The Financial Jigsaw – Issue No. 93

My unpublished (100,000 word) book “The Financial Jigsaw”, is being serialised here weekly in 100 Issues by Peter J Underwood, author

Quote of the Week: “Virtue gives birth to tranquillity, tranquillity to leisure, leisure to disorder, disorder to ruin… and similarly from ruin, order is born, from order virtue, from virtue, glory and good fortune.” – Niccolò Machiavelli, in his Florentine Histories.

NOTE – If anyone would like a free updated, 4th edition, electronic copy of the complete book, I should be pleased to email a free PDF on request to: [email protected].  The book has many footnotes linking to relevant and explanatory Appendices, websites and videos.

            “As I look at the United States, it seems to me the peak of American culture was the time just before Teddy Roosevelt came into office. Teddy is certainly among the top five worst presidents. And there’s plenty of competition for that title.  He was the first real “progressive” president; he wanted the government actively involved in all areas of life.” It’s a mistake to conflate a higher standard of living with higher moral values—that’s what Machiavelli was talking about.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/why-us-headed-its-fourth-turning

            By default America has become a fascist state and by this I mean that collusion between government and corporations is now almost complete.  This article soberly explains how this has come about:  “Washington has come to press on all economic activity and also direct a great deal of it. Through its contracts in defence, research, technology, and many other activities, it decides revenue flows for much of the business community. By applying, more or less severely, the rules and regulations embodied in a federal regulatory code (which verges on 180,000 pages), it has exerted enormous influence on the profitability of all businesses and, consequently, on how they behave. Washington, for instance, recently gave Apple a partial exemption from the China tariffs. Other companies must pay in full.”

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/us-economy-rigged-123326

            Here is a sustainable way to live given to us by South Africa:  “It is time for a reality check.  If you are between the ages of 30 and 60 today, then in 2050 you will be a pensioner strolling down the road in your golden years. The most likely scenario is that we will continue on our current carbon emissions trajectory which means that a climate catastrophe will be in full force. And as you stroll down the road, the youth of 2050 will be spitting in your face as a representative of the “Generation of Shame” who, despite being given all the scientific evidence, chose to chase short-term economic prosperity at the expense of the planet and future generations.  We will be hated like no generation before us. Our golden years will be years of shame as we try to justify to our grandchildren and the hundreds of millions of climate refugees why our social media timelines from 2020 were filled with trivial outrages over who said what about whom.”  So, what to do? What does a sensible, ethical person do when faced with a problem of this magnitude?  Read on

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-02-23-a-village-lesson-on-preventing-a-climate-catastrophe  

Here is the link to last week: Issue 92

I will continue to provide updates this year as Brexit negotiations with the EU progress as well as offering items about Britain generally:

“Brexit’s Stealthy Rationality: At pivotal historical moments, rational political ruptures often are brought about for all the wrong reasons. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit may prove to be a case in point.”

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/brexit-inevitable-like-1971-nixon-shock-by-yanis-varoufakis-2020-02

The big issue is the UK trade agreement.  Yesterday the EU agreed that Britain must be punished for Brexit. If we want to trade with Europe, it can only be if we accept every rule of the EU.  Does anyone outside Brussels understand that’s going to trigger a crisis? The UK will not accept it.

Strip it down to the basics.  It’s not about protecting the EU from a more nimble and more perfidious UK  undercutting its trade and good standards.  It’s about France getting payback time.  The smart economic outcome for Europe would be a good trade deal with the UK, where the damage to the Union is minimised and trade carries on as before. Instead, the French won the argument, together with their salivating Irish poodle. They want to humiliate us, choosing their moment as a distracted and senile Germany snores in the background, to make its play.  We won the last war and we will win this one.

