MONEY: Ditch dollar movement?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE52H2CY20090318

U.N. panel says world should ditch dollar
Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:16am EDT
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent

*** begin quote ***

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.

*** end quote ***

The end of the US Dollar as the World’s reserve currency? That would be unbelievable. “Everyone” said that it could never happen! SO, what happens when it does? Are we on the road to being like Zimbabwe?

Why are we still funding the UN. We should ditch them!

Gold and silver — the Dead Old White Guys were right — The Palladium rounds (i.e., medallions — the Gooferment gets mad if you call them coins. But thy look like coins to me.) at about 300$/oz seem like a bargain. Rarer than Platinum at 1200$/oz.

But, plan for a Carter-like inflation; did you see Carter visited the Obama White House yesterday. Why? To get advice on how to print “Whip Inflation Now” buttons?

Will Obama on Leno distract everyone with how incredibly screwed we are? And what a good guy he is personally.

Humbly, I think he’s drowning us in the deep end of the pool while he tries to distract us. Ain’t gonna work. At least, I’m not distracted as to what this means to us low fixed income folks. I hope it’s not distracting the People or you.

# # # # #


MONEY: Live debt free

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=88524

People demanded change and it’s coming

Posted: February 10, 2009 8:41 pm Eastern

*** begin quote ***

The time of politicians listening to the will of the people has long passed. They are no longer our servants, they are our masters. Masters who demand we continue down the same road that has failed us for years.

What are we going to do about it?

As for me, I have decided to take hold of my future by preparing for very uncertain times. I live debt free. I live within my means. I don’t have the biggest house in town. But I sleep well and know that when they screw things up even worse than they already have, I can pay my bills because I don’t invest in their nonsense. I own land, gold, cash and a very small amount of stock.

I suggest you do the same.

I fully intend to expose and vote against everyone who voted for this foolish bill. Any member of Congress who voted for this bill should never be re-elected. They have blatantly disregarded the cries of the constituents who gave them their jobs. They may have ignored us once without a consequence but not twice.

Shame on whom this time?

*** and ***

Craig R. Smith is president and CEO of Swiss America Trading Corporation, an investment firm specializing in U.S. gold and silver coins. An expert in tangible assets, he is an author, commentator and frequent radio and television guest because he instantly engages audiences with his common-sense analysis of economic trends.

*** end quote ***

Seems like a good plan to me.

It goes hand in hand with my first element of my “Success for your generation” that is “(1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt;”

Maybe Dave Ramsey IS right!

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MONEY: Where are we going to be in 20 years?

Monday, March 16, 2009

http://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5565&Itemid=48

The Money Meltdown: A Conversation with Thomas Woods Jr. by Brian Saint-Paul 3/11/09

*** begin quote ***  

Q: We’ve had bailouts and stimulus packages, and possibly more of both in the near future. If you were to look into a crystal ball, where are we going to be in 20 years? Where is all of this heading? Will we reach a point of total economic collapse? Or will we wind up as the newest Euro-style state?

It seems to me that the best-case scenario is a kind of European third-way stagnation: high unemployment, anemic growth (if any), and a whole bunch of people scratching their heads and wondering why this is happening. That could be our fate.

Of course, it could be worse. It may turn into something like what Japan endured in the 1990s and beyond — though at least Japan had some domestic savings as a cushion. Or there could well be a complete collapse of the system, with the dollar destroyed. This is all conditional, because it depends in large part on what the government does. Its cure is almost sure to be worse than the disease.

I’d love to think that if a collapse came, people would say, “Obviously, intervention doesn’t work, so let’s try what the Austrians have been suggesting.” But I think instead a demagogue would rise up to say — as usual — that the problem is not enough government involvement, and that he’s going to rescue us.

That’s the most likely outcome.

*** and ***

Thomas E. Woods Jr. is senior fellow in American history at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He is the author of nine books, including two New York Times bestsellers: The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History and the just-released Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse, as well as the award-winning The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy. Visit his new Web site.

