The Rise And Fall Of The US Dollar

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/29/2009 16:30 -0500

And this is just the beginning. Chairman Ben has yet to be fully unleashed.

Courtesy of Sean Malone at Mises Institute

Your rating: None Average: 4.5 (42 votes)

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:37
#52950

LOL

ZeroHege featured on Alex Jones Infowars.com

http://www.infowars.com/racketeering-101-bailed-out-banks-threaten-syste...

That's what you get for featuring articles by Bob Chapman -- you are now an official InfoWarrior (not that there's anything wrong with that)

and here's the comment thread on your post at

http://www.infowars.com/racketeering-101-bailed-out-banks-threaten-syste...

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:56
#53095

Everybody has equal right to read and discuss the truth.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:52
#53317

I lurk here and learn. I don't comment much anywhere. To discount infowarriors and Alex Jones is stupid. I have tried to debunk his facts and other than the occasional spin (which I notice here also)I have not been able to disprove any of his allegations. He does tend to be over the top a good bit of the time, but if he is waking people up to the corruption that is permeating every aspect of modern day life, WTF mate. Pull the dick out of your ass and get over yourself.

by JR
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:06
#53375

The comment thread to Zero Hedge’s "101 Racketeering: Bailed Out Banks..." on Inforwars was mind riveting. I couldn’t stop reading. Here are just a few comments at random :

Beau Deters: The “harm, real or speculative, to the banks is irrelevant and immaterial to the suit at hand, as the action before the court involves not the financial interests of the banking industry, but the freedom of information of the plaintiff having to pay interest plus principal on the loans to these financial institutions. The needs of the banks, the damage to the banks, is frivolous compared to the ripe environment for fraud, lack of accountability, and general transparency. It is the tax payers’ money that is being spent, beggars can not be demanders.”

Williamwallac:“How to pay back all the money that is still out standing as debt”? “Just inflate the currency so that 24 trillion debt buys a loaf of bread. Soon,” he said, “ we will see the magic of the banker magicians at work--nothing into something and back again into nothing.”

Feared and loathed: “Ultimately we will have to hold these crooks responsible ourselves. I think the reality of this revolution (if there is to be one) exists in our willingness to commit to our goals. What we want for this country we must demand, and harness, through whatever means possible. They would send you away in a heartbeat to fight and die in their war; why not do that for ours!”

Neocon Narc : “They tell you…
Paulson threatens martial law if TARP money is not approved.
Bernanke threatens financial disaster if they are audited and tries to say the bill wants to control them.
Geithner says that is a line you do not want to cross.
They are the ones who are threatening us… Jason Bermas hit the nail on the head this morning in his coverage of the transparency Geithner and Bernanke tell the public… ‘As transparent as an iron beam…’”

Hologram: If these banks were to fail then that would most likely be for the best. If they are “Too Big TO FAIL” then they shouldn’t be there at all. That is called monopoly and if I remember correctly monopoly is illegal in this country.

Bad Slave : “I like how these banks cry about a ‘negative inference’ related to disclosure of their borrowing activities, yet they access millions of customers’ credit reports every day in order to screw with people’s interest rates and credit ratings. They get away with this argument only because our courts are completely crooked. Federal judges are the worst—whores.”

All of which was fairly well summed up by Robert Henry, who wrote: So they can gamble with the bailout money plus manipulate the markets to their satisfaction then keep it all secret as well? What a sick joke, also known as having it ALL WAYS! However, the game is pretty much over when all they have left to sell is FEAR!

by agrotera
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 17:23
#53482

It always seems so amazing that people can try to discredit someone because they raise their voice. I guess when you have a kid in the street about to be run over by a MACK truck, you should just politely, and gently say, "oh dear you might want to stop playing in that street" that way even thought you have a dead child, no one can accuse you of being outrageous...

Same with infowars.com, these folks are really being mild and very appropriate when expressing their outrage over the privately held Federal Reserve and the bank cartel it heads.

When someone breaks into your home invading it to steal everything you have, you have a right to defend yourself, and for people who have guns, intruders get shot...the difference between the home invaders and the privately held Federal Reserve and their cartel is that this group buys the politicians, then gets laws passed so that they can claim that what they do is "legal".

So when you hear people have outrage when they hear about what this group and all their cartel agents have been doing since 1913, outrage is mild to consider having been robbed for generations.

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:54
#53513

In fact, "they" are banking (pun not intended) on you keeping your protests mild, so they can continue looting and pillaging with abandon. The looting will not stop until an example is set.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:56
#53514

Having successfully implanted the principle of National Security as a legal basis for a democratically-elected government to refuse to tell its citizens what military and police actions it is taking, we have now entered a new era in which the principle of National Financial Security is implanted as a legal basis for a democratically-elected government to refuse to tell its citizens what monetary and fiscal actions it is taking. Time to abandon this sinking ship, or find yourself chained to an oar.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 23:10
#53667

great. just when ZH escaped from the fringe of being labeled conspiracy theorists.

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:37
#52951

lol everyone features Zero Hedge content now. That's cause it's so damn good.

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:45
#52953

agreed - but to on the same page as headlines that read Invisible Empire and Forced vaccinations, quarantine camps, health care interrogations and mandatory “decontaminations” is perhaps a little too much

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:48
#52954

You don't know about the forced vaccinations?

Get with the program dude!

A new law just passed in Massachusetts imposes fines of up to $1000 per day and up to a 30 day jail sentence for not obeying authorities during a public health emergency. So if you are instructed to take the swine flu vaccine in Massachusetts and you refuse, you could be facing fines that will bankrupt you and a prison sentence on top of that.

The YouTube video below is of a news report about this disturbing new law. In particular, pay attention at the 1:40 mark when the anchor and reporter discuss the new penalties for not obeying the health authorities during an emergency.....

If you have not realized it yet, the controversy over swine flu vaccinations is about to get very, very real. The authorities know that a lot of people are extremely concerned about the safety of the swine flu vaccine, and they are putting the infrastructure in place to deal with those dissenters.

Let us hope that the worst case scenario with the swine flu does not take place, but the reality is that health authorities across the United States are gearing up for the biggest vaccination campaign in the nation's history. It looks like this fall could be very, very interesting.

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=14899

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:22
#53071

There is no swine flu law in Massachusetts

by Bobby Fischer36
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:29
#53075

Quickest link I could find as I am heading out the door.

Obama Grants Immunity to Baxter International from Litigation Arising From Swine Flu Shots

http://alligatorfarm.wordpress.com/2009/08/17/immunity-baxter-obama/

Good info here also:

http://drtenpenny.com/default.aspx

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:33
#53080

LOL! I hope that shut Mr. Anonymous up for good.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:57
#53123

now we have maha denniger picking on my main man jim willie for the last two weeks. karl needs to get over himself.....:)

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 00:31
#53210

i think that denninger is too full of himself
to get over himself....

and yet that is not to say that he has not
published a lot of good material....

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:10
#53215

Never! I will continue to prove his allegations are baseless by promoting my own baseless allegations. I will also continue to offer specious arguments and nonsequiturs to counter his bruising of my whale-sized ego.

- Karl Denninger

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:13
#53216

Karl can no more get over himslef than he can get over the massive turd that seems to be permanently stuck in his rectum.

I am Chumbawamba.

by Anonymous
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 18:29
#54608

I thought they were the same person. Just difrent outfits.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:13
#53105

The bill specifically mandates the following:

(1) to require the owner or occupier of premises to permit entry into and investigation of the premises;
(2) to close, direct, and compel the evacuation of, or to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated any building or facility, and to allow the reopening of the building or facility when the danger has ended;
(3) to decontaminate or cause to be decontaminated, or to destroy any material;
(4) to restrict or prohibit assemblages of persons;
(5) to require a health care facility to provide services or the use of its facility, or to transfer the management and supervision of the health care facility to the department or to a local public health authority;
(6) to control ingress to and egress from any stricken or threatened public area, and the movement of persons and materials within the area;
(7) to adopt and enforce measures to provide for the safe disposal of infectious waste and human remains, provided that religious, cultural, family, and individual beliefs of the deceased person shall be followed to the extent possible when disposing of human remains, whenever that may be done without endangering the public health;
(8) to procure, take immediate possession from any source, store, or distribute any anti-toxins, serums, vaccines, immunizing agents, antibiotics, and other pharmaceutical agents or medical supplies located within the commonwealth as may be necessary to respond to the emergency;
(9) to require in-state health care providers to assist in the performance of vaccination, treatment, examination, or testing of any individual as a condition of licensure, authorization, or the ability to continue to function as a health care provider in the commonwealth

by D.O.D.
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:26
#53111

Just say No

a little about the UK corp. ltd. but it can just as easily be applied to USSA inc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxfwOzlUg-s&feature=sub

by Cindy_Dies_In_T...
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:00
#53166

You should look at the death rate vis a vis the hospitalization rate for Week 17 through week 32 of this Spring into middle of July when they decided NOT to continue reporting how many were reporting in from Drs' offices as sick. Zoikes!! See the AMA and CDC site for more details but go to the more technical parts of their sites. death rate of those hospitalized last Spring into this Summer was roughly 6%. CDC has declared the Pandemic Severity Index a 2. # of deaths for that is WAY above the 90000 figure recently reported.

But sorry to digress.

Every state has legal exceptions for vaccinations, even in emergencies. I suggest you look them up. Google it b/c I recently saw a site summarizing this state by state.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:59
#53168

FEMA camps are coming to a empty field near your nearest metro area.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 09:51
#53303

Lets assume (just for the sake of my argument) that swine flu ends up being much ado about nothing.

You now have a law on the books declaring that a government can inject people against their wishes for the good of society.

And boy is it a slippery slope from here to "population control".

Don't forget Rahm's Emmanuel's brother Zeke is the one who has provided significant support to those who have been working to develop a theoretical framework for population control delivered via food or drugs (implying unwillingness on the part of the recipients).

Obama wanting a law that allows him to control the internet,

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html

in the interest of "national security". Of course when extreme left-wingers leaked things duing Bush 1 and IIthat that a strict read of the laws would classify as treasonous that was o.k. Because Bush was a warmongering idiot. If these laws had been proposed during the last administration, the MSM would have been screaming bloody murder.

So, you have to ask yourself, why would Obama & Co want these laws, if they could be voted out of office in an presidential election or two and have the government in the hands of another party?

