An interesting thought. The market tends to sell off quickly and then taper back to less selling as Large political and economical news events like we have this weekend are forgotten about. This may put selling pressure on stocks tommarow. As for the mutual gold funds started selling last week after a new high in gold was put in followed by a lower previous close. The big money called the shots last week and in doing so gained a 20 point loss profit and left the little guys bearish on gold again. The big money is waiting for the mid level investors to dump some of there holdings driving prices down further. It makes the bearish news of the middle east who dont know whats gonna happen take a chance and just pull out all there holdings until they figure it out. Thats when big money covers and sells you your wait and see shares. In the mean time the foreign investors buy our now discounted gold and stocks. Gold will pull back more. The do will continue to spiral. Big money is now back in oil, and when the new high is set, followed by a previous low, Big money will continue the gold rush. This will happen in a couple weeks time, just long enough to keep the sheep baited on where to go next when they see prices in commodities or a stock start to make moves higher again, when the TV anaylists start making predictions again based on those stock moves.
Collecting cleaned, scratched, scraped, AT and ugly POS coins for over 2 years now!
The US dollar is trading at 4-month lows vs the euro on the heels of ECB officials suggesting higher rates are needed to prevent a surge in oil prices from causing faster inflation. The dollar fell to $1.2288 from $1.2135.
The fall in the greenback is causing gold prices to pick up some lost momentum from late last week; Feb gold is up $4.10 to $558.20pbl (range is 551.40 to 559.30). Gold stocks may see momo buying after seeing downward pressure on Friday...
LME copper inventories fell 275 tons to 104,675 metric tons; copper was higher in London as Chinese traders bought the metal ahead to build inventory ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday beginning; copper rose $43 to $4,585 a ton in London; copper rose nearly 2 cents on the COMEX to $2.109 a pound; speculation that more funds will put money into commodity funds this week could bode well for copper stocks today...
Zinc continues to march into record territory, and hit $2,180 per metric ton in London...
March crude oil (now the spot month) is lower by 43 cents on access to $68.05pbl (range is 67.60 to 69.20, the highest level since 9/6); early pressure on crude seems to be coming from a report from the US National Weather Service that temps east of the Rocky Mountains will be higher than normal through 2/5. Feb natural gas is off a whopping 69 cents to $8.59 (range is 8.57 to 9.095); also weighing on the energy complex is comments from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who said the price of oil is too high and is damaging developing countries. Feb heating oil is off nearly 3 cents to $1.8395/gal (range is 1.8318 to 1.8806); Feb unleaded gas is also called around 3 cents lower to$1.7883 (range is 1.7844 to 1.8325); March heat cracks soared $1.38 on Friday to $11.22 while April H.U. cracks rose 41 cents to $14.35.
Oddly enough, this argument has been around since 1913.
Dont you think that as a nation we reraped a tiny benefit by getting away from the Gold Standard? You mean you want to go back and have a 2 tiered price for Gold where I go to the feds, get a ton of bullion at over 300+ dollars below market price????? Then, here is the kicker:
Act stunned and amazed when it gets sold on the private market at the private market price. How unfair is that?
A return to the gold standard isn't realistic. There are too many people and too much worldwide prosperity to expect to have enough gold to back all the financial instruments in the world. The problem that occurred with the move off the gold standard was the unwillingness to exercise financial restraint. A balanced federal budget and a balanced trade deficit would be all we would need without a return to the gold standard.
However the politicians decided to go the way of Rome and give the people all they wanted without a plan to pay for it. Add to that an Imperialistic military policy and we are heading toward inflating ourselves into a third world country.
Hard to balance a federal budget with dropping revenue and negative savings rate. Add to that the ongoing crash in the only thing that kept us going....real estate....and there is no alternative left.
We don't have enough factory capacity to even be able to defend ourselves anymore. And the world KNOWS it.
A gold standard is not workable.............UNLESS GOLD WAS VALUED EXTRAORDINARILY HIGHER!!
Can anyone break a zinc twenty? No? Could you call a manager please?
The value of Gold or a system to govern it would not in any way contribute to a "better" market or for that matter National Economic pic.
Why? Just ask a question, who would pay the bill? In other words, wow, gold is a babillion bucks an ounce, OK, here is a ton, pay up. Who would take the hit? How would using gold be beneficial in that environment?
In short, no sane person would pay that tab. No sane person would take the risk that someone would come along do just what I described.
As to the word Imperialistic, .....lets just say that I dont think it a paradigm shift if I have decaf in the morning. Try it out.
1. The points in that article are directly addressed in the demicrat party platform: free healthcare free daycare free college affordable housing living wage
2. They said the exact same things when I graduated college decades ago. It was false then and it's false now.
“Tamara Draut takes aim at the root causes of the money troubles that young adults face today.”
“Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a New York-based think tank.”
O really a think Tank?
“Draut peppers her first book with tales of struggle”
“While still in college, nearly half of working students already put in more than 25 hours a week to help make ends meet, Draut says.”
Your kidding you mean these kids are having to work their way through college?
“Everyone has a stake in the healthy finances of this generation: "The clock is ticking. In 2011, the 76 million baby boomers will start retiring," Draut writes.”
