Thanks for all that you have done. This place has been a great source of information, both from the tickers and the community. That I will miss greatly.

I don't blame you one bit, Karl. What you are planning is pretty much what I did years ago, although possibly not for the exact same reasons. I haven't paid on a mortgage since 2001 (and paid cash for my present home, using profits from the sale of previous home, by a bit of luck and good timing). I haven't paid for a car loan since, I don't know, maybe 25 years ago or more. I manage my stock holdings and live off dividends and savings, so I haven't had to pay a cent in income tax (fed or state) in at least 10 years. Although I'm far from rich, I have a decent amount in savings to pad my dividends out, so I'm doing just fine so far with that. I shop at 99-cent stores and find I can get most of what I need at a fraction of the price there, and use CL for other things I need (non-food items). So I have zero debt, zero (taxable) income, no mortgage, no kids, no car loans. No handouts from gov at all, either - zero.

I realize I am an anomaly among my friends and relatives, they just can't figure out how I was able to stop working at age 40 and been able to keep going for almost 15 years straight till now. They probably think I must be doing something illegal or immoral - nope. Just good planning and doing that planning when I was young. I had some pretty hard knocks early on that taught me some valuable lessons. I learned from those experiences what not to do (mostly by using the same friends and relatives as "anti-examples").

Since I have had no (W-2) earnings in years, when I get my SS statements, my purported payment when I "officially" retire has been hit. The way I see it, I don't think it will be there anyway, and if it is, the amount won't buy anything worthwhile. In short, I've done everything I can up to this point to minimize my footprint, and minimize my interaction with the gov and IRS (and all legal, there's no income to tax!). After nearly 15 years of this, I have gotten pretty good at it now. There's still work to be done, of course, but I think I'm far ahead of my friends and peers in this regard.

Now, if there just were a way to avoid property taxes legally...maybe I could start a church? Naw, I think it's more likely that gov will start taxing them soon enough when as it gets more and more voracious. So, for now, I can't do anything about the property tax, but I have some long term plans that take me to a country where there are no property taxes (yes, there are still some out there today).

Whatever you decide to do, Karl, I wish you very good luck and success. I've learned a lot from reading your tickers over the past few years, and I appreciate all your efforts. Maybe I haven't been a regular/constant contributor here, but I've been happy to just read all your comments and those of other like-minded people on this forum and learn. Thank you for all you have done.

Karl,
I envy your position and more so your decision. I don't recall ever telling you directIy how much I respect your INTEGRITY. But I will now. You are a rock. In your soul you are a rock. You were born to make a difference and you should know it. I sense it is in your soul. Good luck to you my man and may we meet down the road.

I BLEED FREEDOM. I am sitting here in a state of anger and rage over what YOU the average citizen has allowed to happen. I have sacrificed ENDLESS profitable opportunities because of my convictions. Yet, here I am at 58 years old. I have my home and my car and my dogs and my hobbies. And I have my IRA and cash. And I did it all telling the truth Mother Fuckers! So all of you cowards who say you can't do it, you are wrong. I am proof that if you work hard enough you do not have to sell out your soul. In the sense of fairness, could someone live my rebel life today? I don't know that answer. All that I can say is that is exactly what Karl is saying right now in a different angle. My answer: No way could a youth live my free life without GOVERNMENT intervention.

It must be stopped with your life if necessary.

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You are not what you say you are, You are what you do.

no excuse now, come on let's go. While we are still young

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E2P1d6dv....

Thank you Karl.

I can't remember when I first stumbled on to your site and this community (I think some time in late 2008), but it has been an amazing ride - talk about unknowingly taking the "red pill" and never being able to see the world the same way again! I convinced several close, very smart, friends to start reading The Ticker and Tickerforum as well, and you have no idea how many hours the subjects from your Tickers have consumed our evenings and weekends in deep discussions and debates. To be completely honest, several of us thought, early on, that you had to be some NSA or CIA "program" - as we could not wrap our heads around how one human being could know so much about everything, literally everything! The law, physics, mathematics, history, computers and IT, the political world, the banking world, the trading world, the real world, etc. and churn out the posts that you do on a daily basis. Withing the last year, we have only half-heartedly joked that any university worth its price of tuition should have a mandatory "Market-Ticker" class, where students had to go back to the beginning and read your Tickers and the comments and then discuss them in class. That one 4 hour credit class would have been a better education than the other 120 hours of classes and lectures combined!

