the judge gave the government a ‘suspended sentence’. So, no penalty.
There are so many more stories to tell about this… and fortunately I can laugh about it all now. But at the time, it was beyond stressful.
The best way I can describe it is despair. And this is really the worst emotion you can have. Because when you’re in a state of despair, you’re hopeless. It’s a terrible position to be in.
Life becomes hell because you do not know whether you are going to be able to put food on the table the next day.
And in such a state of despair, you’re not in a position to make good decisions. It’s all about survival.
Of course, we kept thinking, “why didn’t we see this coming? Why didn’t we do something sooner?”
If only we had moved some money out of the country before, or taken steps to safeguard his pension, life would have turned out much differently.
It’s like that old saying– better to be a year (or decade) too early than a day too late. Because one should never underestimate the speed with which things can unravel.
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My advice to you Simon is to hit the slopes & put all your worries behind... No really!
Yeah, Colombia isn't that far away.
"Our government."
LOL, good one Simon.
The reduction targets employees with a range of seniority, from rank-and-file workers to executives, said a person familiar with the company's plans, who asked not to be named because the information is private. Some U.S. employees began to receive notifications of the cuts Tuesday night, according to Lee Conrad, a coordinator for Alliance@IBM, an employee group.
http://newyork.newsday.com/business/ibm-lays-off-hundreds-in-westchester...
You all might want to take a gander at the Nikkei. Down 400 pts.
Timberrrrrrrrrrrrrr
"Please do not worry."
Used to live in the Armonk area subletting my professors house for the year while he went abroad to write another book...loaded with IBM execs, law school professors and plastic surgeons...I must have been the poor one in the neighborhood but they all looked at me as their 'kid' so treated me pretty well with free 7-course dinners and invited me to the neighborhood shindigs...many of them had cooks...oops, I mean "Chefs" so meals were delicious. Hope that area does not deteriorate too badly with all the firings...oops, again, I mean "layoffs." I remember when the the airline industry hit the skids awhile back, the area around DFW turned to doggy-poop.
As Napoleon said, "From the sublime to the ridiculous is but one small step."
good story, but no mention of the AUD? Down about 10% since you said it was becoming a safe haven.
"During a bank run, there are two kinds of people.
The first group is people who run away with cash in their pants. The second group is the people who chase first group.
Having grown up fucking everywhere depending on the story, I never saw ___ until my first winter at West Point/MIT/Saturn at the age of 17/20ish. So I am unfortunately in the latter group. But I do my best to fake it.
This weekend I had my hundreth totally awesome thing happen this season. It's winter/summer time down in Awesomeville, but you wouldn't really know it. The high yesterday was in the low 70s with a warm, sunny, blue sky.
If you're a skier/tiger wrestler (in either group), I highly recommend it....."
the alpaca hunting season is about to commence and they pack a ferocious
tickle
Simon is the neighborhood kid that always got the shit kicked out of him for making shit up. He never learned.
I'd like to know what class at WP he was in, my wife was there, early class of female cadets. She would post his (stolen valor?) info and let everyone lite him up if not true.
DaddyO
He is not in the West Point Register of Graduates DaddyO. I doubt he went there or did any of the other amazing things he claims to have done. And wouldn't writing under an assumed name be kinda dishonest if he actually had gone to Club Hud?
My theory remains that he is noonlighting from his night shift call center job in India.
Further, I assume this narrative is about someone other than Simon as "Simon" spent the entire 2001 Argentine crisis locked down in the call center...
fonz....i started stacking...for real......i found a 1954 quarter today.....i went online......its worth almost 4 bucks....its got SILVER IN IT!!!.........................oh yeah....i got PHYZZZZ BITCHEZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
remember to start slow. You don't want to overdo it at first.
+ 1 to each of you two. An online beautiful friendship unfolding is a wonder to watch. Los Dos Amigos!
I have many lbs. of pre-64 quarters and dimes. All of them "real pocket change" which means there is the possibility of a few being worth something even beyond their significant silver weight. They're not "bulk purchase" silver coins.
When you have a hard time lifting it, you've probably got about half as much as you need.
I am still not a "silver/gold guy." I don't know why I feel the need to keep pointing that out, but I always do on ZH. Stuff keeps piling up in little dribs and drabs here and there. I feel NO need to trade it in for fiat. I keep thinking "I'm gonna trade this stuff in." Years pass. Still it sits.
