Insurance
Peter Schiff: U.S. Will Experience Cyprus ‘Bail-In’
Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital CEO/Chief Global Strategist, talked about the proposed Cyprus “bail-in” despite Cyrpiot bank accounts having deposit insurance in his March 18 entry on The Schiff Report YouTube video blog. Schiff, who correctly-called the 2008 global economic crisis and U.S. housing bust, warned viewers:
You know, ultimately, the same thing is going to happen in the United States. We’ve got deposit insurance here in America. But eventually, we’re going to be faced with a similar problem. When interest rates rise, and big banks fail, the FDIC doesn’t have the money for a bailout. And, if the Fed is tightening, the Treasury doesn’t have the money to bail anybody out. So, we’re going to be in the same situation.
Schiff sees the Cyprus fiasco as being bullish for gold. He added yesterday:
I think, first of all, that this is a very positive development for gold. Now, the reason for that is that bank deposits are at risk. And if you think your money is at risk in a bank and you pull it out, what are you going to do with it? Well, putting it in gold is a great alternative. In fact, if you had euros deposited in a Cyprus bank, now you’ve lost about 10 percent, close to 10 percent of the value of those deposits, or 10 percent of your euros. But if you had gold in a safety deposit box in a Cyprus bank, you haven’t lost an ounce. So the people who have gold are whole, and those who have euros, or other currencies you had on deposit, but they’ve had a loss. So this highlights the safe haven aspect of gold.
“Insured Bank Deposits At Risk, America Burns While Obama Golfs”
YouTube Video
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
(Editor’s notes: Info added to “Crash Prophets” page; I am not responsible for any personal liability, loss, or risk incurred as a consequence of the use and application, either directly or indirectly, of any information presented herein.)
Illinois House To Vote On Gun ‘Control’ Amendments Tuesday
While Colorado will be getting the lion’s share of attention today concerning gun “control,” Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives, led by speaker Michael Madigan, will push Tuesday for more restrictions on firearms here in the “Land of Lincoln.” From the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action website last night:
Illinois: Anti-Gun Politicians Continue Attempts to Ram Gun Control Scheme Through State House
A Vote is Imminent – Contact your state Representative NOW!
As previously reported by the NRA-ILA, House Speaker Mike Madigan continues to force votes on dozens of amendments filed on shell bills in an effort to build his own omnibus gun control bill. Due to Madigan’s trickery and forceful behavior, votes on these amendments have been too close for comfort. House Bills 1155 and 1156 are some of the bills being used as vehicles, and have recently had extreme anti-gun amendments filed on them.
At this time, the list of amendments to these two bills is growing by the minute and contains everything from forcing gun owners to buy $1 million liability insurance and imposing severe restrictions on future Right-to-Carry laws by mandating location restrictions and multiple licenses, to bans on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms and standard capacity magazines. You can view amendments added to HB1156 here and amendments to HB1155 here.
Among others, Amendment 12 to HB 1156 was just filed and would make it unlawful for anyone in Illinois to possess a magazine capable of accepting – and any magazine that could be converted to accept – more than ten rounds. This would effectively ban ALL commonly owned magazines. This issue was defeated last week by only a narrow margin – so it is important that your state Representative understand that a YES vote on Amendment 12 is an unacceptable violation of your rights!
Time is of the essence: These anti-gun amendments will be voted on in the state House TOMORROW and anti-gun politicians are turning up the heat to get your state Representative to vote against your Second Amendment rights in Springfield. Urge your state Representative to stand strong in the face of these deceptive tactics and vote to protect YOUR Second Amendment rights! The House floor votes are close, so every call AND e-mail to your state Representative will make a difference.
Remind your state Representative that he or she represents you! Call AND e-mail them NOW. Don’t let them get away with punishing law-abiding citizens for the acts of criminals!
Contact information for your state Representative can be found here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
GAO: ObamaCare Could Add $6.2 Trillion To Long-Term Federal Deficit
Here’s another headline-worthy story you may not hear/ready about in the mainstream media. Andrew Stiles reported on the National Review blog The Corner earlier this week:
Obamacare will increase the long-term federal deficit by $6.2 trillion, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today.
Senator Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), who requested the report, revealed the findings this morning at a Senate Budget Committee hearing. The report, he said, “confirms everything critics and Republicans were saying about the faults of this bill,” and “dramatically proves that the promises made assuring the nation that the largest new entitlement program in history would not add one dime to the deficit were false.”
President Obama and other Democrats attempted to win support for the health-care bill by touting it as a fiscally responsible enterprise. “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits — either now or in the future,” Obama told a joint-session of Congress in September 2009. “I will not sign it if it adds one dime to the deficit, now or in the future, period.”
