How Can Localities Cope if the Dollar Crashes?
A “run on the dollar,” or any currency, for that matter, takes place when the currency is losing its value. This happens when a country’s debt becomes so great that there is danger of a major default–that is, large scale or even national bankruptcy. At that point, people whose wealth is in that currency, or in relatively liquid assets denominated in the currency, try to get rid of them as fast as they can. Today, that includes foreign countries like China or Russia that are holding large quantities of U.S. government bonds.
The U.S. currently is at risk. We see it in personal and business bankruptcies and foreclosures. One result can be a high rate of inflation in certain products like food or gasoline, even while asset prices, as with homes and stocks, are going down. The question is now whether the “recovery” that is underway can be sustained or will there be another crash like there was in late 2008 to early 2009.
Forecasters are projecting this recovery to last until June 2010 but are foreseeing slippage at that point. Investors at this time are still putting money into the stock market and getting out of dollars. By June, the U.S. government had better come up with a strategy for real economic growth–which means jobs–or we will likely see the “double-dip” recession many have predicted. Personally I see no way growth can be sustained unless the national debt burden shrinks. This can only be done through an orderly process of debt forgiveness, a resurgence of economic production, or a default that could be catastrophic.
Is there any way people and localities can protect themselves? The best way, in my opinion, is to put our resources, including our time and labor, into producing something of value in the real physical economy. Since most people’s largest asset is their homes, home maintenance and repair might work. It won’t make you rich, but it could put food on the table.
Speaking of food, growing it is another option. In many locations, there is a greater demand for locally-produced food than there are producers to meet that demand. In a couple of months it will be time to start planting this year’s garden. People could get together as a community and make plans for gardens big enough to sell the surplus at local outdoor markets. Buying and selling products at the local level can also become an economic engine to fuel the creation of a local currency.
A strategy of local food production can also address the problem that the era of cheap food in the U.S. is coming to an end. This is happening partly because a large portion of food prices consists of the cost of the fossil fuels used in growing, harvesting, and transporting the food to market. Gasoline prices are on the rise again. This will take food prices upward as well.
Local farming, by contrast, places food production close to the end consumer. Personal health also benefits from higher quality food and from getting outdoors and becoming more physically active.
As the national economy gets worse, it’s time for people to roll up their sleeves and get to work doing for themselves what big finance, big oil, and big government can no longer do.
In January 1986 Cook became the first NASA official to testify publicly on the space agency's prior knowledge of flaws in the solid rocket booster O-ring joints that destroyed Challenger and took the lives of its seven astronauts. He told his story in the book Challenger Revealed, published in 2007. Publisher's Weekly wrote of the book: "Easily the most informative and important book on the disaster."
[...] http://www.richardccook.com/2010/01/20/question-can-you-explain-what-is-a-run-on-the-dollar/ [...]
Pingback by How Can Localities Cope if the Dollar Crashes? « PumaLiberty on January 21, 2010All in all, this means that the industrial revolution is officially a bust – human nature has ruined it – and that it’s time to start getting back to the basics of survival for the betterment of all life forms.
Comment by Derek Darkly on January 21, 2010“All in all, this means that the industrial revolution is officially a bust”
Sorry, No! The industrial revolution is not bust. U.S. corporations simply outsourced and offshored the industrial revolution to low wage countries to shaft the U.S. workers and make super profits for themselves and a handful of top executives at the top.
Those recipient countries of the industrial revolution are doing fine thank you and are having a go go time.
Of course, this outsourcing and offshoring of manufacturing activities since the 1970s and now of information and services jobs is a result of the competitive nature inherent within capitalism.
If one company outsources or offshores and gains a competitive advantage in terms of pricing, then others have to do it as well and it becomes and stampede.
The only answer to this is a socialst economy and I mean a REAL socialist economy and NOT the Obama version of corporate welfare.
Real socialism means workers ownership and control of the means of production, distribution and exchange, with production for social need, not private profit.
