If you knew…ahead of time that your plane was going to crash, what is the one thing that you’d do? Would you get your affairs in order? Would you party like its 1929? Would you ignore the foreknowledge and just step onto the plane? If others were warning you ahead of time would you think of them as nut cases even though you knew that something bad was going to happen? Or, would you just quietly pack a parachute? I know the answer, it is that you wouldn’t get on the plane in the first place but what if you had no choice?
The above is pretty esoteric I know but I think a pretty good analogy to our lives. Most people have a fairly good idea that something is wrong, very wrong. However, few people really know what it is. There are those that will say, “It’s all Bush’s fault,” there are others who will say, “Look what Obama has done to the nation.” Some have just buried their heads in the sand and say “this is just the way it is, the government will never let anything bad happen.” Others just smile and hum the tune “kumbayah” because it makes them feel better. My point is this, we as a human race are ALL on this airplane (with the exception of a very few who have purchased their own private islands) whether we like it or not. The plane is mathematically going to crash. What was once a brand new shiny aircraft now has holes in it, the wings are scotch taped together while the aileron and flaps are furiously going side to side and up and down. Don’t worry the captain says, “It’s all under control. We’ve been through all this before and the bumpiness is just a little bit of turbulent weather.” Well guess what? No we haven’t and no it’s not.
So really, what would you do in this circumstance? Well, the answer is the obvious one, you would pack a parachute. Simple answer right? Yes, obvious and even a 6 year old who has watched enough cartoons already knew the answer. But what if a parachute costs $1,300 and you could have bought one 10 years ago for $300? Would you decide not to buy one because “it’s just too expensive?” Or better yet, what if you had waited to buy a parachute until 2 years ago and paid $1,900 for it? Would you think of yourself as foolish because you overpaid, cut your losses and sold it to someone else? Or even better, what if you had read ahead of time that the demand for parachutes was exploding and the manufacturers couldn’t keep up with this and that there just weren’t enough parachutes to go around? Would you wait to buy yours? What if you read somewhere that the plane would hold together until some specified location or point in time? Would you believe it? Even if you saw the scotch tape on the wings starting to separate? Even if you looked back and saw the aileron missing? Would you wait to buy your parachute because it might get a little cheaper? Does it really matter how much a parachute costs as long as it opens when you need it?
I know that anyone who reads the goofy analogy above “gets it”… but some just can’t bring themselves to believe it. I wrote this because it IS just this simple. The plane IS mathematically going to crash. Anyone on the plane when it crashes will die an instantaneous death. Your only escape is to have a parachute. A paper receipt that says you “own one” won’t do however because as the plane is going down and you jump from the door, nothing other than a real parachute will open and slow your descent to safety. Supposedly “owning one” doesn’t work under real world situations.
Wow Bill,
Your article just slaps you in the face and should wake a person up!
If the 99% sheeple don’t buy their gold (and silver) very soon they will indeed crash.
What about those of us who only have parachutes made of silver and not ones made of gold ?
it works…and maybe even better.
thanks for replying Bill, I really appreciate it, I guess in light of Danske Bank announcing that they’re withdrawing retail operations from Ireland and closing all said accounts that it made me nervously realise that perhaps I should have stored my parachutes in Ireland instead of Zurich and Hong Kong !?!
only some of them.
Ive been forwarding your writings to a few I care about as an attempt to spread the word and in return from friend I received a product pamphlet he picked up at Associated Bank. According to Associated Bank, everything is all good moving forward. After a little research Ive learned the banks are rely pushing employees hard to push this foolish stuff on to their customers. If I could get your email Bill I have scanned and would like to email it to you. I believe it would be a great piece to dissect in one of your writ ups. Might be able to head off a few more that are being mislead.
bholter@milesfranklin.com
Hi Bill, thanks for the great posts, I look forward to reading them.
RE: Bankers & Parachutes and Viet Nam
I say lets do like we did in Nam and take the bankers up in hilacopters with no parachutes. Then we shall ask for information. If information is not forth wit, then out they go. Usually the 2nd banker would start singing like a canary!
I love your analogies. They make a difficult subject so easy to understand.
They also resonate internally as being the truth – because all of us have had those thoughts (re being on an old airplane that might crash soon – for example).
Thanks for reminding us bullion holders why we did what we did. Unfortunately, I’m afraid that most of the rest of us are in denial and find comfort in believing us gold bugs are crazy and overreacting to current conditions. It reminds me of people who continue to smoke even though they know that their chances of developing major illness are so high. Sometimes I think they enjoy living ‘on the edge’ just to prove they are invincible and secretly know better than anyone else (who they consider to be ‘wusses’).
thanks for the kind words Barry.