Towards Creating a New Economy

February 27, 2009 · Posted in Financial Stability · Comments Off 

Green my Apple Amsterdam
Creative Commons License photo credit: Capitan Giona

For the purposes of analysis, “the economy” can be simplistically divided into 2 segments: that which creates economic activity of wealth and the opportunity for taxation; and that which is felt to diminish wealth and spend taxation. An example of the former is making luxury cars. Examples of the latter are caring for the elderly, healthcare in general and tackling global warming. At the root of this division is another concept; that of values. Buying a nice shiny new BMW has high value, bestowing prestige and a sense of being marked out as special. High wages are given to those involved in manufacture, service and sales. High wages (or indebtedness) are needed to buy one and maintain the tax, insurance and fuel duty.

Caring for disadvantaged people on the other hand is felt to have low value, low prestige, low wages. Public services go to great length to avoid paying for it at all, taking and making every opportunity to offload the cost onto someone else; ultimately the poor themselves. Politicians devise ever more sophisticated reasons to persuade us that they can actually reduce the “burden” of having to pay for this at all. The net result is that those who need social care or work within the sector grow progressively poorer, more oppressed and disadvantaged, while the economic infrastructure surrounding oil-based motor transport grows ever wealthier, or if in recession, deemed more worthy of protection and safeguarding. Read more

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Making Money on the Global Warming Crisis

February 15, 2009 · Posted in Financial Assistance · Comments Off 

Rushmore Flood
Creative Commons License photo credit: azrainman

Bad weather may be heading our way. Many very smart voices have raised their volume over the number of alarming red flags pointing to a worldwide environmental catastrophe coming in a few years or decades hence. One voice, coming from the sharp mind of James Lovelock is resounding across the world’s media nearly every day. His solution: get more nuclear reactors online and sequester the carbon dioxide emissions as fast as possible.

What’s the alternative? Move to the Arctic Circle, where you may someday bask year around with temperatures pleasantly at 74 degrees Fahrenheit. According to findings recently published in the journal Nature. About 55 million years ago, there was something called the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). In this PETM phenomenon, the entire Earth was heated up by a gigantic release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. Lovelock has insisted we may see that kind of hot later this century.

Now, another brainy man, with whom we have many chats this year, has issued a special 56-page report, entitled “Investment Implications of an Abrupt Climate Change.” Co-authored by Market Strategist Kevin Bambrough and Eric Sprott, Chief Executive and Portfolio Manager of the world-famous money management firm which bears his name, they present a compelling argument as to why and how global warming and climate change is going to dramatically impact our financial world. You are well advised to read it. Read more

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