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The Great Hyperinflationary Scavenger Hunt
In case of 'Helicopter Ben' failure, we are again reminded that there is a Plan Z. Recall that none other than the Chairman said in 2002:
"Keynes ... once semi-seriously proposed, as an anti-deflationary measure, that the government fill bottles with currency and bury them in mine shafts to be dug up by the public."
Below, courtesy of William Banzai is an artist's impression of what said scavenger hunt would look like. Will there be an 'app' for that? Maybe AAPL's new 3D Maps will enable the national treasure hunt? Long Shovels.
Rather than re-post the entire speech (which can be found here and should be read if for nothing else but to comprehend the 'genius' as Cashin noted earlier), the following word-cloud summarizes how important The Bernank sees the avoidance of 'deflation'.
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Ahh, so this is why the American markets are going through the roof?
how fast can you dig?
Krugman suggests smaller shovels
"All paper currencies are toilet paper, the dollar is simply two ply". - Thomas Caplin
I'm lost. Isn't a stable nominal price structure that is maintained with ever-inflating dollars, mathematically identical to a price structure that is deflationary over time? The key idea is value, not the unit of currency. You can't fuck with value. So if Ben dilutes the dollar to keep prices stable, aren't real prices deflating anyway? What am I missing?
In inflation, everyone has alot of money so it is easier to steal a little. In deflation, there is little money so it is harder to steal a little.
Comments like this is what makes ZH the best
Why bother to dig it up when it's falling from the sky?
It's like trying to open a confetti mine...
You're missing that Bernanke is a liar.
But srlsy it's a lot easier to stealth tax people than to explain to some guy in Podunk that his wages are dropping 5% even though the goods he buys are 10% cheaper. We like to see numbers go up, not down dammit!
if we are talking about trying to stave off an inevitable spiral, though, then it makes sense, right? It is this constant staving off of the various vicious spirals these very policies then heighten. Tyhe staving then becomes its own vicious spiral. We are all pure a spiral of staves right now.
Consult your astrologer on that one.
A spiral of staves. I think it is explained. Thank you.
"Down here in the Bernanke Mines son, no one strikes it rich."
We all float down here.
You'll float, too.
The Downfall parody posted here a few days ago was brilliant: "use it as papier mache, use it to wipe your ass, i don't care." it was one of best downfall parodies ever, even beyond thinking about the issues on this site. it just was well done period.
To paraphrase Warren Buffet:
A Federal Reserve Note, he says, “gets dug out of the ground in Africa or some place. Then we dig another hole, transport it halfway round the world, then bury it in a bank vault and pay people to stand around guarding it”. It has, he argues, “no utility”.
The dissheveled public digging for buried bottles of fiat sounds so........ well so...............barbaric.
Maybe deflation is about returning to the mean which is the natural order of things when they've become too skewed. Are Bernanke et al the new Captain Ahabs determined to take us all to the bottom of the sea with them?!
Did they have to blow up a glacier to get to it? Maybe the world?
http://www.silverdoctors.com/barricks-200-million-ounce-silver-problem/
That is the whole point of C/Bs buying gold.
THEY WANT TO TAKE IT OUT OF CIRCULATION SO IT LOSES IT'S UTILITY.
If it was circulating freely as money then Warrens comment would not make any sense at all, even to the dumbest sheeple.
The CBs hoarding gold serves them well. I can't wait till the vaults are opened and the stash is divided among it's Rightful owners.
The people (golds true owners) could use some real money at the moment what use is it to the CBs anyhow?
Lol, that's some funny shit +1
Krugman has a small shovel
Geo-Cashing? Sweet!
My thoughts exactly.
It's rigged. The Bernank and Buffet are going by helicopter.
Forgot the captions:
Peasant #1: Who's he?
Peasant #2: Must be a King.
Peasant #1: Why?
Peasant #2: He hasn't got shit all over him!
"Hey Bob! Look! Another sparklett bottle fulla $100 bills!"
"Right on, brother. I've only been finding cokes. What are you gonna do with it?"
"Well, phuck the daily rent due. I'm gonna splurge and take the family to McDonald's and then maybe a movie."
"Alright man. Enjoy. See ya back here tomorrow."
That extra 3 seconds is paying off!
Great Monthy Python reference!
Depends. Is the gun loaded?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a97cOa2Sy9A
Oh no. I think I know what Bernanke is going to do. It is right in the middle of that lecture Tyler linked us to, and which Cashin is studying:
"The Fed can inject money into the economy in still other ways. For example, the Fed has the authority to buy foreign government debt.... Potentially, this class of assets offers huge scope for Fed operations, as the quantity of foreign assets eligible for purchase by the Fed is several times the stock of U.S. government debt."
Oh no.