That’s right and the kids have to pay, surprise, surprise!
In the largest countries on the planet, China and India people have kids to help with the family business and to support the parents in their old age. That was at one time the way we did things here in the U.S., but we found a better, more modern way.
Why not pass lots of laws for entitlements, parents thought, so we will be sure these kids pay for their parents. So now the parents will be taken care of in their old age, and the kids will be forced to pay!
When you think about it, this was pretty smart, considering our mobile American society where kids leave home and visit their parents only on holidays, and even then it is not to help the parents but to complain about their high credit card balances.
<< <i>1. The points in that article are directly addressed in the demicrat party platform: >>
We always tend to address problems with extreme solutions. Either put the burden on the government completely (democratic) or shift the burden on the people (republican).
Well, I have one suggestion on how the younger generation can save a few bucks - stop using out-of-network ATM machines!! I've seen my kids' checking account statements and I can't believe how much they rack up in ATM charges using out-of-network machines.
Also, when I graduated from college, I had a five-year-old car and I didn't run out and buy a brand-new hot rod. Yeah, I know I sound like an old fart but, hey, there are ways to get by and put something away.
The kids today want the life thier parents have. The problem is that they want it NOW. They don't want to scrimp and save and work 30 years to get there. So they charge it.
<< <i>The kids today want the life thier parents have. The problem is that they want it NOW. They don't want to scrimp and save and work 30 years to get there. So they charge it. >>
I don't know who ("the kids"?) we're talking about here, but it's not the young generation which is bankrupting the US. It's the retirees.
Admitedly, the retirees now worked all their life paying for their parents' retirement and want to get the same benefits. However, the current generation of workers knows full well that no one is going to pay for their retirement, and they're not too enclined to pay for the babyboomers'. So everyone is getting screwed. Unfortunately there's no easy solution. A few generations ago, retirees got their pensions on the cheap, and now someone will have to pay for no benefits.
"The greatest productive force is human selfishness." Robert A. Heinlein
Oh I agree that those who retired in the last 30 years got a real sweet deal. My grandfather lived to 96 on a government pension.
The kids I mean are the 20-30 year old who seem to want it new and want it now and have no problem charging it all. Maybe they realize that the old folks have sucked out all the money so they might as well get what they can while they can.
<< <i>The kids I mean are the 20-30 year old who seem to want it new and want it now and have no problem charging it all. >>
Ah, understood.
<< <i>Maybe they realize that the old folks have sucked out all the money so they might as well get what they can while they can. >>
Seriously, as a radical small-government, free-wheeling Capitalist, I believe that the level of Socialism evidenced in our government does send the wrong philosophical signals - that you can vote yourself bread & games without having to ever face reality.
"The greatest productive force is human selfishness." Robert A. Heinlein
Well, since the social security taxes of the retirees was spent on medicaid for the young, schools for the young, roads for the young, airports for the young, and medical advances for the young... I don't think the young get a bad deal.
<< <i>Add to that the ongoing crash in the only thing that kept us going....real estate....and there is no alternative left. >>
Crashing? Housing may have slowed but it's far from crashing. And if you are referring to investment vehicles real estate has now been replaced by commodities as the hottest thing out there. So when the gold bubble talk begin?
The largest common demonator in bubbles is the statement "this time it's different", which I hear a lot here.
<< <i>Well, since the social security taxes of the retirees was spent on medicaid for the young, schools for the young, roads for the young, airports for the young, and medical advances for the young... I don't think the young get a bad deal >>
I really think that is far off. Most of the retirees of the last 40 years got all thier SS money back in 10 and have had a free ride since. Add to that the medicare etc and its mostly on borrowed money. Borrowed from those who are yet to retire and from those who will have to pay the National Debt back over thier lifetime. Sure there were a lot of social programs but those did not go to the working class. The schools and the roads and the entire infrastructure is falling apart from age and the bonds to build them have yet to be paid off.
The current retirees have had the feast and the young Americans are gonna have to pick up the check.
<< <i>The largest common demonator in bubbles is the statement "this time it's different", which I hear a lot here. >>
That's if you at first define it as a bubble. Real estate adjusted for inflation is way above the avrage of the last 50 years and its mostly financed on borrowed money, most commodities are below thier 50 year average. Add to that the major difference of rising worldwide demand for commodities that they can pay for with US dollars that are losing value and it may actually be different this time. Of course, at some point it could become a bubble, but its not near there yet.
There is no doubt that the guys on Wall Street are the slickest sales people to ever walk the face of the planet.
Up until the last few years their answer to all investment questions was BUY STOCKS.
If you were young you should buy stocks If you were old you should buy stocks If you were retired buy stocks If you were dead then your relatives should use your money and buy stocks.
When many folks cut back on buying stocks, the guys in the white shoes still wanted to make the big money and there were still trillions in the market so they figured that they would just buy and sell stocks among themselves i.e. TRADING.
