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Francisco's Money Speech (excerpt)

Posted by richrobinson 9 years ago to The Gulch: General
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I have been listening to Atlas Shrugged during my commute to and from work. I just listened to Francisco's money speech and he was explaining how looters can cause a society to vanish into ruin. He then asks if that day is coming. This gave me chills. I think this explains our current situation.

"Do you wish to know whether that day is coming? Watch money. Money is the barometer of a society's virtue. When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed. Money is so noble a medium that it does not compete with guns and it does not make terms with brutality. It will not permit a country to survive as half-property, half-loot.

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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    As do I. This is what Hank Rearden and all of the AS heroes had to realize ... before going on strike.
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  • Posted by gcarl615 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    The 7.62x 39 is basicly designed for the AK-47 and its derivatives such as the SKS. While the Magazines are not interchangeable both use the same round. SKS's are just as versatile as an AK. There are literally millions of both varieties world wide. Ammo is very easy to find and not very expensive. Also the majority of the ammo is not reloadable. But you can buy reloadable brass which for some reason is pretty expensive.
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  • Posted by freedomforall 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    Probably better off with a 7.62x39 or .308 for the effectiveness at greater than 100 yards. (But either larger cartidge will have a greater recoil than a .223.) Depending on what you need it for, there may also be an argument for a smaller pistol cartridge carbine like a 9mm if you also have a handgun in that caliber. The 9mm carbine will be easy to shoot, but only useful up to 75 yards, and marginal at best for game like deer.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    yes;;; we were looking at a .223 rifle. . . . . and we're
    close to the smokies, but not that close. -- j

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  • Posted by $ Stormi 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    That is very interesting. I had not heard about coins. What about a jewelry purchase, which can fall into the precious metal over $600 category easily? I know a RE agent who gets her commission, with no tax out, spends every cent, and has no money to pay the tax at the end of the year. That should make some list. When I wrote a check for more than the $6,000 to put into an IRA at one time, I actually asked the bank if the transfer would be reported, but they said they might check it out, but would not alert the government. How is it freedom, when our own money is not our own anymore!
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    The only reason that 401k's were not seized was that the patient was still too aware to allow the blood to be sucked out of him. A few more years of bludgeoning will solve that.
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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    The raise in interest rates would acknowledge that A = A. As Rich said, that can't happen, and if it did, the debt load would skyrocket so quickly that bankruptcy of the US and most other countries would happen quickly as well. It would be the modern day equivalent to the collapse of Nat Taggart's bridge across the Mississippi.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    Rich, when I first read AS, I had only the paperback
    and made notes and underlined a lot -- the whole
    speech got underlined. . my bic wore out. -- j

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  • Posted by nln1219 9 years ago
    In reply to the Camel through the eye of the needle. Christ often referred to the Rich, not as people who produced and kept the laws. He often so referred to them as individuals who like to think of themselves of high importance, wearing their fancy robes, and parading themselves around the courts and synagogue with servants in tow. He was referring to the unabashedly ostentatious.
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  • Posted by johnpe1 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    my wife asked me why I was interested in a rifle
    which had a magazine, and I answered, "There
    may be more than one of them." . she looked at me
    with the most desperate or quizzical or sad or
    tired-looking expression. . the conversation was
    not as reassuring, from that point forward. -- j

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  • Posted by Ibecame 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    Chase won't even cash their own cashiers checks. I was told I had to open an account and they had to hold it for at least 30 days.

    I invest in Real Estate, so here are a couple of FYI's along this line.
    Never deposit $12,000 (in the same day) or more other than through a title company. The IR-s may size everything in your accounts. Transactions of $6,000 (in the same day) and over are monitored. If you purchase $600 worth of precious metals, coins, etc. (in the same day) the seller is now required to issue a 1099.
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  • Posted by Ibecame 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes, and most historical turning points end up making things a lot worse before they level off.
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  • Posted by Ibecame 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    I am sure leaving a Family business is tougher, but I can tell you it was tough leaving the Job in an industry where I loved the work, but finally couldn't stand the moochers and the Managers. That was 15 years ago and occasionally I still miss it. However, the stress probably would have killed me by now if I hadn't quit. Sometimes retreating is absolutely the right decision. Now with the way things are we are, we are seriously considering selling the house and moving to a much more rural area. Another big change. Even Hank & Dagney realized that enough is enough.
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  • Posted by Ibecame 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    What she did was even more astounding when you realize she started in 1945. The war was still on. The first atomic bomb was dropped. Men wore suits, women's dress went below the knee. "Rosie the Riveter" might have worn "Pedal Pushers". Color TV was yet years away, and the family car weighed as much as a commercial truck today. The US population was only 140 Million. This was before Transistors.
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  • Posted by XenokRoy 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    She is flaming liberal that will take for fact anything Debra Shults utters from her lips. Yes we get along oh so well. /Sarcasm off
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  • Posted by $ winterwind 9 years ago in reply to this comment.
    and Marijuana dispensaries.
    all legal businesses.
    Just think, the bad guys know you have to do all your business I cash, and they know you're in an area where you can't legally carry.......might as well paint a target on your back.
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