* end quote *


MONEY: Zero debt is best

Saturday, March 14, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/schiff/schiff7.html  

March 14, 2009
Credit Card Cancer
by Peter Schiff
Peter Schiff is president of Euro Pacific Capital and author

*** begin quote ***

Lastly, savings can always be relied upon whereas credit is ephemeral. Remarks this week from the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao should serve notice to all Americans that the day will soon come when the Chinese stop lending us their umbrellas. When that happens, the average American will be soaked to the bone.

*** end quote ***

One does NOT have to have a crystal ball to see the future.

The Chinese will stop buying Treasury debt. Interest rates to will go thru the roof. And, the economy will slow further.

The only defense is to have ZERO bad debt. That is nothing but a fixed rate mortgage that is well below 15% of your annual income.

Maybe Dave Ramsey is right. ZERO debt is best?

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MONEY: FDIC is not really insuring banks

Thursday, March 5, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/025671.html

March 04, 2009
Re: Bair (or Is That Bare?) Says FDIC Going Broke
Posted by Kathryn Muratore at March 4, 2009 05:11 PM

*** begin quote ***

Lew, the counter-intuitive response of government-sponsored bureaucracies like the FDIC make me laugh. So we already know that the FDIC is not really insuring banks in any meaningful sense, although they keep that “Insurance” word in the title. But, imagine what an actual above-board insurance company would do in an emergency – say a hurricane hitting a populated area. In the days before and after the hurricane, can you imagine State Farm sending a bill to all of its customers in the Southeast for an emergency premium hike to cover the payouts that it knows are imminent?

*** end quote ***

Yeah, like Social Security Insurance, which isn’t “insurance” either.

When this musical chairs game stops, who will be left standing?

Taxpayers, the old, those on fixed income.

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MONEY: Inflation on the horizon!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/buchanan/buchanan105.html

Pitchfork Time by Patrick J. Buchanan

*** end quote ***

Where the U.S. government usually consumes 21 percent of gross domestic product, this Obama budget spends 28 percent in 2009 and runs a deficit of $1.75 trillion, or 12.7 percent of GDP. That is four times the largest deficit of George W. Bush and twice as large a share of the economy as any deficit run since World War II.

Add that 28 percent of GDP spent by the U.S. government to the 12 percent spent by states, counties and cities, and government will consume 40 percent of the economy in 2009.

We are not “headed down the road to socialism.” We are there.

Since the budget was released, word has come that the U.S. economy did not shrink by 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, but 6.2 percent. All the assumptions in Obama’s budget about growth in 2009 and 2010 need to be revised downward, and the deficits revised upward.

Look for the deficit for 2009 to cross $2 trillion.

*** end quote ***

I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t afford the Obama budget!

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MONEY: Fiat versus commodity; we’re not free to choose!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

http://www.amconmag.com/article/2009/feb/09/00016/

Fed Up
The popular uprising against central banking
By Thomas E. Woods Jr.

*** begin quote ***

Under a commodity standard, people could save for the future by accumulating gold and silver coins. The coins’ value appreciated over time because of their natural increase in purchasing power, as the relatively slow increase in the production of precious metals was outpaced by the much faster increase in the production of other goods and services. Today, only a fool would try to save for the future by piling up dollar bills. Everyone is forced to enter the financial markets, which are risky even for knowledgeable investors, in order to prevent the value of his retirement savings from vanishing before his eyes.

*** end quote ***

A timeless indictment of the Fed and its fiat money!

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MONEY: TLOCM “the land of critical mass” is 10M$!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Bob Brinker talks about “the land of critical mass”. This is the place in your life where money is no longer a concern and you are able to live the lifestyle of your desire.

5 year @ 12 month ladder = 60 units

100k per year = 5% of 2,000,000

5 year CDs @ 5% is 10 M$ = 60 monthly 5 year CDs @ 166, 666$ for each CD

So the “land of critical mass” is about 10M$.