Why would you willingly put these in place knowing you ultimately, sooner or later, hand the government over to Republicans.

by SWRichmond
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:28
#53311

I am constantly amazed at the connections that can be made in plain sight, yet so many are so willing to dismiss them as "tinfoil". And I don't include you in those doing the dismissing.

Why would you willingly put these in place knowing you ultimately, sooner or later, hand the government over to Republicans.

The obvious answer is that the Dems and Repubs really want the same thing, work for the same interests toward achieving the same goals. They only seem to disagree, and they do so by disagreeing in big ways on issues of large public import, pumped by the MSM, but of little matter to their ultimate agenda. In this way they keep the revolution within the walls of the prison (props to Krishnamurti).

FWIW, I now consider many things facts that only 18 months ago I would have dismissed as raving conspiracy theory.

by D.O.D.
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:48
#52956

Still, I would be carefull before taking one of those "vaccinations", but then again you might not have a choice.

by ReamUs
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:04
#52960

Do what? You ALWAYS have a choice. Just load up your 30.06 with your favorite flavor of "Hell NO!" In this case, you're probably looking at a clear-cut case of self defense.

Also, given the gangs obviously still here, I'd like an answer to my comment on the latest "Dear Senator" article. Thanks.

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:07
#52963

My pewpew is already loaded with my favourite flavour of 'hell no'. Sorry boys I ain't taking a dangerous shot!

by ReamUs
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:14
#52968

Seriously even - when the vaccine kills someone (which absolutely will happen), you're off the hook. Let them prove you won't die from it without injecting you.

I don't even have a gun actually - but I did when I lived in NYC where it was illegal. I wonder why...

by ReamUs
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:28
#52980

Of all people, I really thought PM would take time to respond. Larry King can go fuck himself - but Tyler Durden, whoever the fuck he/she/they be, better deflate that big head and come on back down to hang with the rest of the serfs. If you think I'm gonna support the creation of yet another class system, you can kiss my fucking ass. Anonymity don't play that way, bitch.

Again, I'm kinda drunk. Actually, I was headed out - then I got caught up in this bullshit and drank too many fucking white russians.... 'Cuz I care SO much.

So as Mr. Dead Gen X put it so wonderfully for the Baby Boomers who crowned him our dead leader, "Entertain me!" (Cobain reference)

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:43
#52990

HEY! It's the DUDE!

What's going on, Dude?

Um...I'm not scared of Swine Flu OR the supposedly scary vaccines. I get my flu shot every year - always have, always will.

Remember what they said about Edward Jenner when he developed vaccines - they thought he was going to get them all sick. He saved millions of lives.

I'd rather risk myself with a vaccine that has a .1% fail rate than Swine Flu that has a .2% chance of infecting me.

by D.O.D.
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:21
#53110

As an esteemed gentleman (semi-sarcasm) recently said, and I'm paraphrasing, but it had something to do about a dinning room table.

by bpj
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:25
#52979

Springfield Armory M1A1, CA residents get em while they are legal, short trip to Nevada or Arizona for the 20 and 30 shot "felony" clips.

by taraxias
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:21
#53018

You don't need 20 and 30 shot clips if you know what you are doing.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:59
#53169

so all the military operators must have no clue what-so-ever because all they seem to carry is 30 round clips.

by MsCreant
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:02
#53173

You will be killed while you are having ideas about shooting others.

I'll take my 30 ROUND MAGAZINES please.

by aldousd
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 23:47
#53196

Another Orwellian thing of note: H1N1 is the same name given to the 'normal' flu virus... so by calling Swine Flu the Normal Flu, we're making the stock markets more valuable AND strengthening our immune systems at the same time. And we didn't even have to get another loan!

Participate by suspending your disbelief in the government's omnipotent status, and create a little bit of the new 'good reality' we all elected to have in '08! Believe in the crystal ball, and it will show you the future! (Now I think I'll write my congressmen about shortening the season of winter, or at least putting a cap and trade system into effect on snow fall.) (edit: sorry for the typo, it's fixed)

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:31
#53155

AK47 with 10k rounds...check
Tactical Vest...check
Gas Mask...check
Ready to take down anyone trying to inject me with a needle or at least die trying...check

We always DO have a choice.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 11:45
#53330

Here is the problem as I see it with the 30.06 answer:

When lefties raise a ruckus and you have protests on the front steps of major corporations during the Monday - Friday 9-5 hours its inevitably mostly made up of unemployed/underemployed people (who are admittedly a growing population these days). Yet during Bush I and Bush II these protests were covered by the MSM as if they represented the Will of the People, which is Nonsense, since the average American was working during those hours.

Now take "Teaparties", which the MSM completely fails to cover, except in a derisive fashion. These typically occur on Weekends, and the growing phenomenon is one which should concern the "powers that be", due to the undeniable fact that from the perspective of the MSM, the average American, (mostly made up of the white working class) should have nothing to complain about, and HASN'T had anything to complain about for decades.

And yet, here they are, protesting, getting up off their couches and getting involved.

I personally think its great. It IS the elephant in the room that no one wishes to discuss.

Tieing this back to the 30.06 - the lefties absolutely VILLIFIED those who attended the protests - wasn't it Gloria Vanderbilt's son, Anderson Cooper, who referred to them as Tea Baggers?

Can you guess what the move will be against gun rights if/when things get more volatile? If the MSM beat these people up just for ASSEMBLING and waving home-made signs, it will only get worse as the intensity level ratchets up.

The wildcard is the military and law enforcement. I'll leave it at that.

I would expect any attempted broad seizure of weapons during civil unrest would result in periodic "outbursts" from the broad populace here and there.

By the way, observing (or failing to observe) things in plain sight:

Executive order 11051 signed by William Jefferson Clinton:

11051--Provides FEMA complete authorization to put
Federal "seizure orders" (many of which have been on the books for decades, some new as well) into effect in times of increased international tension of economic or financial crisis (FEMA will be in control in case of a "National Emergency").

FEMA can do whatever it WANTS under this. Who heads FEMA? Not an elected official, but an appointed one.

Are the tumblers falling into place? What happens when they all do?

As Mulder said, The Truth is Out There.

And I personally weep for the idea of the Republic, and where it has gone.

by SWRichmond
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 20:19
#53552

"The wildcard is the military and law enforcement. I'll leave it at that."

I find it difficult to imagine a situation where American military forces, except perhaps those made up principally of foreign inductees, would fire upon American citizens. Besides, the U.S. military in all its monstrous power cannot effectively subdue a land mass the size of Texas.

From Federalist 8, this is a fair description of the situation:

The smallness of the army renders the natural strength of the community an over-match for it; and the citizens, not habituated to look up to the military power for protection, or to submit to its oppressions, neither love nor fear the soldiery; they view them with a spirit of jealous acquiescence in a necessary evil, and stand ready to resist a power which they suppose may be exerted to the prejudice of their rights. The army under such circumstances may usefully aid the magistrate to suppress a small faction, or an occasional mob, or insurrection; but it will be unable to enforce encroachments against the united efforts of the great body of the people.

The police, on the other hand, owe their existence and allegiance strictly to the state, and IMO can be counted on to attempt to repress outbreaks of liberty early on. Their numbers are insufficient to this task long term.

by Anonymous
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 05:29
#53725

The US military has and will fire on it's own citizens. Look at Lincoln's time, there was a protest and thousands were shot at. Look at Waco for more recent times. And when I was in the military one thing they posed to me was "if you were ordered to fire on your own countrymen, for example in case of an epidemic... would you do it?" So there are examples, and probably will be more in the future...

by eggy123
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:18
#53065

"Forced vaccinations, quarantine camps,...."

Too much?????

Google "massachusetts forced vaccination" dumbass.

by tewkatz
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:41
#53159

One of the hospitals in my area is advertising that all their staff will have a flu vaccine by the end of October or will be fired.

by eggy123
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:52
#53296

Wait till they force circumcision on everyone. Google it if you don;t believe me.

I suppose some people on this board will argue that telling me I MUST amputate part of my fucking DICK is NOT over the line. Such people were referred to by Lenin as "useful idiots".

And sorry Obama/Nancy/Bawney/Harry my sons' dick is off limits.

by sigmadelta
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:14
#53499

It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:21
#53069

i wish it were too much....
as history has shown all collaborators with totalitarianism -
and that means you - will find themselves the
victims of their hero.....

these activities are in place and being exercised
in test marketing fashion....you are just way
too stupid...or ill-informed....

by aldousd
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 23:31
#53194

That is the same complaints I have about fox news, and especially Glenn Beck. Even if he does get some good shit out of his mouth, he'll follow it up with some shit about death panels or whatsherfuck from alaska. why don't you just hand out straw men that are ALREADY ON FIRE.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:14
#53279

100% agree... the MSM is an appendage of the Messaih and Helicopter Ben propoganda lies machine.. MSM cannot be trust any longer.. liars ... ALL OF THEM!

by Anonymous
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 11:30
#53916

The MSM has been controlled by large corporations for a least a couple of decades. They are no more liberal than they are the Dalai Lama. They didn't cover the protests against Bush seriously. (People who were opposed to Bush's policies often complained that they made protests look much smaller than they really were, that they only interviewed the idiots, etc.) Now they don't cover the protests against Obama seriously. The MSM were generally as uncritical of Bush as they are of Obama. IMO that's because they were very happy to have either of those controllable mouthpieces "running" the government (for the benefit of the big corporations that own the MSM). (And they did a lot to help insure that both would win: they marginalized Gore just as they did McCain.)

What they don't want is any real conversatition about how the government is looting the average person for the advantage of big corportations and a few ultra-rich, whether through the military-industrial complex, bailouts of financial firms, kickbacks to (contracts with) a few favored companies or big unions, etc. They certainly don't want people to look behind who is really running government or the media. They want the "conservatives" to fight with the "liberals" and neither to fight against the group that's controlling the economy, the political system, or the media.

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:39
#52952

Also I love how that chart makes the link between the economics and politics (in terms of war). I think that's really important. I will take this opportunity to pimp an article I just finished.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/dpj-set-win-japan-election-may-issue-seppuku-bonds

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:07
#53055

it's not just war but freedom which is at stake
with money.....most people don't realize
the connection which is why most americans
don't know that a central bank exists and of
those who do they don't have a clue about the
nexus between freedom and money....

as one of the rothschilds claimed, "i care not
who makes its laws so long as i control its
money."

by rapier
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 16:54
#52959

The dollar does not relate to economic growth. For instance the 1840's was a period of persistent real estate deflation and general stagnation. Far be it from me to defend Bernanke or the monetary-credit and general economic status quo. That isn't my point.

