Ayn Rand said, "One can ignore reality, but one cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality."

What is happening in the world today is a complete revolution.  A massive paradigm shift.  What used to be, is or will not be any longer and those who choose to ignore this will not be able to ignore the consequences of ignoring it for much longer.  It is coming to a doorstep near you.

It is actually quite sad to see people clinging to the past or those who refuse to see the change that is about to be thrust upon them.

That world that existed between 1970-2008 is no more.  It never will be again and trying to cling to it will only hurt more than facing that reality.

With gold near $1,800 the pundits on the Propaganda Box still say things like, "Gold is not a good long term investment".  If they know a better investment since the dawn of civilization we'd like to know about it.  Gold and silver have been the pre-eminent investment for 5,000 years and counting.  Even in the recent past, since 1970, gold has risen from $35 to nearly $1,900 for a compounded return of 10.5% per annum - beating any other standard investment class by leaps and bounds.

Those in denial also can't see that the stock market - which according to Wall Street "always" goes up - is down nearly 90% in real terms over the last decade.

Not to mention housing sales in the US are for all intents and purposes, non-existant.  This chart basically shows the economy of the US is dead.

Most of what has happened in the last few decades in the US and most western nations wasn't real.  It was all a debt based illusion and it is all falling apart now causing repercussions around the globe.

Governments the world over are doing their best to hide this truth. YouTube is complying with thousands of requests from governments to censor and remove videos showing revolutions, protests or riots and deleting similar search terms by government mandate.  But if you open your eyes you can see what is really going on.

There are protests, revolutions and riots circling the globe from Egypt to Israel, the UK to Spain andChina to Chile... and countless more.

This is no coincidence.  It is TEOTMSAWKI.  The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It.

The western world has been living in a bubble since 1970.  Most of what appeared to be prosperity wasn't.  It was perceived prosperity masked in debt.

And now the bill is coming due.

In the US, under GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) the Federal Government alone has more than $75 trillion in debt and liabilities.  That's over $1 million per family of four.  This doesn't even mention state, municipal and personal debt - the average family of four in the US has over $100,000 in personal debt.

The next time someone tells you that the US is the "richest country on Earth" correct them.  Tell them, "used to be".  Now it is the most indebted and bankrupt nation on the planet.

Sure, even right now, things might not look like they are all about to collapse in the US.  But they are.

One of these two things will not exist a few years from now: The US Government or the US dollar.  Or both.

This is what we've been talking about at TDV since our inception.  The US Federal Government has to default on its debt and downsize by at least 80-90% in the near future - because its debt has gotten to the point where even paying interest on it will not be possible once rates rise.  Or the Federal Reserve in concert with the US Government will hyperinflate the dollar into worthlessness trying to maintain the facade a little while longer.

The choice they have made so far is death by hyperinflation.  Politicians always prefer this route to death by government insolvency... that's because hyperinflation can be blamed on other people.  They can say food prices are going up because of the weather.  Or gas prices are going up because of those damned Iranians.

But, no matter which way the US Government chooses it will mean absolute disaster for those living in the US.  Either one would cause a depression that would make the 1930s look like child's play.  Anyone dependent on government largesse (which is over 50% of Americans now) will find their checks will stop coming in the mail.  Even the brief threat of default last month had Obama showing who will be the first to be cut: "If we default we will not be able to send out social security checks", he said.

This may have come as quite a shock to those who think that there is actually money in the social security trust fund.  That money was spent decades ago... there is nothing there but IOUs that will never be redeemed.  It is a ponzi scheme, plain and simple.

Social security checks, pension checks, foodstamps, welfare checks, they will all disappear.  Banks will close. And that is in the best case scenario.

The worst case scenario is hyperinflation and just happens to be the route that your government overseers have decided for you.  In the case of hyperinflation not only are any of those checks actually worth anything but the entire economy goes to zero as trading, for all intents and purposes, stops.  It would, in very quick fashion, lead to a Mad Max type environment - a very rude awakening to those who thought their government was going to take care of them.

Sometimes I get attacked by people saying I am a scare monger.  Believe me, I live on the beach in Mexico... I don't need to get up every day and research and work on this stuff out of a desire to scare old ladies.  This is what I believe is in the process of occurring and I've organized my life to extract myself from the western financial system and have expatriated long ago from the west.  I live mostly in Mexico and soon in Argentina and most of my assets are in gold and precious metals related investments.

I am nothing special.  Just a person who has his eyes wide open and believes nothing I am told - especially when it comes from governments or mainstream media.  I research everything of importance and make my own decisions.  This research has led me to these views on what is occurring in the world today.

How many people have done the same?  Those whose thoughts on the world mostly come from the government or the mainstream media are, in effect, brainwashed.  They can choose to open their eyes now or they can clench them shut and just hope I'm wrong.

Hope, by the way, rarely works out.