Wow.

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MONEY: How does burdening future generations help us?

Friday, February 13, 2009

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/01/republicans_won.html

In the House Republicans’ meeting with Obama on January 27th, Maryland’s sole Republican Congressman, Roscoe Bartlett, said it best:

“Mr. President, I probably come at this from a slightly different perspective. I remember when FDR beat Hoover in 1932. So I remember the Great Depression very well. I don’t remember any of the many government programs affecting the course of the Depression. Government programs didn’t work then; I don’t know why we think they would work now. Mr. President, I think our obsessive borrowing has fully mortgaged my kids and my grandkids. Now we’re working on mortgaging my two great-grandkids. Mr. President, I think it’s more than a little bit selfish to try to solve our economic problems which we created by burdening future generations yet to be born.”

# – # – #

Sounds like this fellow should be Treasury Secretary!

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MONEY: Insurance and employment considering the meltdown

Monday, February 9, 2009

Unfortunately, most people get their health and life insurance via their employer.

That presents a problem when you get nuked (i.e., fired, laid off, or quit).

Health insurance is expensive. Hospital bills are catastrophic.

If you have the opportunity, it may be worthwhile to pick up a catastrophic health insurance policy on your own or through a group. Fraternal organizations have such; as do groups such as Independent Consulting organizations.

Money well spent.

Also life insurance. But that is much cheaper and easier.

Now, with respect to life insurance, it’s always better to have one policy than two. The setup fee is wasted. But, I’m going to suggest that you rethink that strategy. ESPECIALLY if life insurance is very important to your family. (Two earner family with children or One earner family with children.)

You may wish to have TWO life insurance policies with DIFFERENT insurers, despite the added cost.

We haven’t seen the current subprime creditmeltdown financial mess hit the Insurance Companies. … … Yet?

By having two policies, you’ll have two ticket in that sweepstakes.

Life insurance is cheap. (Minimal gooferment regulation!)

Health insurance isn’t. (Lot’s of gooferment “help” there!) But, going “naked” is potentially disastrous.

Suggest an insurance review NOW!

# – # – #

Remember the news reports that 9 out of 10 financial professionals at Cantor Fitzgerald had no life insurance? And, 9/11 happened. I remember my grandparents saying: “A family man, who dies without life insurance, doesn’t die, he absconds.” Big word for them “absconds”. But they were surprising folks. It’s a true then as it is now.

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MONEY: What is a dollar?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rajiva/rajiva12.html

Fiat Law and Fiat Currencies – the Relic of Barbarians
by Lila Rajiva

*** begin quote ***

The free market arose wherever there were laws and systems like that – whether in Europe or Africa or Asia. One way to think about this difference would be to see it as the difference between a fiat money, like paper, and a real store of value, like gold. You can print all the money you want, but if there’s nothing to back it up, then you’re in a bit of trouble. Your creditors are unlikely to put much store in you as a credit risk, just as the world’s wringing its hands today over the dollar. Pretty soon, they come calling for their loans with cudgels and pitchforks.

Gold does not have the same problem, because there’s a limited supply of it. It has to occur in nature. It has to be found somewhere underground and then mined and refined. It’s an expensive business – that takes risk, time, and money. There are costs attached to it that someone has to pay. Paper money, on the other hand, can be printed any time you want. Just ask Ben Bernanke. He’s dropping it by the helicopter load from the clouds.

*** end quote ***

They are “counterfeiting value” by printing more money electronically. It’s slight of hand. To understand, you have to understand the answer to the question: “What is a dollar?” and proceed from there.

The answer is it’s NOW an imaginary unit, backed by the belief that you can exchange a green peice of paper for something. A Keynesian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian) will never talk about what the definition of money is. An Austrian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_School) will insist that the pricing mechanism in the economy have commodity money. It USED to be tied to gold.