“Much of the profit (just how much is not disclosed) is generated by traders executing tasks for clients -- making block trades, structuring derivatives contracts, buying currency for overseas deals, etc. Why is this so lucrative? It's partly a fair reward for taking risks, partly a byproduct of the knowledge the big firms accrue by being at the center of everything that goes on in global financial markets. They're profiting from their customers' comparative lack of knowledge. How long will customers put up with it? As long as they lack knowledge, one presumes.”
They created so many complicated vehicles that even pension fund managers could not figure out the trades, all smoke and mirrors, but very SLICK.
But the slickest thing of all is this,
“The S&P had a measly return of 4.9 percent. Securities firms gave out a record $21.5 billion in year-end bonuses. That's fair?”
<< <i>There is no doubt that the guys on Wall Street are the slickest sales people to ever walk the face of the planet. >>
If the people who invested didn't make money, these wall street analysts and executives definitely made money by trumpetting that the economy is doing great. Obviously their wallet is getting fatter. It is obscene.
Silver and gold are way up ..but its against all currencies, its not a dollar decline!!!!
<< <i>Julian Phillips of goldforecaster.com followed up yesterday’s comments about the lack of selling in the gold market by reporting that “the gold market . . . held up . . . despite the weight of expectation of a deep correction still. Last week saw zero Central Bank selling by the Central Bank old Agreement signatories, the first time under this agreement >>
The central banks have been losing thier arses trying to beat down the gold prices and have decided that they won't try this time. This is a major development as it might signal that the anti-gold cartel is finally giving up. Without that cartel fighting the rise, the ceiling is nowhere in sight.
<< <i>Silver and gold are way up ..but its against all currencies, its not a dollar decline!!!! >>
Inflation touches all majore currencies in the US and Europe - they're all risky given the level of debt (in fact, they're even more risky in Europe since the debt is higher and the growth lower.
Boy, gold is on fire today!
"The greatest productive force is human selfishness." Robert A. Heinlein
EVERYTHING has been postponed. From saving for retirement to concern for younger workers. Young "workers" you might as well get used to the fact that the older generation has saddled you with debt up to your ears. You will either be taxed to death for ANY improvements in infrastructure or defense or you will find yourselves competing with Asian ...slaves... to continue in any employment. Your only chance is to hit a "big one" or become a "broker" where your BS can separate others from their money. Because very soon there will be nothing left. Not even a dollar worth a spit in the rest of the world.
Yes, we will outlast Europe. But only to become serfs to Asia once their game is run.
Sad........but true.
"Greatest Generation" my ask.
Where's YOUR "baby boom" gonna come from that has benefited your parents? What provisions have your forebears made to build a superior nation that is UNQUESTIONED in its influence and power? It ain't there no more.
Hey KIDS! Even more dire predictions from Uncle Topstuf.
You think your plans for a "healthcare" job will work swell? Well (remember where you heard it first) I will bet you that within 5-10 years, drugs will be dispensed by mail from Asia or India. And their people will be coming over here willing to work for peanuts compared to present "crisis" levels. With spurious diplomas and some real ones too. Even diagnostic work will be done electronically from foreign shores. My health plan now has ALL x-rays and lab tests on computer. It's a real short hop to an Asian server.
It's coming. You can thank your parents for supporting "free trade" and NAFTA and GATT to boost their "stock" portfolios.
Interesting article AValde; however; I didn't notice what the new world currency might be. Lets see...the Euro has limited strength and from recent news, is fighting for it's value on the international markets. People like to use the Euro as a threat in this issue but reality persists...the Euro is a ways from being a more desired currency than the USD. Maybe the Yuan...well, China's banks are on lock-down because of poor loan portfolios and they are a long way from being in the forefront of desirable currencies, maybe the Yen...their stock market nearly crashed a couple of months ago and except for some recent dramatic gains, they seem to be holding on with both hands hoping the whole thing doesn't crash. The franc...doubtful. The Baht...hummmm...OH, maybe the Mark or the Pound...nah, those guys have a socialist govts are struggling to even pay their entitlement bills while fighting high inflation and unemployment...Maybe it is the Rupee, or the Peso or the Bolivar oh, maybe it's the Dinar, or possibly even the Ruble...all very doubtful. I'm not making an argument here other than I fail to see just what is supposed to supplant the USD. Any suggestions?
mhammerman..... That's the current quandary. What WILL supplant the dollar. I would suspect chaos will supplant it before this is over. Gold and silver will just be beneficiaries of last resort when it's all over. It will not be pretty and the suffering will be beyond imagination. Too bad we have nukes now, cuz a war is the only "solution" for economic realignment. Without the war, the best we can hope for is volatility and uncertainty. We made it.
I wasn't really refering to your article. And i never said conspiracy. I don't agree with that BS by the way - the World need US more than we need.... blah blah blah... another day.
Aware of what?
And if you actually read the posts here, you would see the theories i am talking about.
There is a ball bouncing and you clearly are not following it.
It is precisely this attitude that is going to be our ruin. The world needs us to be their consumer.
Why do you think the politicians are trying to get every possible free trade agreement signed like they are signing autographs. They want a market to sell the last remaining 'made in usa' products to reduce our spiralling trade deficits. Everything else we import and it won't be cheap for long.