Money, all money, is an abstraction, even gold backed money, for the 'value' of gold itself is an abstraction. The beach of Nome was saturated with gold flakes and the shores of today Zimbabwe litttered with diamonds. Many saw them and thought so what. Certainly a far simpler one that todays money but the fundamental point remains.

The transactional function of money long ago overwhelmed its store of value function. For better or for worse and that is a democratic imperitive.

by Judge
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:24
#53021

Bingo.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:15
#53061

the value of gold is not an abstraction - not
even close....such an utterance is an ignorant
utterance of a bovine mind maddened with
diseases most likely caught in academia from
charlatans and quacks selling medicine for your
soul.....

the transactional function of money is a chimera
which the charlatans' sleight of hand has
successfully bamboozled the public....

gold is still very present in economic life and
its absence will spell the end of organized
and prosperous economic life...its disppearance
is a recidivistic and atavistic regression
back to primitive and ignornant economic
organization....just such an arrangement is
exactly what elists want so that the low
iq serfs can be more easily subjugated....

the obsession with transactional functionality
is precisely an anti-democratic imperative
of elistist snobs who are hellbent on subjugating
the mass of unwashed humanity....

absence of gold will never occur except for
the proletariat....the elite will never and have
never given it up....when it is taken from
the hands of the people it will reside firmly
in the hands of elite who will use it to
advance their own evil schemes....

gold and only gold is the defender of liberty,
freedom, and civilization....

by TumblingDice
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 02:32
#53232

Gold is the oldest currency around, and like all currency, its value is based on faith that other people assign value to that currency as you do. Gold doesn't rust so using it as a store of value is logical. Gold will always be there; the same can't be said for all the pieces of paper flying around and electrons blazing down the wires of the NYSE with the same confidence.

However, you can't eat gold, you can't fill up your gas tank with gold and you can't use it as a liquid form of exchange in today's world. The certainty of everyday life rests in dollars, while the certainty of next year rests in gold. As unemployment continues to rise (or it doesn't but that doesn't seem too likely to me) the day to day certainty will be in much higher demand. The change will come when we stop to think about the future.

by nazir2000
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 11:25
#53327

martin armstrongs latest on gold

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19199220/Will-Gold-Reach-5000-809?autodown=pdf

by Anonymous
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 05:36
#53726

You can't eat your dollars, you can't fill your tank with dollars (you can heat your home or wipe your ...) And the certainty you reference is the decrease in the VALUE of the dollars you save. For those who would hold "wealth" in dollars, money is not wealth. Assets are where wealth is stored and created, and dollars are a depreciating asset (oxymoron?)

by SWRichmond
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:06
#53101

The transactional function of money long ago overwhelmed its store of value function. For better or for worse and that is a democratic imperitive.

Personally, I love it when people make this argument, because it is so popular, and so obviously wrong.

If they are just tokens, why not print up enough to make us all millionaires, then no one will have to work, right? We'll all just agree to accept the unlimited tokens, swap them among ourselves, and slap each other on the back for being so damned clever.

by rapier
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:21
#53177

Taken to an absurd conclusion, which we admittedly are or were well on our way to, yes, the conclusion is absurd.

Maybe somebody smarter than me can imagine a system where the total marked to market price of assets approximates the amount of money. Which I think would be necessary to have the store of value function of money reign absolute, carried to an absurd conclusion.

The less absract problem than the function problem of money and of more practical importance is who controls money. It's creation and it's 'value'. No sneaking the pure market into it either because some group will always arise that has market power.

It is admittedly my Catholic upbringing speaking but there is no such thing as a perfect system because people are imperfect. Eventually the time comes when the imperfections of any system become almost too much to bear and the keepers of that system insist that people must sacrifice to serve the system. This is when the worst evil always rises.

by Counterparty (not verified)
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 00:21
#53205

"Maybe somebody smarter than me can imagine a system where the total marked to market price of assets approximates the amount of money. Which I think would be necessary to have the store of value function of money reign absolute, carried to an absurd conclusion"

And therein lies the problem - to the extent that the money supply overstates the value of underlying assets, you've got inflation, an asset bubble, or any of a number of things that can rationally be deemed "bad" for the owners of capital.

The point isn't to avoid that bubble effect (it can't be avoided), but to be able to measure how inflated it's become. And for that, some concept of stored value of money, aside from its transactional value, is a requirement.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:16
#53217

the store of value function of money has
absolutely no connection with the market value
of all assets - which seems to be your objective....

it is the fiat regime which makes this assertion
because dollars are created based upon someone's
idea of economic output and productivity....and
then the currency is backed by the full faith
and credit of the united states....which is
implicit confiscation and emminent domain over
all property in order to sustain the value of
the fiat...thus is removed the barrier - gold -
which protects property rights and freedom....

having currency approximate mark to market value of
all assets is an exact specification for the
monetization of all things....but all things
do not make good money.....thus it is not a sound
idea...

you justify the exclusion of the "pure" market
because you imagine that it is not perfect but
perfection is not necessarily the basis for
selection or operation of a system....

the goal is to find a better one or the best
of all available systems....often this selection
is informed by justice....it is just for the
people to own their money which must be
a store of value...

this is precisely where fiat regimes fail....it
is not just to let a cabal of people control
money and its value....the exclusion of a free
and open market in forming the value and use of
money is to keep a cabal firmly in control
of fiat money....

there is no reason to exclude market forces....
our consitution gives the people - not a cabal -
control of money - not its value
per se - who may release and horde it as
economic conditions
justify....this brings discipline to the
management of currency (as opposed to money)....
the purpose of this scheme is to regulate
the interest value of money and to provide
a bulwark against the establishment of feudalistic
and totalitarian regimes.....

he who owns the gold owns the money and he
who owns the money makes the rules....you will
never see any government dump gold to the bottom of
the ocean - giving lie to the idea that gold
has no monetary value.

it should be firmly evident that gold is money
and that it is the best money possible....

by JR
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 10:25
#53875

"this is precisely where fiat regimes fail....it
is not just to let a cabal of people control
money and its value....the exclusion of a free
and open market in forming the value and use of
money is to keep a cabal firmly in control
of fiat money...."

Powerful statement, that!

by SWRichmond
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:50
#53295

rapier,

Well spoken. Yes, credit DOES run around and act like money, having its influence on price. Which means that leverage acts like money, and the right to create leverage is equivalent to the right to print money. This leads us to the awful (but true) conclusion that when banks ask for increased leverage they are asking, in a nice way, for the right to print more money (well, to print credit-money-thingies).

There is no perfect system. This system of fiat money and credit-money-thingies, though, has revealed its fatal imperfection so many times in history, and yet the "authorities" cling to it as gospel. One must ask: why? The answer, of course, is as simple as it is obvious: it gives them the ability to steal from the masses unseen through inflation, and to use the loot to cement their own places at the top, pay bribes to legislators to keep the system going, start foreign wars, pay the dependency classes to keep the votes rolling in. This is exactly the thing that is better-resisted (not perfectly, but better) by a precious metal currency system. And that is exactly why one is so vigorously opposed.

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:19
#53219

Get thee to a nunnery with this short-sighted claptrap!

I am Chumbawamba.

by Sam Clemons
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:23
#53220

I could see what you are saying as making sense and it is true to a certain extent. Paper money is great for trade - even in the old days because gold/silver cost so much to ship via boat.

However, it all depends on your meaning of "growth." During the GD, Americans consumed more luxury goods (meat, butter) than any other time. This is the so-called dreaded deflation. If the perpetual image of "growth" is proved by stock markets and prices nominally going up, how come it seems that regular consumers have much more trouble making ends truly meet (not including credit) at these times? Personally, I'd prefer to be wealthier by just having valuable money instead of being forced to enter the Wall Street casino just to try to maintain a standard of living.

by TumblingDice
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 03:44
#53234

Persistant inflation is nothing more than an obtuse yet clever mechanism for handicapping those who make a living working and get paid in dollars relative to those who already own assets denominated in dollars. Wages always have a hard time keeping up with the printing press for some odd reason.

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:04
#52961

via the infowars site there is also this (so I was wrong about the conspiracy thing)

Study Says World's Stocks Controlled by Select Few

http://www.insidescience.org/research/study_says_world_s_stocks_controll...

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:08
#52964

Yeah this article will be fascinating when it comes out. It will be published in an upcoming issue of Physical Review E. We will be watching for it!!

http://pre.aps.org/

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:48
#53091

You don't have to wait. You can get it at:

http://arxiv.org/abs/0902.0878

by . . .
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:11
#52962

I think the dollar will do OK medium term. The reason I think that is that I think private sector deleveraging (through defaults and debt pay downs) will exceed the amount of government re-leveraging that the public and the bond market will tolerate. Roger Altman (Clinton Treasury guy, and founder and Chair of Evercore) was on Charlie Rose in July, saying Obama/Summers/etc wanted to run big time deficits, but Altman and they were afraid the public or the bond market would shut them down.

Given the level of rage building up in the public, and the shortening average maturity of the debt held by foreign investors in US treasuries, I have trouble betting against the dollar. Much easier to bet against sterling, or whatever. Also, the last time the Japanese started buying non-USD denominated treasuries was in the Carter days (some called them Carter bonds), and that marked a major low in the USD.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:18
#53063

the dollar will continue to debase over the long
term without pause....

unfortunately you are confusing currency
convertibility vs domestic purchase power...
whatever the relationship between the two may
be they are distinct and separate concepts....

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:18
#53064

the dollar will continue to debase over the long
term without pause....

unfortunately you are confusing currency
convertibility vs domestic purchase power...
whatever the relationship between the two may
be they are distinct and separate concepts....

by NoBull1994
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:11
#52966

Can somebody explain to me the author's assertion that a move from a relative value of over $2 to $0.08 is "-196%"? What a fucking idiot.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:20
#53067

Well $0.08 is 4% of $2.00.
Who was the idiot again??? :-)

by NoBull1994
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 09:22
#53300

Evidently, both you and the author.

by lookma
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 12:30
#53358

Sean Malone, the author, thinks this:

"From 1900 - 2008 with a baseline of 1800 dollars, it did lose 196% of its value. With $1 set at 1800, up to $2.04 by 1900 and plummeting all the way down to $0.08 (still in 1800 dollars mind) is that big of a drop."

http://blog.mises.org/archives/010553.asp#comment-588240

by TwoJacks
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:20
#53380

losing more than 100% of anything takes you negative. Seriously, no shit. You can rise more than 100% but you can only fall a total 100%, making the 196% loss completely idiocy

a drop from 2.04 to 0.08 is a $1.96, not 196%. In percentage terms is 1.96/2.04 = 96.08%.

author = idiot

it's math

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:25
#53073

stop being a bitch....
2.04 -> .08 is -96%....i would assume it
to be a typo...

by D.O.D.
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:26
#53179

LOL!, wow...