Sadly, as an Austrian, I think you are in for hard times. O is going to “finance” 2T$ in current spending. By monetizing it. A fancy word for counterfeiting. And, the value of the dollar is going down even further.

To understand, you have to go to Robinson Crusoe’s island, that economist’s use to simplify ideas. A fisherman, egg gatherer, and a fruit gatherer are on the island. (Magic; don’t ask questions yet!) They barter between themselves. After a while, 1 fish = 2 eggs = 4 coconuts. Due to the relative difficulty of effort. But the fisherman and fruit gatherer don’t deal directly. The egg gather is the middle man. Then a banker arrives. He creates money so that the Fisherman can deal directly with the Egg guy. He uses seashells. Then the value equation is 1 fish = 2 eggs = 4 coconuts = 8 seashells. The evil banker after a while introduces more seashells into circulation by spending them. So he get more stuff. Similarly through out the ages, the King (Government) seeks to enrich itself that way. When the currency is gold coins, it’s much harder. (I first learned this when I saw an exhibit at the Smithsonian of French Francs over time. The French Franc of Louis I was a gold hockey puck; Louis XIV’s was a very thin button. Inflation!) When the currency is pretty green pieces of paper, it’s much easier.

So there you have how O44 is goign to spend 2T$ that we don’t have.

Basically, it’s a “tax” on anyone who has a dollar or dollar denominated assets. By adding a “seashell”, the value of all the other seashells is adulterated. Watered down.

So who get’s screwed?

The Chinese have 5T$. There’s a lot of dollars out there. The poor and people on fixed incomes (i.e., the purchasing power of their few dollars goes down) get less for their money.

Who makes out?

The US Government mostly. People who have “valuable stuff”. Commodities, commodity producers, land owners, people who produce stuff that others want.

So that’s how O will spend what he ain’t got.

He’s betting that before the inflation comes, the economy will “restart” and we won’t notice. (Think LBJ and Carter!) It worked for Kennedy because he lowered taxes on the productive class and everyone was motivated to get to work. His quote was: “A rising tide raise all boats!”

Sadly, I don’t see O or his staff being that smart.

# # # # #


MONEY: Economy needs Austrian solution!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/01/27/opinions/doc497f83d8ae815184216560.txt

DISPATCHES: Economy needs Keynesian solution
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 5:06 PM EST
By Hank Kalet, Online Editor

*** begin quote ***

   The mood of the nation may be changing.

   A nation that for nearly three decades bought into a conservative ideology that painted government as the enemy is embracing the return of federal intervention in the economy as necessary to repair the damage caused by years of neglect.

   Polling over the last month shows that about two thirds of Americans support an economic stimulus package weighted toward government spending while a majority of Americans now favor increased regulation of the financial industry.

*** end quote ***

Yeah, they want more gooferment regulation to fix the problem that the gooferment regulation created in the first place. Argh! Theres an incestuaous relationship between the congresscritters, the regulatory agencies, and the companie being regulated. Argh! Follow the moeny and campaign contributions! And, you expect it to change?

*** begin quote ***

   The credit crunch has resulted in “trillions missing from the economy,” he said. “Money is not moving, and the government is in a position to make money move.”

   Direct investment — in the form of road and bridge repairs, construction of a 21st-century electrical grid and expanded broadband access — will not only get people working again, but also leave the nation better off down the road.

   A little more than a third of the $825 billion stimulus package on the table in Washington is slated to go toward what some are calling “make-work” projects, which also include building schools and providing funding to help local and state governments, as well as homeowners, make their buildings more energy efficient.

   The package also includes significant aid to the states, an expansion of unemployment benefits and assistance with health care — all of which not only puts money back in the economy, but alleviates some of the economic pain being felt by average Americans.

*** end quote ***

YEAH, every social program that can be thrown in has been. Please don’t make me laugh. The socialists of the R’s and D’s are using this crisis — as politicians have throughout the ages — to justify more and bigger intrusions on our lives, our pocketbooks, and our essential liberties. Argh!

