Hadacol

Y'see, when you get to be as old as I am, you can remember a lot. I grew up in a drug store, because my Dad owned one for 36 years. I also have always had a radio by my bed, and when a youngster, used to "DX" around the country with my NC-100 receiver, listening to all the stations I could. I could get WSM in Nashville, and used to listen to the Grand Old Opry on Saturday night. I could get WWVA in Wheeling, W.VA, and WCKY in Cincinnati. These night time 50KW stations used to advertise the wackiest of fraudulent potions and imbibments, which were guaranteed to cure everything from athlete's foot to menstrual pains. There was Lydia Pinkhams, and Humphreys, and a bunch of them, but the one I remember best was Hadacol. My Dad had it on his shelves, but it didn't sell very well, because after all, Washington D.C. was a rather sophisticated place, and the yokels out at 40th and Plum didn't live in D.C. (When I was growing up in D.C. it was a wonderful place, as opposed to the dangerous mess it now is.) I took a bottle of Hadacol down one day, and Lydia Pinkhams also, and discovered that they had 24% alcohol!

A few spoonfuls of that stuff would make anyone feel better! I can see the aching farmers, and miners faithfully listening to their favorite Roy Acuff or Bill Monroe records, and swilling a bit of Hadacol to ease the pains, and swearing by it! Hadacol and related alcoholic "medicines" makes me think of the fake dollar bills that are being printed by the billions and billions every week. Think I am kidding? It has been reliably reported, that our little Afghanistan adventure is costing $5 billion a month, and the rockets are still falling on US encampments. Dubya is going to Iraq, and that cost is estimated initially at $200 billion, plus the continual occupation, which may last for years. Officially, the budget is hundreds of billions in the red, and this, of course, doesn't include the off budget or "black budget" items, which are as numerous as snowflakes in a snowball, probably. "Officially," the currency supply is growing by 8% a year, but it may be a lot more than that, and that figure, even "officially," will have to increase, if there is even a smattering of honesty in the output from the bureaucrat's desks.

It's just like Hadacol and Lydia Pinkhams of old, the fraud continues. The alcohol of old, has been replaced by platitudes and lies about how wonderful everything is. Now it is said that North Korea can have an atom bomb in 30 days, and some speculate that China will invade Taiwan when we go into Iraq. This is not a political column, other than to illustrate just how much those overworked printing presses at the Bureau of Engraving in D.C. are working, and will have to work. Just think of the trees that will be felled, printing that fiat "money!"

All the while, Joe Sixpack continues to put money in his savings account, or buys overpriced stocks. Insurance salesmen are making sales, offering annuities giving 5% a year returns, which happens to be a loss, no matter how it is figured. Even the "new math" can't make that, or a savings account show a profit. Money market accounts are also a loss, as are Treasury bills, no matter the length or interest. In my opinion, we are headed for something very serious, which will demote the dollar, just as Johnny should be, when he can't read in the fifth grade. With the public schools, Johnny will be passed, and with the US government, the propaganda will be excruciating.

CNBC will be hyping stocks with PE ratios of 50, and the brokerages will have to pay the billions in fines that were levied because of their fraudulent promoting of stocks, which they knew to be dogs. One knowledgeable prophet has said the US economy will collapse. Don't ask me, my crystal ball broke yesterday, but the rise in the price of gold will obviously be followed by silver, which may even overtake it, percentage wise.

Since hindsight is always 20/20, there are hundreds of you readers, who read but have never acted. Your dollars are still tucked away in those banks or stocks. All financial advisors say that government bonds are the safest possible method of investing. Oh yeah? Those government "securities" will be as insecure as anything else that is printed on paper with ink. Because, (here comes the sermon) they are ALL DENOMINATED IN DOLLARS WHICH IS A FAILING MEASURING DEVICE.

Locally, 4 times a year, we have "Jack's Auction," which is a blast. It takes two full long days to auction off the junk, collectibles, and antiques. We always spend a few hundred, and this time, we bought "Herman," among other things such as an 1840 Walnut cabinet. Herman is a perfectly mounted 7 point elk, which now hangs on the wall of my solarium, where I work.

I paid $300 for Herman, which is less than half of what he is worth, and the walnut cabinet was $230, also a steal. I got out of dollars, in other words. Would I rather have Herman looking over my shoulder as I talk to you guys and write this drivel, or have $300 in my wallet? Would I rather have my Jack Daniels in a walnut cabinet that is over 150 years old, or have $230 in my wallet? Silly question? Not really, because millions and hundreds of millions of Americans are doing just that, by keeping surplus dollars in savings accounts or Money Market (whatever the hell that is) accounts, or in "T bills," all of which are absolutely safe for the number of your dollars. How does this protect you from a declining dollar? They don't. Big deal, you get 2% interest, and pay taxes on it. Whoopee! All the while, your dollars are safe, but the dollar isn't. The dollar is a Popsicle at 32.1 degrees, with the temperature rising.

Far too many columnists, advisors, and broadcasters (all of them?) are talking about prices of things in dollars. My antique truck cost $400 brand new in 1941, and it is possible today to spend in excess of $50,000 for a deluxe pickup truck.

Is the measuring device, known as the dollar, losing value? A gallon of gas at 20 cents when I was a kid, now approaches $2.00, and is considered a bargain, compared to other price increases. It's the SAME GAS! It just takes ten times as many dollars to fill your tank, and that is the least alarming comparison I can think of. Comparing other things, such as houses, shows the dollar to be the gigantic fraud it really is. Locally, just a few years ago, one could buy land adjacent to the National forest for under $1,000 an acre, and now these plots are over $2,000 per acre. With nice views, try $10,000 an acre. SAME LAND! Just being bought with declining value dollars. Hide 'em under your mattress, and they still go down, because we have no power to stop the dollar's decline. It is government that is issuing them, not us. I'm not spending like it is going out of style, government is. I don't print to pay, government does. When it does, everyone's dollars lose value. Millions do not understand Stott's law, which is so simple, that it is ridiculous. "The more of anything there is, the less they will be worth," and that includes DOLLARS!

Hadacol and Lydia Pinkhams gave brief relief due to semi intoxication. They sold very well during prohibition! Platitudes from Sir Greenspan and your local stock broker sound so great. "Why Mam, this annuity will give you a 5% return!" "Why Sir, this Treasury bond will give you a 4% return, and is absolutely the safest place you can put your money." Urp! "Why Madam, Hadacol will give you instant relief." What's the difference? Hadacol gave you a buzz anyway. The others make me sick. Protect yourself, and have a happy New Year! If you celebrate the 1^st with a 5^th, don't drive!