http://www.30monthretirement.com/

Global Prosperity Members, Carson City, NV (2026)

06/24/2023

Saturday/Sunday, June 24, 25 – Billions for ‘Band Aids’, 0 for Prevention.

Covid not only put America in crisis mode, it gave us a slap-in-the-face look at how the American medical ‘machine’ actually functions.

It wasn’t pretty.

We learned the Covid Vaccine, pushed by Merck and others, did not prevent Covid, it just mitigated symptoms for some people, gave ugly side effects to others, and earned Merck $90 Billion in profits.

We also learned that Merck paid handsome royalties to NIH staff, including Anthony Fauci, totaling more than $8.9 million for Covid clinical trials … but that’s for another article.
And that Merck CEO made $18.65 million last year from the vaccine, $0 for suggesting preventative techniques.

Health industry executives and authors, Nathan Price and Leroy Hood, wrote that the medical industry emphasizes treatments that produce, ‘modest effects and major expense’ despite the fact studies often show prevention works better.

The authors noted that the “pharmaceutical industry stands to profit substantially from these drugs” but does not benefit from preventative measures.

Good health doesn’t ‘donate’ to politicians and bureaucrats.

Pharmaceutical companies are an important part of the American health scene, they innovate and sometimes find cures, but they profit only if the country remains sick.

And, yes, I understand there are prescriptions that are absolutely necessary and good, but the massive use of pharmaceuticals incudes too many who don’t need them.

We need to do a better job training doctors to balance prevention with prescriptions, and we need to help the public understand prevention should always be part of the conversation.

Your comments invited.

Please feel free to share.
Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

06/22/2023

Thursday, June 22, 2023 – 5-Step Solution.

A few days ago, I wrote about my (incredibly good looking and smart) granddaughter’s experience at Chico State University

Today I want to say something about my youngest (incredibly good looking and smart) granddaughter’s 8th grade promotion ceremony at her junior high school here in Southern California.

Her school has 6th, 7th, and 8th grades and there were about 400 graduates.

The audience and the students, because this is Southern California, looked like a United Nations gathering.

There were kids of all colors, sizes, ethnicities, languages, and more.

The audience – it looked like every parent of every student attended – spoke English and Spanish and Tagalog and Mandarin and … a symphony of sounds.

The kids were happy, talking with each other, giggling (teenagers excel at this), loving the event and each other.

So, what’s the point?

There is no racism or phobias or bias among kids who grow up together, play together, study together. These kids are friends, unsoiled by activists, media, and others who make it seem like ‘ism’s start at birth.

The principal gave a short, energetic speech in which he touted student achievements, including the A students (whose names were listed on the program), and his expectation they will excel in high school.

For a few minutes I thought I was still in the California of old, when people were people, parents managed their kids’ lives, family led the way, and excellence was pursued.

I came away from the ceremony even more certain of the five most important elements of academic success:

Good leadership from the Superintendent to the Principals to the Teachers.
Parents involved.
Parents involved.
Parents involved.
Parents involved.
Period.

It was a clear illustration that parents, two preferred, intimately involved in their kids’ lives is the true solution to future excellence.

Oh, and by the way, no members of the media attended.

Your comments invited.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham

[email protected]

FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham

FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge

SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

06/08/2023

Thursday, June 8, 2023 – Is Crypto Dead in the U.S.?

The SEC, headed by Gary Gensler, has filed lawsuits against the two leading Crypto Wallets, Binance and Coinbase.

The lawsuits claim both are ‘evading U.S. Securities’ laws.

Coinbase’s response is telling: “We have asked the Feds to develop regulations for us to operate under; instead, they are suing us for regulations that are not yet in place.”

It’s a little tricky because crypto companies are financial firms but not banks, and banking rules may be appropriate at some point; this is a just a little of the ‘cart before the horse’.

Gensler is not a disinterested party: He has said publicly, “Look, we don't need more digital currency.”

And his agency is in a race with the others – The CFPB, OCC, FRB, etc. – for control.

If you remember that the purpose of a bureaucracy is to protect and grow the bureaucracy it is easy to understand Gensler’s enthusiasm for legal action.

Gensler has a virtually unlimited budget and a large force of people who can prosecute until the day they retire.

Gensler dug up a rarely used 1946 law to justify his actions; legal scholars are mixed.

Very few crypto wallets remain in the U.S., primarily because of our adversarial agencies and lack of clear regulations.

Coinbase recently opened an offshore entity, most likely in anticipation of the Fed’s actions.

It is telling to read the comments of industry insiders, some formerly in America, most now operating in Europe or Dubai:

“Who will they go after next? Will this be a daily occurrence?”
“The US should lead the world, instead they are working to make it impossible to operate here.”
“Shouldn’t they (government agencies) develop regulations to help the industry comply?”
“This will probably end with these companies quitting the US, like they are quitting Canada.”
“It’s a sad commentary when you have government bureaucrats instead of tech savvy people making the rules.”
“The US is sending innovation offshore.”

