February 12, 2014
- The company that’s been richly rewarded for its incompetence
- A simple and free tool to secure your files from prying eyes
- How to ensure access to quality health care in spite of Washington’s worst efforts
- Liquor as a means of insulating yourself from looming inflation
- The debt ceiling: Nice to know ya… debunking a “scary” chart… readers go after each other about our “get rich quick schemes”… and more!
It’s a plum job in the growing cybersecurity field. The requirements: “5+ years of experience with insider threat issues, counterintelligence, information assurance, security, network engineering or data science.”
The feds are out to stop future Edward Snowdens. As we mentioned last summer, the “Insider Threat Program” encourages a snitch culture throughout the federal government. Workers are required to keep an eye on their colleagues; managers are urged to punish workers who fail to report their suspicions.
The job listing brings the effort to a new level: Now there will be people whose entire workday will be devoted to sniffing out potential leakers. What’s more, the feds are farming out the work. This isn’t a federal gig — it’s with a contractor.
The contractor is none other than Snowden’s former employer — the sprawling consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH).
But it’s all good: The listing assures us “Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation.” Heh…
BAH stock tumbled on June 10, the day after Snowden’s identity and employment history went public. But if you’d bought in a few days later, you’d be keeping pace with the S&P 500…
It’s a good time to remember the NSA is just like every other bureaucracy — the evil is leavened by incompetence.
Yes, the agency is scooping up your so-called metadata. But that means “the bigger you build the haystack, the harder it is to find the needle,” says the fearless journalist James Bamford, author of four books about the NSA.
“Thus, despite all this collection, the NSA missed the Boston bombing, the underwear bomber and the Times Square bomber.” They’re also liable to overlook your posts on a firearms message board or even your participation in “The Day We Fight Back” — an online protest against government surveillance held yesterday.
Of course, it still pays to be prudent.
“As technology advancement allows for more advanced theft and spying,” writes Mike Leahy, “so does it allow for better defenses.” Mr. Leahy founded a privacy and information tracking software firm. And he’s the online security and privacy adviser for the Laissez Faire Club.
One of your most important privacy resources is encryption : “File encryption isn’t something that concerns only those people handling government secrets,” Mike explains. “Business travelers lose more than 12,000 laptops every week in U.S. airports.
“Encryption is the process of rendering information unreadable to anyone who does not possess a special password (what’s known as a ‘key’). Those who have the key can then use it to decode the information back into a readable form.”
Mike’s favorite encryption tool is TrueCrypt. “It’s a free, open source program compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux. It allows a user to encrypt single files, whole hard drives and portable storage devices and even gives you the ability to hide entire operating systems.”
More incompetence: The Obamacare website will be offline for maintenance this weekend.
This weekend happens to be the final stretch in which people can sign up for coverage that begins March 1.
This year, “the two key words you want to focus your attention on in terms of your personal health care are ‘quality’ and ‘access,” says Jud Anglin.
As you may already know, Jud has run a “medical tourism” business for more than 10 years, and he’s the health care adviser to the Laissez Faire Club. For months, he’s had a laser focus on shielding people from Obamacare’s worst effects.
One step you should give serious consideration is either “concierge medicine” or “direct primary care.”
Concierge medicine costs an average $1,800 a year, and it’s not covered by insurance. “But you get the cellphone number of your physician, giving you direct access at any time, weekends included,” says Jud. More face time with your doctor and same-day appointments if you need them, too.
Direct primary care is a less pricey option. For as little as $25 a month, you get immediate same-day appointments, longer office visits and 24/7 access to a doctor via email and phone.
“How,” says Jud, “are direct primary care doctors able to do this? By renouncing health insurance completely. This enables them to avoid all the administrative costs that come from working with insurers. The resultant savings can then be passed on to their patients.”
The highest numbers of these doctors are found in California, Washington, New York and Florida. As long as you have a high-deductible insurance policy, it’s all legal.
Stocks are in pause today, traders catching their breath after their first exhilarating encounter with Janet Yellen as Federal Reserve chairwoman.
The major indexes drifted up steadily the whole three hours she testified before Congress, promising “continuity” from the Bernanke regime… and the three hours after that too. This morning, the S&P is off fractionally to 1,818. Gold is likewise steady around $1,292.
“The commercial banking system is beginning to light the fuse to ignite the inflationary tinder created by the Federal Reserve,” warns our friend Doug French.
Doug, a former banker, wears several hats — including banking adviser to the Laissez Faire Club. “Bankers, after five years of licking their wounds, are starting to say yes again after turning potential borrowers away en masse since the 2008 crash.”
Doug points to evidence commercial bank lending is heating up: “In December, bank credit was up 5.9%, according to the latest H.8 numbers from the Federal Reserve. This is the largest increase we’ve seen since the crash. The big increases were in the commercial and industrial loan category, which jumped 14.1%, and consumer loans, which increased 6.4%.
“As banks start to lend and rates begin to rise, the money supply could begin to grow, and in turn, price inflation could rear its ugly head.” Gold and silver are the traditional hedges, but Doug says, “It helps to think outside those metallic boxes. At last year’s Agora Financial Symposium in Vancouver, I mentioned stocking up on real things like cigarettes and liquor.
“You may not smoke, drink or shoot — but you can always sell or trade cigarettes, booze and ammunition.”
True… and they take up a lot less shelf space than toilet paper.
[Ed. note: Most of what you’ve read in today’s 5 was cribbed from the pages of this month’s Laissez Faire Letter — the newsletter of the Laissez Faire Club. Every month’s issue is a crash course in “practical liberty” — things you can do to free yourself from the clutches of the NSA, Obamacare, the IRS, you name it.