An interesting read that I agree with, I'm not anti stock market but I'm aware I need to protect my assests saved over the last 30 years. Charts are provided in the link:
What Will Happen to Gold Shares in a Crashing U.S. Stock Market? By Doug Casey
As some of you probably already know, there are a multitude of reasons why I believe the broader stock markets are about to meet a financial Freddy Krueger.
I won’t repeat myself here, other than to say that we are fast approaching the point at which the U.S. government will have to choose between crushing hocked-to-their-eyeballs American consumers by continuing to increase interest rates (a rock) in order to keep the dollar attractive to the foreigners who lend U.S. markets about $2 billion per day… or letting the dollar tank (a hard place), triggering all sorts of fiscal unpleasantness.
Rarely is predicting the future anything more than a self-conceit or a ready topic for co*ktail chatter; there are simply too many variables to allow for accurately predicting anything more complex than what time your alarm clock will go off in the morning.
Even so, predicting the coming financial crisis is a relatively straightforward affair, made so by the fact that it is now unavoidable. The only question is how bad it will get. And it could get extremely bad… especially when you throw in some of the other wild cards – which these days could be anything from a serious spike in energy prices… an upwards revaluation of the Chinese renminbi… or another major terrorist attack.
Given that less than rosy view, it is no wonder that I am so bullish on gold and silver… and especially the high-quality gold and silver stocks we follow in the International Speculator, which offer the best leverage. In the last, discovery-led, gold-share bull market in the 1990’s, even run-of-the-mill gold stocks went up by 1,000%, 2,000%, 5,000% -- all while gold prices stayed flat.
This time around, gold is running up concurrently with a still emerging string of mining discoveries, so the returns on quality gold stocks should be even better. Already, we are regularly pulling down doubles and triples -- but the best is still ahead.
Or is it? After all, gold stocks are stocks, and so it’s logical that they would get dragged down when the general stock market tumbles. Right?
Let’s put that notion to the test.
As you can see from the chart below, the idea doesn’t hold up. Gold stocks largely march to their own drummer, sometimes in the same direction as the broader stock market, but sometimes distinctly contrary to same. Yet it is true that the strongest moves in gold stocks have occurred when the general market, as well as gold, was moving up (1971-73, 1983-1983, 1985-1987, 1993-1996).
Notable in the chart is how much more volatile the gold stocks are – which is good if you are willing to accept the higher level of risk in exchange for higher potential return. It is also a good reminder that these things are not heirlooms, but rather more akin to burning matches; when you get a big profit, be sure to sell at least enough to get your original investment off the table.
The other thing to note, which is especially relevant to the topic of this article, is the price action of gold stocks during the dotcom bubble and the following collapse, generally reflected in the period 1995 to 2000.
At the time, of course, no one wanted to hear about something as archaic as precious metals, the ultimate tangible. Instead, intangibles were all the rage, though even that seems too tame a word. As the chart shows, precious metals stocks went down, down, down as the dotcoms went up, up, up. But then when the cyber-bubble burst, gold stocks started their rise.
While the broader stock market has since recovered, it is a recovery built on a fantasy of easy money and debt. When that fantasy ends, it will be gold and silver stocks that are left standing.
If you haven’t yet built your portfolio of precious metals stocks, don’t put it off. Something brutal this way comes. It will either run you over or make you rich.
While the broader stock market has since recovered, it is a recovery built on a fantasy of easy money and debt. When that fantasy ends, it will be gold and silver stocks that are left standing
For many--read most--companies profits are higher now than they were in 2000. That is why the stock market has come back.
Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver?
<< <i>Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver? >>
Well, if people stop buying all goods and services then prices will certainly fall at some point? Then if that is the case, a flight to gold and silver becomes the alternative as it has generally held its value in real currency.
Of course, lack of demand plus spiraling inflation within the US sounds to me like a very depressing and deadly combination. I am not aware this has happened too often in prior civilizations.
<< <i>Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver? >>
Well, if people stop buying all goods and services then prices will certainly fall at some point? Then if that is the case, a flight to gold and silver becomes the alternative as it has generally held its value in real currency.
Of course, lack of demand plus spiraling inflation within the US sounds to me like a very depressing and deadly combination. I am not aware this has happened too often in prior civilizations. >>
Yes, of course stocks would fall if corporate profits fall. But that does not mean they would buy gold. If they stopped buying goods and services then that means they are out of money. The last thing they would do is buy jewerly or silverware, let alone bullion.
All US investors are - first and foremost - US employees. If US stocks tanks, what do you think it means wrt US companies, and US payrolls? If US stocks really tank, there won't be nobody in the US to prop up gold or anything much.
"The greatest productive force is human selfishness." Robert A. Heinlein
Even as things tank, there will still be $$TRILLIONs of liquidity looking for places to maintain value as currencies get battered. Gold and silver are one alternative. If PM's are holding on to more of their value relative to other paper assets doesn't it make sense that big money will continue to move there? That's sort of what's happening now....before things hit the fan. Rather than see your stock portfolio start to fall apart in growth stock funds, it might make sense to portion some to PM's and other natural resources. Homestake Mining (now Newmont) stock did initially fall at the start of the great depression, but then recovered by a factor of 6X during the 1930's. It held value while most other stocks did not.
