Feedback Friday - February 8, 2013

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What a week. It started with the pageantry of false Americana that is the Super Bowl, complete with power outages and murderous linebackers, and ended with a winter storm in the east, shocking all news outlets that snow would fall in February.

Remember, if you have any questions, concerns, or issues with what you've read on TDV, write us at tdv@dollarvigilante.com, and it’ll likely appear in Friday Feedback, like these…

THE SKOUSENS

Dear TDV,

I'm a little puzzled by something that perhaps you could help me with (please excuse my dangling preposition, but it's less awkward to say than "with which you could help me", haha). 

In "The Weekend Vigilante for February 2, 2013" newsletter, Jeff mentioned the Global Financial Summit, operated by FreedomFest founder, Mark Skousen. In addition to "TDV Homegrown", I also happen to follow a fellow by the name of Joel Skousen who I think is Mark Skousen's brother. 

In any case, Joel Skousen (who claims to speak fluent Spanish and who lived in South America for several years among other things), thinks that expats living in what are now friendly countries to Anglos will become distinctly Un-friendly if and when economic troubles become bad enough. In fact, he believes that hunger and desperation due to an economic collapse or other civil unrest will lead to hatred and mob violence against westerner's in Latin American countries such as Mexico, and that these nations will be very dangerous if and when TSHTF. I suppose the same thing applies to Chile in the long run, even though Chile is probably the freest and most prosperous nation in South America at the moment. 

What are your thoughts on the Latin American countries (especially Mexico) having a resurgence of nationalist pride and a re-kindled hatred of westerners due to all the troubles the USSA has caused them due to our so called "war against drugs", etc? 

Thank you,

Ron D.

Jeff’s Response:

Hola Ron,

I have been to, and spent plenty of time in, almost every country in Central and South America as well as many Latin American countries in the Caribbean. Each place is different, of course. I’ll speak about my experiences and what I expect in a number of different countries, as my answer is fairly long, I’ll just talk about Mexico this week and then next week I’ll talk about Chile and a few other Latin American countries.

Mexico is a massive country. Most people seem to overlook that. I’ve spent years traveling through Mexico and still haven’t seen many places. Each region is just as different culturally and with different customs and accents as are Bostonians, New Yorkers, Texans, and Californians. Therefore it is hard to generalize. What I can say, for where I currently spend most of my time, in the southwestern state of Guerrero, in Acapulco, it has a totally unique culture. Acapulco is a 500-year-old city and was the site of the first instance of global trade, with twice yearly Spanish Galleons traversing the Pacific from Acapulco to Manila trading spices and other items. Guerrero is also known as almost being its own country. Rarely do federal officials even come into Guerrero because they aren’t welcome. As well, being a tropical beach town it is also immensely laid back. You’re more often to see the local cops playing cards and drinking beer than out on patrol harassing anyone. So, after painting that picture, what would a complete global financial system collapse look like in Acapulco? Well, you only have to look back to the Peso collapse in the 1990s to know that not too much really happened. There were a few lean years, but Acapulquenos are very self-sufficient. Most food eaten there comes straight out of the sea or from local farms and people in Acapulco haven’t bought into this credit system. There is no such things as mortgages in Mexico and most people are not in debt. If there was some stressful times, do I think they’d target non-Mexican looking people? Again, in Acapulco, it is such a racially diverse area that I am even doubtful of that. Most people in Acapulco are part Spanish, part Asian (from the Asian trading days), part native Mexican and part black (from the slave days). in fact, that is the exact make-up of my wife, and she is normal for Acapulco. Plus, in general, the people aren’t very racist, likely because of the diverse mixtures in the area.

And, finally, for a person like myself who has integrated so much in the community, running many businesses, employing many people, married to an Acapulquena, raised my kids there and have countless friends the chances of something happening to me during The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI) in Acapulco are slim to none. Not to mention I’m well armed. I’ve been a boxer and trained in martial arts, my wife is a kickboxer who is in the gym twice per day and both my children train every week in Kung Fu. Plus, having a bodyguard is very inexpensive. My last one who recently quit because he is now a professional boxer cost $10 per day. So, in short, I’d rather be in Acapulco than Los Angeles or New York when TEOTMSAWKI happens. There is much, much more racial tension in the US than in Mexico.

A FREE MARKET IN SPORTS?

Dear Mr. Berwick,

Do you really think sports are a free market activity when the stadiums are paid for by the taxpayers? I'm quite sure the salaries for the players would be a LOT lower if the owners had to pay for the stadiums out of the ticket and TV revenue.

Jeff's Response:

If I remember correctly, I never said that sports were actually a free market. I just said that I'd have no problem with the athletes earning millions of dollars in a free market. No person who supports freedom and free markets would. Free market supporters don't utter nonsense about certain people getting paid "too much" or how some professions "ought" to make more than others. They let the market -- millions upon millions of individuals -- determine how much people selling their goods and services will make. 

Now whether athletes would earn as much if part of their pay had to be defrayed toward the cost of the stadiums...that is an interesting question. Based on the way people in general get fanatical about the sports, teams and players they love, I suspect that those players would still be getting plenty of money.