For only $7, you can get the club’s exclusive 166-page manual A Man’s Right to Happiness. It’s packed with the proverbial 101 ideas to make your existence a little more free…
- The single biggest privacy mistake most people make every single day, opening themselves up for hackers and prying eyes… without ever realizing it (Page 39)
- How to turn your phone into a private offshore money shelter just like the ultra-rich have (Page 65)
- A surprisingly affordable way you can take charge of your own health by getting medical tests without a physician’s referral or needing to involve your insurance (Page 12).
For a comprehensive rundown of everything you’ll learn in the book, click here. There’s no “long-winded presentation” to watch — just a boatload of ideas to improve your life.
C’mon, it’s just $7. Click the link.]
After 97 years, the debt ceiling is, if not dead, at least on life support.
Congress first established a statutory limit on the national debt in 1917. It has been the subject of periodic political theater ever since.
We won’t rehash recent history here; suffice it to say the U.S. House voted last night to suspend the debt ceiling… until March of next year. The Senate will surely follow, and the president will sign. After a 13-month suspension, how likely is it any limit will ever be reimposed?
In other words, the government has given up even the pretense of fiscal restraint. At least now we’ll be spared the preening of Congress members (Republicans now, Democrats a few years ago) about how the other side is spending recklessly…
For the record, the national debt totals $17,258,793,918,103.22 this morning.
“Did ya see this chart on MarketWatch?” a reader writes. “Yep, it’s scary.”
“Do you or Bill Bonner have any crash alert flags out?” adds another. “This graph is scary as hell. Do you have any ‘experts’ that want to debunk the comparison?”
The 5: Here’s the source of the hullaballoo. We reproduce it verbatim…
Your editor flipped it over to one of our resident chartmeisters, Rude Awakening editor Greg Guenthner. He promptly referred me to a short write-up by Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
First, note the scales on the left and right sides of that chart. “But check out that same chart above,” Mr. Detrick writes, “except looking at the percentage gains.
“The rally into the ’29 peak was a historic blowoff top. I’m not saying this current one isn’t getting ahead of itself, but this is a more ‘apples to apples’ comparison, if you ask me.”
“Not all boomers want to keep going!” a reader writes, carrying on our discussion of the work-until-you-drop phenomenon. “Commercial pilot friend should have retired at 60 but held out to age 63, mostly to cover daughter in college. Pulled the pin as soon as possible.
“My wife insisted I take it at 62, despite lower Social Security. Assuming it doesn’t go belly up, or move the cheese further down the maze, I don’t lose out on totals until after age 76 (not even accounting for the value of money now versus the future), at which point she might be able to retire. (Yes, marrying a woman over 10 years junior has benefits besides the obvious one.)
“But I’ve also worked on educational projects (read: scoring standardized tests) where most boomers no longer employed, because it’s easier and cheaper for companies to hire an X-er for half the price. Just try getting re-employed after 55.
“Beauty of early retirement? Now I’m still working, but on projects I want with future rewards, using costs to cover things I’d do anyway, with deductions against taxes. And if it all goes straight to hell in a handbasket, my daughter is married to a farmer, so I shouldn’t starve.”
“Just read yesterday’s subscriber’s comments about your ‘get rich quick’ promos,” a reader writes.
[Uh-oh…]
“I usually do not write to those whose product I buy when something I do not like occurs. When it occurs often enough to irritate me, I’m one of those customers that just goes away!
“So it is quite unusual for me to send a note like this.
“I, too, do not like much of your marketing. For the most part, I don’t even read it anymore. I just delete it because it reminds me of a ‘pump and dump’ approach. I just fired another investment newsletter publisher for the same reason. You are on notice now… send me only stuff that is presented in a professional format with a believable message.”
The 5: We hear you. Unfortunately, your definition of “professional” and “believable” won’t always square up with the definitions of others.
We expend immense time and resources figuring out which messages are going to resonate most with both current and prospective readers. And the only thing we know with certainty… is that we’re routinely surprised.
“These people,” another reader counters, “should just ignore the ads they do not like and not condemn Agora for making a buck by offering ideas. Remember The 5 Min. Forecast is FREE!!”
“Part of my enjoyment of The 5,” adds one more, “is getting to read the moaning and
groaning from the chronically complaining crowd. They want free stuff with no solicitations for the stuff that actually costs something.
“Perhaps they are unaware that your paying customers actually subsidize his/her free newsletter. They sound like the members of the same crew that ramble on about free health care, conveniently forgetting that the buyers are paying the way for the takers.
“That said, I pay for two of Agora’s letters, and at no point was I told that they would make me rich quickly. However, they are full of great advice, tips and pointers on how to get wealthy slowly, and for that I thank you, because they are working!”
The last word: “Isn’t Chase barring cash deposits to an account that is not the depositor’s due to money laundering concerns the kettle calling the pot black…or something like that?”
The 5: You can definitely call it HSBC!
That’s the one that paid a $1.9 billion cost-of-doing-business fine last year for helping Latin American drug cartels launder billions.
To paraphrase the Geto Boys, Damn it feels good to be a banksta.
Cheers,
Dave Gonigam
The 5 Min. Forecast
P.S. In the last several weeks, you could have pulled as much as $4,490 out of the markets using our income specialist Neil George’s “perpetual income system.”
And all without buying a single stock, bond or option.
The strategy is a little strange… but Neil still managed to sketch it out on a napkin in a way anyone could understand. See how you could make it work in your own portfolio, right here.