As M. Barnier struts the stage of history demanding Britons submit as slaves to the Franco-EU hegemony… our politicians will not dither or shilly-shally, but make a very clear gesture in terms of access to British fish. The default position from angry  Brits will be simple: Europe is very welcome to our fish – they can buy all the fish they want at whatever the market price is from British trawlers. We might be willing to do a few side deals in return for some consideration. If you want the best fish in Europe – it’s going to cost. It will cost more in France.

Now, the UK has to circumvent the French dominance of the hollow EU.  Boris and his gang need to deliver messages direct to European leaders telling them the UK is not even going entertain France’s demands.  Let’s start again and let it be widely known we are willing to sign up to the agreed Canada style deal with Europe, and negotiate from there. If they refuse, as they have been mandated to do, we can break the rules.

The French have tried to mount economic blockades of Britain before.  It didn’t take the rest of Europe long to work out dealing with a mercantile trading economy like the UK beats dealing with the dead hand of French state policy every time.

Parliament continues its work this week.  Details of Parliament’s deliberations can be found here:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/votes-and-proceedings/#session=35&year=2020&month=1&day=26

UK has now left EUROPE so I will continue to comment on relevant EU – UK events:

“Now that Brexit is complete the EU has gone one step further, blocking out the very real strategic and tactical disadvantage they are in dealing with the United Kingdom in trade deal talks.  The arrogance and intractability of the EU when it comes to negotiations is supposed to be their biggest weapon. They project a strange combination of strength and indifference that can only come from people thoroughly insulated from personal accountability for their mistakes.  Lead negotiator, the revealed to be inept, Michel Barnier has laid out his negotiating stance using the same language that was thoroughly rejected by British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson in October, the so-called “level playing field” of “regulatory alignment” as the basis for any kind of trade deal.

https://tomluongo.me/2020/02/13/eu-deaf-to-coming-defeat/

The European university — which should be the home of open pluralism, debate, research and thought — has instead become the paradise of intellectual sectarianism and terror. This new radicalism will reinforce not only political correctness, but also submission to coercion, “like sheep to the slaughter”, in the West.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15156/europe-academic-fascism Call them out guys and gals – don’t let these leftist idiots ruin our mental health – join TBP and publish your views freely.

The 4^th edition of The Financial Jigsaw issued recently includes a Foreword, Preface, Epilogue and Appendices which I will publish here in advance.   Next come the Appendices:

Here is a continuation of last week’s Appendix VI – a live letter from Venezuela

APPENDIX VI

Life after collapse: a Venezuelan example

It appears there is no end in sight to the tribulations of the Venezuelans.  A reader from Venezuela took the time to report what life is really like in the country. Her story is detailed below, but please bear in mind that her English is a second language [and has been corrected where possible]:

“I’m a Venezuelan mom of a 1 year old baby. And we are living a war here. You can’t go outside to buy food or supplies or medication because each activity is a high risk and more with a baby. So I stay home as much as I can. There are a lot people outside trying to live normally, trying to go to work and buy foods and continue their lives. But when you are working or whatever thing you’re doing you don’t know is you will be able to come back home safe… people continue to work to get whatever miserable pay to buy some food.

Everything is so expensive. Perhaps the beans and rice are affordable but still not cheap and is so hard to find food. options are limited because of the price… you can only buy one item or two of pasta, rice, like I say the less expensive food , and you have to wait in long lines at your own risk because there are a lot of fights in this store. Imagine tons of people wanting to buy the same product. This have being worst since perhaps about 5 years now… because of scarcity.

Malls and big stores are basically alone because there are places where “collectives” use to attack, with bombs and there is a group of about 40 men in motorcycles that have been creating chaos in the whole city, every day they take the city they have plenty of arms and they just go through the city shooting building houses, stealing stores, people on the streets, batteries of cars, everything they want… this situation is far worst that we ever imagine. They kill people every day and they are pay mercenaries from the government because no one does anything.