*** begin quote ***  

   Without the federal aid, it is likely states will need to slash their budgets, drastically in some cases, to meet constitutional requirements. New Jersey, for instance, requires that its state budget be in balance, meaning falling revenue must be addressed either by cutting taxes or spending cuts — neither of which makes sense at a time of severe recession.

*** end quote ***

NJ finances are a joke. The crooks in Trenton spend like there is no tomorrow. And, the taxpayers get stuck.

*** begin quote ***

   While many tie the New Deal — Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s package of programs meant to battle the Great Depression — as Keynesian, Dr. Reich reminds us it was “not until the U.S. entered World War II” that the nation implemented “Keynes’ idea on a scale necessary to pull the nation out of the doldrums.”

*** end quote ***

FDR had to lure, cajole, and almost force the Japanese into the attack on Perl Harbor. To end the Great Depression. And, we’re left with the illusion that FDR was a “good guy”.

*** begin quote ***

   These results — and the long economic expansion that followed — are evidence we need bold action; we must inject public money into the economy regardless of its impact on the deficit. Once the economy is rescued, we can start thinking about reining in the deficit.

*** end quote ***

No we need to have a revolution!

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MONEY: Pensions are at risk! (Updated)

Sunday, January 18, 2009

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-companies-face-409-billion-rb-13997269.html

U.S. companies face $409 billion pension deficit: study
    * Wednesday January 7, 2009, 5:35 pm EST

*** begin quote ***

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Volatile markets have saddled U.S. companies with a $409 billion deficit on pension plans, reversing a $60 billion surplus a year earlier, and will cut into earnings in 2009, consulting firm Mercer said.

*** end quote ***

Put aside the obviously corrupt Enron-type organizations like the State of New Jersey, GM (who wags call “a sick insurance company that happens to make cars”), and the other “captive of union contracts” companies, that make no pretension of even trying to honestlly fund their pension obligations.

This presents a problem for both companies and all of their pensioners. If the company doesn’t make money, the federal Pension Guaranty fund will eventually be saddled with it. Think the Delta pilots getting screwed.

(You weren’t still living in the illusionary world of the “gold watch” era. Were you? Where “companies” felt a moral obligation for the promises they made. Silly rabbit. That went down the drain with all the other ethos that made America great.)

So if you are owed a pension obligation, you better get vocal.

Better yet, like the Social Security Ponzi scheme, plan for it to not be there. It probably won’t!

Sad, but true.

You can only count on the gold coins in your back yard for your “retirement fund”. And then you have to pray you don’t get Alzheimer’s and forget where you buried them.

Argh!

# # # # #

John Celenza on Facebook commented: “But haven’t pensions always been at risk? Invested as they were in stock. duh.”

My response:

*** begin quote ***

No, there is risk. And there is gambling. Back in the “gold watch” era companies, like AT&T and IBM, incorporated subsidiaries whose whole job was to pay those pensions. (That prevented things like Delta pilots getting screwed.) They staffeded it with execs nearing retirement to watch the pot. And they took it as a moral obligation to pay those and fully funded them. In IBM’s case, I know they over funded them to be certain. I suspect AT&T did the same thing. Today, it’s completely different. It’s gambling.  Except where there is not even a pretense of doing the right thing, that’s just fraud. imho!

*** end quote ***

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MONEY: Watch out for the “liquidation” scam

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Circuit City to liquidate remaining US stores
Jan 16 12:05 PM US/Eastern
By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM and VINNEE TONG
AP Business Writers

# – # – #

The buzz is that Liqudators mark all prices back up to the MSRP initially. THEN, start to mark stuff down.

I’ve seen this anytime I went for “bargains” when someone was closing down.

Don’t be fooled.