Thank you for everything you have given me and my friends - I hope someone has taken the time to preserve everything you have done.

Londoncat

Karl, I sincerely hope that you keep the political side of the ticker going. You certainly have a fire burning in your belly and it is amazing how prolific of a writer you are. I have had a similar site back in late 90s but lacked the ability to put out enough material to keep it going. You do not have that issue.

I know that I am not much of a contributor to the discussions here, but most often by the time I read the comments, everything that I wanted to say someone has already beaten me to it.
Your comment section definitely has the lowest percentage idiotic drivel and depth of knowledge in a wide range of topics is amazing. I cannot think of another place where a conversation can cover topics such as chemistry, electrical engineering and more computer related disciplines than a masters program at your local university.

I have personally withdrawn my participation from the financial markets over 3 years ago. I refuse to participate in such a crooked enterprise where someone like Corzine can steal over a billion dollars and walk around without any worry about the justice system whatever. Worse yet most people don't know about the corruption nor do they care. Not as long as they have food and distractions.


I have made other changes that when most people hear about them think I am a bit nutty. I have a personal boycott of any business under control of Warren Buffet. I switched from Geico Insurance and quit buying See's candy (which was my guilty pleasure to the tune of at least $20 per week).
I have and continue to boycott any Las Vegas properties whose CEOs were supporting Harry Reid during the 2008 election. MGM is on top of that list.
Sometimes it is a difficult way to live, but I refuse to give my money to people who support those politicians that are at the forefront of screwing me in more ways than I care to think about.

I hope you continue to share your thoughts on issues of the day.
When the day comes and you decide to completely pack it in, most of us will miss the exchange of ideas but certainly will understand you decision.
If the time ever comes and you need someone to watch your back, that would be the least I could do for all your efforts here.

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There are no limits to human stupidity

I was just thinking the same thing yesterday, Karl. That, gee, the government has become one extreme de-motivator. Haven't they? Who would want to work when the gains go toward this nonsense? It's hopeless.

And I don't know how all these people pass themselves off as intellectuals when they are clearly part of the push to gloss over the realities. I could just slap them all in the face! I keep feeling at some point I'm going to have to disconnect electronically. I don't blame you for feeling that way.

I've wondered the last few months how long you would be able to take spouting truths in a world where facts and fundamentals don't matter. I can only imagine what it does to someone like you. As smart as you are. I know what it does to my husband and I.

I'd have to tell you I'd miss you. You're the only sane place out there. Maybe you should take a long vacation and pursue some other areas of interest. Ever think of metal detecting? I hope you never lose your edge though. You need to keep your brain active.

I know it's no use in this day and age but it is to you.

Quote:

But I had to choose between raising my kid, REALLY raising her, from just around 2 years old, and paying a Nanny and being a half-way-there Dad. I looked at the pile of money I could have, I looked at her and the much smaller pile I'd have if I made that call, and the decision was done.

Had that same 2 x 4 realization with my oldest. The money pile probably wasn't near to yours, but nonetheless, the attempt to raise a special needs kids by using daycare just wasn't going to be in anyone's best interest

It's seldom the decision of *what's* important, but rather *who* is important.

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jihad pressure cooker tea party guns Constitution Bill of Rights play doh squiggly line prepper home garden clusterfuck

Gen: if you're on the leading edge of a broader societal consensus (which I have a feeling is, in fact, happening), then final capitulation in housing isn't too far off. Once one has accepted the inevitability that opting out is the sole remaining choice, the house -- and all its attendant expenses -- must be the first to go.

Income expectations follow. Once there is no need to keep up a $1,500-$2,500/mo payment, then there is no need to beat your brains out for an ungrateful employer whose demands only ratchet up each year. More with less, you know. While this scenario may not be true for you, specifically, Gen; I suspect it is for the majority of home payment slaves.

Cars are next. They can be kept running tolerably well for 20 or 30 years. Of course, this doesn't produce the same sales tax revenue that buying new ones does.

A key and core shift in a paradigm like this changes economies for generations. Maybe future historians will call it the Great Opt Out.

When the big corporations begin surveying us as to why we're not buying, perhaps the response should be a simple hashtag: #optout.