You can read Stiles’s entire February 26 post on his blog here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois Could Have Nearly $22 Billion In Unpaid Bills By FY 2018
It’s been a while since I last blogged about the Civic Federation, an independent, non-partisan government research organization that provides analysis and recommendations on government finance issues for the Chicago region and State of Illinois. In late September 2011, the Chicago-based organization had just released its analysis of the enacted FY 2012 State of Illinois budget, and noted the financially-challenged state was expected to end the year with over $8 billion in unpaid bills from vendors, local governments, and others (related to business tax refunds, employee and retiree health care and Medicaid).
Over $8 billion in unpaid bills.
Fast forward to today. From a Civic Federation press release Monday:
Illinois’ Unpaid Bill Backlog Projected to Reach $22 Billion by FY2018
State urgently needs long-term plan to address rising pension and Medicaid costs, loss of income tax revenues
(CHICAGO) – An analysis released today by the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability shows the State of Illinois is on track to accumulate nearly $22 billion in unpaid bills by FY2018 unless action is taken to curb rising pension costs and plan for increases in the Medicaid program…
“Nearly $22 billion in unpaid bills.”
Illinois residents, get ready to bust out your wallets.
You can read the entire Civic Federation press release here.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois State Rifle Association: Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy ‘Crosses The Line’
ISRA: Chicago Police Superintendent McCarthy Crosses The Line (via PR Newswire)
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA): Chicago’s embattled police superintendent dug himself deeper into a pit of controversy today by claiming that lawful firearm owners are agents of political corruption…
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Illinois’ Total Unfunded Liabilities: $275 Billion
The following bit about Illinois’ total unfunded liabilities from a January 28 Investor’s Business Daily editorial was so depressing to read that I originally planned to blog about it much earlier this morning- but needed to step away. From the IBD website:
A recent release by the Illinois Policy Institute shows this [$96.8 billion unfunded debt to five state pension systems] is only the tip of the iceberg and when you add in other liabilities such as $54 billion in unfunded liabilities for retiree health insurance and $15 billion in pension bonds that Gov. Pat Quinn and his immediate predecessor, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, issued to avoid pension reform, Illinois’ total unfunded liabilities amount to $275 billion, or $58,000 in debt for each and every household in the state.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
So what’s it going to be, Illinois? Since a booming economy seems unlikely to return anytime soon, will the Democrat-dominated Illinois General Assembly finally enact significant spending cuts? Raise fees and taxes through the roof? Throw public sector retirees “under the bus?”
They’re going to have to do something real quick.
Or watch the whole thing unravel.
By Christopher E. Hill, Editor
Survival And Prosperity (www.survivalandprosperity.com)
Source:
“Obama’s Illinois Downgrade Makes It America’s Greece.” Investor’s Business Daily. 28 Jan. 2013. (http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/012813-642237-credit-downgrade-illinois-standard-poors-worst.htm). 31 Jan. 2013.
Marc Faber: ‘You Need A Farm’
One last post before I leave you go for the week (got to my Chicago pad too late from Wisconsin last night to squeeze it in).
This past Tuesday I blogged about “Doctor Doom” Marc Faber and his talk about a systemic crisis.
Well, I had heard the Swiss-born investment adviser/fund manager, who became famous for advising clients to get out of the U.S. stock market one week before the October 1987 crash and for predicting the 2008 global financial crisis, had recently recommended Americans buy a farm once again in anticipation of such a collapse.
The publisher of the monthly investment newsletter The Gloom Boom & Doom Report appeared on the CNBC TV show Squawk Box on September 6, 2012. From Dr. Faber’s exchange with co-anchor Joe Kernen:
KERNEN: I’m seeing you say a global- I hope I don’t overstate it- a global depression. A global depression is on the horizon. I don’t know if I’d call it imminently, but, I think… no?
FABER: I said that eventually the financial system will go broke. And that we would have a systemic crisis. But I didn’t say tomorrow. I said it could happen in 3 years, or 5, or 10 years time. And before it happens there will be much more money printing. So theoretically, when it happens, the Dow Jones could be at 100,000 and maybe at 1 million. Who knows? It depends on how much money you print.
KERNEN: Alright, that would still be something- 3 years, 5 years, 10 years- that would still be something that sounds really disruptive to me. And I don’t know how you prepare for it, whether, I guess, you need- I would think you need guns and gold- if that’s really coming, Marc. Food.
FABER: You need a farm. You need a farm, and you have to train yourself not to depend on the Internet and mobile phones and so forth and so on. Because when it happens, it could happen because of a cyber attack that would trigger such an event or any kind of other act of warfare. But we have to prepare for that. It’s like you have an insurance. I don’t carry insurance policies, but say, you have insurance for all kinds of eventualities, and so people who can afford, they should have insurance for that day when it will happen.
“More Gloom From Mr. Doom: ‘You Need A Farm’
CNBC Video
“But we have to prepare for that.”
Sounds like Dr. Faber would think highly of prepping.
