The Greatest Cover up in History…….

Morning Folks!!

I try and stay away from politics but each day politics and business are
getting more intertwined and frankly, it scares the shit outta me. I don't like
what I see. What I see is the greatest cover ups in the history of the country.
Let me first say there is plenty of blame to go around and there will be a time
to discuss that. Both parties have screwed us. Especially Congress.

How about what got us here and that is the mortgage problem brought to you
by Barny Frank and Chris Dodd? Now of course these two CROOKS are in charge of
fixing the problem that they themselves made. That is an impossibility. But hey
that is just the Frank/Dodd cover up. I doubt they will be calling for hearings
on themselves.

Then there is Bernie Madoff today. Fine he pleas. But what does he really
do? He really bypasses a trial and we will never know all the story. Why is that
important? Because the SEC did not do their job and if there is a trial guess
who gets embarrassed? I don't know the answer, but I guarantee there are dozens
that are implicated and many are elected or appointed government people. But hey
that is just Madoff and that cover up and it's only 60 billion or so.

Where to next? Let's go back to the future with Bush and Paulson and TARP.
That one makes me so sick let's just agree that's another cover up. Where's the
money??

Fast forward and we have been saved with a stimulus package that nobody in Congress
read. The largest spending bill in the history of mankind and nobody took the
time to read it?? I call that 'Congressional Malpractice.' This cover up scares
me a lot. The seeds planted here have to be funded forever. Many of the expenses
are on going long after the current problems are gone and that will likely
produce another crisis.

Unfortunately many people don't pay close attention to politics. They hear
tidbits. Some are fact, some are not. Few care. They just repeat. And so the
news media has gone to entertainment and the news we get is driven by a
reporters point of view which may be a view or agenda pushed by management. This
is a dangerous cover up because a press that has an agenda is no press at all. A
reporter has to stay on the trail no matter where the truth leads and agendas
completely defeat that.This cover up is dire.

So we all know we are spending trillions we don't have. But I want to pose
a question that I never heard asked. We know our current national debt is $10
trillion on the way to wherever. But if we would be doing a budget at home we
would look at our debt as well as our assets. My question is what is the value
of the assets of The United States Government? Last I heard the government owned
Yellowstone Park. What's the value of thousands of square miles of pristine
land? Yosemite? How much gold is actually in Fort Knox? How much cash is on
hand? How much is the Washington Monument worth? How many buildings does the
government own? What is the value? I could go on. You get the picture. But as a
numbers guy I really would like to see that side of the equation. How can you
really know how bad things are without knowing?

At the end of the day they are going to print more money, we will have run
away inflation and the only way to fix that is with higher taxes. Much higher
taxes. So then you as a domainer have to readjust your equation. PPC goes down,
equation changed. Registration prices rise, equation changed. Ad rates lower,
equation changed. Tax rate rises, fees rise, hidden taxes rise, prices rise,
equation changed.

None of us know the result of all the things we see changing with any
certainty. But we sure as hell can pay close attention and vocalize the sights
along the way. This whole thing is like an Evil Knievel motorcycle jump and
without a lot of forethought and practice, I just don't know how you make the
leap without changing life as we know it? Without risking everything. There is
still such a thing called 'Survival of the fittest' It is the oldest law of man. I mean there is a difference between helping and supporting. You can't
save everyone. If that was what we did as a civilization, all the dead people in
graves would be on life support instead. What a picture that would be!

What do you think about things? Is wealth redistribution here? Are things getting better or worse where you live? What are the things you are looking for to define success? What are the things you are looking for to define failure? Are you angry? Are you happy? Are you confused? Are you all and more?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz



12 thoughts on “The Greatest Cover up in History…….

  1. Scott Alliy

    commitment means doing what you said you were going to do long after the moment you said it in has passed.
    Alot of us will and should be asking ourselves”Am I a true domainer?”
    Each of our committment level will continue to be severly tested and our business decisions will determine if we are still a domainer 6 months or one year from now.
    I just renewed a hundred or so names. The cards have been dealt, My bet has been placed my hand is face down on the table, and I am comitted because I believe that no better investment exists than in the future and I believe that the future is the Internet.

    Reply
  2. Bruce Gittleman

    Two (of many) factors to consider: When amnesty and citizenship are bestowed upon the millions of undocuments workers on our soil, their wages will become subject to taxation and they will become eligible for mortgages and other loans. As such, the servicing of”our” National debt may become less burdensome on current taxpayers and the perception of a turn-around in our employment statistics may lead to increased lending and spending, which after all, is what forms the basis of our economy.
    Regarding wealth redistribution, that began with the first dollar collected in the form of a federal tax.

    Reply
  3. Larry

    Thanks for stepping up Rick.
    Seems too much info these days, we’re now all relativists and dont stand up for simple truths that could hurt.