I hold no hope that any Fortune 500 exec will suffer a sudden epiphany and demand the U.S. DOJ investigate themselves. But at least they'll know *why* their international conglomerate is spiraling into oblivion.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

I used to listen to G. Gordon Liddy religiously - 5 days a week, 4 hours a day.
To many his conservative hyper- machismo was so over-the-top as to be cartoonish.
But he made perfect sense to me & cherry on top on a regular basis cracked me up LMFAO-style no exaggeration.

To me the guy - make that gentleman - was the real deal with a capital R & D.
I actually had the privilege of shaking the guy's hand twice. And he came across "walk it like you talk it" legitimate. IOW I believed - & trusted - the man's words.

Mr. Denninger you strike me the same way. I don't think there's a chance in Hell we'd be buddies in person but if you tell me you're gonna be in Timbuktu
next Tuesday 2 o'clock the town square, that's exactly where I'd bet you'd be.
I'd rely on it and trust full-face its veracity.

However way this blog turns out Good health to ya KD & t/y for the knowledge provided.

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PacificNW the hill on which I make my stand. Scout party member Trail Of Tears 2.0

Karl thank you for the excellent analysis and guidance that you provide. The education value of your Tickers and market commentary is something that I do not think can be found anywhere else at any price. My only regret is that I did not understand the world properly for many years before your Tickers opened my brain. You provided the Red Pill. Thank you.

Thank you for your clear thinking, honesty, and conviction and your willingness to write opening about the rubbish in the political, economic, and monetary systems. I wish you the very best in your new direction.

Thanks for keeping the Tickers -- we NEED that voice, your voice with clarity and strength to provide at least one counterpoint to the nonsense spewed by the mass media. I hope and pray that others will find the Red Pill through your writing.

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"The more you buy, the more you save." Consumer's motto.
"Spend nothing, save everything, starve the beast." My motto.

Thanks KD. I've been reading you since '08 and appreciate the time you took, including the forum. You might want to consider setting up some sort of super-gold community or Asimov might go mad...

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Turning M into C one trade at a time

I imagine going Galt will be a liberating experience for you. I also believe that this will become a larger phenomenon as the future unfolds.

"But in Republics, there is a stronger vitality...The memory of their former freedom will not let them rest; so that the safest course is either to destroy them, or to go and live in them." --Niccolo Machiavelli

The memory of OUR former freedom will not let US rest. Those who seek to take our freedom away have no concept of the wrath they risk releasing upon themselves, as those who believe in the righteousness of their cause will fight with more ferocity and conviction than those who seek merely to preserve their power. If it takes starving the system to rebuild the Republic, that is the least of the sacrifices we can make when compared to those made by our forefathers who built this country.

We all need to go Galt as fast as we can!

Thanks, Mr. Denninger, for fighting for what is right!!

I'm struggling trying to figure out if you are a bodhisattva or Jesus Christ himself.

Happy trails, Karl.

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<i><font size=2>It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded... -- Hume</font></i>

Good to see someone who is somewhat visible on society's radar taking this step and saying it out loud. Myself and numerous others have already taken this same step a few years ago, but the numbers are still very small compared to society as a whole.

If you take this step, you acknowledge that America has been hijacked by a group working towards their own plans and goals, plans which do not include a bright future for the American people - well, for people worldwide really, since America's influence and (bottomline:) firepower is in effect worldwide.

Those who feel it might inconvenience them to take this step themselves, and who therefore refrain from it should firmly understand that they are providing the necessary funding for the very slaughterhouse to which they, and their offspring, are being led. Note that the slaughterhouse metaphor may turn out not to be a metaphor ! Is s**t really that serious ? Yes, s**t is that serious now.

I don't think I've encountered anyone with as much integrity and as much determination to keep that integrity intact. It's actually quite awesome to observe.

I dropped out in 2011 for far less noble but equally personal reasons. In my experience it's a happier place to be.

All the best.
Steve

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The future's bright, the future's orange.

As Karl wrote, the criminal activity committed by individuals within government has grown to be a repulsive, ever-present stench in the nostrils of free individuals.

Just as property tax is an insult to the premise of owning property, so is an income tax an insult to the idea that a so-taxed individual is a free person. Either a free individual has total ownership of his body, to include ownership of all labor and production of his body, or he is owned by someone else - a slave.