The government people are also killing innocents. kids… teenagers, the youth, we are panicking. We bought a land 3 years ago. I got pregnant and we decided to wait. The land is a safe zone but is 5 hours from here and is a very small town of 11.000 people. I live in a city with about 3 million people at least for now the town are peaceful but there isn’t electricity and there isn’t an asphalt road so this doesn’t sound lovely for thief that are now looking for biggest fish to cash. According to our neighbours the town is in calm nothing has happen. We need to go as soon as possible. I am scared because what you say is also true. But in the city there are no options at least not now; what do you think we should do? I realize appreciate what you recommend.

I’m sorry for my bad English I’m trying to write this while playing with my baby.

Venezuelan houses are already bunkers. This has being like this ever since I can remember. Perhaps 20 years… Every regular house is made like bunkers. Pure concrete from the botton to the walls to everything. Every house has also 2 to 3 security doors really big and heavy ones and on top of that we have fences and electric fences on top Of BIG GATES. And trust me is not enough to be safe.

The army has damaged gates and has entry to different houses looking for students, or rebels… and also innocents people has died because they were sadly in the middle of this events. I don’t doubt that country land might have problems too. But so far cities are pure anarchy and madness.  There are several groups creating chaos… the army, the mercenaries, the thief, and the rebels that want to kill Chavismo and politics and whatever on their way. A few days they put a bomb into a propane gas distribution cargo and it blew away and this have being affecting every single thing, they steal cargo transporting food or gas and even fuel… so there is no much to do now.

Communities in the city are not organize since they really need to find food and basic resources so each individual is waiting in long lines to buy a bread or a medicine or whatever they need… and people doesn’t want to organize they don’t see this could go like this for years… I assume that we got used to live in some sort of chaos and violence.  But the true is most people is praying and just wishing this will pass soon. that this will pass as the moment a new president arrive.  And what if it doesn’t? Let’s be clear that we have so many resources, and Canada and USA are pulling all of the gold and all minerals now so no country really matters what we are suffering as long as they can get their way. We really feel hopeless.”

NOTE: A 3 minute video:

https://youtu.be/CJhRMEW-5ws

Venezuelans were questioned the other day and specifically invoked Sanders’ name.

• “Bernie Sanders is your enemy. Do not ever get involved with this individual or any of the other socialists,” he said.
• “It is not the route to go. It is not possible. It is not feasible. Don’t fall for it,” another said.
• “We also thought that this could never happen in our country,” one victim of socialism said about the economic system’s perils.
• “We had a balance of powers. We had democracy and we elected our leaders.”

One person who said that he was born and raised in Venezuela reported that he has seen the country “deteriorate” under socialism.   On Saturday, Sanders won the Nevada Democratic caucuses. The win follows his victory in the New Hampshire primary and his virtual tie for first place with former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa.    Sanders’ wins in the first three contest states [carve] a clearer path for him to the Democratic nomination than for any other Democratic presidential candidate, although the South Carolina primary is just one week away, with Super Tuesday also quickly approaching.

This is what happens when economies collapse and basic supplies become limited or unavailable.  We will have to endure this condition for a while during the economic crisis which is coming to the world soon.  The aftermath will depend upon how governments react and whether security can be maintained allowing law enforcement to prevail.  It is likely that rationing will be implemented at an early stage and we will experience conditions similar to those of war-torn countries and UK and Europe during World War 2.  The conditions then were manageable and I expect this to continue for some time as recovery gradually takes place and local markets emerge from the chaos.

This is a remarkable article from the BBC and is worth viewing:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190319-what-happens-when-the-food-runs-out

To be continued next Saturday

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Author: Austrian Peter

Peter J. Underwood is a retired international accountant and qualified humanistic counsellor living in Bruton, UK, with his wife, Yvonne. He pursued a career as an entrepreneur and business consultant, having founded several successful businesses in the UK and South Africa His latest Substack blog describes the African concept of Ubuntu - a system of localised community support using a gift economy model. View all posts by Austrian Peter