In the Summer of 2010

by Ron Holland
Jun. 13, 2010

Are you ready for interesting times and an exodus from the United States? A possibly apocryphal ancient Chinese curse goes "May you live in interesting times." Those words may derive from an authentic Chinese proverb: "It is better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in chaos."

Either way, the message is easy to understand for anyone living in the summer of 2010. As I look over at Lucky, my golden retriever whose only concerns are when do we eat and when do we go back in the ocean to play ball, I can see the advantages of being a dog. But as a man I know it is time to defend my freedom and secure my wealth for myself and for my posterity.

The U.S. is wandering through a fake recovery, an expanding sovereign debt crisis, a stock market downturn and a double-dip real estate collapse. Meanwhile, the Swiss franc is moving to historic highs to the euro. And what does the conventional press want to tell us about? The "strong" dollar, who's to blame for the oil disaster, the newest episodes in a host of foreign and domestic political soap operas and – a fresh diversion – which politicians are telling the biggest lies about their military records.

Welcome to the Fake, Jobless Economic Recovery

Last Friday, The Feds announced that the U.S. economy has added 431,000 jobs. The boldest spokespersons tried to announce this as good news, but the details revealed that only 40,000 of the total are private-sector jobs – the kind that produce things people want and are willing to pay for. The rest are little more than assignments in make-work projects designed to buy votes and beef-up the statistics on a fake recovery.

The American financial press asks hourly, "Will the euro survive as a currency?" And every time, the question is a prelude to "Again the dollar's strength indicates it remains the world's safe-haven reserve currency." My response is, "Oh, really?" This is just more lies from Washington and Wall Street that you believe at your peril.

"Lies, damnable lies and statistics." It's an expression attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, one of my favorite British historical figures. He was prime minister twice, but in his early years he had been a stock promoter. When a boom in South American mining stocks collapsed in 1825, he lost everything, much as a later Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, did in 1929. Both Disraeli and Churchill turned to writing to repair their finances (Disraeli also married a rich widow many years his senior). Again like Churchill, Disraeli went into politics with success, and both secured loans from the Rothschild banks.

Interesting to some, though perhaps not to others. But British history over the last century is a worthwhile topic for all of us. It's a model of what happens when an empire reaches its pinnacle and then slides into decline. It's a model of what is happening to America today.

The Swiss Franc Benefits

As I've written before, the Swiss National Bank tries to keep the franc aligned with the euro, in order to protect cross-border financial relationships and trade. If the dollar goes down, usually the euro and Swiss franc both go up. If the dollar goes up, both the euro and Swiss franc go down, although not always at the same rate.

Just days ago the Swiss franc hit an all-time high verses the euro, so although both have lost some value relative to the dollar, the franc's retreat is more modest. The real challenge for the Swiss National Bank is to limit the franc's appreciation when billions of investor euros are flooding into Switzerland and bidding for the local currency. Contrary to what you'll read in the American financial press, the smart money is moving into Switzerland in big volume.

Exodus Then & Now

The establishment media have been covering the challenges to Israel's Gaza blockade with references to the excellent 1960 epic/propaganda film, Exodus. There are quite a few similarities between the British blockade of Palestine in 1947 and what Israel is doing now, including forced boarding in international waters, resistance by ship passengers, the death of Americans, a widely published film record of events and complaints of excessive use of force.

If it's presented artfully, overreaction by those in power can feed public support for the target and sometimes allows the weaker party to prevail. The image of Gandhi and his followers being imprisoned by the British for harvesting salt from the ocean supported the formation of the state of India. The story of the SS Exodus and the British Navy sending Holocaust survivors back to Germany helped bring about the establishment of Israel. Pictures of "Bull" Connor attacking civil rights protestors in Birmingham, Alabama led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Whether the Palestinians and their allies will succeed in playing the victim card, time will tell.

The British resistance to the 1947 Exodus demonstrated how incompetent and cruel a collapsing empire can be. While this might be news to the general public, it isn't news to freedom-loving entrepreneurs who are making plans to avoid the turmoil, taxes and terror coming from our desperate politicians in Washington.

Hence the exodus from America of productive, innovative Americans acting to get themselves and their wealth out before it is too late. This outflow of talent and wealth doesn't get much coverage in the establishment news media.

The media are too busy with the pushing and shoving in the Middle East, the sovereign debt problems in Europe, the volatility of the U.S. markets and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Those things are important (the oil trail from the Gulf may eventually run past my home in the U.S., which is on a coastal island). But an exodus from the Land of Immigrants is a far bigger story. Saving what is left of the American Dream calls for you to get at least your wealth outside the disaster zone of Washington incompetence, as one remarkable American is now doing.

The New American Exodus Begins With Entrepreneur Steve Wynn

On May 28, Steve Wynn, the entrepreneur who led the rebirth and explosive expansion of the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1990's, made it clear that he's had enough of the United States government. To listen to his astounding CNBC interview, Click Here. In just 4 minutes, Winn lays out a shocking indictment and heartfelt critique of the failures of Washington and the U.S. political system. Here are some excerpts:

"The climate for business is frightening here," he says, and that's why he's moving half his operation to Macau.

"Common sense has disappeared in Washington DC."

"There's more stability and predictability in China than in Washington these days."

"Those hypocritical SOBs in Congress, the one thing they didn't do in the new healthcare law was to control frivolous lawsuits."

"We're on our way to Greece, in the hands of a confused, foolish government. It's got to stop. It's got to stop."

That's the verdict from the 468th richest man in the world. The successful, the best and the brightest are heading to the lifeboats.

Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild boasted, "I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man that controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply."

What Rothschild said about England is just as true today in the United States. All political offices, from prime minister to president, congress and parliament, can be vacated by election, threat, bribe or scandal. The incumbents all serve at the pleasure of international monetary elites and their allied interests; an officeholder is merely a front man on a long leash. He has plenty of freedom to pursue pet projects and policies as long as he doesn't stray from the reservation and threaten key policy and legislative goals.

Most economic, political and military events are just business as usual for financial elites and the industries beholden to them. They take advantage of real or contrived economic crises, military operations and foreign conflicts the way stockbrokers churn stocks to generate commissions. The collateral damage, causalities, wealth transfers, confiscation and mass hardship are just tricks of the trade.

Steve Wynn didn't become the 468th richest man in the world without knowing the odds and understanding that the house always wins. If he thinks the game is rigged here in the U.S., I suggest you join him by cashing in your chips and securing your wealth so that one day you can play again in a game with reasonable odds and fair returns. It's time to head for the cashier window, settle up and get out of the American casino.

June 11, 2010

Ron Holland [send him mail] is a contributing editor to the Swiss Mountain Vision Newsletter and Swiss Confidential published by Appenzeller Business Press.

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