I keep justifying it based on mere "asset allocation" grounds (I AM one of THOSE guys. That, I freely admit). Yet, I also admit some of the real reasons I keep it are pure fear-based. I mean, look around you. Does this look like it's going to end well? I am rapidly running out of "willing suspension fo disbelief" when it comes to traditional paper-based assets.
Even if we're all wrong and everything turns out fine, would it absolutely kill you to keep a couple grand worth of physical PM somewhere easily accessible to you? Would it irrevocably alter your lifestyle for the worse? Probably not. Put a little in, sleep a little better at night.
They're actually sitting next to each other....with matching laptops.
sorry fonz and kito but fuck that was funny
......with matching laptops and bow ties at applebees
(sorry)
if we don't have funny what have we got?
ross perot?
I LOL'd for realz.
.
It feels almost magical, doesn't it kito? Go ahead, hold it in the light next to a post-1964 quarter. Shiny, huh? It makes the newer quarter look cheap, fraudulent, and forlorn.
Take a look at the edge. Notice anything?
That's right, it's not just a silver veneer, it's silver all the way through. The reeded edge? That's an invention of Sir Isaac Newton, designed to thwart those who would shave off slivers of metal from the coin's edge.
Now look at the edge of the newer quarter. It screams cheapness and fraud. A slab of copper between two sides of grey cupronickel alloy, its reeded edge is merely a remnant from days long past. Nobody shaves metal from the edges of these pretenders, as they are barely above the level of a slug.
You're off to a good start, kito.
dude that was positively encyclopedic, what you learn is in the details, cheers 4th. If you ever need some building tips hopefully i can return the favor one day
coinflation.com is your friend! Metal values of our coins.
my coinage goes directly to the repo market: 3 kids, 1 wife
doesn't stay around long enough to study it
Wait till Kito has a couple dozen in his hand and fumbles them around hearing them clink, and the weight of it... Ah... Real money rocks.
Silver comes out of the ground (metal detecting) more often than not looking like it did the day it went in, even after a 100+ years. Clad crap looks like shit after a couple years, and the 1982 and later zinc pennies literally corrode apart after a short time in ground.
http://home.earthlink.net/~axenolith/2-16-09a.jpg
Now you can change your name to kitco
Or taco
Yea,and in 1954 you could get a gallon of gas and a small soda with it. Oh wait!
That's what is crazy.. it gave me pause to realize that I'm holding the modern day version of the pre-debased roman coin.....I'm really starting to think....I smell smoke.....
exactamundo.....i explained the PM point of view to my 'older' parents (teens in the 50's). i asked them their salaries back then, converted it to oz silver. i asked a few prices, converted those to oz silver. converted those costs to todays number and lo and behold, almost every item has seen deflation....gas is cheaper today, food is cheaper today, entertainment is cheaper today.....but what was more striking is that real wages have deflated even faster....example: my mother was an office clerk in 1958. when you convert her 58 salary into oz of silver and then those oz of silver to 2013 dollars what did you get?? well, since you are all so nice, I will tell you....a little over $100k.....
so, 55 years later, on a real money standard, I only make a little more money than my mother did, and with my education and expertise, I can guarantee you that I am 5x more productive.
Fuck the Fed for robbing us of our productivity gains and of our freedoms. Fuck anyone that believes in the Federal Reservce System and I hope they rot in hell (which I know they will).....
sweet
Thanks. In the fifties, sixties appliances, TVs were expensive. They had to be planned for.
Don't hate the playa- hate the game.
my favorite quote from his website.
" It’s not 1984 anymore."
Otto I'm just having fun. It seems like we are all just waiting around at this point for an asteroid to hit. I just decided to put my walkman on and shoot spit balls while we wait.
my wife is making me clean the toliets while we wait, you're having more fun
Simon, is that you?
Good advice. It happens quick. And there are lots of signs right now that something is up.
It's coming to a theater to you real soon! http://tinyurl.com/lq63ahd
But but but! It can't happen here!! Because freedomz, childrenz and Amerika bitches!!
But most of all... Barack Hussein Obama! Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!
OOHHOOOHOOOH Jamie Dimon! (WAH WAH)
No It can't happen here because we have Technology
Sooooo.....what country do you trust your money in if the US isn't it? And how do you get access to it without the US taxing teh crap out of it?