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 00:21
#53206

You're the idiot. If you take '1' as par then going from 2 to 1 is 100% and down to near zero is another 100%. Get a clue.

by Dr Hackenbush
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 19:23
#53524

Remember you are talking about the dollar! !
1.00 is the basis = 0 reference ("relative value")

let’s go through it:
1.00 + 104% = 2.04 (no one argued that, or called any one stupid – so far)
2.04 – 104% = 1.00 (inverse)
thus
1.00 – 92% = .08
thus
-92% + -104% = -196%

Now then, you either learned something about relative dollar value, or you could begin working for the fed (or you could just lie and work for the fed anyway).

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 22:21
#53616

I'm a financial guy. I do this in my sleep. Here is the formula to use for calculating the change in percentage terms:

Percent Change = ([Ending Value / Starting Value] - 1) x 100

So,

Percent Change = ([$0.08 / $2.04] - 1) x 100 = -96.078%

In brief, the Sean's chart is wrong (I suspect in more ways than one).

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:12
#52967

Vaccinations. In "The Diamond Age" that's one way they put the nanosites in you. (Hooray! a math question.)

by Judge
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:15
#52970

The chart is rather misleading. First of all, before the war of 1812, the dollar wasn't accepted for international trade - it was seen as unstable and unreliable. Then during the War, the US SCOTUS stated that even by law that British Debtors were still to be paid - that accounted for the steep rise in the value of the dollar at that time, which 'worsens' the US trade balance. Foreign investors would finally trade the dollar and consider investing in the US - whereas before their interest was next to zero. So the initial level of the dollar is VERY misleading. In addition, most local commerce was conducted in numerous private currencies - issued by individual banks. The dollar wasn't the sole currency till 1863. Anyone think that might cause some 'distortion'?

Secondly, I'm not sure about all the data, but the chart presumes to show the relative value of the dollar - but does so without regard to the true measure of value - the average workers time. You can take any era and look at goods purchased, and the simple fact is that an average worker can NOW purchase more goods, have more choices and more leisure time than ever before. So as a percentage of the average workers time, goods in fact cost less - MUCH LESS. So ultimately the BUYING POWER of labor has shot thru the roof. Chart that.

Next: the chart borders on the intentionally misleading. It shows M2 - why not M3 - which is the gross money supply. I know why - it has crashed the last few years while M2 has increased - kinda selective stats if you ask me.

Fourth - it's devoid of context. After WWII we'd destroyed the industry and manufacturing capability of the rest of the world. We had the only viable market - so what should happen to the value of the dollar??? And what should one expect as the rest of the world regains manufacturing/commercial capability and their economies strengthen?? In the 80's/90's - many of the mises institute were bitching about the strength of the dollar and how it needed to weaken or we were all gonna die. Now it's weakened and they're yelling we'e all gonna die.

Gimme a break. They do von Mises a great disservice with their rhetoric and abuse of statistics.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:47
#53090

if this organization does a disservice to von
mises you do a great disservice to logic....

the initial level of the dollar is not misleading -
you are obfuscating distinctions between
international currency convertibility and domestic
purchasing power...the chart seems more concerned
with domestic value and debasement far more so
than with international convertibility concerns....

the us ran a chronic current account deficit until
around the turn of the 20th c. but never became
a problem because international settlements were
conducted in terms of bills of exchange which were
resolved in gold...the same was true for the baskin
robbins collection of currencies you cite which
in terms of gold resulted in no distortion....please
don't play cutsie with the details....

the buying power of labor has increased but it
is a big whoopdee doodah day....the issue is the
protection of that buying power which cannot
be done with a fiat currency and which the chart
so amply documents and contrary to your ideological
preferences....only gold can preserve that
power over time....

i can't speak for the preference for m-2 over
m-3 but i would be happy to speculate that it may
be due to the fed dropping the series a few years
ago because "it was too expensive to produce."
lmao...what
a fucking goddam lie....if john williams can
continue to publish it with his liimited
resources and lack of recourse to claims of
executive privilege i am sure that the fed
could produce the number....besides your much
vaunted 4th branch of government states that
m3 is a useless number - another reason for
not publishing it....not sure the mises org
agrees but certainly you cannot quibble where
your masters decree otherwise....sounds like
the selectivity is more with your central planners
than with the gold standard bearers....

again, your 4th point is nothing but a conflation
of the international convertibility of dollars
into other currencies with some implied loss
of domestic purchase power....please keep the
terms of the discussion to the point....

you make a great apologist for the fed as
you know that since you can't dazzle them with
brilliance you can baffle them with bullshit....

i am not baffled but you can keep on bullshitting
all you like...

by ghostfaceinvestah
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 02:14
#53227

The buying power of labor is irrelevant - the buying power of labor can stay constant in a hyperinflationary environment as well as a deflationary environment. What is at issue is the buying power of the store of value, in our case, the USD. That is anything but constant.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 06:04
#53258

Any more pundits on this subject of the value of money? I'm thinking - the value of money could fluctuate every moment given a number a complex factors simultaneously at work: supply/demand of goods, necessity of a particular good, urgency, money supply, confidence in the currency, inflation expectations, historical context, amount of coercion, etc.

Bottled water seems like one of those things that could vary in price by a factor of 100...

Years ago I read a history of monetary systems, conclusion: all monetary systems fail, most of them fail rapidly, unexpectedly, and catastrophically.

by ghostfaceinvestah
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:09
#53229

doublepost

by ghostfaceinvestah
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:09
#53231

triplepost

by Rusty_Shackleford
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 20:26
#53553

Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:19
#52972

I know where this discussion is going, here:

zwd

and here:

inflation

This is likely a very long-term outcome. Not a 2010 event. I don't disagree with the intellectual basis of the argument, it's just that I see a deflationary shock first. How do you explain the T-bonds acting well lately?

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:23
#52975

Zimbabwe had to repay it's foreign creditors in their own currencies. So whenever Zimbabwe printed to pay, they had to go to the international market to exchange their failbucks for dollars. The US will face a similar situation if Japan demands to purchase Tbonds denominated in yen.

I'm not sure why Tbonds continue to act 'well' -- in my opinion the whole Tbond complex is controlled by the trillions upon trillions in interest rate swaps as reported by BIS. So my main indicator is to watch currencies and gold.

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:30
#52981

I see gold with an 8 handle and the euro sub 1.20 in six months, I realize I am alone in this camp. Gold ultimately rallies above 1,000, but 8 handle first (maybe even 7)...

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:33
#52982

I could see that. I'm hedged in cash (USD) and gold because I am tired of trying to predict, haha.

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:37
#52985

$2,500 is the inflation adjusted high from 1980. Ultimately should be doable, but not with penny mining stocks, those suck badly.

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:22
#53092

(As y'all may have already guessed) I'm just long Gold right now - really, truly and WAY THE F**K LOOOOONG. Hard as it may be to believe, I am usually not THIS long, but right now I am. To quote Prof. Antal Fekete (from one of his recent articles):

"The gold corpse still stirs. When it rises from its prostrate position it will, like Gulliver, dust off the Lilliputians who like ants have been scurrying all over his body. The day of reckoning will have dawned."

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:37
#53114

Man, I am on board in principle, but I do see another "flawed" dollar rally before it croaks... maybe we disagree in time frames, on 5 years out, no disagreement

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:32
#53147

Even if the DXY rises, it doesn't mean Gold will fall, although stocks and other commodities may. We had USD and Gold rising together at the beginning of this year, when the stock market was taking it's worst pounding. A similar situation happened in 2005 (i.e. Gold and DXY rising together). If this happens, it shouldn't surprise us in the least because this economic crisis is at heart a currency crisis, and Gold is strongest currency there is - BELOW all the paper currencies in the inverted liquidity pyramid. Frankly, I'd rather it happen this way since it means I'm getting the best of both worlds.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 12:05
#53338

So Gordon,

Tell me HOW you are long gold. I have been working through the options on paper before taking on exposure and have had a rather tiring internal debate on physical vs. "financial" exposure to gold (aka shares in GLD or LEAPS on GLD).

Maybe a bit of each is the answer.

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 19:05
#53517

I have bets on physical, mining shares, options and futures. No exposure to GLD since I am 100% sure it is a complete fraud and will blow up in the face of its investors most unexpectedly. Plus, I believe that it's another tool designed to help the powers-that-be manage the Gold price, so I won't invest in it just on principle.

by Pizza Delivery Man
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:42
#52986

I could agree with that if we are talking about the recent strength in the bond market.

So if bonds are any indicator you think an equity sell off (of around 20-25%) in which gold will follow suit followed by an extended period of inflation? This about right?

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:42
#53034

could be, the magnitude of the decline in stocks is dependent on the economic data

by Pizza Delivery Man
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:10
#53058

It is?

I have noticed a different trend.

by Andy Dufresne
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:40
#53086

less bad=green shoots=rally, lately we have some deterioration, it has been bad all along, but this second derivative obsession a.k.a the rose colored glasses, is still on. Overdone at this point.

by sigmadelta
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:14
#53498

t is ecological balance! You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples.

by DiverCity
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 22:07
#53606

And no such thing as sigmadelta.

by aurum
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 07:25
#53267

if your thesis is true expect dow below 6k perhaps hit 5500 and oil in the upper 20's. do you envision that? tough call...i personally dont expect gold at 8 or the euro hitting 1.20...however i would love it and unload my toilet paper into bullion...imagine the price of quality gold stocks in that scenario. even better than last fall...

by Andy Dufresne
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 14:51
#53409

that's a possibility--on the Dow--if final demand does not show up in 2010 after the inventory rebound now underway

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:36
#53083

Bingo!

by Bolweevil
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 23:58
#53200

Can you imagine being on the winning end of that trade around the end of '08 when it took only 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ZWD to buy 1USD right before it shot back up to over 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in January of '09, talking about making your whole year in one month. Full disclosure - I'm short ZWD.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 06:24
#53262

I believe Gideon just proposed to back Zim's notes with gold or something else they can dig up locally.

