Zenconomics

Awareness Rising

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Awareness Rising

September 25, 2015
Emerald Isle, NC

The S&P closed out Thursday at $1,932. Gold closed at $1,153 per ounce. Oil closed at $44.91 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.14%. Bitcoin is trading around $236 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Little Maddie took her first unassisted steps this week. Your editor was quietly observing from the glider as she crawled around the back deck, carefully inspecting each nook and cranny in the wood. Suddenly, without warning, her little head popped up and she looked directly at me. There was a strange twinkle in her eyes that I had not seen before. It was almost as though she had just experienced a moment of infinite intelligence, but before I could reckon on it she stood up completely unassisted for the first time and took two steps before easing to her knees. She popped right back up and took three more steps before easing back down to her knees again. Then she looked up at me and laughed hysterically.

I had never before experienced the feeling of unbridled joy that overcame me in that moment.

Later, with Madison calmly napping, I had time to internalize the moment and bask in the joy. As I watched my little angel sleeping peacefully, a strange thought came to me.

If you are going to have highs, know you will also have lows. There are no ordinary moments.

I decided then to cherish every single moment with my little girl. Even when she wants me to read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See to her for the thirteenth time. Even when she is screaming at me from the car seat because she is tired of being couped up. I will cherish it all.

Though I vow to cherish each moment of little Madison’s childhood, I am filled with hope and optimism for her future. I marvel at the opportunities that lay in front of her, and the rest of her generation. Generation Next is the first generation in centuries to arrive on this planet precisely as technological advancement is coalescing with a rising Awareness of human potential. Continue reading “Awareness Rising”

Becoming Antifragile

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Becoming Antifragile

September 16, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Tuesday at $1,970. Gold closed at $1,102 per ounce. Oil closed at $44.59 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.18%. Bitcoin is trading around $227 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Wife Rachel cornered me the other day: “I saw what you did in your newest post!”, she said in an accusatory tone.

“Whatever do you mean, honey?”, I asked innocently.

“You talked about Madison buying me a walker when I am old!”

I couldn’t contain my laughter. It’s the little things that I find most amusing.

Last week I delved into global finance and speculated that a currency crisis in the U.S. was on the horizon. It is just unreasonable to create trillions of dollars from thin air on a regular basis and expect the world to accept those dollars ad infinitum. I observed that government has no intention of ceasing its monetary escapades, thus currency ruin is inevitable. Continue reading “Becoming Antifragile”

Why the U.S. Faces a Currency Crisis

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Why the U.S. Faces a Currency Crisis

September 11, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Thursday at $1,952. Gold closed at $1,109 per ounce. Oil closed at $45.92 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.22%. Bitcoin is trading around $239 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Little Maddie is now on the verge of becoming a toddler. She has mastered the art of the crawl and the leveraged stand-up. Walking is the next frontier, and she knows it. To aid Madison in her quest, wife Rachel bought her a plastic toy that doubles as an obnoxious farm animal noise making machine and a child’s walker. Somewhat to my surprise, Madison instantly knew what to do – she pulled herself up on the handles and walked six steps using the contraption to achieve balance.

It was an exciting moment for a first-time dad, but the philosopher’s mind has a tendency to wander and I couldn’t help but envision the future. What happens when, in fifty years perhaps, little Madison buys her mother a walker? Will Rachel instantly understand the intricacies of its function as her daughter once did fifty years prior? Time shall tell.

Moving on to the wonderful world of finance and economics… all of the focus is currently on the Federal Reserve. Having beaten interest rates down to zero and left them for dead for six years in an effort to prevent the market economy from liquidating the cronies, the Fed has recently been talking tough about raising rates. Some say the Fed will follow-through and raise rates next week. Others say by the end of the year. Still others say they can’t raise rates without torpedoing the debt markets. My suspicion is that the economy has become so dependent upon low interest rates that any interest rate hike would be minuscule and nothing but an effort to save face. Continue reading “Why the U.S. Faces a Currency Crisis”

Finance and Business News They Aren’t Talking About – Stock Market Volatility is Just the Beginning

The Individual is Rising: 2nd Edition

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Individual is Rising: 2nd Edition

September 4, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Thursday at $1,946. Gold closed at $1,124 per ounce. Oil closed up at $46.75 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.19%. Bitcoin is trading around $230 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Wife Rachel took it upon herself to berate me for my past few journal entries. She said they were too gloomy. She also berated me for failing to provide any light-hearted family updates. As any good husband would, I flipped the selective hearing switch on and pretended not to hear her.

