Yesterday the Federal Reserve announced they are pouring $600 billion into the economy to buy US bonds other countries are no longer buying. The Wall Street Journal.com wrote:
The Federal Reserve, in a dramatic effort to rev up a "disappointingly slow" economic recovery, said it will buy $600 billion of U.S. government bonds over the next eight months to drive down interest rates and encourage more borrowing and growth.
QE2 here we come. It is frustrating to see our economic foundation crumbling before our eyes, and most people are not aware of the potential ramifications. Today, I expressed this frustration with a colleague who is from Russia. She said that yesterday this news was all over Russian TV. In Russia, they are warning citizens of the possibility of the US dollar declining rapidly in value due to this 'printing' of money. She further explained that in Russia most people only hold the amount of Rubles they need to transact purchases, and hold most of their savings in US Dollars or Euros. In the past, it was considered safer to hold long term cash in more stable currencies. So the warning yesterday was to let the common citizens know there is an increased danger to hold the US currency. She said this was headline news and everyone was talking about de-investing from the US dollar. They further discussed how this could increase the possibility of inflation, not only in the US, but in the entire world. They warned their citizens of what this could mean and to prepare.
The big question is -- where was the warning in the US? There was no warning. This news was not present at all for the common citizen on their local daily news. Most people are oblivious of the huge impact these decisions are having on their immediate future, and the future of their lives forever. I am so saddened to see hard working, financially responsible people 'drinking the Kool-Aid' and half-heartedly hoping somehow, someone else will solve the problem and everything will be all right. They are sheep with the wool pulled over their eyes -- being led by the sheepherder. Sadly, they are being led to the slaughter of the middle class.
What would happen to you and your family if suddenly tomorrow, a big bank collapsed and all your credit and debit cards did not work? Would you have cash on hand to buy food and gas for your car? What if a few days later there was no food, water or supplies in the stores because the delivery trucks could not make deliveries? Would you have enough food in your home to survive until the situation improved? What if the US dollar became worth less and eventually worthless? Would you have goods or services you could barter to get by until commerce could resume? These are the hard questions we need to ask ourselves and be prepared to answer. Hopefully, these questions will never have to be asked -- but, what if? Consider the warning of Russian TV -- even if you do live in the United States.