I suppose the fact that locals are already using gold dust as currency is helping that decision along. Nothing like retroactive rationalization in action.

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page34?oid=87825&sn=Detail

Go Antal. Go Lilliput.

by dot_bust
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 16:46
#53464

Now I do wonder whether the rocks featured in the illustration on Zimbabwe's $100 trillion bill are worth more than the money itself. Hmmm....

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:39
#52987

A little off topic but I wanted to bring this hilarious (and true) site about relevant people in business today. I saw it on another board today.
http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Jim_Cramer
http://www.dickipedia.org/dick.php?title=Henry_Paulson

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:39
#52988

What are they basing the value of the dollar on, is what I'd like to know?
Gold?
Bacon?

How much of what the dollar can buy is dependent on a variety of factors:
supply of money (point being made above)
availability of product in question (if this is all based on the value of a bottle of snake oil, then .08 is a fair price today)
demand for said product (I'm sure there's little demand for that snake oil, but bacon's making a huge comeback).
quality of said product (a steamship in 1800 is quaint by today's standards, but was making the DeWitt Clinton back then was probably WAY more expensive then).

Point is - while I don't disagree the Fed is out of control, you can't make a realistic statement like "the dollar is worth .08 versus a dollar from 1900" unless you define the point of comparison. For all intents and purposes, a dollar is a dollar until you define the value of the merchandise or currency you're comparing it to.

I like comparing it to bacon. Most people like it, it tastes good, and there are plenty of pigs in the world. Particularly on Wall Street.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 22:13
#53609

PowerWealth.com shows the comparison against gold. I think that site's "A Million Bucks Ain’t What It Used to Be" article is a better depiction of what has happened to the dollar as a store of value. Here it is:

http://www.powerwealth.com/?p=9

The author has better financial credentials anyway.

by ReamUs
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:44
#52992

Seriously - I have NO problem taking Wall Street Pro's little bat and beating the shit out him with it. The site admins have my information, pass it on to the MF.

But - given I've allowed for that, let's set the record straight on some fight club. Eventually, some MF would figure out that Tyler was crazy and FUCK him up. Enter me.

But he hides behind some fucking character he didn't even have the originality to create to carry that fictional weight. In my sad little world, that's called MARKETING. Which is fine by me if it's for the greater good.

But cop an attitude, and I'll call your ass out, bizzzzzzzzzatch. And I don't need to know shit about finance or law to do it. All I need to know is that you're copping a fucking attitude.

And yes, I really do wish that you'd take me down, proving how you're so much better than me. Seriously even. But at this point, I'm starting to doubt it.

I thought that, in Fight Club, he took on all comers? Is this some pussy version where he only takes on bankers? If so, I'm bored.

by Pizza Delivery Man
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:51
#52998

I think the content here might be above your head.

May I suggest UFC?

If the author angers you so, it is only your stupidity that continually brings you here (unless your steroid induced anger has complete control over you)

by ReamUs
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:58
#53005

It's really sad that it actually took me a moment to decipher UFC :) Those pussies :)

I'm not actually angry. And even if I was, you could wave your little Harry Potter wand and pull off some serious damage, right?

Unless you come back with something even SLIGHTLY entertaining, I'm just gonna have to pass in the future.

By the way, my Mom takes steroids to battle cancer - so thanks so much for bringing it up, asshole.

Okay, that's a lie - but probably would have been effective if I hadn't admitted it. I really need to step away from the 'pooter.

by Pizza Delivery Man
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:04
#53007

I think your are particularly amusing. You're bashing TD's anonymity using the monkier "ReamUs"

Looks like you're the pussy.

p.s - Even if your mom was taking steroids for cancer I wouldn't give a shit because you're an asshole.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:48
#52994

I don't like how this is represented but to explain the chart..

the 196% value is based on the total rise and decline on a $1 denominator

The rise to $2.04 is a 104% increase hence ($2.04-$1.0)/$1.0*100%

The when the value falls back to $1 then the %change is negative 104% (the $1 dollar remains the denominator)

Thus when the value falls to $0.08 the change is a negative 92% by ($1.0-$0.08)/1.0*100% the sum of the total change in the dollar value is 92%+104% = 196%

Although really the decline is only 92%

by Comrade de Chaos
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 17:49
#52995

LA times mentions ZH, (4 th paragraph)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2009/08/speculators-are-having-...

by Careless Whisper
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:08
#53056

Stupid article and dumb quote. Zero deserves a better honorable mention than that.

Blame it all on the skateboarder turned day- trader. That argument has been played out.

The 70% volume done by bots has nothing to do with anything.

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:14
#53060

I thought that too. That LA Times article was bullshit. They were taking robottrader's quote out of context. The day trading kids are a symptom of the disease, not the cause.

by Comrade de Chaos
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 23:04
#53189

Of cause it is full of BS, what else would you expect from LA Times; The fact that LA Times follows ZH speaks for itself though.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:27
#53024

1st post cause I just cracked up in front of the wife after reading that.

by contrabandista13
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 18:42
#53035

You know what.....? It's happened... and everybody is still in denial....

Totally Kafkaesque bro......

Ciao,

Econolicious

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:01
#53050

U.S. Dollar is at or is near a bottom. Deflation just beginning. Return to inflation is years away. Watch your ass.

by RobotTrader
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:04
#53052

No use trying to predict where the dollar is going.

Its all dependent upon the SPY.

Which happens to depend upon the EUR/USD.

Which seems to move in the same direction as crude oil.

Which is led by the nose by the dollar.

Which in turn follows the SPY.

Virtually everything is traded in lockstep, all inextricably linked to the Skynet Robot

by eggy123
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:27
#53074

The only way to understand it is to study Goethe's Faust.

by . . .
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:30
#53077

You are trying too hard. Lockstep action is what you get when a lot of money rotates out of market neutral and conservative long-short funds and vanilla long investments.

by Hephasteus
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:31
#53078

LOL. It's like surreal march of the penequins. It's all migrating to someplace stupid and when it gets there everybody is going to get screwed.

by contrabandista13
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:05
#53053

Wanna hear something creepy....? Check this out...

Hitchens on Hitchens.... Oh I mean Hitchens on Orwell....

http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2009/08/hitchens_on_orw.html

Ciao,

Econolicious

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:20
#53066

as an FYI (hot off the presses)

a new BBC series

Introducing the BBC's Aftershock series

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8225610.stm

BBC editors and presenters explain what viewers, listeners and readers can look forward to on BBC TV, radio and online during this series in September.

by Pietro_F
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:40
#53182

Hot off the presses no doubt! Not sure whether to be pleased or offended when BBC flacks anonymously pimp their programming on ZH comment threads...and can't wait for the Lehman One Year Out media crunch that will surely grow tiresome before it begins. Hey BBC America - tell me why I have to stay up til 3 am to watch Graham Norton? That queer is a genius!

by agrotera
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:30
#53076

Let's see, the value of the dollar has almost disappeared since the sacrosanct saviors of all of us and the grand puppetmasters to all elected officials and legislation to legalize their criminal endeavors, namely, the privately held Federal Reserve corp, started skimming with their what they think 'fair operational charges and charging interest for all currency in circulation that is not backed by gold or silver' for printing money and controling money supply, and all monitary policy....it is time to take back what belongs to our country and not to this thieving operation...

It is like trying to find a needle in a hay stack to get to the truth about how much this privatly held corporation has sucked off of the backs of all US citizens for this almost 100 years, but when you consider that the estimate is that the owners own more than half of the DOW components that may give you an idea of their monopolistic power--still the whole operation, all the laws that they create to back their interests which are against the interest of everyone else, all stealth, very few people even know it is a privately held corporation.

Add the loss of all value of the dollar except for goodwill which was destroyed completely when Obama decided to fully back the Paulson and Bernake plan effectively making this new administration accomplice to all the crimes of this big bank heist, and the negative 6% interest effective right now, and one can see how we are enslaved by this criminal syndicate.

by Humble Gentleman
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:34
#53081

This is digressing quite a bit, but I think it's important that this video gets passed around:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIKPKjl0-pg

That video incites much anger in me. What about you? I think it's time to restore our constitutional rights.

by Pizza Delivery Man
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:43
#53088

I loved this "I'll charge you for whatever I wanna charge you with"

by Hephasteus
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:38
#53082

Isn't it funny how the amount of trouble america has and causes is historically so much higher under central bank control or when central bank is pushing hard to get back in control. Ok. When Jackson finally killed the BANK we expanded and took over tons of america and caused alot of grief to the indians. So that side affect wasn't so wonderful but.

by Judge
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:38
#53085

How do you know it's not tied to, say, giving women the vote?

With logic and such mastery of the facts such as yours.....

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:55
#53094

it well could be that giving women the right
to vote was a calculated political maneuver
on the parts of the oligarchs to better
control elections...it was peter (?)
rockefeller who admitted
that equal rights was a ruse to pull women into
the work force in order to increase gdp and
corporate profits as well as to take control
of kids' educations - it had nothing to do with
ethical concerns for women....so your example
may be closer to the truth than you imagine...

with logic and such mastery of the facts such
as yours.....you can keep baffling them with
bullshit....

your straw man argument was just loverly....

by Hephasteus
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:26
#53218

You know this guy is really trying hard to compress an understanding into a narrow confine and it's just going to make things tough on him if you keep sticking the library of congress up his ass. When people want other people to live within narrow confines of understanding they don't like people who are able to step outside the confinement prison. Unfortunately our "guard" is not very good i guess they must be overworked.

by Hephasteus
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:08
#53103

Oh so you're saying I don't understand rudimentary causation. You could be right. Are you feeling really confident that you are right or a tad insecure about it? I also understand empathy. So be careful about your answer. It might get checked through clairsentience.

by agrotera
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:40
#53117

I do hate it when people try to connect Jackson's taking down the central bank wtih the trail of tears though. Keeping those things together in conversation is a way of discrediting what he did with the central bank...so i do think it is better to give him credit for the central bank period, even though it was tragic what he had a hand in doing to American Indians..

by Anonymous
on Mon, 08/31/2009 - 18:36
#54618

The two events are connected though. Ah, someone hasn't studied their early American legal history, has they?

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:37
#53084

honestly -- this chart is a bit deceptive....

I think you can make the case by starting around WWI to the present.

Certainly in the last 30 years -- purchasing power of the dollar has dropped rapidly.

