The World at a Crossroads

With the recent collapse of
financial markets and the housing markets that they support, it is time to evaluate your financial position in not only your private world, but to form a strategy based upon your place in the global community that we have all dwelt in since fiber-optics, the internet, and wireless
technology began to contract our world into a global village per the prediction of John
Naisbitt in his 1980’s blockbuster Megatrends.

The devaluation of the dollar due to the infusion of over $1.3 trillion of dollars into the world’s economic systems further compounds a trend seen across the globe that accelerated dramatically with the
standardization of the Euro as the primary European currency. As Americans, our world dominance has been built upon the foundation of our ravenous consumerism. The loss of the almighty dollar’s strength will mean decreased funds available for the expansion of American small businesses, limited
availability of loans for housing, automotive, and education
purposes, and a reduction in retirement lifestyles for the baby-boomers we’ve all heard so much about. The initial result is less consumerism, less growth and innovation, and a stagnant or contracting quality of life. As a final result, we could see the US potentially slide to the status of a tier-2 economic power which causes some of our foreign debts to be called due, an increase in the cost of
insuring foreign held US
assets, and even a reduction in the amount of funding available for our defense budget.

Over its history, our nation has achieved dominance in agricultural production, the industrial revolution, manufacturing capacity, military supply and might, and
technological and medical advancements. The next market where we must achieve dominance is in
energy—encompassing every imaginable facet. Energy will continue to claim center stage as an investment and wealth-building commodity, as a backbone for treaties and alliances, and as the primary factor behind making all of our lives function. If you don’t believe me, try living for one week without using
electricity, oil, or natural gas or without using anything that is acquired, made,
packaged, shipped, or sold using those same energy resources.

As an American, now is the time to establish realistic goals, moderate household expenditures, eliminate debt, and begin accumulating wealth. Wealth building
cannot be an overnight
process and only a controlled regular investment plan
directed at a tangible asset will prepare you for the days to come. Consumer and
media sentiments indicate that housing purchases are out of favor, which means it’s time to buy. You can’t “buy low” when everybody else wants the same thing. Looking at the increased cost of materials involved in the
construction process (concrete, lumber, steel, etc), it does not appear that it can get much cheaper to
construct a home than what one can be purchased for today. Commodity markets will continue to be driven upward as China, Pakistan, India, Russia, etc. continue to build their national infrastructures and we as a nation must compete for materials against nations who have learned the value of capitalism and expansion from us. The strategy here is one which calls for creating personal wealth with a stable, tangible asset while it is
economically feasible to do so. As costs to construct continue to increase, so will the value of existing homes, and while today’s headlines may be bleak, the end of a bear-market in any financial
endeavor means the beginning of the bull-market, and a chance to “sell high.”

-By Nick Andress

1 Cup Cooking Oil 1/2 Cup pecans

4 Eggs lightly beaten 1/2 Cup Raisins

2/3 Cup Water 3 Cups Sugar

3 Cups Cooked Pumpkin 3 1/2 Cups Flour

3 1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg

2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine oil, eggs, water and pumpkin. Next sift dry ingredients in another bowl and make a well in the center. Add pumpkin mixture and stir until moistened. Add nuts and raisins. Bake 1 hour for loaf or for mini muffins 12 minutes.

Makes 3 1lb loaves or many mini muffins.

-By Joan Rebaza