AND, if you have a Circuit City gift card, GET SOMETHING for it. It’s not going to be a collectable on the Antiques Roadshow. “YEs, Mister Doofus:: And, how much did your great grandfather pay for this 50$ gift card? Yes, well while it’s an original Circuit City gift card, no one cares. Sorry to say, it’s value is zero. But it is pretty.”

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MONEY: Questions for the investment climate

Friday, January 16, 2009

http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/john_mauldins_outside_the_box/archive/2009/01/07/setting-the-bull-trap.aspx

Setting the Bull Trap
John Mauldin’s Outside the Box
Posted Jan 07 2009, 05:00 PM

*** begin quote ***

   * Shouldn’t the consumer, after decades of over-consumption, be allowed to digest the over-indebtedness and save, rather than be encouraged to take risk?

   * Shouldn’t companies, no matter what state they reside in from a political point of view, if run poorly, be allowed to fail or forced to restructure?

   * Should taxpayer money be used to make up for the mishaps at financial institutions or should we allow them to wallow in their own mistakes?

   * Shouldn’t free markets be free?

   * When did Socialism make its way to our shores?

   * How do we choose who is bailed out and who loses?

   * Shouldn’t we place blame on the politicians, bureaucrats and other “decision makers” and put skilled people in place that know how to run the businesses?

   * Shouldn’t investors, led blindly down the primrose path of “buy and hold, diversify and don’t open your brokerage statement except once every 10 years” be allowed to follow the Prudent Man Rule?

*** end quote ***

Certainly excellent questions to ask ourselves about what kind of country we are living in?
Investing in?
The investment climate we’ll all be taking investment risks!
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MONEY: Ron Paul on Obama’s “Trillion Deficits for years to come”

Friday, January 16, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUQo5QQSlys&eurl=http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/024759.html&feature=player_embedded

Guess this is the “change” we were promised?

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MONEY: The value today of a future dollar

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Years @ 5.0%

1 $0.952381

2 $0.907029

3 $0.863838

4 $0.822702

5 $0.783526

6 $0.746215

7 $0.710681

8 $0.676839

9 $0.644609

10 $0.613913

11 $0.584679

12 $0.556837

13 $0.530321

14 $0.505068

15 $0.481017

16 $0.458112

17 $0.436297

18 $0.415521

19 $0.395734

20 $0.376889

21 $0.358942

22 $0.341850

23 $0.325571

24 $0.310068

25 $0.295303

# – # – #


MONEY: you can download Suze Orman’s new book free

Thursday, January 8, 2009

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081119_tows_bookdownload


Here’s a quick reminder that Suze Orman will be on The Oprah Winfrey Show this afternoon to discuss jumpstarting your personal finances in 2009. Serena wrote to let me know that until next Thursday (15 January 2009), you can download Suze Orman’s new book free from Oprah’s web site.

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MONEY: THe FED is the “root of all evil”!

Monday, January 5, 2009

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig2/stewart9.html

The Crisis in 10 Points
by Robert Stewart

*** begin quote ***

2. The Federal Reserve System (the Fed – created in 1913) has accommodated government’s policy of spending to excess by inflating the money supply and keeping interest rates artificially low. Today’s dollar will buy what in 1913 would cost less than a nickel. This easy-money policy has not only led to inflation but has resulted in investments taking place that would not be justified had the money supply been constrained, and had interest rates more clearly reflected economic reality.

*** end quote ***

IMHO, this is the root of so many evils since 1913. Even the “income tax” wasn’t as bad as this. The FED allows the political class to extract value from the poor and middle class without the “bother” of taxes. It’s the hidden silent tax. And, it extracts more “wealth” than even the “death tax”.

I can’t believe that people are so stupid!

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MONEY: Inflation is in the future according to my crystal ball

Saturday, December 27, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi101.html

What Is the National Debt?
by Bill Sardi

*** begin quote ***

The national debt is owed to many, including foreign governments, investment groups, and so on. But one thing I don’t understand is that the national debt is said to amount to $10.6 trillion before the federal government apparently came up with hundreds of billions to trillions more out of thin air in the recent bailouts. They didn’t loan this bailout money from anybody. Where did it come from? It appears to be fiat money, printed into existence. Does this pretend-money then get added to the national debt? Do we pay interest (taxes) on this imaginary money? Don’t know, and don’t know anybody who can answer this question. It’s all part of the secrecy of government.