Anyone with lots of savings can't make shit safely -- interest rates are at historic lows.... almost forcing people to play the casino market... and keep Ponzi financing of America alive.

I think the articles about how it takes 4 or 5 dollars of debt now to generate a $1 in GDP are really indicative how screwed up the American economy is. How the Fed hopes to keep this kind of status quo alive is ridiculous.

I'm wondering if the big plan is to simply super inflate the markets so that the top 1% can get ultra-rich again and start spending like mad. Tail wags dog sort of thing.

I don't know... the world has certainly become much more Matrix-like than I would have thought.

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:46
#53089

A picture is worth a thousand words. Still betting on a 100 year trend reversing, Mr. Prechter? The flawed DXY may well rise due to CB manipulation, but the dollar ain't got a chance IN HELL of rising against Gold - the true measure of the dollar's worth as opposed to the misleading DXY.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:17
#53107

Dollar would likely rally HARD if we get panic deleveraging, debt destruction, and flight to safety. Impending hyperinflation seems to be the consensus view right now, which should make you skeptical. It would not be surprised if dollar rallied hard and gold fell into the $600's or lower, a total shakeout that turns off everyone to gold except for the most committed. If that happens use the opportunity to load up on physical, because the $50+ trillion unfunded liabilities of the US demand eventual mega-, if not hyper-, inflation. It might be more than 10 years before that happens though.

To paraphrase the top of this page, on a long enough timeline all fiat currencies drop to zero. But that doesn't preclude a massive final shakeout head fake.

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:46
#53223

Count me in as most committed. Gold @ $600 would be a God-send. I'd go rob a few banks to buy me more.

I am Chumbawamba.

by sigmadelta
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:12
#53494

The existence of this much cash was a gigantic fireworks display that something absurd was going on.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:18
#53108

Gold. LOL.

How people can openly admit that markets are rigged, and then turn around with a straight face and claim that the gold market cannot be rigged for 10, 20 or even 100 years, just don't realize how hilariously easy it is to suppress the price of gold.

Gordon, don't hold your breath.

by Project Mayhem
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:05
#53127

If Prechter is right, AARP will be rich with their social security checks!

by Gordon_Gekko
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 00:45
#53212

A monthly check will suffice to buy a whole year's worth of stuff - LOL! USA's deficit problems - solved! Oil - free! My wages purchasing power - skyrocketing! Instead of $trillion deficits, we'll start having $billion deficits again.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:59
#53097

Judge said: "an average worker can NOW purchase more goods, have more choices and more leisure time than ever before....So ultimately the BUYING POWER of labor has shot thru the roof. Chart that."

Real wages have been going down for most workers for the past few decades. The cheap goods from China and Bush's tax cuts have made people oblivious to the fact that the downward trend has been accelerating over the last decade.

During the false boom of 2001-2008, worker productivity increased dramatically yet none of those gains were passed down to the workers in the form of higher real wages. You can check this for yourself over at bls.gov where they track both productivity and wages. This was covered by the financial press during those years as a footnote and not the major story it was. It should be no surprise that people were tapping home equity lines of credit during those years to support spending. It wasn't coming from wages.

Check out what the minimum wage was in the 60s and 70s and then adjust that for inflation using REAL inflation figures like those from shadowstats. I'm not going to do the work for you, but I guarantee it will be an eye opener.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 19:59
#53098

Is Krugman a shill for the bond market, or what? This little hyena is out of his mind with corruption. Off with his head:

So new budget projections show a cumulative deficit of $9 trillion over the next decade. According to many commentators, that's a terrifying number, requiring drastic action — in particular, of course, canceling efforts to boost the economy and calling off health care reform.

Click to enlarge
Paul Krugman The truth is more complicated and less frightening. Right now deficits are actually helping the economy. In fact, deficits here and in other major economies saved the world from a much deeper slump. The longer-term outlook is worrying, but it's not catastrophic.

The only real reason for concern is political. The United States can deal with its debts if politicians of both parties are, in the end, willing to show at least a bit of maturity. Need I say more? Let's start with the effects of this year's deficit.

There are two main reasons for the surge in red ink. First, the recession has led both to a sharp drop in tax receipts and to increased spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs. Second, there have been large outlays on financial rescues. These are counted as part of the deficit, although the government is acquiring assets in the process and will eventually get at least part of its money back.

What this tells us is that right now it's good to run a deficit.

Consider what would have happened if the U.S. government and its counterparts around the world had tried to balance their budgets as they did in the early 1930s. It's a scary thought. If governments had raised taxes or slashed spending in the face of the slump, if they had refused to rescue distressed financial institutions, we could all too easily have seen a full replay of the Great Depression.

As I said, deficits saved the world.

In fact, we would be better off if governments were willing to run even larger deficits over the next year or two. The official White House forecast shows a nation stuck in purgatory for a prolonged period, with high unemployment persisting for years. If that's at all correct — and I fear that it will be — we should be doing more, not less, to support the economy.

But what about all that debt we're incurring? That's a bad thing, but it's important to have some perspective. Economists normally assess the sustainability of debt by looking at the ratio of debt to gross domestic product. And while $9 trillion is a huge sum, we also have a huge economy, which means that things aren't as scary as you might think.

Here's one way to look at it: We're looking at a rise in the debt/GDP ratio of about 40 percentage points. The real interest on that additional debt (you want to subtract off inflation) will probably be around 1 percent of GDP, or 5 percent of federal revenue. That doesn't sound like an overwhelming burden.

Now, this assumes that the U.S. government's credit will remain good so that it's able to borrow at relatively low interest rates.

So far, that's still true. Despite the prospect of big deficits, the government is able to borrow money long-term at an interest rate of less than 3.5 percent, which is low by historical standards. People making bets with real money don't seem to be worried about U.S. solvency.

The numbers tell you why. According to the White House projections, by 2019, net federal debt will be around 70 percent of GDP. That's not good, but it's within a range that has historically proved manageable for advanced countries, even those with relatively weak governments. In the early 1990s, Belgium — which is deeply divided along linguistic lines — had a net debt of 118 percent of GDP, while Italy — which is, well, Italy — had a net debt of 114 percent of GDP. Neither faced a financial crisis.

So is there anything to worry about? Yes, but the dangers are political, not economic.

As I've said, those 10-year projections aren't as bad as you may have heard. Over the really long term, however, the U.S. government will have big problems unless it makes some major changes. In particular, it has to rein in the growth of Medicare and Medicaid spending.

That shouldn't be hard in the context of overall health care reform. After all, America spends far more on health care than other advanced countries, without better results, so we should be able to make our system more cost-efficient. But that won't happen, of course, if even the most modest attempts to improve the system are successfully demagogued — by conservatives! — as efforts to “pull the plug on grandma.”

So don't fret about this year's deficit; we actually need to run up federal debt right now and need to keep doing it until the economy is on a solid path to recovery. And the extra debt should be manageable. If we face a potential problem, it's not because the economy can't handle the extra debt. Instead, it's the politics, stupid

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:00
#53099

Is Krugman a shill for the bond market, or what? Off with this little hyena's head:

What this tells us is that right now it's good to run a deficit.

As I said, deficits saved the world.

Now, this assumes that the U.S. government's credit will remain good so that it's able to borrow at relatively low interest rates.

So is there anything to worry about? Yes, but the dangers are political, not economic.

by i.knoknot
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 06:24
#53261

so, you're saying you don't hold gold?

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:19
#53109

I knew the world was fucked up, but after watching the documentary 'The Corporation', I realized its even worse than I thought. There are much bigger problems confronting us than just the financial arm. If you haven't seen this documentary, rent or download it from somewhere, parts of it will blow your mind.

Here's most of it on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=86F331AB3A6C526C&search_query=the+corporation+documentary

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:40
#53116

Dear PM, Sir [?] would you please look at this?
Brasscheck TV [have to google or other] Under supressed technologies, at bottom is [why haven't you heard of this car?] Is this real? I would certainly appreciate your opin, Frank

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 20:58
#53122

Rep. Frank seeks compromise on Fed audit bill Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:26pm EDT

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE57T01E20090830?feedTy...

by agrotera
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:09
#53129

The slimey !@#$$%^%^^&&**@(@(@(@^&&^*(^&^*&% waits til Sat to slip this by. All i can say is i hope the voters who voted for him will vote the slimey @#$%^**y out of office soon.

by AN0NYM0US
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:27
#53141

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid...

Barney's donors from 2007-08

by agrotera
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:53
#53185

Thanks Anony--i copied the contents of your link here for easy viewing for everyone to see BARNEY FRANK IS A BANK SHILL...check it out, likely you will find this to be true for most elected officials at this point, because it is a machine that has run unchallenged for 95 years...they buy the legeslators so the legeslators will enact policy that works for their criminal schemes so they can claim is is all "legal" when challenged--let's clean out Washington this next election, and replace all the corrupted with new uncorruptable blood....

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid...

First Elected: 1980Next Election: 2008

REPRESENTATIVE (D - MA)

Barney FrankChoose your cycle:-->

Select cycle and data to include:

2010200820062004200220001998Career

Campaign Cmte Only
Leadership PAC Profile Only
Campaign Cmte & Leadership PAC Combined
No Leadership PAC money for selected cycle

Committee Assignments:

Financial Services, Chairman

Cycle Fundraising, 2007 - 2008, Campaign CmteRaised: $2,202,677 Spent: $2,858,741 Cash on Hand: $173,441 Debts: $0 Last Report:Wednesday, December 31, 2008Top 5 Contributors, 2007-2008, Campaign Cmte-->ContributorTotalIndivsPACsBrown Brothers Harriman & Co$36,200$36,200$0Bank of America$15,750$1,750$14,000Manulife Financial$15,000$7,000$8,000Royal Bank of Scotland$13,800$7,800$6,000Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu$13,000$3,000$10,000Top 5 Industries, 2007-2008, Campaign Cmte-->IndustryTotalIndivsPACsSecurities & Investment$228,800$90,200$138,600Real Estate$225,851$147,650$78,201Insurance$202,798$17,000$185,798Lawyers/Law Firms$189,928$122,409$67,519Commercial Banks$121,200$31,950$89,250Total Raised vs. Average Raised

source: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cycle=2008&type=I&cid...

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:23
#53145

How does something decrease 196% in value? I thought 100% meant you were wiped out.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 22:36
#53626

You can go under -100% when you use leverage either through borrowing cash or using instruments like futures contracts where margin must be posted. Unfortunately, I know this from experience.

by Sqworl
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:36
#53158

ITS THE ONLY VOICE WE HAVE. WERE OUTLIERS...THE TRUTH IS POWERFUL.

