I tend to agree. Thats why I'm currently about to refinance the balance due on my house on a 30 year fixed note, which is a little counter-intuitive for someone in their 50's with a lot of home equity. I've been through big time inflation and 20% interest rates and it can get ugly.
peter schiff is just another PM pimp. The US government, unless they've gone completely insane, is not going to monetize the debt. They've made that mistake before. They are going to TAX their way out and eventually, when reality sinks in, cut spending. Perhaps a combination of all three. Probably all three. Crank up the presses, expand the money supply, raise taxes and the hardest of all, cut spending.
All that is known is, it cannot continue on the track it is on now. Something has got to give. Whether we have the will to tackle this is another story. The elections will give us some insight into this matter and then of course, if the potentially 'new crew' has the political will or muscle to make the necessary changes.
One thing is FOR SURE. It's a big sandwich and everyone is going to have to take a bite. It's not going to be pretty.
Greece's crisis is that it can't inflate their way out of debt by printing money, the way the US escaped a lot debt after WWII. The US can print all the dollars it wants, and they sell very well.
With US demand flat and some months falling, runaway inflation is not the problem, it's scare mongering.
The fear now is that scare-mongered (Dem) deficits are stopping govt spending to compensate for lack of consumer spending which is 70% of the economy. Of course, the wealthy plutocracy is going to cut spending by ing over the ty US safety net, aid to the poor, to children, to long-term unemployed.
Another real fear is 10% unemployment continuing for years, causing 100s of 1000s of more foreclosures and failed banks, and killing the housing market with, now, about9-10 years of inventory, and restricting tax revenues at all levels of govt. Millions additonal people in the 50s and 60s will be forced due to the job losses and invesment losses to live out their last years on Medicaid, burdening the govt more.
Inflation? GMAFB
Last edited by boutons_deux; 06-21-2010 at 07:58 PM.
Yup. Gold is being pimped when all of the other PM's are lagging behind. Real precious metals that are used to manufacture stuff...stagnate..or...relatively so. Gold has really, zip value. Silver not much more. The biggest fools in that game are silver bugs. When palladium moves, then we got game. The ratio of gold/silver is outrageous. But what does that tell you ? The only PM doing anything is gold and it's all emotional buying. As the European economies go in the tank, gold should be falling. And it will. But I laugh at Peter Schiff articles and that other dude ...Celente. Collapse of America in 2008...err...2009...no wait...2010. , eventually he could be right. Even Rome fell.
The other thing that has happened in America, and it's been a force all the way through, is the boomers. BIG generation. As they moved through the workforce and consumed, housing prices rised steadily. Well that's over. The boomer are fully housed. Now they need 'blue hair' stuff. Much of what has gone on is demographics. That, and importing all this oil the last 40 years or so. Those two things have probably played more a part of where this nation is, than anything.
Last edited by word; 06-21-2010 at 08:11 PM.
An engineered crisis. Tax cuts and blown-out spending designed to wreck government/democracy. This is the penultimate moment they've been waiting for, and the scare tactics are ramping up.
I don't see much hope. Obama appointed Alan Simpson to his deficit commitee...Alan Simpson!
"Alan Simpson"
and Pete Peterson.
This 'they' you speak of...listen up...the 'they' is not competent enough to intentionally wreck democracy. Incompetent enough,yes. But that's what happens when you try to control everything. This is what Adam Smith addressed 250 years ago and the various authors of the federalist papers. No person or group is smart enough to be able to control an economy. That's why the only answer, as painful and ugly as it may seem, is free markets. The invisible hand. When will people understand that capitalism = freedom. We keep fighting this concept, over and over. Why ?
double post
You really are a dumb mother er. The US will hit a point it won't have a choice. Inflate or default. The Fed was buying US debt like crazy last year till even they got spooked and quit buying.
I'm not panicked at all. At the same time it helps to have a functioning brain to anticipate the changes you will have to deal with in your life. If you aren't solvent and variable rate debt free when it hits the tipping point you will be well and truly ed.
They bought US debt because no one else would. He is right. Greece can't inflate their way out of debt. Greece, being part of the EU, is not in control of their own monetary policy, as none of the EU nations are. The US will not inflate their way out of this. It was tried before in the late 70's. Disaster. Like I say, they'll do it if they've lost their minds. The only answer is, budget cuts and HIGHER TAXES.
