The Red Pill by Jay Pounder

I recently read the book titled The Red Pill by Jay Pounder, which I believe was self published in 2012.  The book is clearly a wake up call to Americans to change their spending and self reliant ways.  I think the book was informative and there were a few criticisms that I had, as I started thinking about the practicality of taking measures to prepare your families for the upcoming economic collapse.

China Prints Their Currency

I just can't help but wonder how one of the poorest nations, for centuries, now in recent history has came out of nowhere economically.  A country with "extractive" economic and political systems, with a per capita GDP 1/10th that of the United States.  I realize that over the last 10-20 years we have been falling behind in a trade deficit and losing our innovative technologies by shipping our ideas for production and theft, but are these the key elements of their financial strength to where they can keep buying US debt?  Is the Yuan really backed by gold?  How would you know?  I'm just asking the question here, and am willing to learn along the way if you have the answer.

Bullets & Beans

One aspect of The Red Pill was the preparations that families should be making with bullets, beans, and band-aids.  I agree, we should be prepared for disasters, and we should be prepared for a loss of our constitutional rights and freedoms.  We should be willing to fight for those ideals.  As I was reading, the real frustration that came my way was related to the number of guns and ammunition one should be stockpiling away.  I'm sure, if you have more you should prepare more, but the laundry list was nearly $10,000 worth of  rifles (hunting and automatic), handguns, shotguns, and ammunition.  More practically, I'd challenge the average American to put that $10,000 on their credit card balance to seek after a debt free life, rather than  armory building.

Search & Seizure

A good portion of the book was focused on a hypothetical scenario where the government was requesting, then requiring, all goods of value that could help the country during an economic collapse, through martial law..  So here's my point, is it wise for me to stockpile a large portion of silver, gold, food, water, and firearms, if I'm going to be required to hand it over for the good of the order?  I'd have to consider, if I have gone that far to prepare, I better be willing to protect it at all costs.  How frustrating would that be to make all those preparations, only to have agency come in and take it for their own distribution.

As Federal As Federal Express

Jay Pounder gives an interesting overview of the Federal Reserve and shows how it functions in relation to the US Government and our commercial banks.  I think the one thing I found strange that this banker, in the industry for 10-15 years had only discovered that the Federal Reserve was not a government agency only a year ago.  I've heard the phrase, Federal as Federal Express for years, after doing my own research, I just found this strange to be discovered so late in our economic history.  I don't fault him there, clearly most Americans have no idea what the Federal Reserve is, so I give him credit for learning, discovering, and changing.

One other interesting highlighted by Mr. Pounder was his detailing of the Fed's history and some of the presidential assassinations in relation to changing or inhibiting the Federal Reserve, such as when John F. Kennedy established the $2 and $5 silver certificates.  Correlative, and strange.

In closing, I recommend getting a copy of The Red Pill, if anything, it'll make you think, ask questions, and determine whether or not you need to make a change in your financial life.  The book is a short read at only about 80 pages and definitely a conversation starter for your friends and colleagues.