Have you seen this?
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZA0qNsf4m0

opinions?

I watched the first 5 minutes. In summary, I have no faith in economic prognosticators, particularly those who reside on cable TV. They may be right, but even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut.

That's about how far I got. I have a little trouble taking things like this seriously when they don't source anything they claim, use unidentified talking heads'* out-of context remarks and make claims like, "The Federal Reserve is nothing more than a counterfeiting operation. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, ninety-five cents of every dollar saved by Americans has been stolen."

Wow, really?

*Yes, I know who many of them are but, except for the Swiss economist Marc Faber, none was identified. This guys' been around for a while predicting the imminent collapse of our economy. He's a bit too alarmist for my taste but he did say this which I like:

"The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part."

John

Gold was at $550 in 1982 and the same folks were screaming the same crap.
I took it on the chin then. I have no intentions of drinking from the same well.

BTW it is the same group who got fat on loose money that are now suggesting that things need to change. Why? Because their is so little room left to steal as things are now.

Alright I have now viewed the entire "show."

BASICALLY IT'S TRASH.

There's one prognosticator I know of who seems to get it right with alarming regularity.

http://www.ravibatra.com/Forecasting.html

John

Pure unadultrated horse manure.

Well, that's Freedom's Watch for you.

John

And I have always done mine. Not to mention that I always support the local strip club.

Anything that discusses economics and features (briefly) Ron Paul I know has to be the rough equivalent of a tea leaf reading. Paul is a decent enough fellow but he should have stuck to delivering babies, the poor fellow is so far out of his depth it is embarassing to watch.

Then the talking head who blamed the financial disaster on too much government regulation immediately said bye bye.

Well, I didn't watch the whole thing, but I already know where it's headed.

The Federal Reserve probably is unconstitutional, but what ain't? And it wouldn't be the first time we've had a central bank, or the first time one of them has been shut down. Inflation probably has destroyed 95% of the dollars purchasing power, but the only way that anyone has been hurt by that is if they buried their currency in fruit jars. Gold is a commodity, and it appears to me that it is way oversold at the moment. For one, there isn't that much gold, people are buying paper gold. And the price will most likely collapse once again.

Probably, the basic premise of this piece (like I said I didn't watch the whole thing) is that the system is rotten to the core. And if I'm correct on my assumption, I would tend to agree.

But it's the only rotten game in town. The dollar, or even gold, is backed only by the faith that it has some value. And while faith may not be one of my strong points, I only HOPE that everyone else has plenty of FAITH.

If not, we're all gonna be in a world of hurt.

Chas

Jesus Christ.

Like the panel discussion I watched on Fox last night.....would someone please just hand these assholes a box of razor-blades?

Is the dollar declining? Yep.
Should I buy gold? F**k no. The price of gold is so artificially inflated right now.........
The only people making money in the transaction would be the people who are selling it.
Probably the guys in this video.

Dave

I had about the same reaction as many of you.....but it did make me wonder a little.

Perhaps I should have asked this question instead:

Are you concerned about inflation-issues given what is happening within our elected/appointed "leaders' " control?

Yes, but I am also concerned about the devaluation of work. For the first time in years---I got no COLA increase, no bonus, and even more transfer of benefit costs to me and my fellow employees through deduction and co-pays. We're getting burned at both ends. Still, I realize I'm fortunate to still have a job. Knowing that keeps me going.

Dave

I am concerned about inflation yes given that the government was forced to pump so much money into the economy to keep it from failing. The most alarming aspect of all of this is that no one is being prosecuted for there illegal actions and instead we are still paying bonuses to the same thieves that did this.

Yes you are. My cousin just lost his job after 25 years. Not sure if any pension is left either.
It's a terrible catch 22. You need unions to insure a living wage yet if you pay a living wage you cannot keep your costs competitive.
Yeah all you loud mouth folks on the right explain why this is good.

Can you say tarriffs? Why do we need to compete with slave labor in China, or workers in India. Have you called customer service lately? You get this veddy nice lady in Bangalore who has all your creditd info at her fingertips and you worry about identity theft? It isn't theft when they give it away, or is it?

What happens when a bubble pops...it deflates.

