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From Doug Casey, chairman, Casey Research: In Part 1, I shared my thoughts on the topic of migration. Here’s what other attendees thought.
I spent a couple of hours listening to a panel titled “Corruption in Latin America.” A bunch of ex-presidents commiserated on how awful corruption is and how new laws ought to be passed to stamp it out once and for all. They were all skilled, even enthusiastic, bullshit artists who knew how to blather meaninglessly, saying nothing. They all agreed that illegal drugs were a major cause for corruption, but nobody thought to mention that maybe the problem wasn’t the drugs, but the fact they were illegal.
None of these people understood the actual causes and the nature of corruption. Which is ironic since most of them were quite wealthy—something that’s hard to do on a Third World politician’s salary.
One especially naive panelist, representing the U.S. State Department, said “many see the private sector as part of the problem.” What, one might ask, actually causes the problem?
The short answer was supplied by Tacitus 1,900 years ago. He said, “The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the State.” That’s because the laws invariably have economic consequences, benefitting one group at the expense of another. The most practical way to obviate them is by paying off an official.
Naturally, nobody even broached the subject that laws themselves cause corruption. And corruption is actually not only necessary, but is encouraged, whenever economic laws are passed. Plan your life around corruption remaining endemic, no matter how much self-righteous apparatchiks blather on about it at conferences.
Petraeus
I listened to David Petraeus offer solutions to the world’s problems. They were what you might expect from an ex-general and CIA director. To David, it’s all about using force and money “intelligently.” It never seemed to cross his mind that adventures like those in Iraq and Afghanistan ($6 trillion and counting to accomplish absolutely nothing) might actually bankrupt the U.S. Or that he was intimately involved in the ongoing disaster.
My takeaway is that, after David collects, say, $20 million in the “private sector,” we’ll see him resurface as a candidate for the U.S. presidency. He’s smooth, polished, and confident. I was somewhat surprised that some general wasn’t tapped this election for a VP slot since the military is the U.S. Government’s most trusted branch by far. Rest assured there will be a general running in 2020.
Donald Rumsfeld also held the stage for 40 minutes. He was affable, likable, and entertaining, as are many sociopaths. Not even the faintest acknowledgement passed his lips about how the current migrant disaster was rooted in his unprovoked attacks on backward countries on the other side of the world. But why should he care? He’s already collected his $20 million in the “private sector” after many years of “service.”
The migration roundtable
Another highlight was listening to a Roundtable on “The Public/Private Partnership on Migration.” It might as well have been a meeting of the Soviet politburo, where everyone implicitly accepted the same totally flawed principles, speaking seriously and sincerely to each other about how they plan to change the world. These people were mainly interested in reinforcing each other’s views, like a conversation on NPR.
How to solve the refugee/migrant situation? No solutions were proposed by any of the 40 high government officials and think tank big shots. Everybody’s attention focused on two things: how awful the situation is and how they can feed, clothe, and house the masses. I was amused at the sight of parasites talking to parasites about parasites.
References were made to “broader economic integration,” a nebulous phrase that can mean almost anything, and no references at all to freer markets. There were continual references to a “partnership” between the public and private sectors. It made me feel like I was among aliens. How can there be a partnership between producers, and those who not only steal 50% of the production, but then want to direct where the remainder goes. These people all seemed to believe that if you earned money, you didn’t deserve to keep it. But if you needed money, you were entitled to it.
There was a discussion about how the crisis that started in 2007 has set back the progress of Africa. But zero discussion of what caused the crisis. Or what would happen when it started up again (which is happening right now). The only discussion of how to create prosperity was about Special Economic Zones—areas insulated from the taxes and regulations affecting the rest of the country. Needless to say, no one thought to ask why an entire country couldn’t become an SEZ.
A question occurred to me about the several hundred thousand refugees/migrants that still might be imported to the U.S.—although it’s much less likely with Trump as the president: Exactly who will pay for them, and how much will the pleasure of their company cost? These people have nothing but the rags on their backs. Will they be ferried to the U.S. on commercial airliners? When they land, how will they be clothed? They’ll need to be fed for an indefinite period. And housed. And entertained. Mosques must be found, or founded, so they can worship. Very few have any marketable skills, and very few even speak English. Most of them could just stay on welfare for the rest of their lives.
It seems completely insane. But it’s clearly the “Globalist agenda” endorsed by all these people. Of course, there’s some perverse justice at work if the U.S. winds up having to import a few million Muslim refugees. The Muslim world was, at least, stable before Bush and Obama went on a wild “regime change” adventure. Now, chaos reigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya.
One justification put forward for migration to Europe was that its population was dropping, and it would need people, if only to take care of the oldsters. For what it’s worth, we’ll have robots doing that within a decade.
Conclusion?
You’re perhaps wondering how any sensible person could sit there and listen to such blather and nonsense for two days without reacting. Of course, I wanted to debunk about 95% of what I heard. But the Summit was structured so that guests didn’t have a forum from which to challenge the Nomenklatura and their Apparatchiks. So I sat there, observing an alien species in a sort of formalized mating ritual. No opportunity presented itself to shock these copulating dogs with a bucket of cold water. Certainly not from a seat in the peanut gallery.
Are conferences like this one, and its lookalikes, a waste of time? Completely. And keep that in mind before you make a contribution to a charity or an NGO.
Could it have been worthwhile? Yes. If it had addressed the questions I posed above. But, even then, the answers would have been worthless, given the attendees.
I think migration is going to be one of the biggest problems in the next generation. It’s a sure thing that not just millions, but tens of millions of “feet people” and “boat people” are going to try to overrun Europe. If they’re accepted and resettled, it will destroy what’s left of Western civilization. If they’re repelled, it could result in millions of deaths and be quite a scandal. I don’t know how this will sort out. But it’s going to be a big deal. And ugly.
What should you do? Own plenty of gold and silver, and make sure that you have one or more residences that are out of harm’s way.
Reeves’ Note: Wealth doesn’t disappear during catastrophes. It simply changes hands… And over the past four decades, Doug has used this mantra to consistently “flip” global financial crises into fortunes.
You can learn Doug’s method for “flipping” crises like the mass migration in Europe into “life-changing” speculative returns… right here from your home computer…
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