What do you mean "going to do?" If it's in a speech and it requires no new authority, you can bet it's been done already. All this does is clear the way for it to be done obviously.
I keep hearing Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" playing in my head all. day. long. every. day.
The Euro was designed to collapse, to fool the Red Chinee to think the West was dividing into two competing currencies.
Get ready for the Eur-ar, or the Doll-o. Or "SmartDollar," the easy, non-transferable money substitute, conveniently subdermally implanted at birth thanks to teh Goldman Sachs Childrens Fund free of charge from teh Goldman Sachs.
What if the big B prints a shitload of $$$, buys all the foreign stuff and then yells: "fuck you bitchezz, I saved your ass, you can call me God!".
Neah, this is like a C-movie line. Is not realistic.
Yeah. it's not like America has any deep cultural notion of coming to the rescue of Europe to save it from self-collapse and to restablish order through a complex system of bonds called the MArshall Plan which essentail established the dollar as the de facto European currency of peggage.
I mean I'm kidding lol. But that it eve sounds like a C-movie !!!
Or look at it this way. We wanted Germany to run the rebuilding all along, but the Russians were in the way. Now the Russians are gone. So now we can do over. the way we said we wanted it. bitches.
And the insanity continues.....
long bottle makers
wouldn't tax credits be simpler?
..i don't think bubble-brain Ben has thought this through much
Everyone should have 5% or preferably MORE of their wealth in GOLD! Best single diversification in town if you do not own any. Even mainstream money managers go along with 5% in gold, yet only 1% - 3% own ANY non-jewelry gold.
Exactly. Now, I know I'm just a little ole lawyer in Fulton County...
but golly, how about we make gold a currency (again)? Heck, it's already buried!
I believe in diversification. I have gold and silver!
Anything short of 40% Au is for pussies :-)
Bear in mind 40% keeps keep you 60% in paper. You good with that?
Really?
And if my other 60% is in land, real estate and silver?
Well in that case.... how 'bout a partnership? :-)
That may not work unless you can back it up with lead and smokeless powder.
Yes, + 1
@ Arrest
I am at 14%. If gold quintuples or does a FOFOA ($55,000), then I am VERY well protected. Gold will be a wealth MULTIPLIER..., do the math!
After System Collapse, gold/silver won't be denominatable in dollars. I think, for instance, one US silver eagle will buy 2-3 days worth of food at a green market or 2-3 boxes of common-calibre ammo. That's if you and your friends are well-armed and organized. If not, those who are will kill you and take your PMs.
What's wrong with the people who owns dozens of ounces in jewelry gold? All it means it's eith .58 or .750 gold generally speaking of course.
yes, it's much more subtle too if you have to sell/barter it
+ 1 to both. Yes and yes. Holding larger than normal jewelry gold is perfectly OK. I just prefer the bullion coins.
funny how that was mainstream advice for years and now having any non-jewelry gold (or even too much gold jewelry) is totally wacky or for foreigners.
I've heard this 5% number before and it makes absolutely NO SENSE.
If one believes that GOLD and SILVER are, in fact, preservers of VALUE. then one should convert ALL HOLDINGS not needed for daily living expenses or market speculation(s) into PM's.
If one subscribes to the barberous relic argument, it would be stupid to convert ANY fiat into PM's.
I look at it like playing poker. The chips are like fiat used to play the game, but at the end of the night, chips are traded in for value.
That picture is priceless.
Would make a great B flick.
The irony is I'm pretty sure that is a silver mine.
Great... so keep eveyone busy mining for cash bottles and no one will demand/want/need to mine gold and/or silver...
problem solved. move along, nothing to see here.
Are they mining money in that picture or thowing piles of it into an unfillable pit?
Trying to satisfy the beast with liquidity, that hole spewing smoke in the background is BofA.
pods
Both - It's a giant un-ending ponzi circle-jerk
Uh, they're getting ready to build a fire dude. It's cold at the bottom
http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-should-the-government-stop-dum...
Too funny. I don't visit The Onion enough.
No doubt the banks would buy the rights to the mines before the end of the first day by paying off politicians and then set up corporations to dig it out by hiring workers at minimum wage to do so...
I hear the Yucca Mountain fiat glows.
Nice, but for the total Keynesian experiance you'd have to use just your spoons...
... plastic ones
SPORKS FOR ALL!!!
There is no spoon..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAXtO5dMqEI
Wordle rocks, Banzai rocks, The Bernank not so much.
The miners go digging for the cash, find Silver in the process, and start burning the cash for light to mine the Silver.
+155 on the Dow. This is just too funny. ESF, PPT, Treasury, DEA: they all threw money at the "markets" today.
Happy days, here again. I for one am just so relieved.
Great pic William, as usual.