Comment by Charles F. Moreura on January 21, 2010Mr. Cook
I’ve asked you before to review my plan to rescue the U.S. but have since been unable to follow up as my messages to you don’t get there. My plan is: The Sperry Plan To Rescue The U.S. Economy that ran on http://www.opednews.com several months ago. It may now be found on my website http://www.howtorescueamerica.org
Your plan, the Cook Plan as most other possess one fatal flaw, they all require some manner of government assistance. The Sperry Plan does not. It operates completely independent of government and does not require an elaborate infrastructure to administer it. It is initiated by only one person in there own neighborhood for essentially no money or investment other than a little time.
Further, it rings the bell of the average American today, it promises financial reward for negligible investment and time. An most importantly, it possesses a built in fail safe feature that virtually guarantees success by completely eliminating failure (investment is only in ventures that provide those products the investor uses anyway).
I implore you to review The Sperry Plan as it will save us if there is trouble ahead and only enrich us all if there isn’t.
Thank you Richard/mac
Comment by mac Sperry on January 21, 2010At some point in the near future, there will liklely be a reserve currency created on top of the US Dollar and all other national world currencies.
This new “world currency” will be for international trade. All national currencies USD, YEN , EURO, and other currencies will be used to settle dometic obligations.
This new world currency will be the peg. Much like back in the day of the gold standard.
Comment by roberto on January 21, 2010Thank you for your article Mr. Cook.
Unfortunately, you and just about all other writers on these matters don’t get to the root of the problem.
It is the way money is created.
A disaster is about to hit America because of this.
The solution is interest free money, created by the Government. The Fed should be abolished.
Please read my article.
http://www.mrowen.com/money.pdf
Lance
Comment by Lance Owen on January 21, 2010The average farmer now is past retirement age, his children want nothing to do with the farm. This is because of the food cartels fixing prices at or below the cost of production. Most family farms require an outside income to make ends meet and the farmer’s wages are well below the minimum.
My personal experience with local food production is the local wholesalers are a corrupt bunch of thieves. If the farmer tries to sell to grocery stores the wholesaler will threaten to cut them off during the winter. So if you must sale you must do so as a drug dealer at the back door. This is why you don’t see vegetable farms through out the vast American grain and soy bean belts.
If hyperinflation does not wipe out humanity then the corruption from within the food cartels will. They control the USDA and the university research funds. Lincoln would turn in his grave if he could see what happened to his USDA.
Comment by stephen on January 21, 2010On the Sperry plan: The percentage of physically productive workers (people that produce and transport the physical goods needed for our well being) are but 14% of the American population. These are the people that produce real wealth.
The problem with the economy is the productive capacity per capita has been steadily decreasing since the 1960′s. There is less food, clothing, medical care, education and shelter on world wide basis and within the USA.
Automation has not turned us into an idol people, but it has freed us from the drudgery of the hoe, the hand saw and shovel. The “small is beautiful” concept does not work for capital intensive steel production and machine tool and die industries, these industries ARE what separate us from the cave man. (Can you imagine NASA doing the moon shot under the Sperry Plan?)
The NASA project and its spin-offs generated a 13 to 1 profit margin for the economy. You can thank NASA for the computer you are using at this moment.
In the event of the likely total economic collapse, energy supplies will be all but nonexistent the Sperry Plan will be confine us to 18th century agricultural endeavors, simple blacksmithing and coffin makers.
When the Constitution was first instated it was the job of Congress to issue money though the National Bank, a bank for the people and by the people. Credit was created out of thin air and strictly confined to physically productive enterprises, such as farming, mining, infrastructure and industry.
Interest was held at 2% which became as a tax paid directly back into the people’s bank. (All speculation was illegal, the founding fathers knew speculation destroys economies, hence-derivatives)
This concept has been all but forgotten with the Federal Reserve usurping the power of the people and bringing the people under the serfdom of the Wall Street Bankers.
Comment by stephen on January 21, 2010the industrial revolution was a failed business model. the answer is back in the 18th century.
