From the Grand Junction (Colorado) Sentinel, surely not typical of other places, where real estate has gone up much more. “During the period between 1993 and 2002, home prices in the Grand Junction area grew at a much faster rate than per capita personal income, according to a Daily Sentinel analysis. In 1993, per capita […]

So far, so good with the banks, OK? They had a holiday, and 1200 of them never re-opened, which is as it should have been. They had loaned out depositors’ money, and the loans defaulted. Hard times. Turn the clock back close to 20 years before that, and see what happened. A central bank was […]

We have so far progressed to the banking and coinage situation until FDR came into office. Before FDR, it was pretty honest, above board, and easily understood. Banks stored your gold or paper money, and one could write checks on the deposited funds, or redeem your paper money for gold. Silver coinage was honest also, […]

We all use a bank, or sometimes more than one. Banks allow us to write and mail checks, hold credit cards, borrow dollars, or save them, (if one could be so stupid), in relative safety. How did banks get started? Let’s examine it. Originally of course, “money” was gold and silver, and it still is. […]

Kiss? As with lips? Of course not. KISS means “Keep It Simple, Stupid.” How I wish America had done it. Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution of the United States, reads in part, that “No State shall…make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” If only the Founders […]

Ever hear the phrase, “famous last words?” You know, “This is the safest most un-sinkable ship ever built,” as the Titanic steamed towards America, or “Firestone tires are the best in the world.” How about “The Riggs National Bank, has been a pillar of honesty and dependability for a hundred years,” (if you live in […]

Picture this: A guy drives into a gas station with his new Mercedes, and fills the tank with gas. He then checks his oil, and discovers it’s a quart low. He goes into the station, and asks what kind of oil they carry. “Well, we’ve got Quaker State and Pennzoil for $2 a quart, and […]

The majority of votes elects a President. Sort of, anyway, but the electoral college is another subject. Nevertheless, it is a majority of voters which will elect a Congressman, Mayor, Councilman, Senator, Governor, or what have you. The so-called ’democratic’ method of government, which America is not supposed to be, means that a majority of […]

In my Kiwanis Club, are a couple of bankers. At one of my last programs, I, as usual, was speaking about precious metals. The question was asked, “Do gold or silver pay any interest?” The answer, of course, had to be “No.” I then asked the questioner and audience in general, “Does your home pay […]

While I don’t own any stocks of any kind, I do keep up with the market. I watch it every day with great amusement. Not precious metals stocks, but stocks in general. I know all about P/E ratios, and what is a good buy. I subscribe to Richard Russell’s Dow Theory Letters, even though I […]