A Bridge Too Far

Posted on October 19, 2008
Filed Under Finance |

There was a war movie called “A Bridge Too Far” about a desperate
operation during World War II to prevent the Germans from blowing up a bridge
the Allies wanted to save so they could move men and equipment across in
large numbers. It was full of foul ups and many men were killed and wounded,
but it was finally accomplished.

The Minnesota bridge reminds me of all the foul ups. You GIs remember
FUBAR. No one mentioned that the state of Minnesota is running a two million
dollar surplus. Why aren’t they fixing their own infrastructure?

The waves from the river had hardly hit the bank when commentators
were blaming President Bush for not providing money to fix the thousands of
bridges and other infrastructure. They all said he has billions for the war in
Iraq, but none for us folks at home.

No one has bothered to tell these self-styled “experts” that the money
for the Iraq war came from the same place the money for Medicare and Social
Security comes from. We (that’s the government – you and me) allow it to be
printed it out of thin air. It is called deficit spending which very few understand.
That’s what Big Ben (Bernanke) does. He prints fake money with the fancy
name of fiat currency.

Many years ago money (the dollar) was backed by gold, but slowly through
the years the amount of gold for redemption has been decreased until it was
abolished completely. You can’t go into the bank or to Ft. Knox and ask to have
your bills redeemed for gold. Gold is the only true measure of wealth that
cannot be diluted.

Look on every bill you have. It is printed that, “This note is legal tender
for all debts public and private”. No one or state is allowed to create money
or legal tender coins backed in gold or silver.

How many bridges need to be fixed? How many miles of water and
sewer pipes should be replaced? Why are we building new roads when we
can’t keep up with the maintenance of those in place?

Sure, money can be created, but most people do not realize each time
money is created without commensurate assets it dilutes the cash and that is
inflation. All dollars and debt outstanding buy less each time.

If any government wanted to go to war and the cost be paid out
of treasury surplus there would be very few wars. Many states have laws
requiring a balanced budget. It would be wonderful of the U.S. central
government had that law.

Because of a slowing economy there will be many states that will be
required to cut back on services or they will raise citizens’ taxes. Which will
you prefer?

Ask your governor how many bridges he is willing to cross?

Al Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter and receive his market letter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. Copyright 2007 All rights reserved

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