as you already know, when you’re keeping “your nose to the grindstone”, you need “eyes in the back of your head” ~~

Greg,

this, with which I agree,: “Gold miners could never produce enough gold to do to Zimbabwe what Mugabe did. Their contribution to total world gold stock is only something like 1% or 2% per year and they would be hard pressed to duplicate the 5% to 14% growth in the money stock that the Fed has produced leading up to the crisis. Also, there would be no putting a trillion dollars in gold on the balance sheet at the fed’s whim.” –was from HTCMSI, above..

though, those tusk-tipped spears might rile up the WWF, and with the attention they can bring to the fore, maybe some understanding of Zimbabwe’s true plight could be had..

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

Your thesis that the government’s balance sheet is limitless is preposterous. You are citing “theoretical” limits without a seeming understanding that reality is substantially less than a theoretical limit. Anything and everything could be theoretically limitless. Including my ability to spend if American Express will only keep extending my credit limit. I’d be more than happy to oblige were they willing to do so. I hope you know what those “reality” limits are. Were this not the case, we could just let the government run the economy. Oh, I forgot. That’s exactly what caused this crisis.

I only wish that your nom de Blog was, in fact, descriptive of the common weal..

Maybe I should change my name to how a common man sees it. :)

I’m lucky (if you could call it luck), finance/economics is a hobby that I like to do. I’ve always been interested in numbers and it turns out that I can also use it to make some money in investments. From that perspective I suppose I’m not a common man. My life was destined for normalcy until it took a quirky turn and forced me into the school of hard knocks from whence I derive my common manness. That is why I have my nose so firmly stuck in economics. I see that as the light at the end of this weary laborer’s tunnel

@Greg0658 Says: March 3rd, 2009 at 8:15 am

On gold .. a gold standard replaces the central banker with miners being in control (with slave labor most likely) ….

That is a pretty common argument but it is a misconception IMO. Gold miners could never produce enough gold to do to Zimbabwe what Mugabe did. Their contribution to total world gold stock is only something like 1% or 2% per year and they would be hard pressed to duplicate the 5% to 14% growth in the money stock that the Fed has produced leading up to the crisis. Also, there would be no putting a trillion dollars in gold on the balance sheet at the fed’s whim.

I also am not arguing for a gold standard though that would probably be the most stable monetary situation in my mind. I see the fatal flaw and weak link in the banking system being it’s fractional reserve nature and the banker’s ability to lend money into existence. That is the area that is creating the booms and busts in my opinion

“The Illinois knew that in order to survive they had to leave the area. They decided to seek refuge on top of the rock. They climbed up to the summit of the rock hoping that the Potawatomi and Fox would by-pass them on their way southward. Unfortunately, the plan backfired and the Potawatomi and Fox surrounded the base. As the Illinois tried to get water by lowering buckets with rope the Potawatomi and Fox would cut the ropes or shatter the buckets with their arrows. They also climbed up on top of Devil’s Nose and showered them with arrows. As the Illinois grew more desperate, some tried sneaking down, but they were murdered. The rest that were left on top starved.”

the rest of the story:
http://jove.geol.niu.edu/faculty/fischer/429_info/429trips/starvedrock/history.html

the spot:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=starved+rock+utica+il&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.435463,56.25&ie=UTF8&ll=41.322234,-88.99209&spn=0.01547,0.027466&t=p&z=15

What we have is a collapse in confidence and a massive bout of deleveraging even as the central banks are flooding the system with liquidity. Most paper currencies are already in big trouble and once the Yen and USD carry trades are done both currencies will be heading down. What AIG means is that if you want to protect your assets you better own real gold, silver, agricultural commodities and energy. While all could have trouble in the short term there is little doubt that a year or two down the road we will be looking at much higher prices.

lighten up on the sadist angle .. all it takes is an insider protecting his kind .. which is why we have central bankers to protect his country (I thought)(before globalization I guess)

On gold .. a gold standard replaces the central banker with miners being in control (with slave labor most likely) …. I was getting caught up on newspapers yesterday (I spend alot of time reading yo’all) (I like the interactivity) and saw a full page ad a couple times .. the headline “buy gold get a free safe to put it in” .. made me think of the confiscation days and how safe are we from any which way

and from Kotoks remarks “History says the answer is yes. There are no limits to the amount of federal credit that can be extended” …. when we must pay property taxes and are disallowed to run a yard like a farm and barter for external needs that mankind has invented to make our lives finer / easier / more productive .. then yes we are slaves to the currency and the bankers running it (by design – some people just hated the plow 1000s of years ago)

“*As long as* people still have the confidence in the dollars being printed the economy is at the whim of the members that control monetary policy at the federal reserve. If people decide that dollars are no longer worth their goods and labor then the game changes. Until then Bernanke is your defacto emperor. That is also why the media seldom mentions this. They seldom bite the hand that feeds..”

yes, the true beauty, so neatly distilled, of our, long-running, current scene.

that we are complicit in our own capitivity is a Reality that puts pale any comparison to any stories we’ve heard of the Stockholm variety..

HTCMSI,

I only wish that your nom de Blog was, in fact, descriptive of the common weal..

til’ then,