ZERO HEDGE RULES.

BILL MAHER IS A JACKASS, HE THINKS WERE STUPID...BRING IT ON MOFO, EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR BARNY'S BITCH!

by SWRichmond
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:04
#53174

Sqworl,

Bless Bill Maher, bless Rachel Maddow, bless them all. Their arrogance and self-righteousness is plain for all to see and will hasten the demise of everything they stand for. All they bring to the discussion of America's future is ridicule of people who disagree with them. They offer no facts in dispute, no case, just ridicule. Everyone can see it for what it is, and it just pisses people off ever so much more. By being so blatant they are doing our work for us. Bless their hearts.

Have you seen the video someone else posted of the cop in Reston threatening to arrest a guy for holding an Obama joker sign at a congressman's town hall political event? It is at the same time infuriating and delightful. Here is a cop threatening to arrest someone for engaging in political speech protected by the first amendment, and it is actually on video! I couldn't ask for more than that to help wake people up. This government can be counted on to act stupidly, and more stupidly as the situation becomes more desperate. God help them if they shut down the Internet.

by Anonymous
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 21:45
#53161

Okay, it's Saturday night. Everybody go back to drinking and stop all those fantasies about changing the system or taking back your country. Nothing is going to change, the banksters are going to continue to use you for their own gain, the Fed will never be audited, and the only people the SEC is ever going to catch are those $780 cheats.

We're all fat and lazy cowards willing to accept whatever crumbs the PTB throw to us, rather than face the possibility of a little bit of discomfort on the way to freedom.

We get what we deserve. Cheers!

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:52
#53224

You are a sad little person.

I am Chumbawamba.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:09
#53277

Well,duh.

The voting record, those returning their Senators, Reps, local, state, and national thieves to offices term after term, like Kennedy, Specter, Frank, Dodd, etc. ad nauseum
pretty much says it all.

Unfortunately WE get what THEY, those voters deserve.

by Sqworl
on Sat, 08/29/2009 - 22:58
#53187

This Sunday Fox news, is going to air a very important documentary about Barack Obama, Sunday night at 8:00 PM central / 9 PM Eastern.

The report will go back to Obama's earlier days, showing even then his close ties to radical Marxist professors, friends, spiritual advisers, etc. It will also reveal detail his ties to Rev. Wright for 20+ yrs. How he was participating with this man, and not for the reasons he states!

The report has uncovered more of Obama's radical past and we will see things that no one in the media is willing to put out there. It will be a segment to remember.Mark your calendar and pass this on to everyone you know: Sunday night, 8 PM. CT; 9 PM ET. Democrat or Republican, this report will open your eyes to how YOUR country is being sold down the road to Totalitarian Socialism. If you care about the direction of our country, pass this notice on to everyone you know.

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 01:53
#53225

You are a sad little person.

I am Chumbawamba.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 12:29
#53356

Fox is stupid to do this. Even the left and progressives are beginning to see Obama for the fraud he is. Airing this will only rally what's left of his base to his defense.

by TumblingDice
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 02:58
#53237

Looks like a chart of AIG from two weeks ago.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 03:29
#53245

Wow. -196% That's like an impossible number. Has the dollar turned into a black hole? Swallowing junk from everywhere?

Get a grip.

by jp
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 04:05
#53250

We are all Americans, first & foremost, as in, We the People.

As Americans we have a right to like gold, just as we have the right to like any other form of currency. It's called FREE CHOICE.

And who has the most GOLD?

Well let's see...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_gold_reserves

Where is China on this list?

Where is Japan on this list?

Keep in mind the Eurozone is a double count.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone

Meaning all 16 countries listed that make up the Euro are also posted as reported totals.

Since Zimbabwe keeps coming up here, the question becomes where are they on the gold list?

108 countries listed and I couldn't find them on the list, maybe I missed it.

Remember the IMF can not sell it's gold without US Congressional Approval.

Drunk or sober, We the People, after all is said and done, should be leading by example and deed. Duty, Honor, Country, play by the rules, good sportsmanship, all those things mean something here.

The injustices should be, and will be exposed in time as more people speak truth to power. Past any movie, or fake person/persons, debt can make slaves of those who do fall in that trap. It is also possible to get drunk and start buying your own B.S. to the point you don't even know your talking to yourself.

Past all that, if you want to fight join the Army or better yet if your really good at it get in the ring and make some money while you are young.

My advise would be to get an education. If you can't afford to go to school, go to the library, it's free. Then if you wish to speak truth to power, use your mind and your words.

If you need help and you stand for peace, truth, justice, and the American Way, people will find you, including me.

If you forget which country has been good to you, your family, your grandparents, go to a ball game. Any ball game. High School, college, Pro and stand up when they start to sing the song. Say what you will. This is still the greatest country on earth in my book.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 07:56
#53273

Sounds really simple. As in naive.

There is only a myth of an "america". One you apparently have adopted as your reality.

This country should have been split up, divided, broken apart along the lines of a European Model or African Model a long time ago.

It is impossible to govern one state, one city with any degree of efficiency let alone a zillion square miles, with a diversified people, seeking different ways in which they wish to be governed.

The larger the entity the more chaotic, corrupt, and filthy it is, as it barrels down a one way highway to Armageddon. This country demonstrates the fatal flaw in cloning: one tiny bacteria with one cell gone awry wipes out the entire herd.

A country that seeks to provide 'free' necessities to 500,000,000 is a country headed for decimation.

Those who compare us to Norway, France, Canada, Italy, or other socialist states, haven't a clue what communist style government will do to the producers. Or more likely they do know and don't give a shit as long as it increases their death grip on power.

One does not need an education to realize that the ideal, born in the fetid halls of Academia, is impossible, a violation of nature. There will always be a tension between those who want their needs satisfied without working for them and those who say, "Get your ass to work"! and the battle is being won by those who discovered the power to vote themselves the efforts and achievements of the other.

That tension heretofore about equal is has turned decidedly to the left as more and more on the right decide enough is enough. And in that decision have planted the seeds for an 'america' it would be best to leave.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 05:41
#53255

I think that a decrease from $2.04 to $0.08 is 96%....

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 05:45
#53256

"Now try to imagine what your life might be like if every dollar you had bought you 20 times as much stuff... This is the cost of inflation."

...and if that were the case, you'd presumably have 1/20th the dollars, no? Is the Mises Institute hiring sophomores from third-rate colleges to do their economic analysis now? This is seriously lame... quite a surprise to see something of this (low) quality on 0H...

by Thoreau
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 06:36
#53263

more full for chairman yen ben's fire:

http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/07.09/fedrecord.html

by Bruce Krasting
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:11
#53278

Funny, I always thought we won WWII. Looking at the chart it is not clear. Looking at it again, it becomes clear.

We lost that war........

by Crude Oil Trader
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 08:22
#53283

Man, I am seeing Zero Hedge content every where I go online. Thank you CNBC!

by Sqworl
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 09:18
#53299

October 09 Crash....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dapTtjsT10s&NR=1

by chumbawamba
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:24
#53382

HAHA!

"Oh dear, what perception there."

The fawning expectation over the forthcoming Obama spewage was pathetic. "Ooh, the president is going to speak! Oh dear, I'm all moist!!"

I am Chumbawamba.

by Humble Gentleman
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 15:38
#53431

Thoughts on Dr. Enzio's track record? Anyone else see a similiar thing unfolding? I believe Robert Prechter sees a similar thing occuring, but his track record is quite inconsistent.

by Sqworl
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 09:28
#53302

DEBT SLAVES...MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9q1oeMcoL0

by SWRichmond
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:38
#53314

Sqworl,

It is difficult but very useful and worthwhile to ride the edge. Change is implemented at the edge.

by waterdog
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:02
#53305

I wonder if those road signs glow in the dark or are just reflective.

by Sqworl
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:17
#53308

I'm missing my Cheeky!!!!!

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 10:40
#53315

I always wonder how careful the americans are about their history (mainly economical) with such detail. From the other side, I see how shitty my country (Brazil) is in this matter. If you ask for 1990 data, pretty sure you'll get nothing.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 12:52
#53366

Rise and Fall. Brings to mind the rise and fall of two steel and concrete towers in Manhattan. Purported to have been brought down by a deep conspiracy of Islamic religious fanatics angry at Satan USA. If Osama Bin Laden were sick to violence because he saw an empty, rapacious, inequitable economic system which chose winners and losers while lying to participants that it was all merit based and Free. Targeting other nations with their eco-political cabal.
If that system did manipulate the psychology of the people, the industrial policy of the nation, the bond/equity/derivative/forex markets of the world; if they lay as predators using inside gaming and automated trading to fleece the innocents of the world; if they coopted the political power to further extort the fat of the land--hoovering them up into their pockets, then they really were what they were perceived to be. Iniquitious, conspiratorial global terrorists without compare.

The twin towers came down very neatly, all that elaborate structure somehow being reduced to simple small almost portable pieces. The winners? Other real estate interests in NY which had the glut overnight transformed into a net scarcity. The military which used specious links to terror to launch wars throughout the middle and far east. The tower owner who needed impossibly expensive asbestos remediation and necessary retrofitting to overcome the extensive design flaws. The owner was handsomely repaid with double insurance payouts. AIG anyone? See the comparison?

Bringing down this tower of Babel which is the Debt peonage, superamplified business cycle, end-of-days rapacious looting has its designated winners too.
In a system where the unit of accounting has no stability, and is used as a tool to distort economic truths as revealed in other markets, in a system where taxpayer liquidity is used to trade against their interests, in a system where their retirements, health, savings, land and structures, livelihoods, and future earnings capacity have been destroyed by pull-forward false demand, this is an EVIL EMPIRE. Where falsehood is established as state policy by balance sheet manoevres, by no-standard accounting standards, by official bureaucratic lie-making, by slippery handed debt and equity manipulation, this is state terrorism against its governed masses.

In the fall of the dollar, in the fall of a false empire, in a fall of any structure of man, the tragedy is made worse by the open corruption and defiant evil of the powerful.

This is the face of the Great Satan. This is the age-old evil which diminishes the happiness and hope for the future. Those who have historically opposed it have been the heroes and patriots. The greatest lie of today is that our institutions founded on virtue and integrity are not the paragons of evildoing and exploitation. The USA, its bankers and politicians, are servants of all the dark arts and its prince reigns through them.