But here is something about stadiums. They are way more expensive than they have to be because local governments are thoroughly involved with their creation. Stadiums would be even better places to visit and much cheaper to build if someone besides the government were throwing resources at it. This is always the case because governments by their nature can never be as efficient as private enterprise...because governments simply cannot be truly concerned about the bottom line because they have all the guns and the "right" to use them. They don't have to worry too much about economic efficiency. After all, they can always steal more money from their slaves if they feel the need. Or just stick the next few generations with the bill by borrowing the money. So I could claim without a hint of doubt that a truly free market stadium would cost a fraction of what the current government-ridden stadiums cost.

Another reader brought up this question, too...

"Jeff, what do you think about the taxpayer-funded stadiums used to profit private enterprise? When I was 11 years old, Harris County voted to build the Astrodome. I am 63 years old now. The Dome has still not been paid off. It is in complete disrepair and yet the politicians cannot decide what to do with it."

Obviously, I think government on any level -- federal, state, county or municipal -- is a violence-backed racket. And whatever the state does will produce lower quality at greater cost than the market (which is just you, me and billion other people voting with their income). The corporatist stadiums are as wicked and inefficient as the socialist roads. So expect your great-great-grandchildren to be paying for that decaying mess in Houston while the corporatists have long made off with the profits and the politicians have been buried with their kickbacks lining their coffins. 

Dear TDV,

In the battle against ignorance we use words to assault and defend. Just as in a real battle, those attacks on the corrupt can end up as friendly fire. Saying that the soldiers are " as the nation's 'heroes', as if these people weren't the otherwise unemployable tools of foreign aggression and dominance.", is hateful and cruel. You are not so smart as to know what is in the minds of the men and women who serve and sometimes die for what they think is for the welfare of their country. I am a Libertarian and an INTJ and I am thinking about unsubscribing from the DollarVigilante. Filling the pages with anger and hatred stirs anger and emotion on the part of others and is no way to end the violence. If Libertarians, including extreme libertarians like anarchists, are using the same negative emotions as the government, then why should anyone listen anymore?

Let me show a different point of view. In World War II, militaries lobbed massive projectiles into a combat area, and dumb bombs fell on the cities of Germany and England killing many indiscriminately. Then came guided missiles and smart bombs, and we look back and think about how much more explosive these types of bombs had become, however they actually hit their target more often which actually decreased the collateral damage, dramatically in some cases. Today they're using drones, a smart missile if you will. Though too small to carry an actual human, it non-the-less allows the addition of human intelligence and human compassion to an otherwise inhumane arena. Soldiers returning from combat don't often have problems about being in the hazardous situations, as much as mostly have a hard time dealing with the things that they were forced to do.

Your assumptions may be right, but some of them may be wrong. However as one of the quieter voices on the front lines struggling against the advancement of the state, I ask you to tone down the rhetoric. Try to show the positive side of who we are and what we're about - or at least stop trowing stones, you don't know who you're going to hit.

Respectfully yours,
Bob 

Gary's Response:

Bob's letter was in reponse to Jeff's recent article "The Potemkin Village in New Orleans".  

I'm answering because Jeff saw where Bob was coming from whereas my initial reaction was that there was no need to tone anything down. Nothing less than the fate of humanity is at stake. We cannot afford to mince words. Taxation is theft. It's not justified under certain circumstances. It's the lifeblood of the economy stolen by the vampire state. Regulation is economic distortion at gunpoint. It doesn't help, only hinders. I feel that we should especially call war what it is -- a bunch of callous, self-righteous or just self-aggrandizing politicians throwing away thousands or millions of lives. And those who would be their toy soldiers need to be woken up to the truth. They aren't defending their homes. They aren't spreading liberty. They are being used as pawns by pscychopaths to turn other human beings into bloody bits. 

But in response to Bob's valid concerns, I turn the question over to you vigilantes. Our operation exists to serve our readers and clients by bringing truths that you just won't read or hear anywhere else. We don't ever want to water that down. Ever. While he doesn't necessarily agree with Bob in this particular instance, Jeff believes there's no point in getting overly angry about this truly sick and criminal system. And the best way to reach people is through humor...a humor that should reflect the genuine good humor that comes from living life to the fullest. Personally, I'm more the "grumpy cat" of the operation. You might have spotted the slightly different tones in the Saturday Weekend Vigilante by Jeff and the Sunday Notes from the Underground Railroad by me. Maybe it's just a case of angrynegroitis. But let us know what you think of the article...and of our delivery in general. Send your feedback to gary@dollarvigilante.com. 

P.S. If you think we are doing a fantastic job as it is, we certainly won't complain if you take a minute to let us know. But by all means please click here to sign up for our deeper economic analysis and actionable advice if you haven't already. If you appreciate our unwavering take on freedom and the markets, then be sure to have our analysis and advice working to build your wealth. Money may not be the key to happiness...but it sure helps buy a lot of the things that can make you happy...and it will help you assemble the necessary defenses and strategies to survive the economic and political tribulations that are only just starting. Click here to learn more about how we can help.