For Russian citizens, bread lines have given way to conga lines at one of the hottest resorts in Turkey.

The commodities boom in Russia is allowing the former Soviet citizenry to enjoy the Life of Riley that Americans once took for granted.

Instead, we now get the Staycation.

Our former Cold War enemy enjoys water aerobics; we park a beach chair under the backyard sprinkler. Our former Cold War enemy hops a plane to some hot resort; we can’t afford to back the SUV out of the driveway. Our former Cold War enemy savors caviar by candlelight; we chow down weenies at the Wal-Mart.

But don’t worry, it’s OK. You’re taking part in that new American sensation called the Staycation. While Big Media would like you to believe that the Staycation is a good thing, it really is just another clue that we lost the Cold War to Russia.

Rather than face up to our Cold War defeat and invest accordingly, we let Big Media package our economic house arrest as a cheery Staycation. You’re not poor; you’re on a Staycation. Sure, go ahead and spend $70 on the family to see the latest Indiana Jones remake set in a time when America ruled. Back then, the Dow Jones Industrial Average really meant something.

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Look no further than the Q2 earnings of Coca Cola (NYSE: KO) to see that America lost the Cold War.

As emerging markets thrive, we can no longer afford the staple of Yankee Doodle consumerism: a bottle of Coke. Even the CEO of Coca Cola admitted that the U.S. market is slipping, and he will place greater emphasis on emerging markets.

Any investor who seriously wants to make money in emerging markets can probably do much better for himself by recognizing the truth that America lost the Cold War to Russia and China. This is not an ideological belief, but an economic one. As the middle class in Russia, China and other emerging markets continue to grow, we now cannot afford a 20-ounce bottle of Coke.

That’s completely incredible…

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An article in CNN.com today sent shivers down my spine.

My gut reaction to the story was that America is in an economic nosedive it may never recover from. Then came this sense of anguish that so many Americans are missing out on the long-term opportunity of diversifying into emerging markets.

Why don’t more of us consider emerging markets as the next big payoff? Because we cling to the belief that we won the Cold War. And in turn, we hold fast to the dream that America is less volatile than emerging markets.

American’s surround themselves with the trappings of Cold War victory — the comfortable home, four cars in the driveway, credit cards jammed into our wallets, and an armada of electronic gizmos that shield the new economic realities of the vanquished.

But just look at the CNN.com story…

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Andrew Mickey of BreakAway Investor wrote a piece about why Russian President Vladimir Putin is the world’s most dangerous man (you can see it here).

Mickey makes a darn good argument to support Putin’s infamy. He accuses Putin of playing “a deadly game of resource roulette.” That Putin is ready to plunge a “red dagger into America’s financial heart.” And that Putin is “already in the early stages of a strategic strike on the United States economy, the likes of which could cripple our nation for decades.”

I have no argument with Mickey’s take on Putin. But I can’t believe for a moment that Putin is the world’s most dangerous man. Because the most dangerous man in the world is clearly Alan Greenspan. Continue Reading »