Throw out the money changers and high priests who crucify those who seek to restore the virtuous cycle in trade for their continued gain and position.

Sooner or later, it must crumble down.

by sigmadelta
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:16
#53500

And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and YOU...WILL...ATONE!" hehe

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:29
#53385

What is this chart based on and can anyone actually define purchasing power objectively? I can buy a computer for 1/10 what it was 15 years ago so clearly purchasing power has risen in this instance. The same goes for a lot of technology. Phone rates are way cheaper; Cars have gotten cheaper and toys or just about anything made in Asia. Some things have gotten more expensive: real estate, stocks, gas....

And the comment about FDR's New Deal destroying any hope of prosperity for a decade is highly debatable and it's certainly not clear to anyone how the Great Depression would have unfolded under alternative scenarios. The New Deal laid the groundwork for 3 decades of solid economic performance after the war by giving people the security of social assistance which allowed them to spend and borrow. Everyone seems pretty convinced now that China needs a social safety net in order to get the Chinese consumer to let go of some of their massive savings so clearly the New Deal had a net positive impact.

I'm not trying to defend government largess. Not at all. I think our deficits are a recipe for future disaster however I have a serious problem with knee-jerk dogma which passes for analysis. Additionally, what is this chart based on? We don't know. It's just a chart with some impressive looking numbers.

I'd also like to add that almost 80 years after the the Great Depression, "experts" are still debating the facts of it.

by JR
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 16:48
#53468

Richard Benson in Inflation and the Ironic Productivity Tax (03.28.07) addresses many of your doubts regarding inflation. Benson shows how “hedonics, and productivity are names and measures for the same fundamental fact,” a fact the government and Fed use to hide the real rate of inflation to rob you of your money. Here’s Benson, edited:

Man is such a lucky creature because machines do all of our work. Our economy and prosperity stand on the shoulders of the geniuses who invented the wheel, lever and plow, and the creative thinkers who dreamed up mathematics, the internal combustion engine, silicone chip and the internet. These innovations have led to wondrous and unforeseen leaps forward for mankind. Human ingenuity, mixed with a desire to do better and produce more with less, has relentlessly driven productivity forward.

There was a time when I actually looked forward to the government’s reports on productivity because it made me feel that I could share in the collective genius, good luck, and hard work of my fellow man. Then I woke up and realized that those very reports were being used to rob me! Here’s how I came to that conclusion.

The other day while at the gas pump, I was thinking about productivity, creativity and technological advances. When I realized how much it would cost me to fill up my Sport Ute – an amount that would have fed a family of four for a month when I was a kid – it dawned on me that the one thing the government never reports on is that the dollar in my pocket will buy me more next year. Indeed, my dollar should buy more because of the relentless increases in productivity, and I should in reality be better off if I saved money, rather than spent it. But, in my lifetime, my world has only known inflation so buying goods today that I will need tomorrow, and stashing them away, has proved to be a better investment than saving cash in the bank.

Even though my wallet was noticeably lighter after paying the bill to fill up my car, I proceeded to go to the supermarket. Regardless of all the gains in productivity, everything on the supermarket shelves – and I mean everything – was more expensive than the last time I shopped. A nagging thought kept bothering me:

“If mankind’s machines produce more with less labor each year, why shouldn’t the dollar I make this year buy more next year?” Shouldn’t this increase in productivity flow through to the wage earner and saver?

This brings me to a serious examination of inflation. Because I’m a trained economist, I know that inflation is the Government’s and Federal Reserve’s way of taxing financial assets like cash… [W]ith inflation, the government has basically stolen/taxed my share of productivity away. Stunning and painful thought!

…I have been writing for years about how the government has been using “hedonic” price adjustments to hold down reported inflation and one way inflation measures are modified over time is in the way in which goods from the present are compared with goods from the past. Let’s use the purchase of your computer as an example:

The concept behind a hedonic adjustment is that because your computer is twice as fast and stores twice as much data for the same price, the price you paid is cut in half. The actual price you paid for the computer is not cut in half, but the price as reported in the price indexes is!

Well surprise, surprise! Most of what passes for hedonic adjustments in the price indexes is simply another way of reporting the improvements in technology. Another name for this is, of course, “productivity”. Technological advances, hedonics, and productivity are all names and measures for the same fundamental fact: technological advance allows for the increase in productivity that is translated into the hedonic adjustments.

Something didn’t feel right. I got up and examined the shrinking dollar in my wallet and I felt like I was robbed! First, by the Federal Reserve Bank because they have keep inflation moving ahead so I never receive the benefit of productivity, and then by the slick Bureau of Labor Statistics, (“BLS”) that actually made the Price Index pay for productivity by subtracting it from the CPI and reporting it as a smaller number than it really is! (It’s ironic that the best and brightest at the BLS are employed to figure out how to use fancy statistics to rob their grandparents of their social security increases.)

If our government was fair and money and credit growth were restrained, I estimate the dollar could purchase about two percent more each year, and we would be living in a saver’s paradise. Taking productivity out of the Price Index means that when the CPI shows three percent, in reality it’s more like five percent. Our government gains by doing this because as the world’s largest borrower, they benefit from increases in productivity. On the other hand, savers and those on fixed income really get ripped off. In a $14 trillion economy, the two percent productivity rip-off is likely to amount to a cool $280 billion, and the total inflation tax on five percent is over a half trillion dollars. That is enough tax revenue to pay for a not so little war! …

http://www.sfgroup.org/Invlation%20and%20the%20IronicProductivity%20Tax.htm

by D.O.D.
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:25
#53496

*Blind Applause*

So if inflation is a tax, and the Federal Reserve for all intents and purposes is designed to control inflation, that would amount to taxation without representation. Interesting.

by JR
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 19:30
#53529

Yes! And "taxation without representation," said James Otis in The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, 1764, "is tyranny." And, said George Santayana, "There is no tyranny so hateful as a vulgar and anonymous tyranny. It is all permeating, all-thwarting; it blasts every budding novelty and sprig of genius with its omnipresence and fierce stupidity."

The Fed must be slain! before it becomes our eternal lord and master...

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 20:44
#53561

In this nation, the very few highly innovative, uberproductive few furnish the many with a cornocopaiea of abundance. Whatever innate facility has been triggered in them, they think more of nature's bounty and bringing it to mankinds table than any other alternative.

Unfortunately, the power structure is not hosted with the same men. If they can be called men. Those that seek to rule, seek to establish the law and commandment of society, generally have a much separate purpose. They wish to impose their will upon others. They wish to consume without producing. They wish to subvert the honest labours of their fellows, and divert the excess of goods and services to themselves. In real terms and by money proxy.

This group has waxed into its height of power and dominion. While they seek the fruits of productive labour for the pleasure and felicities of life, their output is strictly deleterous.

It leads to greater impoverishment, increased despair; it delivers a decidedly contrary fruit. It falsely incents, it captivates hope, it subordinates creation to greed. This malignancy of spirit asks tribute of treasure and heart which can never quench the empty soul.

It is living beyond present means, it is betting upon the come of tomorrow, it is overweening pride where none is due.

It produces sorrow, meagerness, tumult, corruption, war, and disintegration of all that is sought for.

It is ultimate duplicity. Seeking superabundance from paucity, extraction without any addition.

Blackness and the face of untimely death.

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 13:53
#53393

remember that zero-hedge motto?
"on a long enough timescale..."

u should stick this chart right next to your zero hedge logo

by Anonymous
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 17:09
#53478

hey look. our favorite deflation expert, mish shedlockski is on max keiser. on a side note, it is funny that keiser had all of the deleterious remarks concerning that windbag, alex jones, removed. ha ha ha

by sigmadelta
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:11
#53493

JPM and GS own the government these days, and tell the regulators what they can regulate....ya know, the small stuff that the "little people" and the peasants could possibly turn profits on....gotta catch any "cheating" among them......

by JR
on Sun, 08/30/2009 - 18:48
#53512

Speaking of ownership:

Survival Of The Biggest

On account of Fed sponsorship, Banks 'Too Big to Fail' Have Grown Even Bigger.

When the credit crisis struck last year, federal regulators pumped tens of billions of dollars into the nation's leading financial institutions because the banks were so big that officials feared their failure would ruin the entire financial system.

Today, the biggest of those banks are even bigger.

________________________________________________________________________

PERCENTAGE GROWTH OF COMBINED ASSETS from 2007 to March 2009

Wells Fargo +43% After acquiring Wachovia

J.P. Morgan Chase +51% After acquiring Bear Stearns and Washington Mututal

Bank of America +138% After acquiring Countrywide and Merrill Lynch

________________________________________________________________________

J.P. Morgan Chase, an amalgam of some of Wall Street's most storied institutions, now holds more than $1 of every $10 on deposit in this country. So does Bank of America, scarred by its acquisition of Merrill Lynch and partly government-owned as a result of the crisis, as does Wells Fargo, the biggest West Coast bank. Those three banks, plus government-rescued and -owned Citigroup, now issue one of every two mortgages and about two of every three credit cards, federal data show...

Fresh data from the FDIC show that big banks have the ability to borrow more cheaply than their peers because creditors assume these large companies are not at risk of failing. That imbalance could eventually squeeze out smaller competitors. Already, consumers are seeing fewer choices and higher prices for financial services, some senior government officials warn.

Officials waived long-standing regulations to make the deals work. J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo were each allowed to hold more than 10 percent of the nation's deposits despite a rule barring such a practice. In several metropolitan regions, these banks were permitted to take market share beyond what the Department of Justice's antitrust guidelines typically allow, Federal Reserve documents show.

"There's been a significant consolidation among the big banks, and it's kind of hollowing out the banking system," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com. "You'll be left with very large institutions and small ones that fill in the cracks. But it'll be difficult for the mid-tier institutions to thrive."

"The oligopoly has tightened," he added.

Last October, when the Fed was arranging the merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia, it identified six other metropolitan regions in which the combined company would either exceed the Justice Department's antitrust guidelines or hold more than a third of an area's deposits. But the central bank thought local competition in each of those places was sufficient to allow the merger to go through, documents show.

Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said those comments reveal the government's preferential treatment of big banks. He doubted whether the Fed would approve the merger of community banks if the combined company ended up controlling more a third of the market.

"To favor one class of financial institutions over another class skews the market. You don't have a free market; you have a government-favored market," he said. "We will never have free markets again if you have the government picking winners and losers."

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