It Gets Easier
Last week I spoke of alienation and homesickness. Then I spent the week in bed. I only got up when I absolutely had to. I had been in Chile for a month. The novelty had worn off. I was paralyzed with a feeling of helplessness. I couldn't speak the language and I had no vehicle and I hadn't yet gotten comfortable with the admittedly abundant mass transit system. It was like I had no mouth or legs.
I had made a few friends here, mind you. It started with a local who spoke fluent English and who had introduced me to his cronies. It continued when a chance encounter led me to rent a room in a small town on the coast, about an hour and a half away from Santiago by bus. The coast is breathtaking, but I'm just a city boy at heart. Even though I made friends with a mother and daughter there, after a week I started to wither from lack of stimulation in my provincial setting. It's funny because I need so much alone time to stay sane…yet I like being alone in my own place in an urban setting with a certain population threshold. In short, the coast is great for me to visit, but I need regular access to a big city. I realized that my advancing depression wasn't so much homesickness as boredom and a feeling of helplessness. So I contacted my friend back in Santiago and set out to enjoy those distinctly urban indulgences I'd been missing.
I took the 90-minute bus ride from the coast back to Santiago. I managed to find my way to the subway station which is incredibly easy to navigate. It's even simpler than the Washington, DC subway, just a half dozen lines that don't cross each other that much. I grew up in New York where the subway lines are like a subterranean plate of tangled spaghetti. I've been riding those lines solo since I was twelve. Santiago's subway was no problem. It's amazing how a simple thing like not getting lost on a long, solo trip can make one feel at home. That was several hours ago and I've since bar hopped, imbibed a bit too much and yucked it up with a bad but incredibly friendly crowd. I waited too long to find a hotel, but one of these fairly new friends has let me stay in the spare room of his apartment from where I'm typing all of this. Now I just really need to work on getting better with rapid fire Spanish.
Ennui overcome by action! Tonight for the first time in a week the idea of the PT (Permanent Traveler) lifestyle started to appeal to me more than slinking back home to the comfort of the familiar amidst fascism in the US. I'm almost ready to chuck my US permanent resident card at the next US border guard I meet. Almost but not quite. At least I already have a non-US citizenship and passport. I was lucky enough to be born outside the US to non-US parents. If you didn't have that kind of luck and are ready to start exploring the PT lifestyle, don't leave out that important step. Get yourself another citizenship and passport to manage the geopolitical risk that goes with US citizenship.
Regards,
Gary Gibson
Editor, The Dollar Vigilante
Before we get to the review let’s have a look at what you missed in TDV’s September Homegrown.
First up, Gary revisited his ambitious and innovative idea of proxy landlording.
Then, James Guzman and Ben Vincent took an in-depth look at the student loan bubble. Justin O’Connell joined us with a piece on the Silk Road, the black market of black markets. Amanda Hooper filled us in on the “miracle frequency” and the weaponization of music, followed by Dear Slavey’s monthly roundup of sage wisdom.
Finally, rounded Jeff Berwick up the weird and frightening actions of the state from around the globe, and took a reader question about Fastcoins.
If you’re interested in receiving articles like these, consider our weekly subscriber-only publications, like our Issue, Dispatches, and Homegrown. You may subscribe here.
Here’s what we wrote about this week…
MONDAY, September 23
Do Not Buy the Obama iPhone 5NSA
Jeff Berwick on the relationship between Apple and the government.
“Since I’ve upgraded to the new Samsung Galaxy S4 I have never understood why anyone would want an iPhone… but that is beside the point. And I do realize many people are Apple-fanatics… but here is a very urgent warning about why you should not buy the iPhone 5S or even upgrade to iOS7.
I have been shocked that people are waiting in line for what is essentially barely an upgrade with no major benefits. The biggest change is cosmetic; instead of white it is now the color gold. That brings to mind the disconnect most modern minds have between the color gold and the real thing. Today, Olympic gold medals have almost no gold in them and people proudly show off their “gold” credit cards as a prestige symbol when all it is is a fiat currency debt card colored gold.”
TUESDAY, September 24
US Government Unemployment Numbers Explained by Abbott and Costello
Jeff Berwick uses Abbot and Costello as a mode to try and explain the absurdity of the US’s unemployment figures.
“We’ve long held to the old adage that there are lies, damned lies, and government statistics. Our work over the last four years has shown that in every way imaginable.
One of the most egregious is official US government ‘unemployment number’. This number has been what they call ‘hedonically adjusted’ (and what we prefer to call hedonistically adjusted) into pure fiction.
While we grimace at taking any US government numbers at face value, even if you take the U-6 published by the Soviet-esque named ‘Bureau of Labor Statistics’ though, it is currently at 13.7%. Even that though, as shown by Shadowstats.com, is well below how unemployment would have been calculated if it were still calculated the way it was in 1994.”
Wednesday, September 25
Just Who Are We Radicals and Reactionaries?
Dr. Kenneth Karger on the reading of the 2nd Amendment.
"I have often considered the possibility that I am the guy that Mencken described. But for those involved in the traditional political realm of left and right, I am simply delusional, labeled a ‘radical’ by those on the right and a ‘reactionary’ by those on the left. In fact, I am neither. Rather, I am the dreaded Libertarian that believes that government, if it must exist at all, must be structurally limited. And, it is clear that in that belief I am a part of a small minority.”
Thursday, September 26
James Guzman and Ben Vincent discuss the destructive nature of student debt.
" In 2008 the prospective career paths for much of America went up in smoke as jobs became more and more sparse. Many, still desperately clinging to the fantasy of the American Dream, are getting money the only way that they know how; borrowing it.
What better way to fund your lifestyle and prepare for a new career than getting a loan to go to college – right? But what if there’s no one to lend that money? Early this month JP Morgan announced that they will be exiting the student loan market as of this October stating, ‘We just don't see this as a market that we can significantly grow,’ making it clear that the student loan market is truly dysfunctional.”
FRIDAY, September 27
Feedback Friday – September 27, 2013
In this week’s Feedback Friday: Kalgary, best online reads (besides TDV, of course), and Dexter.
SATURDAY, September 28
The Weekend Vigilante — September 28, 2013
In his weekly address to TDVers, Jeff Berwick updates us on the flood’s impact in Acapulco.
TDV VIDEO
Our feature video this week has Jeff Berwick interviewed on The Nomad Capitalist Report. The discussion includes the economic system in a state of collapse and the United States is the epicenter, and the US standard of living is based on debt and will soon be disappearing.
Have a look at our wide array of informative videos featuring interviews, opinions, and analysis on TDV’s media page.
TDV SERVICES
Don't forget, TDV is much more than a newsletter. We also offer many of the solutions to the problems we identify in the letter to help people internationalize their self and wealth to protect themselves from The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI). Check out all our services designed to help you gain more freedom in your life here:
Remember, if you have any questions, concerns, or issues with what you've read on TDV, write us at: tdv@dollarvigilante.com.
Thanks as always for reading or subscribing!
Managing Editor