Whatever the masses are currently doing for "investment" cannot work long term. This inverted pyramid scheme just doesn't have the continuing broad support needed.
It has been announced that a stainless silver alloy has been discovered.
This could have profound implications for the silver market especially if it makes silver jewelry much more popular. This effect is likely since the two greatest drawback of silver in jewelry is that many get an allergic reaction and tarnishing is rapid in other alloys. Both these effects should be greatly reduced with stainless silver.
Comments
An interesting thought. The market tends to sell off quickly and then taper back to less selling as Large political and economical news
events like we have this weekend are forgotten about. This may put selling pressure on stocks tommarow. As for the mutual gold funds
started selling last week after a new high in gold was put in followed by a lower previous close. The big money called the shots last week
and in doing so gained a 20 point loss profit and left the little guys bearish on gold again. The big money is waiting for the mid level investors
to dump some of there holdings driving prices down further. It makes the bearish news of the middle east who dont know whats gonna happen
take a chance and just pull out all there holdings until they figure it out. Thats when big money covers and sells you your wait and see shares.
In the mean time the foreign investors buy our now discounted gold and stocks. Gold will pull back more. The do will continue to spiral. Big money
is now back in oil, and when the new high is set, followed by a previous low, Big money will continue the gold rush. This will happen in a couple
weeks time, just long enough to keep the sheep baited on where to go next when they see prices in commodities or a stock start to make moves higher again, when the TV anaylists start making predictions again based on those stock moves.
Whew! I just glanced and saw it at the top of its trading range. Figured that meant it was time for it to come down.....
The fall in the greenback is causing gold prices to pick up some lost momentum from late last week; Feb gold is up $4.10 to $558.20pbl (range is 551.40 to 559.30). Gold stocks may see momo buying after seeing downward pressure on Friday...
LME copper inventories fell 275 tons to 104,675 metric tons; copper was higher in London as Chinese traders bought the metal ahead to build inventory ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday beginning; copper rose $43 to $4,585 a ton in London; copper rose nearly 2 cents on the COMEX to $2.109 a pound; speculation that more funds will put money into commodity funds this week could bode well for copper stocks today...
Zinc continues to march into record territory, and hit $2,180 per metric ton in London...
March crude oil (now the spot month) is lower by 43 cents on access to $68.05pbl (range is 67.60 to 69.20, the highest level since 9/6); early pressure on crude seems to be coming from a report from the US National Weather Service that temps east of the Rocky Mountains will be higher than normal through 2/5. Feb natural gas is off a whopping 69 cents to $8.59 (range is 8.57 to 9.095); also weighing on the energy complex is comments from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who said the price of oil is too high and is damaging developing countries. Feb heating oil is off nearly 3 cents to $1.8395/gal (range is 1.8318 to 1.8806); Feb unleaded gas is also called around 3 cents lower to$1.7883 (range is 1.7844 to 1.8325); March heat cracks soared $1.38 on Friday to $11.22 while April H.U. cracks rose 41 cents to $14.35.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Dont you think that as a nation we reraped a tiny benefit by getting away from the Gold Standard? You mean you want to go back and have a 2 tiered price for Gold where I go to the feds, get a ton of bullion at over 300+ dollars below market price????? Then, here is the kicker:
Act stunned and amazed when it gets sold on the private market at the private market price. How unfair is that?
However the politicians decided to go the way of Rome and give the people all they wanted without a plan to pay for it. Add to that an Imperialistic military policy and we are heading toward inflating ourselves into a third world country.
We don't have enough factory capacity to even be able to defend ourselves anymore. And the world KNOWS it.
A gold standard is not workable.............UNLESS GOLD WAS VALUED EXTRAORDINARILY HIGHER!!
Can anyone break a zinc twenty? No? Could you call a manager please?
Why? Just ask a question, who would pay the bill? In other words, wow, gold is a babillion bucks an ounce, OK, here is a ton, pay up. Who would take the hit? How would using gold be beneficial in that environment?
In short, no sane person would pay that tab. No sane person would take the risk that someone would come along do just what I described.
As to the word Imperialistic, .....lets just say that I dont think it a paradigm shift if I have decaf in the morning. Try it out.
1. The points in that article are directly addressed in the demicrat party platform:
free healthcare
free daycare
free college
affordable housing
living wage
2. They said the exact same things when I graduated college decades ago. It was false then and it's false now.
Great article but where has this Lady been?
“Tamara Draut takes aim at the root causes of the money troubles that young adults face today.”
“Draut, director of the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a New York-based think tank.”
O really a think Tank?
“Draut peppers her first book with tales of struggle”
“While still in college, nearly half of working students already put in more than 25 hours a week to help make ends meet, Draut says.”
Your kidding you mean these kids are having to work their way through college?
“Everyone has a stake in the healthy finances of this generation: "The clock is ticking. In 2011, the 76 million baby boomers will start retiring," Draut writes.”
That’s right and the kids have to pay, surprise, surprise!