*** end quote ***

A National disgrace. A National crime. A National millstone around the neck of our children.

Quick like a bunny, tactically, the gooferment should sell 30, 40, and 50 years bonds. With a sinking fund to pay them off!

Eventually this is one big chicken coming home to roost.

It’ll make the Cater inflation look good!

Gold anyone?

Buried in your back yard!

Don’t forget FDR’s gold grab. And, remember the congresscritters are eyeing your 401Ks!

# # # # #


MONEY: 401Ks have an a few drawbacks imho

Thursday, December 18, 2008

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/12/16/how-much-does-the-stock-market-actually-return

Yes, You Can Achieve Financial Independence
How Much Does the Stock Market Actually Return?
Tuesday, 16th December 2008 (by J.D.)   
This article is about Investing

*** begin quote ***

The recent market turmoil has the naybirds out in force, and they’re decrying the long-term viability of stocks. I think this is nonsense. Though I try not to be dogmatic around here, today is an exception. Today I am going to sing the praises of the stock market.

{Extraneous Deleted}

*** end quote ***

[TO WHICH I REPLIED!]

I too recognize that the stock market is the pnly casino in town. I too would point out Japan and inflation. Both cause by the government. Like the laws of thermodynamics about entropy, you can’t win and you can’t leave the game! Only solution is work, diversify, and yell at your congress critter every chance you get! imho.

[and later]

# Ellie Says:
December 17th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

*** begin quote ***

I’m about to enter the workforce for the first time, and you bet your behind that I’m taking all the 401K match my employeer is going to throw at me (100% of the 1st one percent, 50% of the next 5%). At my age (22), the stock market isn’t even a gamble. Its a discount store with huge store-wide sales. I’m putting every extra penny in the stock market, and I know I’m going to get huge returns for this!

*** end quote ***

# reinkefj Says:
December 17th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

@Ellie: While IN PRINCIPLE, I agree with a 22 year old going whole hog on the 401k up to the match. It’s like “free money”.

HOWEVER, I would caution some exceptions that might temper that “advice”:

(1) an Enron-like 401k where you have to take 100% company stock and your locked in for eons. There were many horror stories out of that debacle that you should study.

(2) Investment options that are horrendous. High fees. Limited choices. Private label funds. Incestuous relationship between the company and the 401k provider. I have heard many sad tales of woe where the employee lost their money and suffered from terrible ROIs.

(3) Any “fishiness” with respect to all the hands involved in the transactions. I’d be looking for SPIC or such insurance and what the LIMITS are. SIPC of 300k on a million dollar 401K ain’t good enough.

(4) Labels on choices that may or may not reflect the underlying investments. I’ve seen “fixed income” that was leveraged; small caps that had options in the portfolio; a bond fund that was leveraged and optioned.

(5) Unit trusts, annuities, insurance “products” in the “401K”. No joke, I’ve seen an annuity with its cruddy load 2% mutual funds advanced as “required” for a 401k. (I called a friend at the SEC on that one.)

In summary, there is a POLITICAL risk in 401Ks now. The congresscritters are talking about “taking” them in exchange for an “enhanced” Social Security benefit. I think this would cause blood in the streets, but never underestimate the perfidy of a politicain who thinks there is money to be “stolen”!

So, proceed, but remember the old psuedo-Russian movie proverb, “trust but verify”. So I say to you: “Trust but verify”!

The market is a crooked casino. But it’s the only game around for you.

