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Joachim
Joachim
13 years ago

Very interesting to hear your take on the misconceptions article. Thanks, Jack!

Craig
Craig
13 years ago

Great explanation of the fed and how they’ve been scamming us since 1913 and getting worse by the day. Until everyone realizes what the real problem is we will continue on a downward spiral to hell, and getting there faster every day.
I am convinced that if anyone besides Ron Paul is elected as our next President we will surely be setting the stage for a nasty revolution. The end is near.

Brian
13 years ago

FYI for the street lights, most municipalities contract their streetlights to the power company. They pay a fixed rate per light and all work including changing the bulbs is done by the utility. This way they don’t have to have meters etc. they just wire them into the transmission lines.

Jami
13 years ago

I like the idea of cooler corn, but not the plastic part.
So I think I’ll try it but use a metal container, insulated around by old sleeping bags.

Thanks for the idea!

Mysterion
Mysterion
13 years ago

Ron Paul is completely wrong about the Fed. The problem we have with government is fiscal policy, not monetary policy. Congress is the problem. What Ron Paul would do would be get rid of the Fed. Most likely the duties of the Fed would go to the Treasury. That would be creating a Central bank with twice as much power as the Fed. So why does Ron Paul support this? Because he wants Congress to control monetary policy. Think about it….Do you want economic policy controlled by politicians? I sure don’t. It’s just a covert way that Congress wants to control the economy. I’m sorry, I find that Ron Paul clearly doesn’t Adam Smith or Mercantilism. It would be a disaster to eliminate the Fed and let politicians control the economy. Economists should control the economy, and politicians should stay out of economics.

Mysterion
Mysterion
13 years ago
Reply to  Mysterion

It’s clear you don’t understand the difference the between monetary policy and fiscal policy. All the fed does is react to market conditions created by the crazy ideas that congress comes up with on taxation and spending, and the regulations that become necessary because the private sector continually violates the law. It would be nice if the free market could regulate itself, but it can”t because of human nature. The only way a free market could work without government intervention is if God himself were running it. I’m not seeing any evidence of God intervening with predatory and negligent corporations cheating consumers or dumping their pollution on my lawn and in my air everyday. There was a reason why the Fed was created. I will give you a hint–it wasn’t because evil bankers want to control the world. It was because of continuous boom and bust cycles and no central bank. The reason it is autonomous is because of political meddling in economics that has nothing to do with economic reality, much like what is happening in congress today. These policies on the right are nothing new. These are the same policies of Andrew Mellon. Reaganomics, or tricklenomics, are nothing new either. They are the same policies of the 1920’s…..Andrew Mellon, again. People need to look at what caused the great depression. It was a bubble market and no regulations,…..no reserve capital to cover margin calls–all hands off free market policies we hear continually about from conservatives—which creates speculation, bubble markets, and economic collapse. Thank you Andrew Mellon.

Mike
Mike
13 years ago

I ain’t trying to call you out, Jack but I was reading around on snopes this evening and I think someone passed off some bad info to all of us on the cooler corn. On snopes there was the same letter that you read to us in today’s show and it was word for word. Just thought you’d like to know. Mike

Ray
Ray
13 years ago

I just wanted to make a statement about the occupy wallstreet article. I noticed in the article that the developer usually keeps his shotgon at home but decided to bring it to the office that day. My concern with this is posible intent. I dont think he intended to shoot someone in particular. But if he was able to capture the criminals, maybe lights, cameras, bean bags in his shotgun or dye rounds and a pair of hand cuffs would be a good choice.

Putting your life in danger for property that you can recover the cost of gamage is NOT wise. As a preper rule 1 is to plan ahead, i.e. Insurance. Rule 2 is to NOT take unnessisary risks, like a law suite or personal injury.

Mr.Ray
Mr.Ray
13 years ago
Reply to  Ray

I grew up in ‘sue city’ AKA the bay area, and I know that store personaly and I know the people. I say this because I reconize that even though the developer has the right to protect his property, the situation could have easily turned back on him.

Mr.Ray
Mr.Ray
13 years ago

Come on Jack your letting me down here. I use to think you had come sence. I was hopeing you had some useful thoughts to share. Something I might be over looking. But no all you have is to run into danger with guns blazeing. Thats stupid. Thats not how you protect your family. Im disapp
ointed Jack.

Aron
Aron
13 years ago
Reply to  Mr.Ray

Choice 1: Angry mob comes and you sit and watch and all you can do is say “Stop or I’ll tell you to stop again!”

Choice 2: Angry mob comes, you show an armed presence, angry mob may or may not advance.