In the largest countries on the planet, China and India people have kids to help with the family business and to support the parents in their old age. That was at one time the way we did things here in the U.S., but we found a better, more modern way.
Why not pass lots of laws for entitlements, parents thought, so we will be sure these kids pay for their parents. So now the parents will be taken care of in their old age, and the kids will be forced to pay!
When you think about it, this was pretty smart, considering our mobile American society where kids leave home and visit their parents only on holidays, and even then it is not to help the parents but to complain about their high credit card balances.
<< <i>1. The points in that article are directly addressed in the demicrat party platform: >>
We always tend to address problems with extreme solutions. Either put the burden on the government completely (democratic) or shift the burden on the people (republican).
The result is security for none.
Maybe the government should put out a pamphlet about how well they've accomplished these goals.
Also, when I graduated from college, I had a five-year-old car and I didn't run out and buy a brand-new hot rod. Yeah, I know I sound like an old fart but, hey, there are ways to get by and put something away.
Member ANA, SPMC, SCNA, FUN, CONECA
<< <i>The kids today want the life thier parents have. The problem is that they want it NOW. They don't want to scrimp and save and work 30 years to get there. So they charge it. >>
I don't know who ("the kids"?) we're talking about here, but it's not the young generation which is bankrupting the US. It's the retirees.
Admitedly, the retirees now worked all their life paying for their parents' retirement and want to get the same benefits. However, the current generation of workers knows full well that no one is going to pay for their retirement, and they're not too enclined to pay for the babyboomers'. So everyone is getting screwed. Unfortunately there's no easy solution. A few generations ago, retirees got their pensions on the cheap, and now someone will have to pay for no benefits.
Robert A. Heinlein
The kids I mean are the 20-30 year old who seem to want it new and want it now and have no problem charging it all. Maybe they realize that the old folks have sucked out all the money so they might as well get what they can while they can.
<< <i>The kids I mean are the 20-30 year old who seem to want it new and want it now and have no problem charging it all. >>
Ah, understood.
<< <i>Maybe they realize that the old folks have sucked out all the money so they might as well get what they can while they can. >>
Seriously, as a radical small-government, free-wheeling Capitalist, I believe that the level of Socialism evidenced in our government does send the wrong philosophical signals - that you can vote yourself bread & games without having to ever face reality.
Robert A. Heinlein
Well, since the social security taxes of the retirees was spent on medicaid for the young, schools for the young, roads for the young, airports for the young, and medical advances for the young... I don't think the young get a bad deal.
<< <i>Add to that the ongoing crash in the only thing that kept us going....real estate....and there is no alternative left. >>
Crashing? Housing may have slowed but it's far from crashing. And if you are referring to investment vehicles real estate has now been replaced by commodities as the hottest thing out there. So when the gold bubble talk begin?
The largest common demonator in bubbles is the statement "this time it's different", which I hear a lot here.
<< <i>Well, since the social security taxes of the retirees was spent on medicaid for the young, schools for the young, roads for the young, airports for the young, and medical advances for the young... I don't think the young get a bad deal >>
I really think that is far off. Most of the retirees of the last 40 years got all thier SS money back in 10 and have had a free ride since. Add to that the medicare etc and its mostly on borrowed money. Borrowed from those who are yet to retire and from those who will have to pay the National Debt back over thier lifetime. Sure there were a lot of social programs but those did not go to the working class. The schools and the roads and the entire infrastructure is falling apart from age and the bonds to build them have yet to be paid off.
The current retirees have had the feast and the young Americans are gonna have to pick up the check.
<< <i>The largest common demonator in bubbles is the statement "this time it's different", which I hear a lot here. >>
That's if you at first define it as a bubble. Real estate adjusted for inflation is way above the avrage of the last 50 years and its mostly financed on borrowed money, most commodities are below thier 50 year average. Add to that the major difference of rising worldwide demand for commodities that they can pay for with US dollars that are losing value and it may actually be different this time. Of course, at some point it could become a bubble, but its not near there yet.
Reminds of pre-revolution france.
There is no doubt that the guys on Wall Street are the slickest sales people to ever walk the face of the planet.
Up until the last few years their answer to all investment questions was BUY STOCKS.
If you were young you should buy stocks
If you were old you should buy stocks
If you were retired buy stocks
If you were dead then your relatives should use your money and buy stocks.
When many folks cut back on buying stocks, the guys in the white shoes still wanted to make the big money and there were still trillions in the market so they figured that they would just buy and sell stocks among themselves i.e. TRADING.
“Much of the profit (just how much is not disclosed) is generated by traders executing tasks for clients -- making block trades, structuring derivatives contracts, buying currency for overseas deals, etc. Why is this so lucrative? It's partly a fair reward for taking risks, partly a byproduct of the knowledge the big firms accrue by being at the center of everything that goes on in global financial markets. They're profiting from their customers' comparative lack of knowledge. How long will customers put up with it? As long as they lack knowledge, one presumes.”
They created so many complicated vehicles that even pension fund managers could not figure out the trades, all smoke and mirrors, but very SLICK.