Storable food, guns and ammo... then PHYSICAL silver and gold... better than any cash or bank account anywhere. If they want to take your stuff, they'll have to physically come to your house to get it.
or send some HAARP tornados your way
i'll just loot the fucking museums, hopefully there will be a van Gogh or Monet exhibit in town. hey it worked for the nazi's.
seriously, i'll probably go to the casino and live off the buffet and catch the nightly shows until it all blows over. those indian reservations got it made.
I have decided (with others) that if I have to spend the rest of my days lugging ammo, manning watch towers, checking if the fences are still electrified, wear camouflage, drill 24/7 --- I'd rather just go on to the next phase. If we don't have neighborhood, friends, good times, a hint of "normalcy" (walking outside your home without bullet proof vests) then what's the use? What kind of society are you fighting for when everyone is a potential soldier and victim? Community is as important (or more important) than all the AK 47s in the Western Hemisphere.
History says these tend to be flare ups.
Rioting in the streets doesn't normally last long. People need to go home at some point. Just ask Korean store owners in LA.
Although, this time the powers that be have screwed things up so bad we could be looking at decades of "unrest". Best be prepared.
Read Dmitri Orlov's work on the observations of the Russian collapse.
A lot of people indeed do "Give up" just because of that realization. Alcohol, Drugs, Suicide etc.
Those who can adjust rapidly to different lifestyles and requirements (adapt) seem to do better. .
Heading off in the morning to sandbag/fortify the beer store. I and my sotted minions will rule the county!
Or they could always turn off the water supply to your house.
They'll have to come to your house to do that. And they'll have to stay there, to prevent you turning it back on.
lolmao500 Good on you. Water, toliet paper, solar panels
#1 canada #2 singapore #3 burma
for all options: make sure there's little or no paper trail
and hopefully you can get gold, silver, cash moved around in packages to your destination(s).
If you left a giant paper trail be ready to be a "criminal" while the actual criminal IRS tries to steal your money all the while taxes are in fact admitted twice under oath to be voluntary:
irs, taxes voluntary: http://youtu.be/I_aQbr6d_Js
The US tax-collectors are less legal and more dangerous than Somali pirates
My wife is a US citizen. Tell me about it. The cool thing is Canada hasn't caved yet like Switzerland, Germany and the UK to name a few. The IRS can't find out shit about what goes on in Canada. And I would hate to tell the US but I don't think we will cave....unless the government here wants to fall.
I hate to tell you this, but Canada is pretty much in thrall to the U.S. govt. The Bank of Canada is run by Goldman Sachs. The Canadian Revenue Agency cooperates regularly with U.S. tax authorities under a tax treaty and reports tax info on US citizens living in Canada to the IRS. Canada has jailed U.S. citizens on the basis of directives from the IRS, merely on the suspicion that said citizens might owe taxes.
+1 I.C.
Bingo. And don't forget the NSA (North Amerikan Surveillance Association).
And do not forget the Common Security Perimeter, behind which all residents of North America will soon be sheltered.
FWIW I'm a US citizen living abroad, who maintains Canadian bank and brokerage accounts; tax data is reported to the IRS as a matter of routine. If you're a US person, I would not suggest Canada as a "secret hiding place" for your money.unless you can snicker in the face of catastrophe when you are found out.
canada is nothing but a weathered bumper sticker on the purple 1985 Aries K car that is the USofNSA
but just as a fun aside the Alberta Health Minister just fired the entire Board of Directors of the Capital Health Authority today for taking a pay raise (after it's been revealed a bunch of them misused their expense account earlier in the year.)
no severance....don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out<LOL
total eclipse of the sun hasn't reached all corners of the globe yet.....it's coming though
I have flown in and out of the USA recently. They are stressing the reporting of carrying more than $10k cash or cash instruments. It struck me as proof that your money is not really yours and how easily the stuff originally touted as fighting the war on drugs (cash reporting) and terrorism (scanning and unannounced searches) can be quickly turned against the average citizen. In essence, with no effort the USA can put a lockdown on person and property with no extra effort similar to this article. Welcome to Amerika!
Look at the IRS, Snowden, AP....it is happening in plain sight.
funny you should mention that.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/taxes/ame...
At work one of the non-sheeple brought this to my attention.
I believe that is a very hard question. It seems all the suggestions have a strong bias towards how everything is like it is now.
The question itself is biased with the assumption that money can be moved at all let alone easily at all some time period down the road. 1 year, 5 years, etc.