I’ll take a possible chance of success over no chance of success any day.

gumpster
gumpster
13 years ago
Reply to  Aron

Choice 3: Angry mob comes to the business and destroys it. Owner was smart, had insurance, and didn’t bother placing himself in a dangerous situation by staying at home.

metaforge
13 years ago
Reply to  Mr.Ray

Yeah I don’t get this logic at all Ray… him bringing a shotgun to his office doesn’t show that he has intent to shoot someone… it shows that he believes there is a non-trivial chance of some a-holes trying to start some shit, and so he better be prepared to defend himself and/or his property just in case. Now when he’s confronted, he has a fight or flight choice to make. If escape is easy, maybe that’s the right choice, maybe not. But if escape is impossible, better to be armed than not.

Aron
Aron
13 years ago

As far as the cooler corn goes I think you could use containers, (large pots, dutch oven, etc) within the cooler to prevent any plastic leaching. Or a mylar bag or something… never made it but it sounds cool.

Jami
13 years ago

Good idea Aron…. The ‘cooler’ corn process is based on the olden days hay-box cooking idea, which has been all but lost. I’m new here so maybe you all have covered it before now. Hay box is where you start the cooking on the stove, put a lid on and store in an insulated box using hay allowing the cooking to slowly progress. I’ve done the same with a dutch oven in a laundry basket surrounded by sleeping bags. Makes great to-go food for later. Feels like slow-cooker type cooking, but without the electricity.

Box cooking greatly lowers the need for so much fuel (carbon footprint), eliminates watching the food on the stove and over cooking/burning it. It is also great on the move for pic nicks, hunting or other situations. When you arrive the food is ready! Works super for beans, stews, soups and other one-dish, slow-cooker meals.

Removing plastic from our lives is a priority, as well as carbs, so the corn idea maybe a once a year thing, like birthday cake.

metaforge
13 years ago
Reply to  Jami

Regarding both the Fed misconception and the new student loan program topics – I found myself thinking exactly the conclusions you reached just a minute or two before the words came out. “Yeah but the bastards keep the original ‘out of thin’ air basis” and “This amounts to a precursor to debt-based publicly funded college for all”. 😉 Anyway, was really in sync today – great show!

"Top" W. Kone
13 years ago

Hi Jack! Great Show.
Here is a fact you missed about the Income Based Repayment program. You kept saying 25 years being lowered to 20 years but forgot (or did not know) that it drops down to 10 years now if you…get a government job.

Yes, if you borrow $100,000 to get a degree in GLBT studies (it really exists) and then get a full time job with a county HR department that pays $30,000 a year you only have to make 120 payments of $171 a month as long as you’re single. (get married and it drops to $99). [Oh, but military service is not counted as a full time government job]

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/IBRPlan.jsp

"Top" W. Kone
13 years ago

Yes, i’m a 1SG in the Army Reserves, and thank you for your service also.
I figured that you would not know about some of the details because, like the article you read, only 300k out of a possible several million are using the program. Obama is just trying to get the word out (and score points of course) about the program. Just as the Department of Ag is pushing to get people to use Food Stamps and WIC. It’s there, use it! They say. I guess there is an argument for that, people starving while a program that could help them is being ignored.
The main down side to the IBR plan is that you are still racking up interest, many times more than what you’re paying. At the end of the loan you could face a loan amount greater than you started with. One of my Soldiers had that realization. He was unemployed and working two part time jobs. He took the IBR and was paying $120 a month or so, after three years he got a full time job and looked at his loan to find that he now owed more than what he started with even after five years of full payments before going on IBR! And because he was now making too much to qualify, he can’t make use of the pay off provision.

Ryan Lewellin
Ryan Lewellin
13 years ago

RE: The government forcing health care employers to hire veterans – The government currently gives preferential hiring to combat veterans and I wonder if this mandate has anything to do with them running low on cash and not being able to provide that benefit due to the lack of funds and no lack of combat vets, like this is their answer to high veteran unemployment. Currently a combat vet goes to the top of the list for government jobs, even if there’s a black lesbian in a wheel chair applying for the job.

RE: Cuba. When the Soviet Union pulled the plug on them, another side effect was a drastic rise in urban gardening and all sorts of creative things to deal with the US embargo and fuel shortages. One of the prepper-centric gardening books (I can’t remember which one) hinted towards Cuba looking like what a society that had to adapt to reduced fuel supplies looks like. It would be cool if there was someone out there who lived/lives in Cuba, speaks English and would be willing to talk about some of the ways they’ve adapted and do a show on it.

One Cuban that would probably make a really good show is Arnie Coro That guy is to communications what Steven Harris is to alternative energy and a great example of Cuban ingenuity.