State collapse is inevitable when a society’s leaders are insulated from the negative consequences of their bad decisions.
Mike Shelby
As of today, Saudi Arabia’s options are limited. Their best hope is to make Scott Bessent understand that they have a nuclear option to destroy the USD by dumping US Treasurys AND destroying the petrodollar.
On the other hand, it is probable that the US wants to destroy the US dollar to minimize the $40 trillion debt and its crushing interest. Many nations are now trapped in the West and Middle East.
It is time to decide what to do with the time that is given us.
Dave,
they’re damned if they do and damned if they don’t. We can blame all this petro-dollar nonsense on Bush Sr., who started it even before he was elected president after Reagan. The Bushes have done more damage to this nation along with the Clintons, Bush Jr., Obama, and the last dolt, Biden. I believe there’s no coming back from this; if it blows up, the U.S. government will be forced into a force majeure to erase all of America’s debt, including our homes and so on. But that’s a death wish too, because the cash in our accounts would be wiped away for good and never returned, they replace it with their worthless digital coin backed by nothing, turning it into a full-blown tracking system for all our purchases. We can never allow this, Cash will still be King but for how long , i have no answer.
Grok:
The petrodollar system originated in 1973–1974. The term itself emerged after the October 1973 Yom Kippur War and the subsequent OPEC oil embargo, which quadrupled prices and created large dollar surpluses for oil exporters.
Those surpluses became known as petrodollars. The more structured arrangement took shape in 1974. In June the United States and Saudi Arabia created a Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation. In July, Treasury Secretary William Simon traveled to Jeddah and reached understandings under which Saudi Arabia would recycle much of its oil revenue into U.S. Treasury securities and other dollar assets, while Washington provided security guarantees and arms sales. Other OPEC members largely followed.
Oil was already frequently invoiced in dollars because of the preexisting eurodollar market; the 1974 deals mainly locked in surplus recycling into U.S. markets rather than inventing dollar pricing from scratch. By 1975 the pattern of dollar-denominated oil trade plus recycling of proceeds into U.S. assets was established.
I remember all of this from back in those years and how it all came about, but over time I didn’t have all the facts at my disposal. When you used A.I. to find the answer for you, it came up exactly as I remembered it happening.
“Money” imo will revert eventually to the last 2,000 year norm of gold & silver. Money is used only as an “exchange” for comodities like #1, Food & Shelter.
Pre-paration is only Common Sense applied to Pre-diction of evolving existing obvious conditions towards Survival Basics.
Your Assessment seems quite Logical to me. Fed Reserve “Cash” will have a very limited shelf life, imo.
The dollar is living on borrowed time. The only way the Houthis are going to stop is if 90% + are killed. So if the Saudis aren’t signatory to any of the WMD treaties, they should start cooking up a whole lot of nerve gas and use that. It’s the only method that will get results.
What Happens When We Realize No Politician is Coming to Save Us ???
Foreign Policy is Domestic Policy, All Wrapped Up in the “Gordian Knot”.
https://www.kunstler.com/p/light-and-dark
Ready or Not, Here It Comes Regarless of “Opinions”, imo 🙂
Our opinions are useless with this government and they don’t care but, they keep marching straight towards the abyss which they are so ignorant, and it will affect them and there children for years to come no matter how much money they looted from the treasury in both parties. Ignorance is a virtue in this government and there is no turning it back because they don’t consider us a voice and when we do speak out, they completely ignore us. It’s shameful what they have done to our nation along with the bureaucrats who follow thru on there dictates.
David I think your last line from the LOTR meme:
SNIP It is time to decide what to do with the time that is given us.
Really says it all.
Nobody here can affect the craziness of this situation.
But per Proverbs 27:12 “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty” (NIV)
And Grahams Killhouse Rules especially #5
Always Be Working
There is always something you can do to improve your position, skills, or preparedness. Continuous effort and vigilance are essential because no external help should be assumed.
Some home drills might need to be done or refreshed?
I’ve shut off my main breaker first for a weekend and later for a week.
Interesting how that shows any weakness in your power planning.
The weekend showed me things I simply didn’t have to do it well. So, while Amazon and Walmart were accepting Fiat dollars I could fix them.
Also fuel consumption was far worse than I assumed. Running a genset for lights, refrigerator and freezer used little of its power but *Still* lots of gasoline. Thus, I bought a 5+KW hour solar battery with a 1.6KW solar array.
Most needs were easy to do with that solar array with 1-2 hour recharges with the generator while running the well pump and topping off cistern. MUCH easier on gasoline supplies.
Figure out MUFFLING for that Generator. I replaced the factory muffler with a car muffler and it helps a lot. I’ve found rubber standing mats under it and surrounding it with Hay Bales (Open to top, keep hay away from generator to airflow and fire hazards) Really quiets it down to a 1/4 mile away I couldn’t hear it.
BLACK OUT test. Use some blue tape and black sheet plastic to black out home. Wait until dark with ALL Light ON. Take a dark night walk around.
Why? If power and fuel get crazy you can SEE Light from across the valley. Where so you think Crazies GO to then?
Duress training and emergency exit training. An agreed phrase that tells your spouse something isn’t right and a response.
Exit training, if you have to exit the house (maybe flaming bottles of “mostly peaceful” gasoline) where do you rally? As EMS responding to real life house fires, it’s sad to see parents looking all over wondering where the kids went.
Trusted neighbors are a blessing for this situation.
Can you really respond well to a stormy midnight crash of a window shattering in the living room (kitchen etc.)?
Dose your family know to stay in their rooms or move to your bedroom and Mom secures it while Dad with proper foot gear (NO Cut Feet please) and firepower checks to see if it’s Trouble or just a tree limb?
Assuming a tree limb and power outage. Can you really in the dark find your tools, plastic sheeting, nails, strips and cover that window. Might be important IF it’s winter and that’s sleet coming in.
Can you properly CLEAN UP that broken glass so your family and pets don’t get cuts from bits of glass shards. You MIGHT NOT have a Vacuum cleaner. Flashlights, gloves, Blue tape, broom and dustpan helps.
My solar battery means I can run the vacuum cleaner but be prepared to have to lose the carpet and struggle with any glass infested furniture. Sitting on a shard when 911 might not be useful is BAD.
Stopping here, but you get the idea.
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