The Silver Bear Cafe

Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered. I think men will have time to discover them. It is significant that the dying collectivist philosophy of today has produced nothing but a cult of depravity, impotence and despair. Look at modern art and literature with their image of man as a helpless, mindless creature doomed to failure, frustration and destruction. This may be the collectivists' psychological confession, but it is not an image of man. If it were, we would never have risen from the cave. But we did. Look around you and look at history. You will see the achievements of man's mind. You will see man's unlimited potentiality for greatness, and the faculty that makes it possible. You will see that man is not a helpless monster by nature, but he becomes one when he discards that faculty: his mind. And if you ask me, what is greatness? -- I will answer, it is the capacity to live by the three fundamental values of John Galt: reason, purpose, self esteem. MORE>>

At some point the supporters of the US dollar are going to cut the cord, and we are swinging over hell on a spider web, blissfully unaware for most people. I also believe that whether it's hyper inflation or deflation, there will be some genesis point event, similar to the Asian currency crisis, only this time there will be a lot of parties with very itchy trigger fingers, and probably most of them related to computer decision systems. And such an event involving the US dollar would make the Asian crisis small rice indeed. In a real crisis there is no such thing as a circuit breaker. MORE>>

If you are like 99% of the people reading this letter, you have never heard of the term "Peak Oil". I had not heard the term until a few months ago. Since learning about Peak Oil, I have had my world view, and basic assumptions about my own individual future turned completely upside down.

Peak Oil has caused me to seriously question how realistic this vision of my life is.
Whether you're 25 or 75, an attorney or an auto mechanic, what you are about to read will shake the foundations of your life. MORE>>

If you believe as I do that our currency is being debased, our deficits are not shrinking, and only we are to blame for the problems, then you need to adjust your financial plan. You must be able to invest in ideas that outpace the loss of your purchasing power -- not the 1 percent annual CPI increase that we are all told to believe but the 40 percent increase in fuel costs (in dollar terms), the 11.2 percent annual increase in health insurance premiums, the 10 percent annual increase in college tuition, and the constant increases in those luxuries that we need, like auto insurance, home insurance, property tax payments, etc. MORE>>

Most of us are aware of the extreme inflation that paper money experienced in the German Weimar republic in the 1920's. Many of us have also heard of the paper money collapse in Eighteenth century France under John Law. We are also aware of rampant inflation and fiscal crises in various third world countries from time to time.

You have probably also heard that the Chinese were the first to use paper currency. What was not clear to me was whether the Chinese experience with paper money had been a good one (it varied), and if they had also experienced paper money collapses (more than once). Since I am interested in any information which might help direct my own investments, I wondered whether there are clear historical parallels and lessons to be learned from the Chinese experience with paper money (yes and no). In particular, is the US dollar likely to collapse and what signs should we look for? MORE>>

09.30.04- Deficits-R-Us....Rahemtulla

08.25.04- A Primer on Government Economic Reports....Williams

08.24.04- The 9-11 Commission Charade....Paul

08.24.04- Lumber price goes through the roof....Greenwood

08.14.04- The Coming Bond Debacle....Hoy

08.10.04- The Population Control Agenda....Monteith

08.04.04- The Case for Investing in Water Industry Stocks....Dickerson

08.04.04- The US Prepares for War in the Cities....Smith

08.03.04- The Endgame For Mutual Funds....Mauldin

07.28.04- Socialism is evil....Williams

07.23.04- Even-Beware....Stott

07.15.04- Assignats....Stott

07.05.04- Got A Mortgage?....Stott

06.28.04- Being uncertain is uncomfortable, but being certain is ridiculous....Johnny Silver Bear

06.21.04- Nostalgia isn't what it used to be....Johnny Silver Bear

06.18.04- Do not trust in paper assets as a storehouse of value....Carabini

06.14.04- There's too much youth; how about a fountain of smart....Johnny Silver Bear

