1) Your life savings could be reduced to nothing almost overnight. Inflation is a fact of life. As Thomas Sowell has noted, "As of 1998, a $100 bill would not buy as much as a $20 bill would buy in the 1960's." That's under normal circumstances.
However, the thing governments have traditionally done when they simply can't pay their debts is print more money. The problem with this is the further you expand the money supply, the less the money you already have on hand is worth. This can wipe out the savings of a lifetime in a relatively short period. Imagine spending billions of dollars just to buy a loaf of bread. Sound far-fetched? Well, guess what? That has happened in the Weimar Republic, which was crushed under debts from WWI and decided to pay it off by printing more money. It could happen here, too, and all the money you've scrimped and saved could become worthless in a short order.
2) Your taxes will skyrocket. We've been conned into thinking that we can fund a massive government on the backs of the rich. This is simply not so. It's not working today and it's not going to happen in the future. We cannot tax the rich enough to pay off our debt or even enough to keep the government going long-term. Even if we could, the rich have the resources to flee the country for greener pastures if they're being taxed into oblivion. The middle class? Not so much.
What that means is the more desperate the government gets, the more the average American is going to be hammered with new taxes. How much more of your income can you afford to send overseas to pay China for the money they've loaned us to keep PBS, Planned Parenthood, and the National Endowment of the Arts going? What about if the country goes bankrupt and your income tax rate shoots up fifty percent? How are you going to pay your mortgage? How are you going to feed your kids? When the government runs out of cash and it can't borrow any more money, then it will start leveling massive taxes on the American people.
3) Your life could be in danger. If the government goes bankrupt, you'll have an extremely angry, confused, and frustrated populace that has little faith in its leaders -- combined with a horrific economy and a reduced ability of the government to keep order. Under those circumstances, widespread rioting and violent crime seem entirely plausible.
When Argentina had its crisis, violence went up 142% and "young men began looting supermarkets."
Here's some of what happened during the German hyperinflation of the currency in Weimar Republic after it started printing money night and day,
The flight from currency that had begun with the buying of diamonds, gold, country houses, and antiques now extended to minor and almost useless items -- bric-a-brac, soap, hairpins. The law-abiding country crumbled into petty thievery. Copper pipes and brass armatures weren't safe. Gasoline was siphoned from cars. People bought things they didn't need and used them to barter -- a pair of shoes for a shirt, some crockery for coffee. Berlin had a "witches' Sabbath" atmosphere. Prostitutes of both sexes roamed the streets. Cocaine was the fashionable drug.
4) Your payments from the government will dramatically decrease or stop altogether. Contrary to what some people believe, Medicare and Social Security are paid out of the same fund that pays for everything else. In other words, if the government goes bankrupt, there is no money set aside to pay for these programs. So, if you're receiving Social Security, Medicare, welfare, food stamps, or any other similar programs, those checks could stop or be slashed down to nothing. That seems unthinkable to people, but if the government doesn't have any money, then it can't pay it out to people. As they say, "You can't get blood out of a turnip."
5) You will have a dramatically reduced standard of living. If taxes and inflation escalate dramatically, both of which are very likely if we go bankrupt, economic activity will slow to a crawl and we'll go into a depression. We're not talking about a "This is the worst economy since the Depression" situation that we hear every time there's a mild downturn in the economy; we're talking about a REAL depression. Businesses will close left and right, the stock market will tank, unemployment will soar to heights not seen since the thirties, and the government won't be in a position to help very much.
If that happens in a country like America, where people have been so prosperous for so long, it's going to produce utter misery. It's not a lot of fun to be poor under the best of circumstances, but it's much worse to go from having a comfortable life with a bright future to growing vegetables to eat in the backyard and wondering how you're going to keep warm in the winter.
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5 Things That Will Happen To You When America Goes Bankrupt
How to Become a Politician
A how to guide for people wanting to become a politician. How do you become a politician? How do you get started? What skills do you need?
This site features easy concepts, intuitive ideas, and helpful links to understand how to really become a politician. "Become a Politician" is an easy guide to becoming a local, state, or national politician. Learn how to get involved with a political party, campaign and what are the necessary characteristics of politicians.
Table of Contents
- Essential Political Books: Must Reads for Every Politician
- Get involved with a Political Party
- Campaign Tips
- Necessary Characteristics for Becoming a Politician
Essential Political Books: Must Reads for Every Politician
Here are a few books which are helpful in the process of preparing to run for a political office.
The following books have been chosen because they set the foundation for your political thought. It is vital that you are grounded in American political philosophy and current on public policy alternatives. Each of the following books below I have read and studied.
Get involved with a Political Party
The most important step to beginning a political career is to get involved with a Political Party
Political Parties a
Voters often choose who to vote for based upon which party the Politician is affiliated with and not always the ideals of the politician. This is especially evident in local and state elections where the politician campaigning is less recognizable to the voters.
The United States is a multi-party system, but favors two parties in particular. These political parties are the Republicans (Grand Old Party-GOP) and the Democratic Party. The majority of all legislatures and executive branch members on the national and state level are only from these two political parties. If you are interested in looking at multiple parties you can check out 25 political party websites here: Political Parties
The importance of getting involved in your party is to meet like-minded people that will help you in the future to get elected to different offices. This becomes important because the party is the life-blood to your early elections, and the only way to become President.
Ways to get involved
Help the party by volunteering to help your neighbors register to vote. Look for donations for local candidates and the party itself. Go to conventions on the state and local levels. Go to town hall meetings and other political meetings held by the party.
Meet the leadership of the party through emails, phone calls, or personal visits. Know your local officials and candidates. Be of service to them. Meet State legislators and get involved in the issues they face.