Comment by jbidmtvt on January 22, 2010i expanded my garden last year, good timing eh? i saved a lot of money growing my own food-chemical free !!!
Comment by rich on January 22, 2010youtube.com/goldieshome
goldieshouse.piczo.com
Hello Richard…
I have to disagree with you on the recovery…there is NO recovery only novel and creative bookkeeping by our Satanic Elite that they might talk their way out of a recovery by brainwashing the masses…
the only problem is this time you can’t tell someone broke on their a__ that they aren’t broke…it doesn’t work…they created the false inflated home prices, with low interest and cheap money for decades…this game is over…these criminals are trying to spend their way out of debt which only prolongs and exasberates the situation…
what we are seeing is a slow spiral into the next great depression…and there is nothing they can do this time to stop it…what they created now was instigated and started a long time ago…I just wonder when the masses will reach their tipping point as I reached mine a long time ago…
Comment by Laurie on January 22, 2010Mr. larouche has a plan.
http://www.larouchepac.com
too bad “they” will never let that happen.
everything thats being done now is on purpose. “they”, the people who have taken our government over in a silent coup, are doing everything they can to destroy this nation, everything.
its all on purpose and its all being done by the see eye aye
if the American people don’t stand up soon, there will be nothing left to stand up for.
Comment by joe blow six pack on January 22, 2010and screw nasa who cares what scraps from the table they’ve let the masses play with, they could solve the world energy crisis with technology they conceal and keep secret.
technology can be used for good or evil, what do you think our elitist controllers are using it for?
Comment by joe blow six pack on January 22, 2010The Sperry Plan
In response to number 8 Stephen wrote: >>The problem with the economy is the productive capacity per capita has been steadily decreasing since the 1960’s. There is less food, clothing, medical care, education and shelter on world wide basis and within the USA.<>The “small is beautiful” concept does not work for capital intensive steel production and machine tool and die industries, these industries ARE what separate us from the cave man. (Can you imagine NASA doing the moon shot under the Sperry Plan?)<>In the event of the likely total economic collapse, energy supplies will be all but nonexistent the Sperry Plan will be confine us to 18th century agricultural endeavors, simple blacksmithing and coffin makers.>> – Energy supplies will vastly increase as capital formation from the Sperry Plan will produce intense drive in the market place, to satisfy the needs represented by those capital/dollars.
As to the Federal Reserve; The Fed is a problem no doubt. But another problem rarely addressed is that we are “not” a capitalistic society. In fact, very few of us are true capitalists, yet we refer to ourselves and our society as same. The Sperry Plan will change that in that it will turn all who participate into venture capitalists for an ante of only $10 week and it will do it safely, rapidly.
Please read the whole plan. If you like it then implement it. To do that will be as easy as walking out your front door, knocking on your neighbors door and delivering a copy of the article and maybe the plan itself. Soon they will be in on it because there rally is no downside to this. It’s inexpensive ($10 a wk) and failure proof. One other thing, it will save this country because it will give these “new conservatives” and newly converted “liberals” something to conserve, and “protect”/mac
Comment by mac Sperry on January 22, 2010The Sperry Plan
Note: The following is what I actually sent in response to #8. My Internet connection sometimes inexplicably eliminates some of the most pertinent points. Other of the more creative thinkers of the Internet have been complaining of this same problem. I can understand the monitoring of the Internet but when an entity begins to prevent dissemination, the line is crossed. What can be done about this?/mac
—
In response to number 8 Stephen wrote: >>The problem with the economy is the productive capacity per capita has been steadily decreasing since the 1960’s. There is less food, clothing, medical care, education and shelter on world wide basis and within the USA.<>The “small is beautiful” concept does not work for capital intensive steel production and machine tool and die industries, these industries ARE what separate us from the cave man. (Can you imagine NASA doing the moon shot under the Sperry Plan?)<>In the event of the likely total economic collapse, energy supplies will be all but nonexistent the Sperry Plan will be confine us to 18th century agricultural endeavors, simple blacksmithing and coffin makers.>> – Energy supplies will vastly increase as capital formation from the Sperry Plan will produce intense drive in the market place, to satisfy the needs represented by those capital/dollars.