But the slickest thing of all is this,
“The S&P had a measly return of 4.9 percent. Securities firms gave out a record $21.5 billion in year-end bonuses. That's fair?”
<< <i>There is no doubt that the guys on Wall Street are the slickest sales people to ever walk the face of the planet. >>
If the people who invested didn't make money, these wall street analysts and executives definitely made money by trumpetting that the economy is doing great. Obviously their wallet is getting fatter. It is obscene.
Watch SSRI, SIL, PAAS
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Julian Phillips of goldforecaster.com followed up yesterday’s comments about the lack of selling in the gold market by reporting that “the gold market . . . held up . . . despite the weight of expectation of a deep correction still. Last week saw zero Central Bank selling by the Central Bank old Agreement signatories, the first time under this agreement >>
The central banks have been losing thier arses trying to beat down the gold prices and have decided that they won't try this time. This is a major development as it might signal that the anti-gold cartel is finally giving up. Without that cartel fighting the rise, the ceiling is nowhere in sight.
<< <i>Silver and gold are way up ..but its against all currencies, its not a dollar decline!!!! >>
Inflation touches all majore currencies in the US and Europe - they're all risky given the level of debt (in fact, they're even more risky in Europe since the debt is higher and the growth lower.
Boy, gold is on fire today!
Robert A. Heinlein
Because very soon there will be nothing left. Not even a dollar worth a spit in the rest of the world.
Yes, we will outlast Europe. But only to become serfs to Asia once their game is run.
Sad........but true.
"Greatest Generation" my ask.
Where's YOUR "baby boom" gonna come from that has benefited your parents? What provisions have your forebears made to build a superior nation that is UNQUESTIONED in its influence and power? It ain't there no more.
You think your plans for a "healthcare" job will work swell? Well (remember where you heard it first) I will bet you that within 5-10 years, drugs will be dispensed by mail from Asia or India. And their people will be coming over here willing to work for peanuts compared to present "crisis" levels. With spurious diplomas and some real ones too. Even diagnostic work will be done electronically from foreign shores. My health plan now has ALL x-rays and lab tests on computer. It's a real short hop to an Asian server.
It's coming. You can thank your parents for supporting "free trade" and NAFTA and GATT to boost their "stock" portfolios.
Interesting article AValde; however; I didn't notice what the new world currency might be. Lets see...the Euro has limited strength and from recent news, is fighting for it's value on the international markets. People like to use the Euro as a threat in this issue but reality persists...the Euro is a ways from being a more desired currency than the USD. Maybe the Yuan...well, China's banks are on lock-down because of poor loan portfolios and they are a long way from being in the forefront of desirable currencies, maybe the Yen...their stock market nearly crashed a couple of months ago and except for some recent dramatic gains, they seem to be holding on with both hands hoping the whole thing doesn't crash. The franc...doubtful. The Baht...hummmm...OH, maybe the Mark or the Pound...nah, those guys have a socialist govts are struggling to even pay their entitlement bills while fighting high inflation and unemployment...Maybe it is the Rupee, or the Peso or the Bolivar oh, maybe it's the Dinar, or possibly even the Ruble...all very doubtful. I'm not making an argument here other than I fail to see just what is supposed to supplant the USD. Any suggestions?
http://icurrency.net/passport/currency/currency.html
Without the war, the best we can hope for is volatility and uncertainty. We made it.
"In currency trading, the dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.
COMEX gold slipped $2.40 to $560.10 an ounce."
Me thinks your theories would be better off at
www.abovetopsecret.com
They'll tell you about your New World Order.
hi, i'm tom.
i do not doctor coins like some who post in here.
We've had that since the beginning of our country. And human kind has endured since it's existance.
Yes every great civilization fails at some time. But the world never ends.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
SSRI 16.22 to 17.89......10.3%
SIL 15.30 to 16.24........6.1%
PAAS 19.44 to 21.67.....11.5%
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Me thinks your theories would be better off at ...... >>
It is not my conspiracy theory. Heck I don't even care. I am well diversified and aware.
"Run on the dollar" by IMF
This is not my conspiracy theory too.
Aware of what?
And if you actually read the posts here, you would see the theories i am talking about.
There is a ball bouncing and you clearly are not following it.
hi, i'm tom.
i do not doctor coins like some who post in here.
<< <i>the World need US more than we need >>
It is precisely this attitude that is going to be our ruin. The world needs us to be their consumer.
Why do you think the politicians are trying to get every possible free trade agreement signed like they are signing autographs. They want a market to sell the last remaining 'made in usa' products to reduce our spiralling trade deficits. Everything else we import and it won't be cheap for long.
Gold Shares & a Crashing Stock Market
What Will Happen to Gold Shares in a Crashing U.S. Stock Market?
By Doug Casey
As some of you probably already know, there are a multitude of reasons why I believe the broader stock markets are about to meet a financial Freddy Krueger.
I won’t repeat myself here, other than to say that we are fast approaching the point at which the U.S. government will have to choose between crushing hocked-to-their-eyeballs American consumers by continuing to increase interest rates (a rock) in order to keep the dollar attractive to the foreigners who lend U.S. markets about $2 billion per day… or letting the dollar tank (a hard place), triggering all sorts of fiscal unpleasantness.
