Ever wonder how the great illusionists (magicians) do their stuff? I do, and to be truthful, even though I don’t know how the professionals do it, I do know it is all a fake or beautiful illusion. I know he didn’t make that building disappear or saw the girl in half, because the building and girl are still there! A friend of mine in high school, was an amateur magician, and I was his stooge several times when he was giving a show. The late Johnny Carson was a pretty good magician before he got into radio and then Television. Escape artists make me cringe, because they are actually trying to escape, and it is no illusion. The Great Houdini was an escape artist who failed to escape once, and it cost him his life. Magic shows, on the other hand, are great fun. because you know it is all an illusion. My dictionary defines an illusion is: (1) “A false idea or conception,” and (2) “An unreal of misleading appearance or image.”
There are several types of illusions other than a magician’s tricks. Out in the desert, there are heat waves, which can give the illusion that off in the distance there is an oasis or body of water, when none exists. Stage props and movie sets are so realistic, they seem to be real, even though they may be false fronts or facades of real buildings or rooms. By far, the greatest illusion currently in vogue, are the various forms of illusionary wealth. Be it fake jewelry, cars or fancy homes, on which are owed huge sums of money, the holders of these are not wealthy, but are attempting to give and illusion of wealth. Men and women dye their hair and use makeup to give the illusion of being a blonde or younger than they are. Go to it people, have your fun, but real wealth is having a home, car, or other possessions, and owing nothing on them. I love the term, “Free and clear.” Today, one can drive a Mercedes, and live in a mansion, and be bankrupt, thanks to credit and mortgages. In nearby Telluride Colorado, during a market crash a few years ago, multi-million dollar homes went into foreclosure. Illusionary wealth.
Ever hear of the name “Florenz Zeigfeld?” ‘Flo’ was a Broadway producer, who produced close to 25 “Ziegfeld Follies.” Usually a new one each year, but they glorified the woman, and introduced new musicals and plays. Most of his shows were held at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd St. The theatre had fallen into virtual ruin, when Disney bought it and totally restored it for his “Lion King,” so that theatre is once again in its original glory. Without Ziegfeld, we may never have had one of his biggest hits, “Show Boat,” but he was responsible for many, hits. He became fabulously wealthy, but made one big mistake. He was advised by one of his advisors to guess what? He took 90% of his wealth and put it into the stock market, on margin, a couple of months before it crashed. “Margin,” means that he borrowed lots of his stock purchases with loans from banks with the stocks as security for the loans. When the market crashed, his loans were all due, and he was ruined. Literally ruined. He died a couple of years later, in 1932, and never recovered.
History is full of illusions which millions have fallen for, such as the Tulip craze several hundred years ago, when millions lost their money. All paper monies around the world, seem to have value, but all are illusional, since none are backed by anything but the value of the paper they are printed on, and valueless promises from their respective governments. We have to use them to purchase items, but saving in them is foolish
To me, stocks are one great illusion, unless you think a millionth or a billionth of ownership in a corporation, with a CEO and board of directors guarding your ‘wealth,’ is not an illusion. It was in Ziegfeld’s day, and to me, stock ownership is resting on a weak limb. If you drive a wonderful $100,000 Mercedes, and you owe $95,000 on it, your wealth is illusionary, and the same with a home. What is not an illusion, is the physical fact of real wealth in the form of gold and silver, regardless of how much. Each ounce of gold or silver is yours, with no mortgage, government control, or property taxes and insurance. Going back in recorded history, gold and silver have always been real money throughout history and geographic location. All governments continue to spend more than they take in, causing inflation. They pay their bills in constantly decreasing in value ‘money,’ and currently under Biden, your hundred-dollar bill, will now buy 7% less than it did a few months ago. Hershey Bars, Coca Cola, autos, and real estate, and all things ‘go up’ in un-backed paper money. Gold and silver also ‘go up’ in paper money, as do all other things, and that’s why saving in dollars is absurd. In your wallet, under your bed or in a bank, the dollar will continue to slide as all things ‘go up.’ It makes no sense to save water in a leaky bucket, and the comparison with dollars is the same.
Don Stott– don@coloradogold.com