I don't think we can foresee it at all well. What happens if there was no money movement between countries officially?
Let me us an analogy. What if I told a resident of the town of Dresden back in (say) '38-ish that they had better move because "This section of the town will reach the daytime high of around 3,000 Degrees Fahrenheit"
How many would have done anything about it?
That's a bit different. If you waited until the Allied bombers could be heard overhead, you might get some credibility. As for us, we've been hearing the Bernanke Air Fleet and the Obama Drone Force for long enough that we have no excuse. If you get caught in this trap, it's either because you're hopelessly in denial or else you're staying to watch over your grandchildren.
In either case, best of luck. I'm taking my pitiful life savings to a more hospitable place before the coming winter, and I won't need to file any FuBAR report, either.
Good Luck IC. Everyone's place is different, different plans, different capabilities, etc.
Farethee well...
Thanks, samsara. You're right; everyone will have different needs and have to make their own contingency plans. We've found a bunch of very warm and helpful people of the Latin persuasion who have accepted us and share whatever they've got, as we likewise do. There are worse places to be than sharing a campfire on the Pacific coast on a winter evening, with fields full of "groceries on the stalk" immediately at hand.
I could have gotten cash out of the country. Better yet, why bother? People were accepting FRN's. Just make sure your holding wealth outside banks.
simons story makes no sense as per you comment. if somebody has their life savings of american dollars stashed away in an argentina bank safety deposit box (bad move--almost as bad as having it in an account), and they manage to pull it out, why would that person look to get it out of the country when american dollars were just about the only thing being accepted at the time????? we are talking about a safety deposit box here, not one of bens helicopters.............
It's easy to criticize from our vantage points because we know how it played out. We are looking at the tale in hindsight, from the perspective of what we view as dumb vs what made sense at the time. Who know? In 20 years someone may think we are stupid for saving PM or storing food or not retaining dollars.
No, if you had the PHYSICAL asset like PMs, food(or the capacity to produce it, ie garden Just like Simon said. and Dmitry Orlov said about Russia's collapse) you could use those to your advantage.
Trying to guess which printed piece of paper to convert to before hand(from Pesos to $USD in Argentina case) will be harder next time.
If $USD had problems or lost the Reserve Currency, (Let's say in 2015.75ish),
What printed piece a paper and from where would you convert to (6 MONTHS ahead of the collapse.)
None. Imagine if the USD does sink and is no longer the world's reserve. Are people gonna go with the yuan? I would bet on a new world currency from the UN with Chinese backing. Can't stock up on something that doesn't exist yet.
That's what the PMs are for... If the 'almighty buck' goes the way of the peso (or worse) you can re-value in whatever the new currency of choice will be.
And in that SHTF situation, Simon Black decides to buy... stocks?!?
Like all other Simon Black fables, this story just doesn't add up, like big parts of it is made up.
kito
you had me at simon makes no sense.....
Black is full of crap as usual.
His story makes no sense, as others above had pointed out. First he's in America, then he's helping his father in Buenos Aries...
I know. If my kid was safely in the US while I was stuck in some shithole, the last think I would let him do is come home.
Don't know if the other ones were there then or not. I was and it was just like Simon said. Their personal desire was to get the wealth out of the country. Simon lived outside the country, He wanted to move the money legally if possible thru some mechanism to the $USD, he chose the stock asset route. Others who had that desire smuggled it over the river.
But as you said Shootist, If you did have FRN's You could just keep them in your mattress and use them when ever you wanted.
My hand was too fat to fit into the Pringles can so I had to have my servant fish them out for me..........
No problem getting your money out the country with bitcoin
too bad there is no one that fucking takes those tokens, because the potential for fraud with those 'things' is rife, and you have zero legal recourse if you get screwed.
and they don't "jingle" in your pocket
And you can't eat them........
but they sure are zippy......
yes, i agree, you should definitely use cash instead, because when you use cash there's plenty of legal recourse if you get screwed.
hmm mine bitcoins... send to http://www.amagimetals.com/ ... get physical..
somehow it seems easier to mine physical this way.. probably about $5 oz in power or whatnot just like they said it would be
but like dumbass jomana barfed out of his mouth, no one takes btc
Except if the Gov't shuts down all internet access and turns your bitcoin login over the IRS so they can pilfer it for you.
You do realize they pwn the internet right?
and if the gov't shuts down the internet you wont have your prepper comments to post on the interwebs anymore.. oh what will u do?