Rarely is predicting the future anything more than a self-conceit or a ready topic for co*ktail chatter; there are simply too many variables to allow for accurately predicting anything more complex than what time your alarm clock will go off in the morning.
Even so, predicting the coming financial crisis is a relatively straightforward affair, made so by the fact that it is now unavoidable. The only question is how bad it will get. And it could get extremely bad… especially when you throw in some of the other wild cards – which these days could be anything from a serious spike in energy prices… an upwards revaluation of the Chinese renminbi… or another major terrorist attack.
Given that less than rosy view, it is no wonder that I am so bullish on gold and silver… and especially the high-quality gold and silver stocks we follow in the International Speculator, which offer the best leverage. In the last, discovery-led, gold-share bull market in the 1990’s, even run-of-the-mill gold stocks went up by 1,000%, 2,000%, 5,000% -- all while gold prices stayed flat.
This time around, gold is running up concurrently with a still emerging string of mining discoveries, so the returns on quality gold stocks should be even better. Already, we are regularly pulling down doubles and triples -- but the best is still ahead.
Or is it? After all, gold stocks are stocks, and so it’s logical that they would get dragged down when the general stock market tumbles. Right?
Let’s put that notion to the test.
As you can see from the chart below, the idea doesn’t hold up. Gold stocks largely march to their own drummer, sometimes in the same direction as the broader stock market, but sometimes distinctly contrary to same. Yet it is true that the strongest moves in gold stocks have occurred when the general market, as well as gold, was moving up (1971-73, 1983-1983, 1985-1987, 1993-1996).
Notable in the chart is how much more volatile the gold stocks are – which is good if you are willing to accept the higher level of risk in exchange for higher potential return. It is also a good reminder that these things are not heirlooms, but rather more akin to burning matches; when you get a big profit, be sure to sell at least enough to get your original investment off the table.
The other thing to note, which is especially relevant to the topic of this article, is the price action of gold stocks during the dotcom bubble and the following collapse, generally reflected in the period 1995 to 2000.
At the time, of course, no one wanted to hear about something as archaic as precious metals, the ultimate tangible. Instead, intangibles were all the rage, though even that seems too tame a word. As the chart shows, precious metals stocks went down, down, down as the dotcoms went up, up, up. But then when the cyber-bubble burst, gold stocks started their rise.
While the broader stock market has since recovered, it is a recovery built on a fantasy of easy money and debt. When that fantasy ends, it will be gold and silver stocks that are left standing.
If you haven’t yet built your portfolio of precious metals stocks, don’t put it off. Something brutal this way comes. It will either run you over or make you rich.
For many--read most--companies profits are higher now than they were in 2000. That is why the stock market has come back.
Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver?
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver? >>
Well, if people stop buying all goods and services then prices will certainly fall at some point? Then if that is the case, a flight to gold and silver becomes the alternative as it has generally held its value in real currency.
Of course, lack of demand plus spiraling inflation within the US sounds to me like a very depressing and deadly combination. I am not aware this has happened too often in prior civilizations.
Social security taxation has exceeded social security payments for decades. Yet the trust fund has no assets.
The excess money was and is spent on the young.
<< <i>
<< <i>Gold and silver only go up because people are buying. If the "fantasy" ends, then I assume it is because people stop buying goods and services. If they are not buying bread, cars, tvs, electricty, gasoline, ipods, tax preparation, stocks, ect... then why would they be buying gold or silver? >>
Well, if people stop buying all goods and services then prices will certainly fall at some point? Then if that is the case, a flight to gold and silver becomes the alternative as it has generally held its value in real currency.
Of course, lack of demand plus spiraling inflation within the US sounds to me like a very depressing and deadly combination. I am not aware this has happened too often in prior civilizations. >>
Yes, of course stocks would fall if corporate profits fall. But that does not mean they would buy gold. If they stopped buying goods and services then that means they are out of money. The last thing they would do is buy jewerly or silverware, let alone bullion.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Robert A. Heinlein
Gold and silver are one alternative. If PM's are holding on to more of their value relative to other paper assets doesn't it make sense that big money will continue to move there? That's sort of what's happening now....before things hit the fan. Rather than see your stock portfolio start to fall apart in growth stock funds, it might make sense to portion some to PM's and other natural resources. Homestake Mining (now Newmont) stock did initially fall at the start of the great depression, but then recovered by a factor of 6X during the 1930's. It held value while most other stocks did not.
Whatever the masses are currently doing for "investment" cannot work long term. This inverted pyramid scheme just doesn't have the continuing broad support needed.
roadrunner
My 1866 Philly Mint Set
Gold: Bid/Ask 570.00 - 570.90
Silver: 9.87 +0.12
<< <i> Even stronger today >>
Change of reign at the Federal Reserve. This was expected
This could have profound implications for the silver market especially if it makes silver jewelry much more popular. This effect is likely since the two greatest drawback of silver in jewelry is that many get an allergic reaction and tarnishing is rapid in other alloys. Both these effects should be greatly reduced with stainless silver.
Edited to add link.