Archie Kobain

…of when we were together.

Yes.  Another week, another post – I am out of control.
There wasn’t going to be one this week but…  I have two very important things on the agenda.

First of all, I have seen The End of The World, as we know it.  At least the part whereby America rules the world’s finances.  So, I felt compelled to pass this information along to…well, all my loyal readers.  That’s you.

As you know, I have ranted in the past about our country’s overspending and over importing – to the point where we have essentially sent all of our money overseas and then borrowed it back so that we could buy and borrow more.  Soon, we will be so over-extended that we’ll never be able to repay our debts, that is.. unless someone loans us more money.

It’s a vicious circle.

I like to call that Donald Trump Syndrome.  I guess they key is to owe so much money that no one can afford to have you go bankrupt.  Of course, sooner or later, it all has to come crashing down.  That is, unless you come up with a lucrative reality TV show deal that essentially saves your ass.  That’s unlikely to happen for America.

Well, in as much as all of this “reality” is accurate, all along, I thought the end would come completely of our own doing.  But now I have discovered the even bigger brewing plot designed to help us along into financial obscurity and strategically overthrow us… moniteraly.

Like when you said you felt so happy you could die…

Does anyone remember the gold standard?
Once upon a time, the US Dollar was base upon gold reserves.  So, anyone you gave a dollar to, could, theoretically, go and cash it in for gold.  It even said so, right on the front of the note.

The brilliant thing about the gold standard was that it didn’t allow for us to arbitrarily fluctuate that amount of US currency in circulation.  In essence, there could never be more currency in circulation than there was gold stashed away in Ft. Knox or wherever – perhaps an underwear drawer, somewhere in the White House.

The basic idea was that, you could buy and sell whatever you needed to buy or sell, in gold, without having to carry any bulky gold bars around.  Also, paper money was then backed by a guaranteed value. It was brilliant.  Nevertheless, like the temporary brilliance of a bottle rocket, the US eventually moved away from the gold standard and, today – the US dollar is mostly backed by air.

It is, of course, still the thing that everyone wants.  We are still the number one economy in the world.  Let’s face it – we are everyone’s best customer and, somehow, the US Dollar has remained the World’s Reserve Currency.  This means – in a serious nutshell – that everyone compares their “dollars” to the US Dollar and is willing to transact in US Dollars.  An example might be…  If Russia wanted to buy oil from the King and the Boogie Men, both countries would convert their money into US Dollars in order to calculate or negotiate their price.  It’s the world’s accepted standard for money.

No one really seems to understand, however, how important this is for us. This gives us huge leverage around the world.  It puts us at the center of the world’s economy and, most importantly, it is what allows us to do what we have been doing – like continuing to operate, even though we have huge deficit spending and huge insolvency on our national balance sheet.  So, what’s the end game…?

China
In the last few years, as the US recieved a downgraded credit rating and we continue to lose control over our national debt, the International Monetary Fund started talking about possibly replacing the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency.  The impact of such a decision would be catastrophic here.  The US could no longer do what it does.  We would then have to answer to others and we couldn’t just – irresponsibly print more money to bail out banks, mortgage companies and automakers.  Things would change quickly in America.  Nothing would be so laissez-faire, as it is today.  But what could possibly replace the US Dollar?

Enter China and the Yuan.  The Yuan is the base unit of Chinese currency. I know it seems a bit crazy that the world might pick the currency of a communist country upon which to base its capitalistic system but – they are the only ones in a position to take this over and the only ones who are actively working on a plan to make this happen.

Get this – and Google it, if you don’t believe me…  China has been buying gold and mining for gold, all over the world.  That’s what they are doing with all their money – they are hoarding gold.  Up until last year, it was illegal for Chinese citizen to privately own gold – just like it was in the US, not to long ago. But last year, after the Chinese goverment could only stock up on gold so fast, they decided to invoke the help of their 1 Billion citizens.  The government then decided that it was OK for the Chinese people to own gold and, since then, has been encouraging them to buy and hold – gold!

Why?  …and why now?
I believe that, if IMF ever really starts looking to replace the US Dollar as the World’s Reserve Currency, China is planning to present itself as the only country in the world today with enough gold to actually back its currency. A brilliant move by the Chinese – not good for us.  And really, REALLY – if it came down to an international vote – no one in their right mind would say, “no – the US Dollar is worthless but let’s stick with that”.  No one.

Think about this.
We’ll talk further in a future episode.

Let’s move on (for now)…

Told myself that you were right for me,
but felt so lonely in your company.
But that was love and it’s an ache I still remember…

The second important thing that I needed to pass along, as soon as possible, before everyone on the planet has heard of this guy and I get little or no credit for being on the forefront of music is…today’s musical guest.

The problem is, no one is really sure how to pronounce Gotye.

Barnsley thinks it’s pronounced Gotcha.
I prefer to say Go Tie, or Go Thai – if you’re a fan of Asian food.
Really, really…  I think it’s more like Go-Tay.

In any case, I think you’re going to like him.
Here’s Gotye with Somebody That I Used to Know…

Brilliant. I know. That song is addictive… Watch.  You’ll see.
I can see you reaching for the replay button, right now, aren’t you…???
The hot chick showing up 2 1/2 minutes in doesn ‘t hurt either.
It’s perfect timing. That’s right around the time when I ask myself,
“why am I watching this painted naked guy singing?”

The hot chick is Kimbra, by the way…

Here she is looking Gagalicious…

And now you’re just somebody that i used to know…

Well, alrighty then.
I’ve said my peace and brought you your song of the day.
My work here is done…

BTW – a big thanks to my Gotye connection.

Love ya, Mean it.

– Arch