The dollar and deflation
The dollar is falling and we have no inflation.  This has never happened before in the U.S., never..... did you know this?  The dollar is falling relative to all major currencies, by a lot.  It is falling relative to gold too.We have no inflation.  There will be no automatic Social Security raise next year because there has been no inflation.How can this happen?  In economic theory, when a country generates a significant fiscal deficit

Pensions
I'm involved in an international effort to help a group of pensioners get their pensions.  As in many parts of the world, (I won't tell you where I'm working) borders have changed and the government that collected the money for pensions from workers is gone.  That happened all over East Europe in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and places in the Middle East such as Iraq.  It is a big worry for South Korea in case Kim Jong Il's tyranny falls.I find that most people as

Kabul: knives and camel tack
I've been asked my opinion about military options in Afghanistan.  Why me?No good reason.  I was in Kabul for a visit with my mother and father, in 1971, as they traveled over many years from London to Singapore where they bought an island in Malaysia on the South China Sea.I learned three things that the press never covers.  First we took a few days off to relax in the

Changing politics is much too hard
As an example of what I mean by changing your mind let me give an example: you see a small ad on a wall.1) Many people believe that ads are posted by malicious corporations intent on getting consumers to buy products they don't want.  The advertising agencies hire highly paid psychologists to use the latest subtle technology and science to take advantage of poor people to make a profit for the corporations.2) Another smaller group believe that an ad is put up by a fragile business that i

Who knows how to start businesses?
There may be several other people in the world beside myself.  I don't know how many.  The number is probably less than five.  I started the Briarpatch Network in San Francisco and worked with over 1,000 start up businesses. When I say worked with I mean I saw their books, I visited their work premises and in most cases I gave advice that was requested and got to see the consequences of my advice.  A count by independen