Ridiculous Ways U.S. Government Shutdown Will Affect You

By: Jeff_Berwick

Millions around the world today are hoping the US federal government shuts down at midnight on Monday.  Many have thoughts of wars and occupations ending in their regions... but, sadly, this is not part of the "services" that will be cut during a shutdown.

In fact, not only will the Department of Offense continue on as usual but so will all the tyrannical agencies such as the DEA, IRS, ATF, CIA and countless other alphabet soup agencies of oppression.

What will "shut down"?  According to CNN these are the Top 10 Ways A Government Shutdown Would Affect Your Daily Life:

1. I'm Proud To Be An American.  According to CNN, "the biggest hit would be to the collective psyche. America is the largest economy in the world and a beacon for how democracy ought to work".  It is sad if even one person in the US has their "psyche" hurt because of this!  It is sad how many people in the US now consider their country/region and the government that rules it as being one in the same.  Not to mention that the US was never designed to be a democracy... it was set-up as a Republic and all the founding fathers spoke very warily against any sort of democracy.  Democracy, fundamentally, is mob rule and anti-freedom. It is the tyranny of the majority against the minority. 

2. Anything Dirty or Dingy or Dusty.  It is unbelievable that this #2 reason from CNN warns people of how dramatically their lives will be affected if the federal government shuts down (and this after #1 was that it might hurt their "psyche").  It goes on to say that the only region in the entire country where trash pickup may stop in the event of a shutdown is in Washington, District of Criminals.  Hardly a national disaster! And, not to mention, that if that really were the case, free market private enterprise would spring up, like in Detroit, and people would actually have good options for waste disposal rather than a communist style, centrally planned garbage pickup. 

3. Money.  According to CNN, if you need a loan from the government, you won't be able to get it in event of a shut down.  Good!  If you are such a credit risk that no one in private enterprise will lend you money then, definitely, the government shouldn't lend you the money they stole from the innocent victims in their tax farm!  They also mention that Socialist InSecurity (SS) cheques may stop coming.  This is often one of the first things the government tries to scare people with, as Barack Obama did in 2011, during the last event of this type.  Why?  Because old people vote in much greater numbers than younger people and scaring them with threats of withheld money works.  What should really scare them is that both the US government and its SS Ponzi scheme is bankrupt.

4. Ammunition.  According to CNN, "A shutdown would affect the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Translation: That gun permit you wanted processed wouldn't happen anytime soon".  The ATF shutting down would be a wonderful thing.  So sad in the "land of the free" that one of the biggest threats to a government shutdown is that you may not get permission from the government to have a gun!

5. Drugs.  According to CNN, "The Republicans want to defund Obamacare in exchange for funding the government. But the health care act at the center of this storm would continue its implementation process during a shutdown. That's because its funds aren't dependent on the congressional budget process".  CNN is really reaching to find 10 ways this shut down will affect people when they explicitly state that #5 won't affect drugs or Obamacare!

6. The Mail.  CNN is really running out of ideas now that they have to bring up the post office, that bankrupt, antiquated, 1800s style of delivering information that the internet, FedEx and UPS rendered it obsolete decades ago. Oh, but here CNN again let's us know that even that embarrassing anachronism won't actually shut down!  "You know that whole 'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night' thing? Apparently, the U.S. Postal Service works through shutdowns as well."

7. The Roads!  Muh Roads!  For the third time in a row CNN says this will be unaffected (what was the point of this list again?).  They pitch this one as, "If you drive a car, I'll tax the street" as though to lead you into thinking the roads will close without the federal government, but then they don't mention roads again.  Here's what they had to say on it, "You may be thinking, 'No functioning government, no need to pay taxes.' Think again. The Man would continue to collect taxes. U.S. bonds would still be issued. And other essential banking functions would go on".  So, here is another one that won't affect you, unfortunately.  You still have to pay extortion to the federal government, even if they are "shut down".

8. The Military.  CNN says, "The good news (for you) is that the men and women in uniform would continue to keep you safe. "... okay, that's four in a row that won't affect people on a list of 10 ways the shut down will affect you!  Instead it is the usual propaganda trying to make people feel like the US military "protects" Americans.  

9. Celebrate!  Seriously, this is #9 on the list.  Here's what they said, "Don't come to work if you're a federal employee. You're on furlough. (Offer not valid for workers in 'critical services,' such as air traffic controllers, hazardous waste handlers and food inspectors.)  Do take some time to celebrate. In previous shutdowns, everyone who stayed home was paid retroactively after peace returned to Washington".  So, the shutdown is a good thing because millions of federal government employees get a free vacation that will be paid by Americans who will be paying for them to do nothing.  

10. National Parks.  According to CNN, "Need to get away? Well, you can't. At least not to national parks. Or to national zoos. Or to national museums. They'd all be closed. That's 368 National Park Service sites closed, millions of visitors turned away.  Were you thinking more along the lines of a trip to France? If you don't already have a passport, you might have to bid that adieu -- you might not get your blue book in time. The last time the government threw a hissy fit, 200,000 applications for passports went unprocessed. Tourism and airline revenues reeled".  So, some parks may be shuttered and your permission to travel may be withheld.

That's it?  That's the best that CNN can come up with on how a potential government shutdown will affect people?  Your psyche may get hurt (if you had a delusional belief in the US government being the same as yourself); there may not be garbage collection in Washington, Den of Criminals; you won't be able to get a federal loan and you may not get permission from the government to have a gun or travel.

And this is what has the mainstream media talking about non-stop?

Of course, if the Federal Reserve did not print the money (QE2Infinity) to keep the US government going with over a $1 trillion deficit per year, 90% plus of what the government does would come to an immediate halt.  Then there would be countless very serious things that would "affect your life".  Anyone depending on food stamps (which is now over 50 million people), anyone depending on SS to survive would definitely be affected as there'd be no money to pay them.  And, not to mention, every bank in the US would be insolvent and all depositor's money would be lost as the FDIC is also bankrupt.

But, we aren't betting on that ever happening.  This is democracy, after all.  And that means keeping the debts and new money flowing until the economic system collapses as the printing of money causes the eventual demise of the dollar and The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI).

This system is now down to two options: massive debt default or massive inflation and neither is particularly good for anyone living in the US.  Every major government or empire in history when faced with those two options chose to continue printing money until the currency collapsed.

In either case, what is happening today is nothing compared to what is going to happen.  Use this time to prepare and get your assets, and if you can, even your own ass outside of what will be ground zero for this economic collapse, the US.

We talk about all the ways to do that at the TDV newsletter including things like putting your IRA into a self-directed IRA and getting the assets internationalized (into precious metals offshore - like we talk about in Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge - and foreign real estate like Galt's Gulch in Chile), getting offshore bank accounts and set-up with an offshore corporation for your business endeavors (TDV Offshore), getting a foreign residency or passport (TDV Passports) and, if you have assets over $1 million, using TDV Wealth Management to get the assets safely outside of the blast radius.

What is going on in Washington, DC, today could mean postponing a trip to Yellowstone national park or having delayed garbage pickup in DC itself.  What is coming in the next few months and years has the potential to destroy all your assets and leave you devoid of any way of earning income as the economy is totally destroyed by a currency collapse.

The best case scenario for the populace of the US in the long run is for a complete shutdown of the US federal government... But, that collapse is going to be messy and a lot of people are going to get hurt in the short term during that collapse.

Anarcho-Capitalist.  Libertarian.  Freedom fighter against mankind’s two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks.  Jeff Berwick is the founder of The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media & Services and host of the popular video podcast, Anarchast.  Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the world’s freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media.

© 2013 Copyright Jeff Berwick - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

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