06.08.04- Chain of Events....Stott

06.08.04- A Horse of a Different Color....Lerner

06.07.04- Is there another word for synonym?....Johnny Silver Bear

06.06.04- A Murky Look at the DOW....Palha and Lunt

05.31.04- Moderation is a good thing, just don't overdo it....Johnny Silver Bear

05.28.04- Pundits, heal thyselves!....Mercer

05.28.04- The Story of Two Buses...North

05.24.04- If you find yourself in a hole... quit digging....Johnny Silver Bear

05.17.04- Bill Coming Due....Tharp

05.17.04- Delusions of Adequacy....Johnny Silver Bear

05.09.04- We may be lost, but we're making good time...Johnny Silver Bear

05.06.04- Mexican stand-off....Laird

05.04.04- If a Frog had Wings...Johnny Silver Bear

05.01.04- Are water rights getting watered down?....Moseley

04.26.04- You can lead a horse to water....Johnny Silver Bear

04.24.04- Dollars to Dimes....Mackenzie

04.20.04- Secular Bear Market Will Resume with a Vengence....Comstock Partners

04.19.04- A fool and his money....Johnny Silver Bear

04.17.04- How Will It Come Down?....Stott

04.16.04- A Day Late and A Dollar Short....Paulos & Palha

04.12.04- The Economic Safety Net (a parable)....Beard

04.09.04- China Marts, a second look....Stott

04.07.04- There Goes the Neighborhood....Wallace-Wells

04.05.04- Food for Thought....Johnny Silver Bear

03.30.04- Be braced for a bust as bubbles look set to burst....Faber

03.26.04- When the Housing Bubble Pops....Stott

03.22.04- Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon....Savinar

03.20.04- A Letter from the Future....Heinberg

03.19.04- Illusions....Stott

03.15.04- Ver are your Papers?....Stott

03.14.04- Natural resources shine....Wall

03.12.04- No water, no air, no Starbucks, no nothing!....The Mogambo Guru

03.10.04- The Worst of Both Worlds!....Orlandini

03.09.04- U.S. housing bubble poised for a bust....Moritsugu

03.04.04- Punish Savers and Rob the Retired....Benson

03.02.04- USA Out of Business....Smith

03.01.04- The "Real" Value of a Dollar....Hathaway

02.27.04- China....Lee

02.26.04- Government as the Enemy....Bauman

02.22.04- Power Trip....Sinclair

02.18.04- Hurricane Alan....Dr. Dinero

02.17.04- The Day the Internet Died....Lechner

02.15.04- A Short Primer on Cycles in the Current Market....Chapman

02.14.04- Survival is a Long Term Plan....Kippes

02.10.04- Globalization Dissected....Price

02.09.04- Little Green Lies....North

02.07.04- The Writing on the Wall....The Mogambo Guru

02.01.04- No Place to Hide....Sjuggerud

01.30.04- What Time Is It Mr. Bear?....Gale

01.23.04- The Dollar Tanks....Stott

01.22.04- Contrarian Roundtable....Bullock, Sanders, Paulos, Noble, Palha, Lunt, Fekete

01.20.04- Treasury Reneges On 30 Year Bond Holders....Henry

01.20.04- Permanent Intervention....Willie

01.09.04- Leaks in The Real Estate Bubble!....Kettell

01.07.04- Ten Things Your Real Estate Broker Won't Tell You....Kaplan

01.06.04- Dr Faber's views on 2004....Faber

01.02.04- Why Prices Go Up....Stott

12.25.03- House Prices in a Post-Fiat World....Sanborn

12.20.03- Special Effects....Stott

12.19.03- Still Crazy After All These Years....Sinclair

12.15.03- Economic Meltdown, Secessionist Crackup?....Hultberg

12.10.03- Monty Guild Looks Ahead to 2004....Guild

12.09.03- Dollar's dramatic decline comes out of your wallet....Fleckenstein

12.09.03- The Ant Farm....Stott

12.08.03- Don't trust your computer....Day

12.08.03- The Madness of King George....Bonner

12.05.03- US Dollar Implosion - Part II....Field

12.01.03- Let the revolution begin....Myers

12.01.03- The 22 Rules of Trading....Gartman

11.25.03- Buying, Holding and Selling Mutual Funds....Gordon

11.24.03- Inflation: The Great Financial Pox....Tyler

11.20.03- How to Police Your Fund....Ferris

11.17.03- Global Events Indicate That Commodities Will Be Rising For Years To Come....Guild

11.15.03- Hard assets are precious assets....Calandra

11.14.03- I'm not saying it is time to run for the hills, but.......The Mogambo Guru

11.11.03- Will rising interest rates unravel all of the gains of the recent housing boom?....Max