Higher taxes will come first, then the cuts. Then the tears.
How old are you?
You really think the US is totally in control of it's monetary policy?
With a bunch of gutless politicians in Washington?
Why do you think we now have "unemployed" people on their third year of Federal UE benefits that get constantly extended? Nobody has the balls to say your ing job is gone and it's probably never coming back. Get the over it. Valero is hiring at the Corner Store.
As long as they are getting their s sucked by the inbred Washington leaches our Senators and Congress are gonna continue to things up. Meanwhile the Fed can still fiddle while the anic sinks.
Now that I think about it, I read that the money supply is at a 20 year low. If I recall correctly, this is similar to the situation Clinton had early on. He expanded the money supply and the economy took off however, there were other factors. Namely the tech boom of the 90's. Glorious times I might add. If you didn't make money in the 90's you just weren't capable of making money. But, perhaps, I hope, we have a similar situation here and Bama is just holding off for the 2012 election and will unleash a lot of cash into the system in the next year or so. But, like I say, the same conditions don't exist. I don't see some big boom on the horizon in a new technology. Most of you pups probably don't realize how fast ....the penetration rate of personal computers on the market was astounding. It's just behind TV's and refridgerators. We need another tech boom. A new hair dryer or sumthin...
56. What does all that mean ? What you said there ? The US is in control of it's monetary policy compared to Greece, yes. What prevents us from cranking up the press is China, who would dump their US debt.
How old are you?
You really think the US is totally in control of it's monetary policy?
With a bunch of gutless politicians in Washington?
Why do you think we now have "unemployed" people on their third year of Federal UE benefits that get constantly extended? Nobody has the balls to say your ing job is gone and it's probably never coming back. Get the over it. Valero is hiring at the Corner Store.
As long as they are getting their s sucked by the inbred Washington leaches our Senators and Congress are gonna continue to things up. Meanwhile the Fed can still fiddle while the anic sinks.
To who, I don't know. As I asked in another thread, who really holds the power here ? I don't know. Someone owes you a little money that's one thing..you can harrass them till the end of time. They owe you a lot of money you're taking 'em to the doctor to make sure they're ok.
Anyway, I don't know what that post was all about. Could you elaborate ? I'm that stupid.
I already lived through periods of inflation and hyperinflation. It can be tough if you never been through one before. That's basically why I'm not really afraid.
That said, there's a mul ude of countries backing their own currencies with US dollars, thus I still see it as unlikely to reach that tipping point in anything but an ordered-fashion, far from the crisis you see in countries like Greece.
Where did you live through hyper-inflation ? Are you from Zimbabwe ?
Argentina in the late 80's...
Volker showed how to cut down demand inflation in 1980s, with very high interest rates.
Are we faced with demand inflation? wage-push inflation? In the USA? Anywhere?
Give me some tips, just in case.
Other than 'get out'. I have to stick around for a few years yet. Parents still alive, kids almost grown..
What occurred and ..this is the thing...economic models have their time and place. During that time, people had money, they just didn't have to do with it. Pent up demand. Walmart. The birth of the consumer society. Supply side economics. Put it on the shelf, they will come. It's not feasible at this time. We're 'consumed out'. Credit is pegged. There's no place to go with this model. Back to Keynesian economics. It will run it's course, then ...wash rinse repeat.
Well, the disclaimer first: I'm no economic expert, and you should perhaps look for advice from that people in order to get a better idea.
My personal experience back then was to untie my savings from the affected currency and debt notes and, in order to avoid a potential bank run, keep the assets close to me.
In other words, my family and me moved our savings into US dollars and mexican gold coins, and kept some with us, and some deposited outside the country.
Obviously, you need to do this before the hits the fan, at least partially.
Now, with the US dollar being the actual currency that could potentially devalue, moving to foreign currency wouldn't be such a great idea, since a lot of that currency is backed with US dollars or debt notes, and so it will weaken the other currency too. In a nuts , my personal strategy would be to start building some savings while keeping them in valued goods not tied to currency. Hyperinflation sucks balls, but normally it's a process that causes a shock, produces a devaluation of the currency and then everything readjusts to the new value. It's not normally a very long process, because the devaluation actually removes the pressure off the overpriced currency.
One more time: this is not actual economic advice. Just my personal experience on the subject.
If you want to resign yourself to eating then have at it, I think I'll try to be in a position to pass on that sandwich.
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