Have a great weekend everyone.
New Demographic Data For Chicago Released
New demographic data for Chicago has been released by the U.S. Census Bureau- and it’s enlightening. From the Census Bureau’s “Newsroom” yesterday:
Chicago’s Household Income at $43,628 in 2011, American Community Survey Shows
The median household income in Chicago was $43,628 in 2011, compared with the national figure of $50,502, according to statistics released today from the 2011 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. In addition, 20.4 percent of people in Chicago did not have health insurance coverage, compared with 15.1 percent nationally. A selected profile of Chicago appears below, including statistics on education, housing and the foreign-born population.
“The American Community Survey provides a wide range of important statistics about our nation’s people, housing and economy for all communities in the country – including Chicago,” said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau’s acting director. “The results are used by everyone from retailers, homebuilders and police departments, to town and city planners.”
The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as educational attainment, housing, employment, commuting, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs down to the smallest communities.
Other selected highlights for Chicago:
Education
• In 2011, 50.1 percent of the preschool age population was enrolled in school, which was not significantly
different from 47.4 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Among Chicago’s 25-and-older population, 80.7 percent completed high school or more, compared with 85.9 percent in the nation as a whole.
• Meanwhile, 33.5 percent of the 25-and-older population had a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 28.5 percent nationally.Housing
• In 2011, the median value for an owner-occupied home was $228,300. In the nation as a whole, the value was $173,600.
• In 2011, the median gross rent (rent plus utilities) was $905, compared with $871 in the nation as a whole.Foreign-Born Population
• About 21.4 percent of people in Chicago were foreign-born, compared with 13.0 percent in the nation as a whole.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Median household income several thousand dollars below the national average.
Yet median value for owner-occupied homes more than $50,000 above the national average.
And today it’s being reported that unemployment across Illinois rose to 9.1 percent in August, the third straight month of increases in the state.
I wonder if more storm clouds aren’t on the horizon for residential real estate in the “Windy City?”
You can find out more information about the American Community Survey on the Census Bureau’s website here.
Signs Of The Time, Part 38
I’m leaving it to my hometown of Chicago to supply the material for today’s installment of “Signs Of The Time.”
Ameet Sachdev wrote on the Chicago Tribune website today:
The Chicago area led the nation in insurance claims related to thefts of copper and other metals, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
In a new report, the Chicago area had 963 metal theft claims from Jan. 1, 2009, through 2011. That’s 42 more claims than were generated in the New York and northern New Jersey region, which ranked No. 2.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
It was only a short time ago Americans would have equated this sort of thing with the Third World.
And now, it’s at my doorstep.
In the west suburbs Tuesday, Elmhurst College held a pandemic drill. But this was no ordinary exercise. The Tribune’s Patrick Rollens reported Wednesday:
Students volunteered to be turned into zombies as part of the Deicke Center for Nursing Education’s Zombie Flu Simulation exercise. The pilot program, developed by two nursing grad students, was designed to immerse students in a real, live, unpredictable pandemic situation. The zombie volunteers were given roles to play, complete with relevant details such as age, chronic ailments, drug allergies — and especially zombie symptoms. Moaning, stiff arms and confusion were encouraged.
(Editor’s note: Italics added for emphasis)
Glad to hear the zombie fad is serving a useful purpose, rather than just supplying the Chiller TV channel with an ample amount of low-budget programming.
“Zombie Girl- Creepy Crawler- Music Video)”
(Warning- Violence)
YouTube Video
Sources:
Sachdev, Ameet. “Chicago area leads nation in copper thefts.” Chicago Tribune. 8 Mar. 2012. (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-chicago-area-leads-nation-in-copper-thefts-20120308,0,660711.story). 8 Mar. 2012.
Rollens, Patrick W. “Zombies prepare for their close-up at Elmhurst College.” Chicago Tribune. 7 Mar. 2012. (http://triblocal.com/elmhurst/galleries/2012/03/zombies-prepare-for-their-close-up-at-elmhurst-college/#9). 8 Mar. 2012.
Mainstream Media Article On Preppers
I happened to stumble on an interesting piece about preppers earlier this week. Jim Forsyth wrote on Reuters.com January 21:
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as “preppers.” Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
They are following in the footsteps of hippies in the 1960s who set up communes to separate themselves from what they saw as a materialistic society, and the survivalists in the 1990s who were hoping to escape the dictates of what they perceived as an increasingly secular and oppressive government.
Preppers, though are, worried about no government…
You can read the entire article on the Reuters site here. Lots of comments with this one.
What are your thoughts about the piece? I’d add that prepping can be thought of as another form of insurance (maintaining one’s lifestyle in the midst of a catastrophic event) as well as patriotic in that preppers know darn well that being self-sufficient frees up vital resources to be used on fellow Americans not prepared for the disaster.
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