Voters often choose who to vote for based upon which party the Politician is affiliated with and not always the ideals of the politician. This is especially evident in local and state elections where the politician campaigning is less recognizable to the voters.
The United States is a multi-party system, but favors two parties in particular. These political parties are the Republicans (Grand Old Party-GOP) and the Democratic Party. The majority of all legislatures and executive branch members on the national and state level are only from these two political parties. If you are interested in looking at multiple parties you can check out 25 political party websites here: Political Parties
The importance of getting involved in your party is to meet like-minded people that will help you in the future to get elected to different offices. This becomes important because the party is the life-blood to your early elections, and the only way to become President.
Ways to get involved
Help the party by volunteering to help your neighbors register to vote. Look for donations for local candidates and the party itself. Go to conventions on the state and local levels. Go to town hall meetings and other political meetings held by the party.
Meet the leadership of the party through emails, phone calls, or personal visits. Know your local officials and candidates. Be of service to them. Meet State legislators and get involved in the issues they face.
Campaign Tips
A list of tips to guide your campaign
1. Know why you are running! This is what will motivate you and voters will want to know.
2. Know why you are better than your opponent and be able to explain it to others well. Your opponent most likely has great attributes as well so do not discount them, just explain clearly why you would be a better choice.
3. In the beginning hold small private meetings with possible volunteers and fundraisers. Be specific about your ideas and your goals. Get them behind you. Tell them what they are really in-store for. Let them know your expectations. Then find out theirs.
4. Fundraise night and day! A politician, while campaigning is nothing more than a full-time fundraiser. When you are meeting people fundraise. When you are driving, sitting, or not in meetings call and fundraise. Money is the life-blood of your campaign. Good ideas and strong values wont get you elected if you can't share them with others.
5. Fill your staff positions with volunteers. This could mean recruiting at local colleges, community centers, high school government classes, etc. You can find skilled graphic artists, web designers, flyer distributors, and phone callers this way. Don't pay anyone you don't have too! This will save you lots of money and allow you to spread your message further.
6. Save money everywhere you can. Get discounts for buying in bulk. Look for ways to save money constantly. If you are always fundraising, it seems like a waste to be misusing your hard earned donations.
7. Be transparent. The donations you receive need to be recorded. Know when, where, and who gave you the money. Also know where it will be going. This is not only the law, but a great way to be throughout your political career. People feel like they can trust you.
8. Have a budget and most importantly stick to it!
9. Know what your constituency really thinks. It is important that you stick to your values, but you need to know what values voters want to hear about!
10. Listen. Too often politicians spend time talking and not enough time listening. Listening is often where your greatest ideas will come from. Listen to advisers, friends, family, and especially voters and other politicians. Don't be afraid to listen to your adversaries. Just because someone does not agree with you, does not mean that all their ideas and solutions are bad.
2. Know why you are better than your opponent and be able to explain it to others well. Your opponent most likely has great attributes as well so do not discount them, just explain clearly why you would be a better choice.
3. In the beginning hold small private meetings with possible volunteers and fundraisers. Be specific about your ideas and your goals. Get them behind you. Tell them what they are really in-store for. Let them know your expectations. Then find out theirs.
4. Fundraise night and day! A politician, while campaigning is nothing more than a full-time fundraiser. When you are meeting people fundraise. When you are driving, sitting, or not in meetings call and fundraise. Money is the life-blood of your campaign. Good ideas and strong values wont get you elected if you can't share them with others.
5. Fill your staff positions with volunteers. This could mean recruiting at local colleges, community centers, high school government classes, etc. You can find skilled graphic artists, web designers, flyer distributors, and phone callers this way. Don't pay anyone you don't have too! This will save you lots of money and allow you to spread your message further.
6. Save money everywhere you can. Get discounts for buying in bulk. Look for ways to save money constantly. If you are always fundraising, it seems like a waste to be misusing your hard earned donations.
7. Be transparent. The donations you receive need to be recorded. Know when, where, and who gave you the money. Also know where it will be going. This is not only the law, but a great way to be throughout your political career. People feel like they can trust you.
8. Have a budget and most importantly stick to it!
9. Know what your constituency really thinks. It is important that you stick to your values, but you need to know what values voters want to hear about!
10. Listen. Too often politicians spend time talking and not enough time listening. Listening is often where your greatest ideas will come from. Listen to advisers, friends, family, and especially voters and other politicians. Don't be afraid to listen to your adversaries. Just because someone does not agree with you, does not mean that all their ideas and solutions are bad.
Politicians and "the People"
Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed. He who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or decisions possible or impossible to execute.Abraham Lincoln
Necessary Characteristics for Becoming a Politician
- Confidence
In yourself, message, reasons for running, platform, values, staff, party, experience, abilities,and other necessary skills listed below. - Ability to Analyze objectively
This means evaluating yourself, constituency, legislative body, agency, contemporaries, opponents, media, and party. It is not just evaluating, but also doing so without personal interests and feelings of included parties. - Speaking Skills
They come in a different variety: average joe, teleprompter, off-the-cuff, emotional, charismatic, etc. - Writing Skills
Politicians write a lot... as much as you think that they just get someone else to do it, they do a lot on their own. Especially local and state officials. Politicians write briefs, summaries, letters, proposals, bills, agendas, platforms, speeches, campaign material, biographies, personal statements, recommendations, etc. - Editing skills
For those times when you are not the original writer. It is valuable to be able to edit important writing materials by staff members. - Intelligence
After some of the politicians you have seen, this one seems obvious that you cannot do the job without it! - Cooperation
Nothing ever gets done in politics without it. You hear too many "I will..." and not enough "Together...",and "We will.."
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