About the Nothing Store

As Obama and crew print and borrow more and more money, the U.S. dollar faces an uncertain future.

But three cheers for our Unmighty Dollars -- print as many as you like. They're already worth Nothing, so they can't go down in value.

Comments? Email The Nothing Store team!

The Nothing Store issues new currency weekly.


Counterfeiting Instructions:

Click on a denomination above, print the bills, cut them out, and stuff in an envelope. Send to your congressman or senator marked as a CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION. They'll get the message! For the address of your congressman, click here for senators and here for representatives.



zoom

California Seal

zoom



Coming or Going


California says it will honor its IOUs. If we had some we might be tempted to hang on to them as souvenirs of fiscal disaster, like napkins from the Titanic. They are probably a better investment as collectibles than as stand-ins for shaky U.S. dollars.

We are not prone to conspiracy theories, agreeing with the common wisdom that one shouldn't attribute to malice what can be explained by simple stupidity, but we can imagine that the Democrats don't really mind giving out IOUs. It could be part of their new strategy to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. We are already seeing fewer people crossing the border looking for work. What's the point, if there are no jobs?

Many of the immigrants from traditional cultures are increasingly at odds with the Democrats' promotion of "alternative" lifestyles. Faced with the prospect of diminished opportunities and the thought of having their kids indoctrinated in wacky cultural notions, would-be immigrants are thinking twice about coming to America.

As government grows, so does corruption. America is in danger of losing its long-standing reputation as a place relatively free of political payoffs. Witness the corruption scandals in New Jersey, a state where government has such a choke hold on economic activity that small businessmen are leaving as fast as they can. Does anyone dream of heading to New Jersey to seek a better life? As America becomes more like New Jersey , why should third-worlders want to come here? Better to stay put and deal with the corruption they know.

California may not be as corrupt as New Jersey, but its taxes and regulations are driving out business and jobs.

We are seeing many more immigrants packing up and heading for home. People will put up with a lot of nonsense for the sake of a job, but without work, many of them are simply saying: Who needs this crap.

If you can't better your life, if your freedoms are curtailed, why stay here?

And If America is no longer the beacon of freedom and prosperity, why come here?

When productive people leave, they take their work ethic, their skills, and their money with them. When even American citizens get fed up and head for greener pastures, who remains to pay taxes to support the socialist state?

We won't need walls to keep people out. Now there could be walls to keep people in.

We are reminded of the Cubans risking their lives to escape the workers' paradise and free government health care, and we remember the citizens of East Germany, peering over the Berlin Wall at the freedom and prosperity of the West.

We wonder, how long before Americans start peering out, plotting their escape?

How long before the leaders of Mexico and Canada, offering hope to Americans trapped in a socialist gulag, stand up and say: Mr. Obama, tear down these walls!

And by the way, those thinking of leaving would probably be better off smuggling some of their assets as gold or silver. In their new home, dollars may be no better than California IOUs and only buy them a couple laughs.



work from home savings rates emerging markets career change