I honestly must have missed the rumor today...why the rally? Bad news is good news?
News is noise. At most, it is only one of many factors that spook the herd, both up and down the hill.
@valley chick
LOL. The NEWS? From a technical perspective, 1305-1308 is heavy support, so it was time for a bounce.
thanks skepticCarl and Cursive. One heck of a bounce. ;-)
In the Brave New World, rallies are not required to send markets spiking.
Update your expectations accordingly inquisitive prole :-)
There should be a picture of the B1 bomber fleet wherever it's parked. It's about the same thing.
To defeat bankers nothing is more important than keeping your bank account empty.
.....and investing in the 'spice'(silver)
I'm on that like white on rice, chief ;)
Yep, I'm on that like cattle on corn, cowgirl.
I'm on that like amyl at the Bohemian Grove, Liberace
I prefer the free money be dumped on me by helicopter. Mininig is too much like work. I'd have to get up from my chair ,giant slurpy ,and big mac.
And you can't possibly be pulled away from your iPad and thingamajig...
I'll admit it is hard to keep my hands off my thingamajig too.
I beg to differ. Since we are doing it, this is a more equitable and charitable way than what Ben is currently doing.
Long canaries.
Buck Fernankie!
In other words, own gold mining stocks. God already buried the money. We're just digging it up.
Gold mining stocks are just more paper. To be debased with all other paper. No dividends, mines subject to confiscation, fat salaries and bonuses for insiders, Bre-X pump and dump all over again. If you are serious, take delivery of physical.
Imagine if there was a mining stock that paid out a percentage of their metal as dividends to shareholders...
Keynesians want to dig OPM out of the ground. Austrians and Libertarians want to bury their own money in the ground. Ironically and surprisingly, the Keynesian approach will be followed for ever and ever, amen.
Never mind. I thought you said "Kenyan"
Finally, a SHOVEL-READY JOB !
I went long shovels three years ago hoping they would be in big demand for all the "shovel ready jobs." Alas, now I need a triple just to get back to break even.
Man, between Tyler and William, wow, what a pair. Gotta luv it.
In a way, I get it. Who is to say a shiney metal that people have no practical use for is any more valuable than some intrically printed paper?
I guess one can wipe one's ass with the paper, but it probably won't flush well.
Beware of termites...
As published on ZH: Weren't there a boat load of fake US bonds or similar (can't quite recall) found in Italy in some chest a few months back?
Maybe they weren't so fake after all?
EDIT:
Found the links on ZH:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/6-trillion-us-bonds-seized-zurich
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/why-were-trillions-fake-bonds-held-chicago...
GeoCaching for Cash?
geocashing
$spx triangle combo with diamond formation http://humblestudent777.blogspot.com/
Guess the market was trying to squeeze the weak shorts (every 2 hours) today again.
Just start a national lottery where everyone wins
daily payouts, and everyone is included in a secondary run off for the big grand prize, the bill!
They did. They call it Social Security.
Deflation and an end to ZIRP would actually strengthen the dollar and help savers, so those are obviously horrible options for central bank.
Bottles of cash. New currency introduced in a random way by the public, based on "mining" work. That sounds familiar.
http://bitcoin.org/
On the other hand, as long as USD are inside the bottles, it's an insult to a hard currency like Bitcoin.
Sounds fishy to me.
How far away from a functional grasp of the real world do you have to be in order that you do not burst out laughing when you say something like this out loud?
I was digging for fiat the other day and I came across some unobtainium. Does anybody know where I can sell it? Is there a " we buy unobtainium " place around ?
"Cash 4 Unobtainium"
The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building, on Constitution Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets
Are you sure it wasn't Administratium? You are much more likely to encounter that this day and age.
http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/administ.htm
That's funny as hell. Throw worthless paper money down exhausted old gold and silver mine shafts and let the downtroden occupy all their abundent free time hunting for govenrment monopoly money. Of course they would never throw the hard curency back into the hole. They'd hate to let the proles get their hands on real money. They might find out they don't need their government masters if that ever happened.
Correct me if I am wrong. Inflation is needed to create credit expansion, whereby bankers extract wealth. No inflation, then deflation and contracting credit (no wealth extraction through banking). Do I have this wrong? Self thinking, not quoting anyone.
Debt and credit are two sides of the same coin. 99+% of apparent money is created by debt. But the money to pay the interest on the debt is not created by debt. So debt must constantly increase to create the new "money" to pay the interest on the old debt. When the expansion of debt stops, defaults occur and the whole Ponzi collapses. That is why the Elites are now using governments to create new debt trying to stop the collapse, since business and consumers no longer can. The US budget is twice the tax revenues. The difference is new debt to pay the interest on the old private and government debt.