Cryptocurrencies hold great potential for international commerce, are still in their infancy – the digital finance industry is only about 10 years old – and a smart regulatory environment is essential for digital finance to operate productively.

It should not be a surprise that bureaucrats, many in place for decades, find it easier to attack than develop solutions.

Imagine where America would be if these people had been in charge at the advent of the internet, the personal computer, or the cell phone?!

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

06/06/2023

Tuesday, June 6, 2023 – The Costco Predictor!

The word ‘recession’ has been on our minds for at least the past two years and most of us no longer look to the ‘experts’ to tell us if we are in recession; we can see the prices in the stores.

So, I thought this might be a good time to see a prediction from the true economic expert, Costco.

CEO Richard Galanti noted that shoppers in recent months are not choosing beef and steaks from Costco’s meat department, “Historically,” he said, “… when there’s a recession, whether it was ’99, ’00 or ’08, ’09, ’10, we would see some sales shift from beef to poultry and pork. We’re seeing that now.”

And, he said many, “switch even to some canned products, like canned chicken and canned tuna and things like that.”

Mr Galanti said many shoppers are shifting from national brands to Costco’s Kirkland brand to save money.

Costco is a go-to store, especially for people with large families to feed.

I mean, where else can you buy a 55-gallon drum of Mayonnaise?

Or get a very large hot dog you can smother with mustard and whatever else plus a large drink for just $1.50?

I think Mr. Galanti’s observations are prescient, I personally believe we are in a recession, and if you want to know what the economy is really doing maybe it makes sense to spend some time standing by Costco’s meat department observing what people are buying.

I love Costco, I admit it, and am more confident in their observations than those of the pointy headed academics at the Fed.

But that’s just me.

Your comments are invited.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

06/04/2023

Sunday, June 4, 2023 - A Lesson for Free People, Mariupol Under Russia.

The Guardian, a British newspaper, recently published an insightful article, including interviews, on life in Mariupol, a city in the Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, a year into Russian occupation.

“I feel as if I’ve fallen into some terrible submerged and downtrodden collective farm. The shops are primitive and the prices astronomical,” one said. “The city isn’t the one I knew. The people are not the same. Everything is changed. I have a permanent feeling of wanting to go home.”

Another said, “Mariupol had been transformed into a gloomy version of the Soviet Union. The Russians destroyed everything. So many people died.”

Russian flags and soldiers are everywhere, portraits of Vladimir Putin and the leader of the self-proclaimed republic in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, hang on walls of offices and schools.

Schools and kindergartens force a Russian curriculum, and the Ukrainian language has been banned. “The brainwashing is very strong,” one person said. “Children are told Russia’s president is the best, and Ukraine is full of bad people and fascists. It’s like the USSR.”

People suspected of not supporting Putin/Russia are arrested and tortured and taken away, “It’s not unusual for the FSB to interrogate people for eight, 10, even 16 hours.”

Before Putin’s 2014 murderous-invasion, Mariupol was a thriving coastal destination town of 450,000, with beautiful beaches; today there are 120,000 surviving residents – the others either escaped or were killed by Russian troops – living in poverty and fear.

The words of the people in Mariupol are a lesson for those who have only known freedom.

And they remind me of a conversation I had with a young college graduate while in Bratislava, Slovakia, who was ecstatic that a Volkswagen plant was coming to his small country of five million, “We can do anything because we are free. My parents lived under communism, and it broke their spirit. But we do not live under Russia, and we love being free.”

Here in the U.S., we know nothing but freedom and often undervalue it; maybe the story of the plight of the formerly free people in Mariupol will help you put it in perspective.

Life without freedom is not living.

Here is the link to the full article, I encourage to read it:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/18/its-like-the-ussr-residents-on-life-in-mariupol-a-year-since-russian-occupation

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

06/01/2023

Thursday, June 1, 2023 – All Electric?

The move to ‘Electric America’ is in full swing politically, is gaining momentum corporately, and affects future products and lifestyles.
But there are questions reasonable people are asking:

1. Will there be enough power to charge our cars and homes and phones and everything else?

2. What happens when everyone arrives home and plugs in at the same time?

3. What happens to emergency responses when power is not available? (See cartoon)

4. What happens when power is out due to a hurricane and fleeing electric vehicles lose their charge?

5. What do we do with batteries when they wear out? (Some batteries are currently largely recyclable, but most are not.)

6. What about road wear and damage? Electric cars and trucks are 100’s to 1000’s of pounds heavier than gasoline powered cars. A Ford 150 electric truck weighs 2000-3000 pounds more than a gasoline powered truck. Electric trucks used for commercial long haul will weigh 5000+ pounds more than a diesel truck. The extra weight will have a significant impact on road wear.

