Dear Readers,
I had the honour last week of attending the 70th Commemorations of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland with, among others, members of the European Coalition for Israel at the UN, members of the Krakow and American Jewish community and international friends from several nations. What struck me most, apart from the true life-affirming message of such a trip, was the very different political history of the land in which I was standing at the time to Britain. Poland still holds the social effects of communism in it’s atmosphere, like a blanket. Its borders suffer a history of ‘land-grabs’ that we in Britain may find hard to comprehend.
Coincidentally, my brother returned to the UK for a few days also from Europe this week, giving me further insight into Greece’s current headlining political and economic situation. Proud to say my brother is a Diplomat for the British Government, currently posted to the British Embassy in Athens. While sharing some Polish vodka, we chatted over Greece’s state of health in the Euro.
There’s been a lot of noise in the mainstream media this week, which has overlaid a very strange occurrence in Greece; the one country who’s economic lack of health could affect the whole of the Eurozone and beyond in the most immediate short term. Greece just had their general election and has formed a coalition government, a term we here in Britain now understand. But bizarrely, Greece’s new government is made up of both the extreme right and the extreme left! That would be similar to Britain’s upcoming elections giving the result of the British National Party (BNP) forming a coalition with the Liberal Democrats! Just bizarre. They wouldn’t agree on anything. And the sense of citizen insecurity would be understandably high. The only reason these two extremes are now in power ‘together’ is the one thing they have in common – they both hate austerity. As stated in the Guardian: “The only thing left-wing Syriza and the right-wing Independent Greeks (Anel) have in common is economic populism.”
However, even the one thing they have in common is a point on which they are already disagreeing: “I’m optimistic that the problem will be resolved” (I personally love the way the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakish says this, as if Greek debt is merely as troublesome as a broken down boiler. “The other day I had favourable feedback from the British financial community and they understood very well what our problems are. They were surprised that a radical leftist had come up with a plan worthy of a bankrupt lawyer.” It doesn’t sound as if it’s going to end well, does it? (Wall Street Journal)
So how does this affect us in Britain? It is one thing to “understand” their problems but entirely another to be forced to take responsibility for them. We in Britain can’t imagine what it would be like to work for 12 months without being paid! That’s been the reality on the ground for many Greek citizens working in local government. Greece is currently in debt by EUR 315 bn so the chances are higher than ever that Greece will have to leave the Euro.
Here is a brilliant short 10 mins video on the European Debt Crisis Visualized.
It clearly explains the inherent problem with the eurozone, which the British public are feeling more than ever. We don’t mind trading with our European neighbours but we don’t want a United States of Europe. It is looking more and more promising that we will finally get the referendum on this issue via using our vote well in our own upcoming elections this May. The profound difference between monetary policy and fiscal policy is clearly explained in this presentation and we highly recommend a quick watch. What is happening in Greece now could affect us more than we realise if we don’t understand the difference.
Here is a astute quote from Norm Franz in “Money and Wealth in the New Millenium” (2001):
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.” That is as true of nations as it is of individuals.
As I write this, the new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is giving a press conference in Brussels live: He says that Greece doesn’t have a (debt) deal yet, but reckons “we are moving in the right direction”. He says: “We have the will to work to find a mutually acceptable compromise with the EU” and promises to respect European rules. It’s beautifully worded whitewash to a problem that finanically can’t be solved without pain somewhere. The responses on Twitter that follow are telling and sometimes humourous. We love Clarke and Dawe, two Australian comedians, who give the following 3 minute video on the European Debt Crisis. Humour is one good way us Brits like to focus our minds on the real problem, while giving us the impetus and energy to do something about it.
So what can you do about it? Here at Bleyer we believe strongly in taking personal responsibility for one’s wealth increase and protection. We ourselves hold and follow traditional business ethics, taking time to build trust with you, our clients, giving bespoke customer care and researching the factors that affect or manipulate the free market in precious metals.
We would love to see many more members of the British public just like you owning and holding your own Physical Gold and Silver, in preparation for a time when international fiat currencies – in their highly interlinked fashion – will be going through a very bumpy ride. As previously discussed in our Blogs and News, Gold and Silver do well in inflation, deflation and hyper-inflation. We believe we’re currently in the deflationary stage of the current cycle, which is what we call a ‘buying opportunity’ in Physical Metals.
If you would like to know more about the many different Gold and Silver products we offer, plus information on home or away from home storage, holding Gold in a pension or even buying home Gun Cabinets, please feel free to email sales@bleyer.co.uk or browse our website, submit an enquiry and sign up for our weekly newsletter. One of the team will contact you to chat through your options. We can help you make your own individual choice about your wealth protection, look together at how you can save both VAT and Capital Gains Tax in owning Physical Gold and Silver and which products will work best for you. Accumulating Physical Gold and Silver is quick, straight-forward and rewarding.
We look forward to doing business with you.