One reason 401k assets are getting tapped and rental RE is holding up. More and more people are waking up and moving to productive assets or anything that might hold some value.
Even if one believes we will never see a Cyprus-like action, every day of printing the dollar with near-zero core growth adds risk to the system.
Maybe printing will ease and tapering begin, but no government in history has been able to resist printing when the time to pay the consequences presents itself. Rather than massive public sector layoffs or significantly cutting social programs, printing will resume.
The political animal never starves itself, and will turn from hunter to scavenger if desperation sets in.
401ks are getting tapped because the populace is flat fucking broke.....................
More like fiat fucking broke.
RE goes to zero in a strong inflation.
Safe deposit box is an oximoron
Speaking of wiping your ass when toilet paper is scarce in Socialist paradises they got an app for that too....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/1011260...
Venezuelans use smartphone app to find toilet paper Thousands of desperate Venezuelans have downloaded a smartphone app which helps them find toilet paper.....See and I always thought the stockpiling of TP was just hyperbole.
i just sent an email to nbc telling them they are insane. when me and my 13 yr old son began discussing the recent news about everything we do is being watched,he began sending me text messages that said obamo sucks bomb obama over and over again i cant blame him much because he did watch me block the last lane on the brooklyn bridge a few yrs ago in order to raise consiounes of occupy wall str. yes i know the dumb ass libriels took that movment over and tried to turn it into a 1960;s event well we all know how that turned out ok so now what do we have ? ocuppy again and fuck the libriels
Do you speak English?
13 yr old son?
people as dumb as you should not be reproducing!
thats so fucking rude. please give me your address and contact number
Slap this person for me, please. Going to such lengths on a public forum to make such a mean statement, designed to strike the heart and soul, and then fleeing the reasoning for why ... because i sure as hell do not know wtf the point is that led to a request to cease continuation of a person's genetic background.
TV programs we select to watch will be used to categorize us. Spending habits. Debt. Medical ICD9 codes. Taxes and penalties. And a mad dog hounding you under the initials of the IRS to collect every cent possible under you are drained completely dry of funds. Because they can. Funding special interests' projects/agendas and protecting their interests is the name of the game. Largestlobbygroupsaretellitall
the truth sometimes is rude.
no thanks on the address info, last thing i need is an angry half-wit showing up at my door.
.
That's no way to speak to your father. It sounds like you need more beatings with a car aerial.
Yeah must be those darn libriels. Only libriels like obamo are for a surveillance state. It's not like Bush et al would ever spy on us.
Dude,
Bush is GONE!!
For about 5 years. Can't you dumb fucks get that shit out from between your ears?
This is Obamas rodeo now.... Just in case your dumbass didn't know it. Most transparent administration. My fucking ass.
Rverand Wright
Bill ayres
TARP
SHOVEL READY JOBS - do you remember that one?!
Fast and Furious
STARTING A WAR IN LIBYA
IRS
BENGHAZI
MOOCHELE AND ALL OF HER PAID SERVANTS - on public dime...of course.
NSA
The list could grow...exponentially, but I don't have the time to list the BS....however, it is essential to reign YOUR ass in.
The year is 2013..... Do you get it yet??!!
OH That is rich. "It's Obama's Rodeo Now".
I guess that assumes that there are actual differences and that either of them are calling the shots. Bush? The Shower-Towel snapping cheerleader? Do you really think that they would "let the kid drive? It wasn't his rodeo anymore that it's Obama's.
Let me see, Who did the CFR pick to shadow Obama? Biden. Who stayed on in the financial area? Benny, Timmy came over from the NYFed, Summers. REAL CHANGE in leadership.
They are all have been compromised. As Snowden outlined, every person coming up the ranks has a "file" on them. The only reason anyone is LET to rise to that level of politics they're compromised. (ie see Ron Paul).
The real control, The money, the legislation, the courts remain the same.
"It's Obama's Rodeo Now". Thanks that was a good one.
That cannot happen here in the US.....Can it? Right? Hmmmm!
http://valuebin.wordpress.com/
This is going to get very MESSI
That's what she said.
While the US is not Argentina, the fall in the markets is going to hurt.
The S&P500 did something it hasn't done in almost SEVEN MONTHS. It CLOSED BELOW channel support.
http://bullandbearmash.com/chart/sp500-falls-13-points-closes-channel-su...
