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| Gimme A Stick For My Teeth in forum [Market-Ticker]
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Istt
Posts: 71
Incept: 2007-10-11
Cincinnati
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Won't QE2 send the US stock markets soaring as the dollar gets crushed?
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Visualcsharp
Posts: 343
Incept: 2009-12-19
Round Rock, TX
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I've been diligently monitoring unit prices at my local HEB. I am in shock as to how quickly they are going up! How can some people afford these price increases? I make a decent living and it has *me* worried!
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Tesla
Posts: 15543
Incept: 2008-04-03
State of Disbelief
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I placed my order for a large family-sized greenhouse this weekend. I'm thinking that between the greens I can grow over the winter, homemade yoghurt and cheese, and the chicken and duck eggs, plus all the summer vegs and fruit I canned, I might weather at least the food inflation with no problem. Gasoline ? That'll be a lot tougher. Diesel's already back over 3.20 a gallon around here.
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"Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked." -Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Neither the wisest Constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." -Samuel Adams
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Ruffcut
Posts: 2903
Incept: 2007-07-07
Mushagain
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You can't use that stick in your teeth. You know where's it been.
I have to vote. Many locals being recalled. Wish the list went a lot farther up.
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Support locally, and **** off globally!
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Alexjones
Posts: 132
Incept: 2010-04-24
Hauppauge
Banned
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I'm a member of that ficticious, Proverbial, Middle class. I eat rice everyday, I have no debt and I rent. I'm not worried. We survived the 70s, We will survive this. If not, I will live in my car and withdrawal from society. **** this sympathy on the Middle class bull****.
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Bokkenrijder
Posts: 43
Incept: 2009-11-17
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Karl, you're starting to sound like Jim Rogers, and we all know what Jim thinks about gold! ;-)
All kidding aside, but don't you think Karl that the reason you've given above is the very reason why people (rightly or wrongly) are buying precious metals?
It seems to me that many people don't necessarily want to make a killing ("$5000 gold in 5 years" and all that crap) but a lot of people merely want to PRESERVE what they've struggled to build up over the years.
Preferably something portable for when the proverbial sh!t hits the fan...
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Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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The problem is that that Precious Metals do not preserve your value under these circumstances.
The reason is simple:
1. The percentage of your INCOME you must spend on such things goes up, while your wages in a global world do not.
2. Whatever percentage you put into metals not only isn't enough to shield you, the gains are subject to taxation, and the more gain, the more is taxable (as it's gain that is taxed, not basis.)
There's no winning strategy in metals down this road. What you're seeing in what are very thin markets (especially gold) is speculative fervor; Gold has, as an inflation hedge, performed terribly over material amounts of time (e.g. witness the 1980-2000 period, when gold fell like a stone in price yet inflation was quite high in terms of things you have to buy in order to survive.)
The gold trade is a fear trade; it is not predicated on attempting to keep your purchasing power, because you won't. It is rather predicated on the complete collapse of monetary systems and society, but even there it's idiotic, because the premise is that you'll be able to effectively trade with it yet not be subject to the above risks.
If "Mad Max" ensues gold will be worth literally nothing. If there's a government structure and "polite society" left then you'll be left with the choice of either conforming to that society's rules (including taxation) or going into the black market, at which point the value of your metal will be quite similar to that of stolen firearms - very high to a fellow criminal, but zero to law-abiding citizens.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Istt
Posts: 71
Incept: 2007-10-11
Cincinnati
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Karl, let's assume you are right, that precious metals will not be so precious in the future. In previous posts/radio shows you have stated that cash will be king in that real estate values may go as low as 1X gross earnings. Do you still believe cash is the best way to play this despite the QE2 scenario? If not, how best to play this?
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Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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I believe much of this is a headfake.
The unfortunate reality for Bernanke is that in order to actually balance the debt destruction he would have to print somewhere around $25 trillion. Doing so would instantly collapse confidence in the dollar, and cut us off from world trade.
Remember that they tried this in The Depression too. It didn't work then either.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Bokkenrijder
Posts: 43
Incept: 2009-11-17
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Hmmm, I guess you have some valid points there, but what to do then!?!
I read your post "On Gold Bugs" from a few weeks ago, but I'm not entirely convinced of the practicality of putting money into hard assets with a utility value. I can follow your logic, but not the practicality of it.
I myself live in a big city (Berlin) and like me, few people have the storage capacity to store a few barrels of oil, timber. cattle or soy beans. Besides, just like the gains on gold can be taxed, owning some of those hard assets mentioned previously will also make on extremely vulnerable to the clutches of the tax man/woman. Those assets are difficult or impossible (like a plot of land) to move and can very easily be 'confiscated' through higher taxes. (just compare the taxation of fuel between Europe and US and you see what I mean.)
p.s. you know the big irony about Germany: with all the high taxes on...just about everything, the gains on gold are still TAX-FREE! Hahaha, can you believe that?! ;-)
Reason: spelling
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Corn1945
Posts: 4167
Incept: 2009-04-30
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Inflation benefits the debtors, not the people with money. Who does Bernake really represent? It sure as hell isn't the guy on the street up to his eyeballs in debt.
Charles Hugh Smith talks about this today on his blog.