    Reply
  4. Roderick Pagnossin

    Communist Russia owned everything. Houses, government buildings, farms. It owned your means of production. It fell.
    It does not matter what Yellowstone is worth. If it does not pay for itself it too is a debt to society. Just look at cities today. They bought up with tax payers money in recent years parks everywhere. Yet in the last six months all of a sudden most cities are hurting real bad as they have a short fall in revenues, Why? Because governent is too big and they spend too much. Why is it if I am a business man I have to start in a old gargage and then work my way up to a nice office. Cities, States and the Federal government build buildings and lay marble on the floors and the walls. That marble is imported from Italy at $300. a square foot.
    Instead of letting enterprize wheel and deal, government gets its hands on the properties and then like a pig at the trough wants the public to feed it. The public is running out of resources. Just like communist Russia became a skeleton of a nation starving its people to give to those who do not produce. This nation too is now socialistic. Communism is a stone throw away. Playing politics in the business arena has a liability. When the politics are coming from those who own the printing press and they have done nothing right and we still trust them to provide a safe landing then we are doomed. Why is it everything helicopter Ben Bereneke has done and stupid Timmy has done keeps destroying the economy and yet they are allowed to continue on their path to economic destruction. The slide is going to happen anyway. Propping up is just another word for welfare.

    Reply
  5. Kevin

    The buzz I’ve read for the backup plan is if the US goes into a total financial collapse where they can’t print more money nor find buyers for the debt, they plan on selling Alaska to either Russia, Canada or China.
    When you think about it that’s actually not a bad idea to recapitlize the Treasury.
    Alaska has 586,000 square miles of land, 375 Million Acres. With 6,640 miles of coastline it’s got more coast property than the entire coastline of the lower 48.
    Alaska’s oil production is 25 percent of the total US production.
    Alaska has the two largest producing oil fields in the United States (Prudhoe and Kuparak River).
    Alaska has 30% of the total proven U.S. oil reserves under it’s surface and on it’s outer continental shelf 41% of U.S. offshore gas reserves and 29% of the U.S. offshore oil reserves.
    Alaska produces 1.8 million barrels of oil and 1.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.
    Alaska would probably be the easiest and most valuable asset deal to get done with the least resistance since the state has a small population of only 600K, if the worst case scenario ever happens.
    I’d have to imagine between the land value and the oil value and other mineral values we could get about $10 Trillion for it.

    Reply
  6. Richard St.Cyr

    There is only one way to cure the problem and that is with TERM LIMITS. If the people want change this is where you will get it. Obama is going to go down as one of the worst presidents we ever had and Biden is a babbling brook and I won’t even get into Nancy Pelosi. Nancy is for Nancy and the hell with everyone else.
    I predict that Obama will be a one term president but look at the damage he will do in 4 years.
    Remember TERM LIMITS if we unite we can make this happen. Lets get rid of these fat cats (that is the polite word)
    Think about it!!!
    Dick St.Cyr
    ps. you need fresh blood in the government and this is the way to do it

    Reply
  7. Kevin

    I agree with Dick St. Cyr’s post.
    No more staying in Congress for 40 years! Should be no more than 1 or 2 terms just like the President.
    However we have term limits on the Exec and look what we’ve had. So I don’t even know if term limits will really change anything.
    Even better we need to get rid of the lobbyist system. That’s where every backroom slimy special interest deal originates and it inevitably corrupts even the most well intentioned politicians as we’ve seen.
    And of course this would be the most difficult task ever since the lobbyist would simply lobby not to take them out of the picture. LOL
    At the end of the day, I think most Americans are beginning to take the attitude that the system is and will always be corrupt, unfair, self indulgent, inefficient, wasteful and the best thing to do is to just worry about your own well being and take care of your own business and screw the system any way you can legally as much as it screws us everyday.

    Reply
  8. Joan Butler

    Rick, great post. I had to laugh this morning when I opened my paper The National Post (Canadian Paper)after reading your post yesterday. They state that Canada had a net asset value of 13.5B in December.
    Maybe as Kevin suggests we can buy Alaska with one caveat, as long as the US promises to keep Sarah Paulin. $10 Trillion might be a little more than we can handle.

    Reply
  9. Terence Chan

    Stop reading the news, Rick! Wear your motorcycle helmet, screw down the hatches as the hurricane of total system collapse blows through, smash a couple of Madoff dolls, write off 2009 and even 2010, and lets hope everyone gets sick of being totally wiped when 2011 comes along.
    The only good news, and one you should be proud of since you championed it like a foaming pit bull terrier since its early days, is that the Internet is probably the best ray of economic sunshine remaining.
    See you bright and optimistic again in 2011 :)

    Reply
  10. Brian Gilbert

    Hi Rick,
    Excellent post!
    A lot of Americans including me are fed up with the US Government. Glenn Beck has created http://www.the912project.com and if you check out the site, you’ll see that we’re not alone.
    There’s obviously no quick fix for the mess we’re in.
    It’s going to be an interesting couple of years to say the least.
    Brian

    Reply

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