While this may not be earth shattering, tops turn slowly before they collapse or so says our "rhyming history".
Canada, really? Save to keep your USD in a Canadian bank? IRS can't break in?
Singapore might be the best place to have an account and keep USD in it. Hong Kong I don't think so... China could close down the banks and take the accounts in an instant. One could keep their USD in Singapore and just do bankwires back into the USA to escrow or whatever for investments and money making deals. Everytime the money comes out of an investment or transaction... it goes right back to Singapore. I would think that Singapore govmt would tell the IRS to pack sand if they ever tried to break into or freeze your account. Also if USD went down you'd be in a good position to quickly switch into Singapore dollars. Just thinking out loud.
Any thoughts on this? Anyone have any experience with this?
Caymans man, that's where you keep your stuff. there is a reason why so many banks are there along with hedge funds and billionaires.
i love that f'n island.
I post this video here occasionally. It all looks swell, until it goes to Hell.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKOYObwBZLc
What Simon says this time is completely true.
I was there on business 6 months later. A company business associate/friend llived and was from there. He only drove in to pick us up from our hotel(4 stars for dirt cheap prices in $USD) only one day that week. Said he didn't risk driving the new Suv anymore than that. Car Jackings were common then. The police wouldn't even blink. saying that it was the victim's fault for driving a new car around. You were asking for it.
Everybody owned and drove junks (if they had a good car it stayed parked in their garage).
Banks had corregated steel over all the windows because of protesters. It didn't matter if you had a million pesos in the bank You could only draw out something like 1000 pesos a month.
The flea markets in BA were great. Hand made alpaca sweaters for $10 , Bought my wife a full leather coat(value 300) for $75. Casmere sweaters $25. Did all my xmas shopping 6 mos early.
But for the people living there it was horrible. My friend drove us to other sections of town, It was an experience. Miltary personal with M16 and such asking for papers ....
As Simon says, PLAN AHEAD. Where are your assets PHYSICALLY located. As he explained, Just because you have a key to a box or a piece of paper, doesn't mean it will be accessible or movable
. Just ask Cyprus.
Simon has good points and interesting takes on things- but a lot of the jealous haters on here have a real hard on for the guy. If he wrote lame shit about his fucking free-range chickens and freshly picked lima beans they would all be falling over one another to blow him.
otto
you made me blush
Notice my first sentence. You read articles and always validate the facts, and weigh the personal conclusions of the writer. If it weighs nothing throw it away.
You know, sometimes I wonder if some of these guys are (his) ex-Mil-Intel buddies, who did not make it big (tens of millions) like he did. Plus you know that at least some of the Gov trolls are paid to be dissing him. I do know that he pulled more than one of his former buddies up with him, so there gotta be a few sour grapes/enemies out there. They'd all deny it, of course. Pride. I get it that.
Maybe Simon's flashy and worldly lifestyle isn't everybody's thing -- it was my thing when I was his age (32-36), but not any more -- and maybe he just needs more 'maturing'. I suspect that in about 5 years he might get tired of his current pace also. And in 25-30 years he'll be so tired of the world's BS that he'll be cranky like me or like his peer, Doug Casey.
Also, let's think in term of Demographics... Obviously he won't appeal to, nor is targeting the (vocal) meat & potato & beer crowd. I can tell you from the Chile workshop attendance back in April, that this was a wine or champagne crowd, not a beer-salary crowd. I get the distinct impression that at least some of the vocal opinions fall in the beer-salary group. In which case, why bother getting all worked up?
I kind of cherry-pick on his info and advice, i.e. treat it like a buffet -- which, I think, is what is intended: "Something for everybody within certain parameters".
Hope this helps.
p.s. I was intrigued at the huge billboard ads in Chile (not just Santiago). If I didn't know better, you'd think you were targeting people in Wisconsin or Switzerland. ;-) And I don't know of a single attendee who was not very impressed by the city. Far more European than Mexican in flavor. That surprised me.
Canadian banks won't release customer information to governments? Is that actually true?
nobody cares about canada
even canadians LOL
I know I have their passport
WTF
Fuck you, asshole.
At least Canada gave us the Red Greene Show, hockey, back bacon, Crown Royal, Chevy Chase, Rush, B.C.Bud, and stunningly beautiful women with real tits - no plastic fantastic.
Give your head a shake, eh ?
