The War on the Saver (w/ more unrelated Body Paint pics)

~ Kate Upton

There are basically two kinds of economies going on at once which make up the world we all live in...

One is called the macro economy.  In simple terms, its the greater economy of a nation.  The focus is on things like GDP, unemployment rates, inflation v deflation, interest rates, etc..  The Big picture..

Then there's the macro economy.  This means you, the individual.  Your spending behaviors and ability to budget and save or get into debt, and from this type of information, the government determines things like income tax rates...

If it is deemed too many people have too much money, especially when the overall macro economy is doing poorly, the government will conceive every trick and scheme it possibly can to separate you from your wealth.

In simple terms its called the War on Savers.

Put aside notions of super-wealthy people living high on the hog..  While certainly many super-wealthy people have a good deal of savings put aside, the skill and resolve to save is one which crosses all economic demographics..

Its the instinctual behavior to put aside something for that proverbial 'rainy day'; It should be both Admired and Respected..

Of course reality is the behavior of self-sufficiency and fiscal responsibility are in many ways the biggest threat to the functioning of both the US and the global economy.   More so than foreign threats, nuclear weapon saber-rattling or even a market crash...

This is no exaggerative prose..   If the vast majority of Americans lived within their means, kept a strict budget consistently putting money aside for future use or want and successfully fought most temptations of advertisers, our economy would implode upon itself..

It would cease to function.  If both the US and global economy were living, breathing organisms, the 'oxygen' keeping it alive would be debt:

Both the micro debt of millions and millions of people holding mortgages, second mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit card debt, etc..  And the macro debt of nations living beyond their means requiring evermore international bank loans and Investors to step in to buy their bonds and Treasuries..

It can not survive if everyone pays bills on time and has wealth personally held for the future.  The system can tolerate a select few holding wealth but not most..  So it Must do all it can to Destroy savers..  Those who save are to government the equivalent of cancer..

Nothing personal-- they must be eradicated.

Even when the economy was strong, think about it.. what is the purpose of estate taxes?  It is to punish those who spent their lifetimes saving and building a nest egg, by depriving as much of it from going to next of kin who may have the audacity to continue saving..

So back to the present.. how do you rape those who save?

First you knock interest rates to near zero to give banks the means to loan each other $$ cheaply and force savers out of the risk-free security of savings accounts and money markets into the shark tank of the stock market..

Then you try enticing the savers to spend by giving very low APR so they'll buy a bigger home or flashier car or take that 5-star deluxe trip around the world..

In some places like Cyprus, if that doesn't work you simply reach in and steal as much money as humanly possible from savers' personal accounts to pay for national debts knowing full well that as long as insured savers aren't hurt, there will be no mass upswell, riots or coups...

Or like in nations like Australia, you place penalties on adding to national equivalents to IRA's such as 15% taxes where none was there before..  Whatever it takes to get money circulating..

Or in the US, as President Obama is proposing, you place caps on retirement savings..

From US News & World Report:

"The White House claims some people are saving 'more than is needed' for their post-employment future...  The Obama Administration's new budget will cap retirement savings for the nation's super-rich, but it's possible that it could affect even smaller-scale savers.

According to advance reports, the administration's budget due out on Wednesday will propose a cap limiting the amount of annual return a retirement account can create to $205,000. If that proposal were enacted today, that would mean retirement accounts would be limited to $3 million in assets. The White House estimates that caps on the tax-preferred accounts would generate $9 billion over 10 years."

The problem is this-- who the Hell is the government or really Anyone to determine what is proper savings vs 'more than needed'?

We've always felt Enraged by that mindset-- that in a supposed Free society where individuals can pursue their personal happiness, that others..  Strangers no less!.. could have the power to make moral judgments and impede upon the liberties of others.

Who are we to tell you that you either save or spend too much??

No entity--person or government should have the power to determine who much savings another wishes to posses just like its no one else's business to make blanket assumptions as to justifications to own assault rifles or what is acceptable weight or personal grooming style for a person..

That is true Communism-  making decisions for the so-called 'collective' good based on the opinions and decisions of a few or One at the very top of the power pyramid.  That is China.

In China, you're told how many babies you may have and how many homes you may own and what you may read and see, and what content is to be edited out..

But the problem is that behind the veil of cocky confidence of USA #1 and 'Recovery' and evil stock market near all time manipulative highs, the powers that be know things are very bad.. Anything can cause those delicate spinning plates to stop oscillating..

And thus a 4+ yr secret War on the Saver.

And the worst part is unlike the War on Drugs or War on Terror, those declared war upon-- most have no clue their the new enemy of the State; a scourge that must be weakened if not outwardly destroyed..

If you're a saver, the best way to fight the enemy is this:

1)  Don't trust your money is safe in banks beyond anything Federally secured.. In time of true emergency, accounts will be frozen and seized... Make preparations to keep your assets protected..

Laugh at us now but when it happens, we'll be laughing at you when you're crying..

2) Keep living your life as you are..  Don't succumb suddenly to the clutter of ads to Buy, Buy!..  Don't start living beyond your means or budget..

Its far easier to spend $$ than it is to recoup it..

3)  Encourage others to save..  You don't have to be wealthy to do it.. It just takes a little discipline..

For instance, a pack of Marlboros locally where we are cost $6.88 after taxes.  If a smoker cut back by just one pack every week and put that $$ in a coffee can, after a full 52 week year, he/she would have $357.76!   

One could buy a very nice 32in HDTV for that price or less and not have to put it on a credit card with 18.99% APR interest

Whether you are rich or poor, learn to save wherever possible.