7. China controls most of the minerals to produce electric cars and is aggressively purchasing access to valued minerals in countries throughout Africa and other places.

8. Electric cars are only as green as their power sources. Since only about 4% of U.S. power is currently wind/solar, we need a large increase in fossil fuel powered energy to become all-electric.

9. Driving distance remains a main concern. Electric cars are great if you drive locally a few times a week but, if you drive hundreds of miles, you face 30-minute to 1-hour charging times if a charger is available, more than an inconvenience.

10. Temperature has a dramatic effect on the ability of a battery to retain a charge.

11. There are not enough charging stations, and the existing ones tend to be specific to certain manufacturers. (Tesla did just open their charging stations to Ford, but a new charging fitting will be required for Ford to attach.)

12. Manufacturing electric cars creates more pollution than manufacturing gasoline cars but may be partially or completely offset depending on how long the electric car is driven.

13. New electrics vehicles currently average $58,500, used $40,000+.

Climate change is used as the motivator for people to buy electric, but vehicle cost and the fact the two major worldwide polluters, China and India, continue as is, any climate benefit will be modest.

An electric future needs visionary leadership, not ideological threats of doom.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

05/30/2023

Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – What Would They Run?

A few months ago, I was enjoying a tasty Jumbo – really big! – Shrimp appetizer and a cocktail with a good friend at Sullivans Steak House in the 5th Avenue Mall in Anchorage, Alaska.

My friend is an international businessman, works with leading industry and political figures in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, speaks several languages, is very well traveled, and offers thoughtful insights based on real world experience.

Both of us tend to be pragmatic rather than ideological when discussing politics, we look for competent, visionary leadership, and actions that allow the economy to flourish.

A year ago, we lamented the fact that the next presidential election would likely be Biden vs. Trump.

Polls show the country shares our concerns.

Thanks to our travels, both of us know a lot of smart, competent, thoughtful leaders in the U.S. and around the world.

We know few who would consider a career in politics.

And that’s unfortunate.

Who would volunteer to have their lives torn apart by arrogant, self-righteous, ideologically driven media?

Would you?

We need excellence at the top in America, but the system and the process do not often attract the best.

But who knows, there are candidates not named Biden or Trump, maybe one will inspire.

We will meet again in Anchorage in September to continue our discussion … and have another gigantic, tasty Shrimp.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.
Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

05/27/2023

Sunday, May 28, 2023 – Memorial Day Weekend in America.

Memorial Day, May 29 this year, is dedicated to honoring and mourning U.S. military personnel who died while serving.

The holiday dates to May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, when the head of an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day to lay flowers on the graves of dead soldiers.

May was chosen by Major General John A. Logan because May is when flowers bloom throughout the country.

The first Memorial Day observance was at Arlington National Cemetery when flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Today, flags are often added to the flowers.

To put Memorial Day in perspective I refer to Vietnam because that was ‘my’ war: Yankee Stadium seats just over 46,000 for baseball; the Vietnam Wall honoring those who died hosts more than 58,000 names.

The average age of a soldier killed in Vietnam was 23.1 years.

No telling what amazing things they might have contributed to the world if they had survived.

I was 22 when I served with MACV in Pleiku in the Central Highlands, my brother was 19 with the 1st Cav in An Khe, about 57 miles/93 kilometers apart on Highway 19. My arrival allowed him to leave ‘Nam early, I flew to An Khe to help him process out, brought him over to Pleiku for a few days, and then he went to Guam for the remainder of his time in the Army. I left Nam March 31, 1967.

Both of us made it through without a scratch, pure luck.

If you visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., or see the traveling Wall, look to Panel 3E, you will see the names of those who served with us but did not make it home, almost all from Landing Zone X-Ray and the Ia Drang Valley, aka the Valley of Death.

On this Memorial Day you should remember that those who gave all in time of war would, given the choice, much rather join you in Yankee Stadium or at home for a hot dog and a beer.

No matter your thoughts about War, those who gave all deserve to be honored.

Happy Memorial Day.

05/25/2023

Thursday, May 25, 2023 – Richard Dreyfuss, End Game.

Actor Richard Dreyfuss is considered a great actor, he is also outspoken as these two observations from his recent PBS interview illustrate:

1. The interviewer asked about the Oscar’s 2024 proclamation that awards will be based on four diversity benchmarks led by the mandate that at least one lead actor and a third of a ‘movie cast must be comprised of an underrepresented group.’

In other words, future awards will be drawn on equity first, talent a distant second.

He reminded the interviewer his craft is called acting, the art of someone portraying someone else, and the actor who demonstrates the most skill, not the one who fits the appropriate ‘group’ should be chosen.