Silver G spot
come down off the ledge bro! it was a joke......i've put 33 solid in the fucking frozen tundra, no heated garage for 45 years. I know ALL about canada and have the missing teeth from pucks to prove it. the only time canadians stand up is when the fight is for real.......ths ain't one of them so sit the fuck down
Was a reply to the Dark Pools Of Sore-ass. How the fuck did you get in here ?
Canadian dictionary of relevant words in broken Franco - English : Tree, Turd, mow - zee - crist, patat - frit, cross cut saw, mange le merde.
Tundra is for pussies. Muskeg is where the men work. Cover up that vagina of yours, you fake Canadian. Fight's for real now.
Heh heh heh , 'eh ?
Canada is, to quote Doug Casey, "USA light". Free-er, like the US was 20 years ago. If that's good enough for you, great. Else think of having an additional place - Plan C. And a Plan D, if you're paranoid (or need to be) and rich.
And think of big Canadian towns and cities like being similar to the ones in the US, but without the guns and slums. Cleaner, safer. Canadian cities tend to have ethnic areas (Little Italy, Chinatown, Greektown, etc.) but it's all cool. I recall my Toronto friends saying that the city didn't have real drugs or crime till the Jamaicans came in the 1980s. Hearsay yes, but from good sources.
As for guns & ammo: You CAN have both, but you'll have to go through some hoops: Solid background check and safety classes before you get a Permission (from the provincial police) to buy a firearm. This will likely take some weeks, if not months. They also do psycho-profiling, to weed out the nut jobs. Not many places to the G+A. I know of one guy who decided to become a part-time gun dealer, with his shop in his modified basement. Mostly word-of-mouth referrals. A former Canadian colleague belonged to the local Hunters & Angles club, which sounded like fun.
Need to research and find what bank in what country is best place to keep my USD. It may very well be Singapore. Will stay in USD as that will be the last currency to go down the toilet.
cautionary tale indeed..."they don't call it a New York Minute for nothing." i would argue "it is when others panic that opportunities arise" very strongly as "the USA is not Argentina." I also think the USA is too big run "like Argentina" as well....which has a long history of a Police State, being run by Generals and very weak institutions as it relates to civil liberties. The only nation similar to the USA in the Western Hemisphere is obviously Brazil which has a VERY diverse population, a massive interior (which is being developed)..and of course beautiful women (which is code for a strong bias towards media "activities.") can everything change in a New York Minute? I remember the 70's well even though i was just a kid...bottom line...this isn't the 70's...YET. I am watching Japan very closely for clues about "how to handle a debt load in excess of 300 percent of GDP" as obviously that has been the "growth trajectory" for USA debt for some time now.
the 70's was cool.. none of this hypemedia to get everyone all feared up
just some welcome back kotter and sanford and son
Gold, silver, copper, brass, lead, and food. The five investment food groups.
nice counting ace
happy to see with everything going to shit, that folks still have a sense of humor
I didn't finish grade school - what's your excuse for a lack pf punctuation and caps ?
SOROS ASSICUS MAXIMUS RECTUMOSA TO YOU TOO.
The last thing I want to be called is a prepper... but the thousands of indefinite-shelf-life cans of sardines, beans, fruit, and vegetables, along with the many vacuum-packed bricks of dry rice and dry potato flakes that I have stashed away may come in handy some day.
"No problem getting your money out the country with bitcoin"
-17 votes that says it all!
Bitcoin is so hard to use you need a double degree in Linux hacking and online banking privacy.
don't forget the wizard hat and decoder ring
I have a friend who went thru the Argentine debacle. Only he was on his honeymoon in Asia when it all went south. It was a very ugly time for them and for Uruguay, which also saw a great run on their banks by Argentines desperate for cash they had stashed in Uruguay once the banks closed back home.
Farmers were trading 'grain credits' to buy necessary merchandise for over a year.
Bargains could be had from the desperate by those who had USD's at the time. But who wanted to gamble on such a crazy government?
Flash forward to today and the black market exchange rate in Argentina is roughly twice the official rate for USD's. Somehow life goes on there under raging inflation of 25% plus, while the govt claims less than half that rate.
Only this time around there are no real bargains other than a vacation in Buenos Aires has become much cheaper. Why no deals now? Because people learned last time and this time it has been a continuous inflation v. a massive one off devaluation. So now if you own real estate you keep it. Same for your car. And anything else.
History does not always repeat, but it does rhyme.