Correct me if I am wrong. Inflation is needed to create credit expansion,
**********
I think you have that backwards-
Credit expansion is needed to create inflation (increase in money and credit supply)
expanding credit "is" inflation-
Contracting credit is deflationary-
Asset values contracting below the high market value and especially below the financed debt level is deflation-
A decrease in personal/business money supply-
Mommy, mommy, I found a trillion dollar bill!!!
Keep digging honey until you find one of those hundred trillion dollar bills.
Yes, they were delving into managing the ecomomy like "carnies" would. Is that really that crazy an idea? People seem to live in the world much as at a carnival, why not let carnies run the show?
As the Kingfish put it back in the Great Depression, "every man a king." I see the problem is that conterfeiting has been legally restricted to banksters. I think every American citizen should be permitted to go on the fractional reserve system. For every dollar we have buried in the back yard, we should be permitted to Xerox 9 without penalty. We could then use these Bankster Bux to make loans to our friends and neighbors. That would solve the specter of deflation. Every man a bankster!! That's the ticket.
Hyperinflation??????
U.S. Families' Wealth Plunges 40 Percent, Fed Says
By Eyder Peralta
In a study (pdf) released today, the Federal Reserve reports that Americans saw a record drop in their wealth between the years 2007 to 2010. Driven primarily by plummeting home values, families' median net worth dropped 38.8 percent, to levels last seen 18 years ago.Reuters reports:
"The median net worth, which is the value of assets minus debt, plunged to $77.3 trillion in 2010 from $126.4 trillion in 2007. Net worth in 2010 was at levels last seen in 1992.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Plunging residential RE taking American household wealth with it is NOT inflation, if anything it is indicative of a deflationary depression. So all the bailouts and fiscal deficits to keep wealthy bankers happy and busy "investing" in stocks, commodities, and federal bonds is driving up food and fuel for the people that are already getting hammered in the wallet by loss of wealth and stagnant to falling wages. We really do not need any further proof of this middle class holocaust, it is the greatest transfer of wealth upward in human history, even outstripping the greed of the Raygun years.
By the way, if the fed says household wealth plunged 39% you can damned well bet it is closer to 60%.
These are nominal figures. If they had been reported in real dollars, there would be sofas and tires burning in the streets.
Paper sucks, you Wall Street fucks! I'll see you vampires in the sun, with my loaded silver gun. Yer goin' down in flames, from Lower Manhattan to the Thames. Your paper is I know not where, I'd rather shit my underwear! For, be there bull, or be there bear, silver is the suit I wear! (With gratitude, and apologies to Dr. Seuss.)The only paper I own is the stuff I wipe my ass with. Market paper is worthless, because I cannot do a good job of wiping my ass with it. Gold was worth $28.00 an ounce when I was a kid. Silver was worth whatever was printed on the coin you spent. Any one think those days are coming back? All of the lying bum fucking aristocracy of the Age Of Paper Power can burn in their paper suits soonest. I won't even bother pissing on them to put out the flames. I collect gold, silver, lead, copper, real dry powder, food, tools, diesel fuel, and other useful commodities. There is a community of folks all doing the same, so skill sets and extra eyes and hands can guard each others sixes, and "break on through to the other side, break on through to the other side, YEAH
"HFT ain't good for me.
Credit defaults far as the eye can see.
CDS's gonna make some messes.
Boo hoo hoo as thieves confesses.
TBTF gonna fall off a cliff - REAL NEAT.
Wall Street is a bunch of fucking dead meat.
Banks used to be so overleveraged bold.Now, they're layin' bankrupt,dead and cold.
Gonna be nothing but prepper people, all the rest gonna be surprised fucked up Sheeple. God bless this mess.
I must confess. I'm a fucking poet,
and didn't even know it.
RISK ON, RISK OFF. DROP YOUR COCKS, AND GRAB YOUR SOCKS, BECAUSE THIS DISNEYLAND RIDE IS JUST BEGINNING !!!!!!!!!You ought to team up with WB and the Limmerick King.
People generally are a good judge of value, that is, until it comes to MONEY........
The comments on this site are a real hoot!
http://news.xinhuanet.com/foto/gzpk/english/2011-09/06/131102172_11n.jpg
even the thing to minew for is wrong what a dolt
OK, just a semi-serious response to a semi-serious suggestion, but isn't putting gold in the earth God's way of running HIS 'fiat currency'? LOL
I mean, really, if we go to a gold system, then mining gold becomes a viable 'game' to play. The average guy essentially becomes an arm of the non-central 'central bank'.
So why shouldn't the central bank mimic this and begin operations?
I know what the reality is. But if you're 'all in' with fiat currency, it makes sense.
"Plan Z"
hahahahaha...
Plan , hahahahah