He summed his feelings, “Makes me want to vomit.”

2. Is the American form of government finished?

Dreyfuss was adamant. “I think we’re in the endgame right now, we could let slip the greatest idea for governance ever devised, and we won’t even know that it happened.”

Dreyfuss lamented the lack of civics and history education, attempts to ‘erase history’ by tearing down statues, renaming public places and schools, and canceling those who do not follow a certain ideology.

Dreyfuss concluded that the generation that will govern next knows little about the country they will run. “We haven’t taught civics for 50 years, that’s 5 generations, and can’t expect people who know nothing about a country to govern it effectively.”

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a standardized test, considered the Nation’s Report Card, said civics knowledge for the average 8th grader is at the lowest point since testing began in 1998.

Dreyfuss has created a foundation dedicated to teaching civics and history and hopes he can use it to change his dismal prediction.

His words do not endear him to the Hollywood elite.

We need more like him.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Larry Oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Global Prosperity Challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

05/23/2023

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 – Changing America.

We face a staggering number of challenges in the U.S. today, but there is one that may have more impact than any other, immigration.

In the past two years, counting got-aways, more than 6 million immigrants have entered the U.S. legally and illegally.

America’s total population is about 330 million so this represents a little less than 2% of our population, a staggering number, people who are largely uneducated, who come from socialist/communist countries, who will depend on government for their future.

Some immigrants will assimilate, learn English, be productive and good for America, but some are drug dealers, criminals, cartel leaders, terrorists, and others who are here to damage/destroy America.

Most immigrants who come through the border are not cleared medically (forget Covid, there is a resurgence of tuberculosis and chicken pox), get ‘lost’ across the states, and even though some are told to ‘report in’ at some future date, there is no mechanism to know where they are or what they are up to … maybe they now live next door to you.

Management of the border is as competent and effective as the Afghan withdrawal was.

But you already know this.

Let’s talk about the reason our border is such a mess.

37 years ago, Congress was asked to develop a plan to deal with immigration.

37 years ago!

Mitch McConnell has been in Washington, D.C. for nearly 40 years.
Chuck Grassley, 47 years
Ed Markey, 45 years
Ron Wyden, 41 years
Chuck Schumer, 41 years
Hal Rogers, 41 years.
Steny Hoyer, 45 years
Nancy Pelosi, 37 years.
Joe Biden, 38 years.

240 members out of 535 have served 30 years or more.

These are people we elected, continue to re-elect, who have betrayed us over and over.

They come from both parties, they promise solutions, they lie.

The president blames congress, congress blames the president.

Consider this: At the current rate of immigration, we will add about 10% to our population every 10 years.

California has gone from about 15% immigrants in the 1970’s to more than 40% today and is the measuring stick for the future of our country, our politics, and our economy.

America is changing, Congress and the President are fiddling, we enable them.

Your comments are invited.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Facebook.com/larry.oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Facebook.com/global.prosperity.challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

05/21/2023

Sunday, May 21, 2023 – Is a Recession Here?

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - the official recession scorekeeper—defines a recession as, “A significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months.”

We are caught in a bit of a quandary now as some economists say we are in a recession, the president tells us the economy is excellent, Fed Chair Powell makes it more expensive to borrow and live, home loan applications are nearing historic lows, gasoline prices continue to escalate, food prices show no sign of slowing down, bank failures are concerning, and consumer confidence is very low.

I’m no expert but I can’t find anyone who believes we are on the right economic track, who trusts our political class to perform either admirably or competently, who is optimistic we have reached the bottom, or who expects improvement this year.

Maybe we need a new definition of recession: The moment the public loses confidence in leadership.

By this definition we have been in a recession for some time.

I noted in an earlier message that my speaking engagements to business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals, normally booked a year or more in advance, have fallen more than 90%.

I would normally have 50 – 75 events from June through the end of November; at the moment I have five.

Event planners tell us, “Businesses are scared to death of this economy, are tightening their belts as much as they can, do not trust the media or politicians, are holding tight instead of looking ahead.”

Since national events are used to introduce new products, provide needed training, update regulations, network, and plan for future growth: this is a staggering reflection of the depth of the economic challenge in front of us.

If businesses don’t grow, they don’t hire, they don’t produce, they don’t support the economy.

It feels like the cumulative effects of poor leadership are beginning to multiply and magnify.

I just wish I could think of someone sitting on the sidelines who might step in and lead us out of this malaise.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Please feel free to share.

Thanks.

Larry Oxenham
[email protected]
FACEBOOK Travel and fun: Larry Oxenham
FACEBOOK: Passive Income: Global Prosperity Challenge
SUBSTACK: Passive-Freedom Digest: larryoxenham.substack.com

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