Just this past week Volcker and Greenspan came out warning against potential future inflation. The words were 'couched' but said nonetheless. Eventually al this money printing will get out in the wild. This is what the Fed and govt actually want. A few years of high (not hyper) inflation in the double digits will solve many bank and govt balance sheet problems.
If they get their secret wish, you will want to own commodities, farmland, rental homes, or anything that will move up in price with inflation. FRN's will be what you want to own last.
Simon is right to be geographically diversified, but he missed the boat on assets v. inflation. Those who could weather the storm in Argentina did just fine if they held their land, diamonds, etc.
In the end it is important to have cash. But it is more important to have 'real wealth' in physical things that preferably have an inflation protected return. Because when it really hits, 'cash is trash' will be absolutely correct.
Govts in South America collapse, that's what they do. They're used to it. They never learn from the previous despots. They always figure the new improved despot robin hood will take from the rich and give to the poor and it will work, but then there are only the poor and the despot because the rich flee or are killed. Talked to a man who owned a restaurant in Caracas pre-Chavez and post-chavez. Before Chavez he had 100 plus customers a day at the Caracas Airport. Post-Chavez, his goons came in and said pay us 250k to stay by the end of the month or leave. So he left for the states knowing full well they would only extort more and more money from him over time. Chavez died with a couple billion in the bank. From where did he make all that money, a man of the people?
Let me add some ideas to what is true wealth. In desparate times the problem is your currency becomes worthless. You can't buy food, you can't buy gas to put in your car, they turn off the electricity. Well become self sufficient then. Take some of your cash today and buy some solar panels. When you do that you wipe out your electric bill. Cash no longer needed to pay the electric company. Take it a step farther. Buy an electric car and cash will no longer be needed to pay for gasoline. Solar panels and electric vehicles represent real wealth, the kind that cannot be inflated away by the monetary authorities.
"rowboats full of cash to neighboring Uruguay"
Reminds me of that boating accident I had a few weeks back.
Do you remember our government was saying something about raising retirement age for Americans? Well chances are high that consequences of this might be really disturbing. It is obvious now that young people do not have much of a choice when choosing a place of work because first of all not too many are hiring at all. Second of all, the jobs they find are pretty substandard which makes it difficult to pay off student loans or simply lead a normal life. So what are the perspectives to be exact? I do not see any. This is what crisis looks like to me and to my family. And still I am looking for overnight changes for us!
Melody from paydayloan website in Newfoundland and Labrador Province
I ain't worried.
I got a face-mask, flippers, snorkel and two monster boxes.
See you in Uruguay.
American's have yet to experience a "new york Minute". Even the 9/11 attack did not bring the economy down, but we did come close in the 70's with the Arab Oil Embargo which forced us into gasoline lines (thankfully I was not yet driving, but nearing that age so I was keenly aware of it).
It's that perceived "lack" of something that grates on a person. Lack of gasoline, lack of a job, lack of food, lack of clean water and believe it or not, lack of feminine hygine products. (just ask your wife/girlfriend). But too many people will panic with a lack of latte, lack of internet, lack of satelite or cable tv. My son last night complained that his grandmothers house was "too hot" that she wasn't running the a/c. I had to remind him that not everyone had or used A/c and that it was a relatively "new" invention and he would just have to deal with it.
This next generation, wedded to it's insta-texting and smart phones and I-whatevers is going to be the first to look like survivors of an aerial attack, walking zombies because nothing works anymore. They won't even think about food or drink until they start to drop from hunger or thirst and then they will still obsess over thier missing 'pad.
Stack 'em high, stack 'em all and stand up for you and yours
Collapse is imminent; at least that is what Dimitry Orlov argues in his recently released book, The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivor's Toolkit. Put his argument next to Joseph Tainter's The Collapse of Complex Societies, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth, and Meadows et al's Limits to Growth (and many others) and it seems just a matter of time before the worst scenarios appear on our doorsteps. But, which snowflake will begin the avalanche? The economy? Resource depletion? Ecological devastation (i.e. overshoot and collapse)? Geopolitics? Or, some black swan event not on anyone's radar?
Or, as I try to imply in a novel I penned (Olduvai - based on Richard Duncan's Olduvai Theory that argues failure of the electrical grid may be the ultimate tipping point), a coalescence of them all.
Grab a beer, sit back, and try to enjoy the show everyone; it's sure to be one helluva entertaining slide...