The farmer learns to read nature from nature herself. Similarly, his knowledge of economics, society, politics and current events comes from self-directed study that led him to Mises .org, Lew Rockwell .com, The Daily Reckoning .com, The Mental Militia .com, Rational Review Digest .com and an extensive library of economics, history, politics and sociology books.
The farmer notes that The Federal Reserve act of 1913 changed everything. Congress gave control of the U.S. dollar to a dozen bank families who printed 95 dollars for every 5 that the rest of the people earned.
Some of that money went into political campaigns to insure “the right attitudes” would populate the legislatures and executive offices. Some of that money bought newspapers, radio and TV stations to insure “the right attitudes” were broadcast to the people. Some of that money went to endowments, grants, scholarships and subsidies to insure “the right attitudes” were taught in the schools and universities.
When you can create out of thin air 19 of 20 dollars in the system, you can accomplish most amazing things … for good or for evil.
Among their more clever accomplishments was making Keynesian economics dominate academia and government. This popular theory holds that governments can spend twice what they take in for as long as they want without cost. It obfuscates Federal Reserve destruction of dollar value. While flying in the face of logic, Keynesian’s ever-changing models create wonderful rainbows with a mist of gobbely-gook that refracts the light of economic reality.
The financial analyst studies at the university, learns the language of approved economics, earns certified entry to white collar work. He learns to trust experts to run the world altruistically, setting aside human greed for power and money that would cheat his family out of their earnings and security.
The farmer sees history littered with collapsed fiat currencies that shocked and destroyed the unprepared who depended on stability in their country’s predominate medium of exchange.
The financial analyst sees a dollar with a history of stability far in excess of his lifetime – If you can ignore the depreciation of its value, which is reasonably easy to do with Keynesian wizards cooking the books.
The farmer divides his tiny reserve between his pantry, tools, investments in soil and hyper-inflation-proof silver hard currency.
The financial analyst is confident the world as he knows it will run as it has all his life with continued economic expansion in perpetuity. Sure a little reserve is a good idea: put it safely away in a stock market that always goes up, a housing market that always goes up, a job market that always expands or entrusted to clever, well-educated, honorable people who in turn put it in those places.
While the farmer wishes the financial analyst would put some of his generous income into real, hard money, he fervently prays that the financial collapse happens just before spring planting when the extra hands of the financial analyst’s family can help put enough food in the ground that they will all make it through the next winter.