11.05.03- Deep in Debt, Caught in a Net....Sennholz

11.02.03- Templeton Trepidations, Buffett Battle Stations....Fox

10.31.03- Six Reasons to Invest Offshore...Nestmann

10.27.03- Snow Job....Krugman

10.24.03- The Price You Really Pay For Stocks & Options....Finger

10.23.03- Market prophet is battening the hatches....Markman

10.20.03- The New"Sons of Liberty"....Hultberg

10.17.03- The picture that does not tell the story....Korelin

10.17.03- Templeton feeling bearish....Braga

10.15.03- Saving Gold to Save America? ....Wallenwein

10.15.03- Hard money....The Economist

10.14.03- Poor House, Part 2....Bonner

10.09.03- The Coming Currency Devaluation....Droke

10.07.03- Paying Dearly for Free Prescription Drugs....Paul

10.06.03- The Chasm....Griffin

10.04.03- Poor House, Part 1....Bonner

10.03.03- Two things...Own gold, and a big gun....The Mogambo Guru

10.02.03- Power Corrupts....Bloom

09.30.03- Potential Catalyst - Real Estate....Comstock Partners

09.24.03- We cannot speculate our way to prosperity....Fleckenstein

09.22.03- Goodbye Dubai, Hello Folly....Sinclair

09.15.03- Neo-Conned....Paul

09.12.03- The Only Safe Place To Put Money....The Mogambo Guru

09.10.03- Thinking the Unthinkable....Gordon

09.08.03- Paper Money and Tyranny....Paul

09.05.03- What, WE Worry?....Gross

09.04.03- Storm Warning...Nyquist

09.03.03- Apocalypse this way comes....Hultberg

09.02.03- Running on Empty....Sinclair

08.28.03- The Clueless Dimwit Chronicles....The Mogambo Guru

08.27.03- Look out for the Fall....Benson

08.26.03- Cash Return on Investment....Bloom

08.25.03- The United Socialist States of America....Day

08.24.03- Pop Goes the Bubble....North

08.22.03- The Ultimate Consumer Survival Guide....The Mogambo Guru

08.12.03- Contrarians and the Keynesian Myth ....Hultberg

08.12.03- Secret Organizations and Hidden Agendas....Griffin

08.06.03- Why Hasn't "IT" Happened Yet? ....Riley

08.05.03- Federal Frankstein....Cook

08.04.03- Weapons of Mass Destruction In the Market For Mortgage Backed Securities....Sinclair

08.04.03- A Historic Juncture - Part 1....Cashin

07.31.03- Man your battle stations, this is no drill....Moriarty

07.30.03- Wise up, or join the "escape generation"....Russell

07.30.03- Is a 1987-Style Scenario Taking Shape?....Temple

07.21.03- Ron Paul -- The Modern Cincinnatus....Hultberg

07.11.03- The Big Theoretical Bugaboo ....The Mogambo Guru

07.07.03- The Fuss About Interest Rates....Lasco Report

07.04.03- Going Offshore: Is It For You?....Wealth International, Ltd.

07.04.03- Belize & its Merits as a Trust Jurisdiction....Wealth International, Ltd.

06.30.03- HillaryCare, Republican Style....Paul

06.23.03- The Coming Depression....PJ Lafleur

06.10.03- Insiders' big stock sales may be omen....Zuckerman

06.05.03- The Parable of the Cards....Sanders

05.28.03- The Ark of Freedom....Hultberg

05.27.03- Economic Fascism and Tax Slavery....Hultberg

05.20.03- Obscene Prophets....Cook

05.06.03- The Sucker Traps, parts one through four....Skolnick

04.28.03- Gold Money and Equal Tax Rates....Hultberg

04.23.03- Exploiting the Delusions of Money....Bugos

04.20.03- How Americans Lost Their Right To Own Gold And Became Criminals in the Process....Holzer

04.16.03- Michael O'Higgins thinks the country is heading into a slump that could be worse than the Great Depression....Brackey

04.08.03- Is the Power Protection Team an "Urban Myth?"....Hultberg

03.26.03- The Real Deal About Enron....Armstrong

03.21.03- Forget Iraq....Richebächer

03.15.03- U.S. jobs jumping ship. Cheap offshore labor is not just for manufacturing any more -- is your job heading overseas, too?....Gongloff

03.09.03- The Historians vs. American History....Thompson

03.01.03- The Meaning of Money: Its Purposes and Functions....Helfield

02.28.03- After the coming financial system collapse....Schicht

02.27.03- Avalanches, Neo-Fasicsm and Gold....Hultberg

02.23.03- A Loaf of Bread....Stott

01.30.03- How the Rockefellers and the Rothschilds are competing for world domination....Schicht

01.30.03- Is the global economy about to crash?....Buchanan

01.29.03- Three Things You Need to Know Right Now....Swanson

01.29.03- What will be "hot" in 2003?....Sabnani

01.25.03- Narco-Dollars for Beginners
"How the Money Works" in the Illicit Drug Trade....Fitts

01.13.03- The Euro looks technically bound for the $1.20 range....Sinclair

01.09.03- Social Security Falling Down

01.07.03- The Golden Paradox (Why Gold is Actually Worthless --and How it Can Make You Rich)....Van Artsdalen

01.07.03- Questions to Ask a Financial Advisor....Gordon

01.07.03- Pension-fund 'time bomb' is detonating on companies' profits....Evans

01.06.03- Delusions and Denial Prevent Recognition of the Truth