I think that deflation is more of a concern at the moment. Helicopter Ben said something to the effect that deflation was not a problem, and he would drop money out of helicopters if necessary...which is precisely what they are doing.

Long term, I would expect to see inflation. For one, we have a history of inflation, and for another, how else will we ever get a handle on the national debt? Not that it is meant to be paid.

But what do I know? A few years ago, the "smart money" guys were saying that only a fool would pay off their house. Make the minimum payments and invest the rest of your money as you would realize bigger returns on your investments than what the interest rates on your mortgage were.

Thank God I didn't listen to them. And I ain't buying paper gold either.

Chas

It's not that simple.
In my cousins case the firm was effectively no longer competitive not because of foreign competition but because of cheaper non unionized competition.

And in time the non-union people lose their jobs because it can be done cheaper yet in other countries. Then our politicians, at the behest of business owners and corporate executives, turn around and tell us that the only way to bring work back into this country is to be even cheaper than the foreigners. And the wing-nuts cheer because Rush has old them American workers are "Lazy and Overpaid", and they say, "See, Rush was right! We are lazy and overpaid, haha! Dittos, Rush! Fuck the American worker!"
Disregarding the fact that they are American workers themselves, of course.


This is whay I always say, "Go ahead, Skippy. Be the first to work harder for less money than a Chinaman. Show us the way, Bud." When I hear this stupidity.

Dave

Dave
By now you should realize, the rich are hard working and the poor are lazy.
The working poor are teabaggers.;)

Oh, I know. And traced to it's root, you will find it usually comes from someone who gets tens or even hundreds of millions to sit on his/her ass in front of a microphone/camera and bitch about how bad the wealthy have it.

And where do you suppose all of that money comes from and why?
Who could be paying them to keep us all ashamed of ourselves for expecting a decent wage and a few bennies?:rolleyes: It's not me, that's for damned sure. Being a mechanic pays well, but certainly not enough to buy any top flight propagandists like Hannity, or Boortz, or Coulter and sure as hell not Limbaugh.

Thought bubble;

(Hmmmmmm? I don't think it would be the unions, they hate those guys. Environme....no, no. The governm.....nah, well maybe Republicans might kick them a few private donations or behind the scenes type deals, but that's not really the gov..... Maybe it's............Ah Hah! The people who pay the labor costs? I might just be on to something there!:eek:) :D

Dave

Can you say Murdoch?

Yeah, Murdoch. He would be the puppeteer, but who picked him to
run the show?

Maybe this belongs in "Conspiracy theories"?

Yeah.

Dave

I think Murdoch is the single most impactful PERSON in the USA. He has transformed the media from a news organization to a political propaganda machine. If our forefathers could have foreseen this then surely would have made provisions to not allow it. Just as they did with separation of church and state.

That's what's so damned cool about being super rich. You get to pick yourself.

John

I think they did foresee it. the press of their day was even less constrained by objectivity than it is today. The founders thought that a free press was essential but that by itself it was a dangerous thing. An informed citizen had to look to all sources of information.

John

Yeah, but the newer phenomina (I think) is that so many today pick their camp and REFUSE to listen to any opposing view-points. It's the "Anyone who disagrees with us is an idiot." principle. What is Limbaughs old line, "I have cornered the market on truth."? Humor? Perhaps. But I know some people who seem to believe EVERYTHING that blowhard and his colleagues tell them. I think we all know a few, right?

Dave

Well, Rush did bring us "Operation Chaos". Haven't heard too much about it recently. But I don't listen to Rush.

I don't think that cheer leading from the media, or people just listening to what they wish to hear, is anything new. 140 years ago, John Newman Edwards managed to paint a smiley face on the "heroic exploits" of the James/Younger gang. Not exactly a bunch you'd want to invite over for fried chicken on Sunday. Unless you had a death wish.

Chas

You know what, when you're damned poor, you can pick yourself too.

It's just that no one cares.

Chas

They did try to restrict ownership of media, but when Martin was head of the Funny Cookie Company he allowed Murdoch to own far too much of the media, e.g., FOX, WSJ, etc. to the point that in some places there is only one opinion presented.