After a couple years of marriage I have learned that there are times to trust her judgment and times to ignore it. Choosing what to order from a restaurant is a good time to discount her judgment, for example. Despite my unwelcomed reminders, she has a tendency to order a meal completely unrelated to the theme of the restaurant. I am quite sure the chef is shaking his head when her order comes in. “Hamburger and french fries, are you kidding me? This is an authentic Italian joint!”, he exclaims in the kitchen. I just chuckle to myself: At least she ordered a glass of Chianti.

Relating to and connecting with other people is her forte, however, so despite outward appearances I listen carefully when she advises me on such matters. Her emotional intelligence never ceases to amaze me. Maybe it’s just a woman thing, but I suspect years of studying finance and economics hasn’t help improve my own EI much, either. So if Rachel says I should incorporate more light-hearted matters into my writing then I feel compelled to talk about her poor menu choices. Thanks honey!

Moving on to another fun topic; I launched the second edition of The Individual is Rising this week. The Kindle format will be free on Amazon all day today, and then will be discounted at $2.99 all next week. Continue reading “The Individual is Rising: 2nd Edition”

The Great Opportunity for Free Markets

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Great Opportunity

August 26, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Tuesday at $1,873. Gold closed at $1,138 per ounce. Oil closed out at $39.31 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.00%. Bitcoin is trading around $229 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

My last entry suggested that the centralized nation-state model looks to have peaked in the 20th century. I speculated that troubling macroeconomic trends related to government interventions will lead to a “Great Reset” sooner or later – probably sooner – as these massive nation-states are forced to ramp up the printing presses in attempts to service all of their debt and unfunded liabilities.

Today I would like to point out that we are approaching a crossroads and there is a tremendous opportunity for the growth of free markets and prosperity if we can shed the 20th century paradigm of centralization. A great golden age for civilization is staring us right in the face, but few have noticed. Why? Because we have placed too much emphasis on politicians, presidents, elections, and democracy and too little emphasis on individual self-empowerment.

For starters, consider the following advancements: indoor plumbing and electricity, refrigeration, cooking appliances, heating & air systems, local and long-distance transportation, local and long-distance communication, and access to information. Each of these items were non-existent, scarce, or unreliable just one hundred short years ago. Additionally, roughly 40% of the U.S. population was involved in agriculture in the year 1900 in order to produce enough food to meet demand. Today that number is around 2% and food is more available than ever. Fresh fruits and vegetables are available at the grocery store year-round. Also, thanks to technological development, oil and gas are now more abundant and cheaper than ever. This has reduced the costs of production and distribution significantly, and it has created competition for the oil cartels and monopolies that have had a strangle-hold on the industry for decades. Continue reading “The Great Opportunity for Free Markets”

The Nation Is Not the State

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
The Nation Is Not the State

August 11, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Monday at $2,104. Gold closed at $1,104 per ounce. Oil closed out just under $46 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.24%. Bitcoin is trading around $267 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

Last week I suggested that the growth of the nation-state in the 20th century brought forth the rise of collectivism. I speculated that we may have reached peak collectivism and thus inferred the nation-state model may be ripe for decline, however. Today I will point out the troubling macroeconomic trends once again in support of this speculation.

The democratic nation-state model has grown so massive largely because the political class has bribed people with half-baked social insurance (welfare) programs across the board. This has led to a massive accumulation of debt throughout the entire western world. Simultaneously, the demographics of many western nation-states is such that there are more aged people drawing from pensions and national social insurance programs than there are younger workers to pay for them. This dynamic has resulted in an absolutely gargantuan accrual of unfunded liabilities.

What this means is most governments in the western world are already bankrupt. Many people remain unaware of this fact because governments have kicked the can down the road by manipulating interest rates ever lower (negative in places!) and creating huge amounts of national currency out of thin air via the central bank mechanism. More and more people are slowly waking up to reality, however, and this is leading to a loss of trust in the nation-state model. Continue reading “The Nation Is Not the State”

Peak Collectivism

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Peak Collectivism

August 7, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Thursday at $2,079. Gold closed at $1,090 per ounce. Oil checked out just above $45 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.27%. Bitcoin is trading around $281 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

The Musings of a Wayward Philosopher launch has gone fairly well this week. The ebook is currently ranked #1 in Economics>Commerce and #1 in Education&Reference in Amazon’s Kindle store. The paperback ranked as high as #50 in Economics>Commerce but has faded back a bit since. I noticed a big spike in interest while it was ranked top-50. This trial-and-error learning process has been exciting!