As to the Federal Reserve; The Fed is a problem no doubt. But another problem rarely addressed is that we are “not” a capitalistic society. In fact, very few of us are true capitalists, yet we refer to ourselves and our society as same. The Sperry Plan will change that in that it will turn all who participate into venture capitalists for an ante of only $10 week and it will do it safely, rapidly.
Please read the whole plan. If you like it then implement it. To do that will be as easy as walking out your front door, knocking on your neighbors door and delivering a copy of the article and maybe the plan itself. Soon they will be in on it because there rally is no downside to this. It’s inexpensive ($10 a wk) and failure proof. One other thing, it will save this country because it will give these “new conservatives” and newly converted “liberals” something to conserve, and “protect”/mac
Comment by mac Sperry on January 22, 2010The following is the part that keeps getting eliminated from my transmissions. Can you understand why?/mac
USA.<< – I disagree. In the "Complete Plan" which can be seen by clicking at the bottom of the article, I demonstrate how real productivity of agriculture alone has increased over 6,000% in the last 100 years. The present "potential" for all manner of goods and services now is thru the roof.
Comment by mac Sperry on January 22, 2010The Sperry Plan
The above “scewups” and ommissions in my sent message is an example of a growing problem in this country. The tactic being used by those who oppose our efforts to find a way out of this quagmire that has been created for us, is to keep the “new thinking” of creative thinkers isolated using “man in the middle” tactics that can eliminate sections and indeed “all” of a transmission. This doesn’t seem to happen to those who essentially rehash ideas and thinking that are already “out there”.
This has been happening a lot to myself and other cutting edge thinkers as well. In fact Henry Makow wrote an article a few months ago about the problem. Apparently he and others have had this happen also. I send emails to people thru Gmail then call them on the phone to be sure they got it, only to find they haven’t.
Is there a fix for this? I thought that by posting only to websites that have mail forms actually on their webpage it might eliminate this, and it did, for a while.
Alex Jones may have the best system of all. First, it’s encrypted, then installs the sent message into a folder, for which only you have a password. This way one can insure that what was sent is the same as what arrived.
What’s the solution? Anybody?/mac
Comment by mac Sperry on January 22, 2010[...] Read more… Rise in jobless claims signals bump in recovery [...]
Pingback by Survival4Chicks » Blog Archive » How Can Localities Cope if the Dollar Crashes? on January 23, 2010Let me have a moment, and say/write, “BRAVO.” I so wish this article and many more like it to reach VAST majorities of persons – RIGHT NOW. Personally, I’ve never had the publishing power, but I have done my Earthly best to convey the same to all I can. TY
Comment by Dennis White on January 23, 2010The only practical way to “cope” locally & nationally if the dollar crashes, and even if it doesn’t, is to implement The Sperry Plan, to be found here: http://www.opednews.com/articles/SuperCapitalism-The-Sperr-by-mac-Sperry-090517-196.html
or on the website: http://www.howtorescueamerica.org
The Sperry Plan would raise enormous amounts of “seed” capital rapidly, to invest locally & nationally in those enterprises that would ameliorate the consequences of an imploding dollar. What dollars you have now could become worthless without The Sperry Plan & worth considerably more than they are now, with The Sperry Plan.
We are not a capitalistic society in that very few of us are actually capitalists. It is only mantra we have been fed in saturated fashion to lull the masses into an acceptance of a “stacked” system, that is stacked against them. The Sperry Plan will change that, AND QUICK/mac
Comment by mac Sperry on January 24, 2010hi all,
Comment by jeff on May 4, 2010great web site cool article its out standing,
i like this article,
thanks for view this article.
*****************************
Jeff,
Finance Dollar
mafri…
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