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.