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Istt
Posts: 71
Incept: 2007-10-11
Cincinnati
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Do we agree, though, that if the dollar collapses commodities, hard assets soar? And it seems a given that the dollar will collapse under the Fed's strategy. Is it possible for the Fed to prevent the dollars collapse given its actions to simply print more dollars to solve short term problems? What can the Fed possibly do to strengthen the dollar?
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Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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There is no clean defense. That's the point.
Your best use of resource is to organize with others and get these jackasses out of office.
No matter how you try to protect yourself against these events, you will fail. The power and money folks will guarantee that.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Tesla
Posts: 15543
Incept: 2008-04-03
State of Disbelief
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^^^ yes. Everything else (preps for "survival") are fairly short-term at best.
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"Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked." -Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Neither the wisest Constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." -Samuel Adams
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Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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Yep.
Short-term disaster preps are just that - short-term. They will get you through if the worst happens.
But if the worst happens no matter how you think you've hedged, you will almost-certainly come out the other side broke or nearly so.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Tesla
Posts: 15543
Incept: 2008-04-03
State of Disbelief
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I came to that conclusion a while ago - prepping for anything over a year in length is an exercise in futility. You don't know how they're going to **** you next. Case in point - I have an on-site well and septic system on my farm; it costs me nothing but a smidge of electricity and I can expect it to last with minor maintenance for years to come. Friday I received a notice in the mail from the township - they're looking to extend a sewer authority to those of us not "served" and they want to know all about my existing system (everyone in my area got this, not just me). So they want to take away my self-sufficiency and pile more costs on me, costs that I THOUGHT I had under control. This is how they want to serve me  Needless to say, I wrote them a very strongly-worded letter against, pointed them to the debacle in Jefferson CO AL, promised to organize my neighbors and we'd all show up at the next supervisor's meeting to tell them in person what we think of such a monumentally stupid idea and their prospects of re-election if they push this pig. Geesh, even if I thought it was a good idea, with the length of my driveway it'd cost me an entire replacement for my existing on-site system to hook up to the township service. That's such a good idea, no  The rapers-and-pillagers aren't just at the banks; they're your neighbors too. 
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"Even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and being kicked." -Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Neither the wisest Constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." -Samuel Adams
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Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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Tesla, they did this where I used to live in the Chicago 'burbs too.
There were a lot of private water wells. When the "local folks" came through with central water and sewer they forced capping of the wells and disconnection of the septic systems. They also banned the drilling of new water wells, even shallow ones for irrigation and not drinking use.
This of course meant that watering your grass was now a $100+/month enterprise in the summertime, as they are kind enough to assess you sewer charges on water you put on the ****ing grass!
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Schill
Posts: 724
Incept: 2009-03-19
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"There is no clean defense. That's the point.
....
No matter how you try to protect yourself against these events, you will fail. The power and money folks will guarantee that."
Whenever one visits Zerohedge, take a moment to reflect on the meaning of the name. A rising tide lifts all boats, and this is the exact opposite. Whether the illusion of money is preserved and we experience deflation, or whether the illusion is revealed and we experience high inflation, our standard of living is going to fall considerably as we finally begin to recognize the impact of 30 years of wage arbitrage.
The only real hedge is to downsize your existence before you are forced to do so. Move and live a step down from your current place on the societal ladder. However, I'm not going to. My family likes our house, neighborhood and schools, so we'll stay and just try to deal with it as it comes.
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Wis/min
Posts: 5364
Incept: 2009-08-14
On the border
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Quote:This of course meant that watering your grass was now a $100+/month enterprise in the summertime, as they are kind enough to assess you sewer charges on water you put on the ****ing grass! In my area they allow you to install a second meter for irrigation use and do not charge sewer fees on that meter. It makes a huge difference paying $1.50/100 cu ft. as opposed to $3.50/100 cu. ft. |
Genesis
Posts: 130804
Incept: 2007-06-26
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Yeah well, they didn't in our case. One meter, you pay. In the summer they "assume" and you get a (slightly) lower combined rate.
Bastards.
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I don't care if it makes sense -- only if it makes money. -- Me
Bank (n): See scam, fraud and theft. Eat a bankster -- they're low-carb.
What part of "shall not be infringed" was unclear?
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Geschrei
Posts: 473
Incept: 2009-02-23
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Wis/min wrote..In my area they allow you to install a second meter for irrigation use and do not charge sewer fees on that meter. I looked into this a few years ago - there was a one-time charge of $350 to add the second meter. I bought a couple of 50-gallon rain barrels for $75. Let 'em try to tax the runoff from my roof.
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“The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.”
Lord Acton (1834 - 1902)
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Wis/min
Posts: 5364
Incept: 2009-08-14
On the border
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Quote:I bought a couple of 50-gallon rain barrels for $75. Let 'em try to tax the runoff from my roof. They restrict rain water collections in CO and Utah. :sad |
Wis/min
Posts: 5364
Incept: 2009-08-14
On the border
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Quote:In Colorado, for example, it is illegal for residents to divert rainwater that falls upon land they own unless they have explicit permission to do so. Even collecting rainfall in a backyard barrel can technically violate the law. |
Bobby
Posts: 2997
Incept: 2008-01-19
vermont
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Will they stop pushing the dollar down, after the elections are over?
The DOW is a number, that most watch. Many still think it is sign of economic health.
Lower the dollar, lift the dow. Till the election are over.
Than defend the dollar, for as long as they can.
Its not even a theory, its more a question.
bob
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"It was the money.You Americans, you believe money is power.""Belief, is power."
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