I don't yet believe violence is a solution, even though government violence has been threatened and visited on every single adult within the United States, repeatedly, throughout their entire adult lives. Instead, I choose to assert my self-ownership, and to live as the free individual I am, respecting only the Creator-granted rights of other individuals and the laws that secure such rights.

I am not independently wealthy; I'm not able to continue to live without using my body to labor. Instead, I have been making preparations to go labor completely "under the counter", and have paid no income taxes since Janurary of this year; I will never file an income tax return again. I have removed all assets from the financial system, and made arrangements to possess no property of value that can easily be identified and stolen.

The violation of individual rights is a criminal act, and while I seek to avoid confrontation with criminals, I reserve the right to defend myself against criminals of any stripe, using any means available.

I do not consent.

Gen,
What you've done on this website has been a very good thing. I haven't posted a comment in a long time....not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have time. But my husband and I read The Market Ticker every day without fail, and we always refer to you as "Karl," as if we have known you in person for years. I want you to know that we will always have your back. If you ever need anything, you have my email. We don't have a lot, but we will do anything to help our friends.

Congratulations on everything you have accomplished, from raising your daughter by yourself, to running a business, to this website, to losing weight, and everything in between. God Bless.

Melanie

Thank you Karl. Your posts changed how I see America and they have changed my life. I am relieved to know TF is not going away because as things get worst, I expect TF will give us warnings before any other source will.

I retired last year and planned to take a year or two off to do all the projects around the house then get a part time job for fun. Also planned to replace my 1995 truck...not any more.

I am done contributing to this government ( with the exception of that #^%#^%#^#&@ property tax).

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In all of history, no government became more honest, less corrupt, or respected its citizens' rights more as it grew in size. E.L. 2016

The Oppressor/Oppressed Relationship

You either become an oppressor, or one of the oppressed, or you step out of the relationship!

http://www.google.com/#q=The+oppressor%2....

http://www.google.com/#q=either+you+beco....

As you have demonstrated, it starts with the person you see in the mirror.

And what about the "Gentleladies?" Do we get special treatment? [evilgrin]

When I first joined TF, this was your avatar .

This is even more appropriate now than six years ago when I joined. What you foresaw then, they have been implementing in spades, crushing any organized opposition because they have virtually unlimited resources at their disposal to do so.

Thank you for all you have done for the cause and for me personally.

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It is death which gives meaning to life.

Good on you, Karl. Good luck and godspeed.

As for the rest of TF, thank you for being my internet home for almost 5 years. I've learned so much from each of you.

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"There's a signpost on the corner, and it keeps everybody safe. We were all made in the shade." Greg Graffin, The Defense

Since everything else has been covered I'll repeat what I said a couple of months ago.

The next time I'm in the panhandle on I 10, I'm buying the beer. Don't make yourself invisible so that I can't contact you.

Flap

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Here are my predictions for everyone to see:
S&P 500 at 320, DOW at 2200, Gold $300/oz, and Corn $2/bu.
No sign that housing, equities, or farmland are in a bubble- Yellen 11/14/13
Trying to leave

Thanks Karl.

KD said in a recent post "Go suck an egg"

Now he is telling the tax man the same thing.

Bravo!

I will miss the Ticker Forum.

"I decided after some fairly-careful analysis that I can accomplish close enough to all of what I intend from a standpoint of not feeding the beast without doing that, and still might accomplish some good in the process."

Well said Karl, and I'm glad you are keeping the lights on.

Watch out for the 'bail in' theft which is likely to appear your side of the Pond as well (the unelected EU Commission passed legislation to 'do a Cyprus' Europe wide, this past August 1st).

I'm finally getting through to dad on this, and he's now happy to become fairly pro-active (just bought a half way stage car towards getting an almost new one next March/April, plus is going to get the grounds redone to be low/easy maintenance asap - also trying to get him to do a 'granny flat' extension to make things as comfortable for him as possible at his age, as we can't talk him into moving and downsizing).

Good luck all (we are going to need it, but this too shall pass - it always does).


PS. Don't forget that 'Draining the Swamp' is as important as 'Starving the Beast'. *grins*

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If the State was a Nanny, it would have been fired for incompetence, unreliability, and having its hands in the till, a very long time ago now.