Don’t Take Me for Granted

Posted on August 27, 2021 by MN Gordon

“Screw your freedom.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger, August 11, 2021

Freedom Lost

Freedom in America, and throughout the world, is in decline.  In fact, it has been in decline for many years.

Perhaps a little freedom lost in exchange for security and comfort may seem like a fair trade in certain cases.  But caution is advised.  As the idea of what freedoms are acceptable to give up expands, the air of freedom becomes polluted.

Small losses of freedom, whittled away incrementally, add up.  You may not notice it from day to day.  Yet over time the sum losses have resulted in a world that’s dramatically less free.

Compulsory seatbelt requirements or drivers licenses may not be a big deal.  One could argue this government regulation is a small sacrifice that’s intended to provide public safety.  Yet maybe the world would be a better off without it.

And what about body scan searches to board an airplane?  Or proof of vaccination to enter an indoor business or to cross state lines?  What about vaccine passports? Continue reading →

Posted in MN Gordon, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 35 Comments

“Where is the Outlook Most Miserable?”

Posted on August 20, 2021 by MN Gordon

Things are not always as they may appear…

In 1939, a decade into the Great Depression, and the year Hitler’s Blitzkrieg invaded Poland, investor sentiment had reached extreme pessimism.  Newspaper headlines provided daily confirmation the world was coming to an end.  And to a certain extent they were right.

The New York Times front page headline from September 1, 1939, shouted in all caps and italics:

GERMAN ARMY ATTACKS POLAND;
CITIES BOMBED, PORT BLOCKADED;
DANZIG IS ACCEPTED INTO REICH

Indeed, the prospects for acquiring and building wealth appeared bleak.  The unemployment rate in 1939 was at 17.2 percent.  Widespread bank runs had decimated people’s savings and trust in financial institutions.  The most logical strategy at the time was to stuff your money in a mattress.

Many people did.  But not everyone… Continue reading →

Posted in MN Gordon, Stock Market | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Why Big Government Statists Despise Gold

Posted on August 13, 2021 by MN Gordon

Did you get a 5.4 percent raise this year?

If you answered no, then your income is being systematically diminished by the federal government’s coordinated policies of dollar debasement.

You see, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices increased 5.4 percent over the last 12 months.  So if your income didn’t increase by a commensurate 5.4 percent, then you are earning less than you were just one year ago.

The fact is price inflation acts as a hidden tax.  It’s the government’s underhanded way to increase spending without overtly increasing taxes.  Yet the tax still takes place, as the dollars in your biweekly paycheck become worth less and less.

The primary culprit of rising prices is the over issuance of federal reserve notes by the Treasury via deficit spending.  This debt based money enters the economy through government transfer payments and other spending programs.  There, it competes with the existing stock of money to buy goods and services.  Prices rise, accordingly.

Through the first 10 months of Washington’s fiscal year, which ends on September 30, the federal government has run a budget deficit of 2.54 trillion. Continue reading →

Posted in Inflation, MN Gordon | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

Why Grubby Politicians like Joe Biden No Longer Get All the Breaks

Posted on August 6, 2021 by MN Gordon

[Editor’s Note: Work duties have taken us to southern Indiana this week.  We’ve used the distraction as an opportunity to ignore the latest happenings in the world of money and markets.  Thus, today we recall one of the early legends of the self-publishing business…and the generous gift he offered to the little guy entrepreneur.  Enjoy!]

A Man of Confections

Ted Nicholas Peterson – known to friends as “Nick” – was a man of confections.  Fudge, to be exact.

At age 21, and $96,000 in debt, he started his own confectionery business called, “Peterson’s House of Fudge,” in Wilmington, Delaware.  Through the 1960s, by way of savvy marketing and an intense study of the awesome power of words, Nick grew his business from one store to ultimately 30 store franchises.

But, for Nick, the love of fudge was merely a starting point.  For what Nick really loved was words, marketing, and entrepreneurship – and how he could empower the little guy to succeed. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, MN Gordon | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments