And the Financial Experts Say...

For many, the tidal wave of financial collapse has come as somewhat of a surprise. How is it, that with so many people watching TV and reading the news, that such a shock-wave
could ever occur? Who are these experts, and why were they telling us that everything was going to be alright a month ago?

Most, if not all of the talking heads on TV are products of the system that is collapsing around us. They are members of financial institutions and legislative bodies which have brought this mess upon us. Why would they want to scare anyone into taking their money away from them? Their main priority is usually to keep people investing and participating in this unsustainable system of insanity. Diversification is always their motto..."spread out your investments... everything is cyclical. Stay calm."

Never will they tell us to invest in ourselves. If you were to decide to invest in your health, or spend your money on a spiritual retreat that would actually enrich your life, what's in it for them? If you decide to take your money and invest it in an eco-village, what will they get out of it? We have to realize where they are coming from, and who actually signs their paychecks before we take any of their advice.

Suze Orman was recently on Oprah, and implored everyone to either invest in an FDIC-insured savings account (give even more of your money to the bankers) or US treasury bills (give even more of your money to the US government). She is a talking piece, especially for the bankers. She is even on the homepage of the FDIC.

Biased? Look at all the air-time she gets...consistently telling us to keep our money with the bankers. I don't deny that she has helped many people, and I like some of her ideas, but until she starts to suggest that we invest in sustainable lifestyles free from money and banks, she is just another symptom of the problem.

I graduated from college with a B.S. in Business-Marketing. I know what the mentality is like - "Invest in something else... someone else." We would spend countless days and months learning how to read financial reports and work out ratios. I have a business background... I'm not in the dark here. Looking back, I wish I would have traveled and spent my money on improving myself.

But what I know for sure is that unless we invest in a sustainable living situation, we will forever be shackled to what is going on in the economy. Want to know what a really good investment is? Fruit trees and a greenhouse. A fruit tree, purchased for $40, will give you $300 worth of fruit every year for the rest of your life. Now that is a wise investment. When all the food is gone, can you eat your money? Your gold? Your 401k papers?

Suze Orman might be living off of canned meat and beans in 5 years, or living on some tropical island with all the money she made, but we (if we are smart enough and act soon) can invest intelligently in a lifestyle independent from gas prices, food prices, and interest rates. We can take back our money from this culture that is consuming the planet and put it towards creating paradise on Earth again.

Look at who is giving you advice, and what they have to gain by it. They have steered us wrong so many times...isn't it time to try something new? Learn about permaculture and creating local and gift economies. There is no coincidence that the more we invest in a sustainable lifestyle, the less influence the corporate powers have over our lives. Time is running out.

Follow Anthony Anderson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rawmodel

Comments

[nansofast]

I am self employed, I gave up slavery a few years ago.
It's time we decided that wealth is something entirely
different. The status quo no longer sustains us,
but rather, exploits us.

Thanks for your article, it's the most
sane piece I've read in months. No, better than that,
it's enlightening, literally.

[FalconerHK]

I can't say I'm surprised by any of this. Television has become the de facto replacement for a proper education and common sense, so think of Suze as the economics professor to the masses. It used to be that people were told never to trust what they read in the papers or saw on TV; as an educated person you were obligated to do a bit of research in order to make informed decisions.

We've become a nation trained to believe in television as the absolute truth and final opinion on everything. I know how it happened but I don't know anyone with a solid, actionable plan to put the toothpaste back in the tube, so to speak.

[mommadona]

And, if you don't have the space or the knowledge to grow your own...find someone locally who does...

Old adage - so relevant to today: Think Globally, Act (Shop) Locally

LOCAL HARVEST.ORG
http://www.localharvest.org/

[Rule Of Law]

"The Sixties!" It WAS a revolution. People tried new ways of living and being. And it scared the poop out of the Powers that Be. We stopped a war. We ended segregation. We fought for free speech, free thought and freedom. An entire nation, not just the youth, were mobilized--remember the march on DC? Grandparents, veterans, hippies, business people. It was not just San Francisco and LSD. We were feeding the poor and each other and weaning ourselves from the government--the very thing that the neo-cons claim they want. We would have created a new social order. But the forces arrayed against us were too powerful.

In 1975 a new organization called the Trilateral Commission authored a paper called "The Crisis in Democracy." Google it. It's real, not some tin foil fueled conspiracy bs.

They outline 5 steps to end the revolution that they had covertly helped start, but had spun out of their control. Dumbing down education, Destroying unions and worker representation, lowering the real income of working Americans, and Making home ownership an impossibility were all points. They blamed much of the resistance to their rule in the 60's on an overeducated, too wealthy middle class with too much time on its hands. The blueprint leading to today, is right there.

How much of this is our reality Now? What you suggest, Stephen, is their worst nightmare. And the powers arrayed against such thoughts are very powerful indeed.

[Anthony Anderson - Huffpost Blogger]

It truly is the most revolutionary thing we can do on a personal level. Instead of buying a Prius and new lightbulbs, we need to wean ourselves from all of this. Im checking out the Trilateral Commission right now...thanks for the background info.

Those 5 steps...totally in line with setting everyone up for wage slavery. Again..thanks for the insight.

Anthony

[Rule Of Law]

http://www.trilateral.org/projwork/tfrsums/tfr08.htm

http://www.minsky.com/crisis.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Crisis-Democracy-Governability-Democracies-Trilateral/dp/0814713653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223346243&sr=1-1

Happy hunting!

[DickTater]

Right On. Right On

[Anthony Anderson - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks D...glad you enjoyed. It blows my mind how trusting most of us are with these "experts" on TV...look where it has taken us!

More to come..

A