Food may be the next Currency?

[SCGranny]

So, Happy, you think this is "capitalism"? Read this:
The Race to Buy Up the World's Water - The Daily Beast

Like the story relates, you can't just decide to buy Coke when the price of water gets too high... and privatization of public water companies leads to "shortcuts" that can not only stop the supply but (in the case of sewage) contaminate miles of potable water.

From pumping water out of aquifers, lakes and rivers and loading that water onto tanker ships and sending it overseas to help correct China's water failures; to buying and running bankrupt infrastructure companies here with Chinese workers and eliminating competition much the way that cheap Chinese imports have destroyed American factories and jobs - but this time on our own soil - the Chinese are buying up America. Our Federal government is offering China huge tax breaks and 'relaxed' immigrstion standards to do so. And if you think that means better competition and more availability, you are wrong. What it will do is raise the prices for Americans while eliminating not only their jobs but their usage of their own country's resources. As Americans lose their jobs and grow poorer, they won't be able to afford even the basics of life - like food and water - and what they will be able to afford will be of poorer quality.

Just as an aside comment on food - China's Huge U.S. Corn Purchase Expected to Drive Global Prices | CNSnews.com
If China buys up the land that produces that corn (which they are doing right now, all over the West and Midwest), do you think that they will sell it to Americans cheaply?

» Our Politicians Are Selling Off Pieces Of America To Foreign Investors

The Chinese Government Is Buying Up Economic Assets And Huge Tracts Of Land All Over The United States


Believe it - or don't. I happen to know that it is true. For 20 years I was heavily involved in infrastructure providance as part of community development. That included selling a public water plant to a private entity, and fighting for that entity to gain access to thousands of gallons of water - while watching my neighboring counties literally have to shut down their water plants and restrict both residential and business construction as well as usage while their water companies duked it out for access to water. That private company did not get Federal government "tax breaks" - and all of their employees were highly trained Americans, however.

The worst part was, that water was considered "potable" even though it was downstream from a nuclear storage facility that was known (and still is) to be leaking tritium into the water source. We were told by EPA officials that the water was "safe" even though we were also advised by the same EPA people not to eat more than 2 fish a month from the river, to avoid a buildup of nuclear contamination. Right now, there are entities fighting over that water resource - from as far as 600 miles away. So if you think that water - or any infrastructure - isn't that big of a deal, then you just haven't been paying attention. The FedGov is selling the American birthright -the water under your house, the coal and oil in your fields, the roads and rails that you ride on (and from where you get most of your supplies) - for a mess of pottage... and using your tax dollars to subsidize it.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

I bolded the above as food for thought...

"water". How many are on city water ? You depend on the city to send you clean fresh water.

We now read about cities going bankrupt.
There are also articles about cities being behind in their payments ..some up to a year.

With this "recession" going on 4 years old, how much longer can cities stay solvent on declining revenues ?

For just that reason I had the stock ponds dug out and dams re-built a few years ago. I'd like to build a larger lake of about 3 acres but have not had the study done to see if the place I would like it to be would hold water.

Having a well drilled is weighing heavily on my mind.

Water and sewer municipal bonds are generally considered among the most safe investments as the interest is usually paid back through tax initiatives. The bankruptcy of the county which includes Birmingham Alabama was an eye-opener since that county did a credit swap and defaulted on its debt while the bank that sold the county on that paper switch got a taxpayer funded bailout. How many more counties and municipalities have done same? How will the bond holders and customers of those municipal utilities know?

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Food has been the basic currency for thousands of years. A hundred years ago in 1911 you could buy a cow with a $20 gold piece. Today you can buy a cow with that same $20 gold piece. A $20 bill won't get you very far down the meat counter. I'll go further back. When Christ walked the earth you could buy 400 loaves of the finest bread with an ounce of gold. Today you can buy 400 loaves of the finest bread with an ounce of gold.

What has changed? The value of our currency has been deflated by manipulation. It is intentional because it benefits those incredibly wealthy families who control our currency. The common man struggles. When I was a kid the neighbor down the street drove a milk truck. He started at 3 AM and was done before noon. He was home for lunch and he coached Little League. His wife never worked outside the home. I figure he made $5,000 a year. You could have a good living on $100 a week.

I had the luxury of having an economics professor who didn't care. He was not politically correct. He told the truth. He told us where money comes from, where the money is, where money goes and how money is destroyed. Why didn't he care? He had cancer and he was going to die. He lasted about 18 months and worked as long as he could.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

When I posted the above on real costs, food and value I wanted to add a talk delivered in 1971 when I was in college. I found a link. I believe it is worth your time if you want to understand out economic system.

http://www.diametrics.info/audio/Wheat_Receipts_1971.mp3 (broken link)