May I also plug my formula: “Success for your generation is: (1) ruthless financial discipline — no bad debt; (2) a life long interest in learning — education — a degree — they can’t take it away from you; (3) a white collar job in order to save big bux; (4) a blue collar skill for hard times — never saw a poor plumber; (5) one or more internet based businesses — your store is always open; (6) a free time hobby that generates income; and (7) a large will-maintained network of people who can “help” you.”

Hope this helps … … everyone.

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MONEY: H.R. 2755: Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act

Sunday, December 7, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/huff/huff24.html

*** begin quote ***

You might also ask your US Representative to co-sponsor the Bill to Abolish the Fed. So far Ron Paul’s Bill has no co-sponsor. What does that tell us?

*** end quote ***

[JR: That politicians are happy with the blank check that the current system provides them? ]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2755

*** begin quote ***

Federal Reserve Board Abolition Act – Abolishes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and each Federal reserve bank.

Repeals the Federal Reserve Act.

This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Introduced bills go first to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills never make it out of committee.

*** end quote ***

Arhhh!

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MONEY: Made in the USA?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

http://www.lewrockwell.com/anderson/anderson235.html

Ignorance of Money and the Rejection of Austrian Economics

by William L. Anderson

*** begin quote ***

Austrian economists and the intellectual tools they bring to the table are needed more than ever, yet the response of the economics profession has been to be even more aggressive in denouncing Austrians as “quacks” and “charlatans” and making sure that they are excluded from any academic and political discussions about this crisis. However, if one wishes to see just how superior the Austrian position has been, the best proof is to watch clips

http://www.pointbite.com/2008/03/08/peter-schiff-on-the-us-bubble-economy/

http://www.google.com/search?q=peter+schiff+%2B+youtube&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

of Peter Schiff (Irwin’s son), who is a well-known investor and fund manager, debate mainstream economists and other “financial experts” by using the Austrian analysis against their viewpoints. Schiff clearly understands the nature of the crisis and how to stop the bleeding and cure the “patient”; the others blindly stumble about, citing the “expertise” of economic theories that lead to nowhere.

*** end quote ***

“America at one time flooded the world with high quality low cost goods!”

Sums up the problem.

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MONEY: WASHDC eyes your 401k?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=5081

Dems Target Private Retirement Accounts
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House discuss confiscating 401(k)s, IRAs
By Karen McMahan
November 04, 2008

*** begin quote ***

RALEIGH — Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers’ personal retirement accounts — including 401(k)s and IRAs — and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration.

Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly.

The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House Committee on Education and Labor, Ghilarducci proposed that the government eliminate tax breaks for 401(k) and similar retirement accounts, such as IRAs, and confiscate workers’ retirement plan accounts and convert them to universal Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs) managed by the Social Security Administration.

Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, in prepared remarks for the hearing on “The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Workers’ Retirement Security,” blamed Wall Street for the financial crisis and said his committee will “strengthen and protect Americans’ 401(k)s, pensions, and other retirement plans” and the “Democratic Congress will continue to conduct this much-needed oversight on behalf of the American people.”

Currently, 401(k) plans allow Americans to invest pretax money and their employers match up to a defined percentage, which not only increases workers’ retirement savings but also reduces their annual income tax. The balances are fully inheritable, subject to income tax, meaning workers pass on their wealth to their heirs, unlike Social Security. Even when they leave an employer and go to one that doesn’t offer a 401(k) or pension, workers can transfer their balances to a qualified IRA.

{Extraneous Deleted}

*** end quote ***

Clearly a very scarey idea.

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MONEY: If printing money could solve all our problems, then why not just print up ten million dollars for every household in America?

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

The title says it all.

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MONEY: Principal Group?

Saturday, November 8, 2008

On Bob Brinker’s radio program today, during the second hour, had a caller call and report that one of the Principal Group’s Stable Value Funds was refusing redemptions. That’s earthshaking. Bob advise legal counsel be retained. Doesn’t sound good for Principal?

Also, on the show, a caller reported a 30+% loss in an California Muncipal Money Market fund. That shouldn’t be possible?

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