What’s even more exciting is the fact that this wasn’t even possible just twenty short years ago. The gatekeepers have fallen!

The publishing arena was heavily guarded prior to the rise of the internet. The only way to publish a book and get it circulating beyond your immediate network was to work with a large publishing company. This meant that your book had to conform to their ideas, requirements, and biases. The dynamic was the exact same in the broadcast media realm. Apart from local newspapers you were only going to get “news” that had been sifted through a major media company’s filter. Continue reading “Peak Collectivism”

Musings of a Wayward Philosopher

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
Musings of a Wayward Philosopher

August 4, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Monday at $2,091. Gold closed at $1,089 per ounce. Oil checked out just under $46 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.21%. Bitcoin is trading around $278 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

We launched the inaugural volume of Musings of a Wayward Philosopher yesterday with relative success. The ebook is currently ranked #1 in Economics>Commerce and #3 in Education&Reference in Amazon’s Kindle store. The paperback is ranked #127 in Economics>Commerce after day 1.

I am slowly learning how to market online, and I must say it is extremely uncomfortable. I started day one of the book campaign off by running a Facebook Ad. I stopped using Facebook personally more than three years ago once I learned that their entire business model was to take your personal information and sell it to the highest bidder. Then I learned they may or may not be handing your personal information over to the Feds for free also. Needless to say, I don’t care much for Facebook and yesterday I paid them to run an ad for me. I’m not too proud about that, but I can’t dispute the fact that it is a medium for reaching a lot of people. Facebook told 7,688 people about my book for me. They may also tell the good folks in our intelligence agencies about my book at the end of this month, I’m not sure. I suppose they are welcome to pick up a copy also.

After setting up the Ad, I spent the better part of yesterday submitting my book to a multitude of online directories geared towards independent authors. I paid a handful of them a few bucks for a guaranteed spot on their feature list. Though tedious, I didn’t mind this method of marketing as much. These directories have built a following of people interested in self-published books and they promise to tell their following about your book for a small fee. That’s a win-win. Continue reading “Musings of a Wayward Philosopher”

On Allopathic Medicine and Universal Health Care

submitted by jwithrow.

Journal of a Wayward Philosopher
On Allopathic Medicine and Universal Health Care

July 22, 2015
Hot Springs, VA

The S&P closed out Tuesday at $2,114. Gold closed at $1,103 per ounce. Oil checked out just under $51 per barrel, and the 10-year Treasury rate closed at 2.37%. Bitcoin is trading around $278 per BTC today.

Dear Journal,

The big news in the markets this week is gold’s staggering fall. The reason: nearly 5 Tonnes of gold was unloaded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange within a two minute window during the Asian trading session on Monday. This activity represented nearly 20% of the average daily trading volume in gold on the Shanghai Exchange – all within a two minute window. Nearly simultaneously, 7,600 contracts of the August 15 gold contract sold off on the COMEX within a two minute window as well. Somebody knows something. Nevertheless, this pullback looks like a great buying opportunity to me.

Las week we examined ways to disintermediate the State and I suggested holistic wellness as a means of distancing yourself from the corruption and cronyism that manifests in the relationship between allopathic medicine and its lobbies, big pharmaceutical corporations and their lobbies, big health insurance corporations and their lobbies, and the federal government and its regulatory agencies. You could potentially throw Wall Street and the big agriculture corporations into this mix as well for the roles they play in perpetuating the sickness paradigm.

Here’s how it works in a simplified nutshell: the allopathic medical establishment (AMA) preaches a hyper-interventionist mentality that focuses on prescribing drugs for every illness – real or imagined. Big-Pharma provides the drugs and constantly develops new drugs for the temporary treatment of symptoms. Big-Insurance sets the reimbursement figures for each drug and each treatment thus incentivizing certain practices. All three fund massive lobbies that exert influence upon the FDA and other State-regulatory agencies which in turn protect the established interests from competition and law suits. For their part, Big-Agra manufactures a huge variety of unhealthy food products that help keep people sick which leads to more doctor visits and more drugs. Wall Street keeps the pressure on Big-Pharma and Big-Agra to grow revenues which incentivizes marginal innovations and aggressive marketing campaigns. This system does not seek to improve health, it seeks only to treat sickness symptoms over and over again. Continue reading “On Allopathic Medicine and Universal Health Care”