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Tom Toles via Yahoo!

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  1. jmay commented on Feb 22

    At what point does it all become too depressing?

  2. Pat G. commented on Feb 22

    LOL and how true?

  3. JST commented on Feb 22

    Everyone has to remember a few things.

    1)It is only a recession if you have lost your job and therefore your lifestyle.

    2)It is only inflation if your wages do not outpace rising costs.

    3)The new generations X and younger, of which I am a part – border line boomer/Xer, life is a video game (I don’t agree with it but it seems that way. $100 is just a number just like $50 is and $20 is.

    3)I’ve never understood on a personal level why someone would buy gold to hedge inflation? I have not figured out a way to eat gold and if the apocolypse (sp?) is really upon are farmers going to take gold for a bushel of wheat? The farmers I know would spit chew on your shoe and say get the hell out of here. On an investment level, I understand it.

  4. BGreen commented on Feb 22

    Nice thoughts JST.

    Money may be a video game to everyone. Survey found that 65% of US millionaires worth $38 million or more feel “financially insecure.”

    “Flight to saftey?”

    What/where/when is this safety, and who can fly in a hurricane?

  5. Ross commented on Feb 22

    JST,
    You bought! My black beef critters go for 2/oz AU each. Actually I’ll take 3 fat hogs and a dozen chickens. My horses are NOT for sale and my dog ain’t ugly!

    Seriously,gold is just a ware but it has certain advantages over most commodities. It is small in size, anonomous (sp) and fairly portable. If you want a truely investable metal, try the platinum group. It includes palladium and rhodium and all have industrial uses.

    Commodities usually pace and offset the debasement of your currency. The drawback is that they usually don’t earn income. But then again, stock yields suck.

  6. JustinTheSkeptic commented on Feb 22

    I just turned bullish, I mean the underlying economy is so strong, that how can you not be? Sixs months from now the american economy will be powerful! lol

  7. Shane commented on Feb 22

    JST,
    I too am a fellow Gen Xer albeit a late one (’79).
    1-Agree with
    2-Nope, sorry “everybody hurts” with inflation. Just ‘cuz your income keeps up with inflation doesn’t mean your savings do.

    Wait . . . do people even know what savings is . . . nah its some antiquated method that cave men used to help them when times were bad, we don’t need no stinking savings today . . . debt=the new savings

    3-I grew up w/ video games but you actually had to have friends over if you wanted to play with multiple people-no anonymous internet “friends”.

    4- Ah yes . . . good old gold another “barbaric relic” of a bygone age-just like savings . . . yeah right. I never really understood why people would take a piece of paper with the word “dollar” on it and accept them just b/c their backed by the “full faith and credit” of the Government.

    If the apocalypse comes and the government starts printing like there’s no tomorrow (see Weimar Republic) you think a farmer’s going to take your worthless dollar bills . . . maybe, but I’d be willing to bet he’ll definitely take the gold bar off your hands.

    Gen Xers’-1st real generation in the US that was doped into believing the a flimsy piece of paper which can be printed at will and is only good to be burned or used as toilet paper is “real” money.

  8. Shane commented on Feb 22

    Actually one slight modification.

    Recession-your friends lose their jobs.
    Depression-you lose you job :-).

  9. Chief Tomahawk commented on Feb 22

    It’s a bird!

    It’s a plane!

    No, it’s Charlie Gasparino here to save the day!!!!!

  10. Pat G. commented on Feb 22

    “Seriously,gold is just a ware but it has certain advantages over most commodities. It is small in size, anonomous (sp) and fairly portable. If you want a truely investable metal, try the platinum group. It includes palladium and rhodium and all have industrial uses.”

    How interesting that you mentioned several metals but not silver. Which already comes in much smaller denominational sizes, is industrial and investable. Oh, did I mention that its been a currency of choice by the vast world’s populations over thousands of years or that it was up 5.5% during this four day trading week and that it sells at only $18 an ounce?

    “The drawback is that they usually don’t earn income.”

    You’re right, its called capital gains.

  11. Ross commented on Feb 22

    Sorry, Pat G. I didn’t mean to overlook silver. I’m sure you own it and have and will probably continue to do quite well.

    The point about commodities is that sometimes they too go to excessive prices. Probably not for some years because I can’t see any public hoarding–yet.

    I have a friend rooting for silver. He still has some of Bunker Hunts at $38/oz.

    Doing your homework on commodities is really quite fun. Most markets are transparent and their is a ton of national and international data. They are supply demand markets for the most part but rise and fall with the tide of emotions also.

    The battle over gold or silver or palladium is more like I’m a Chevy…Ford…or Chrysler man of days gone by.

  12. Chief Tomahawk commented on Feb 22

    I swear Jerry Bowyer shows up on the Kudlow show everyday…

    No “Dougie Kass” tonight…

  13. JST commented on Feb 22

    Shane,

    I agree on the inflation thing as well. I was trying make a point that information is global but impact is personal. Savings are a joke in this country but I get a feeling that the excessive spending of the Boomer generation is getting ready to transition to a more moderate lifestyle of the Gen X, Y and Mil kids.

    The video game reference is true too. I had Pong, Super Pong and the first Atari system that had computer dots that were supposed to be tanks in a combat game. We did need a neighbor kid to play back then. Now, link up online and play half way around the world. Here is the key point, when we were done playing video, we turned it off. We can’t turn this thing called the economy off. X’ers (like me & you) have not had to feel the pain of a receding economy.

  14. rickrude commented on Feb 22

    …………
    (sp?) is really upon are farmers going to take gold for a bushel of wheat? The farmers I know would spit chew on your shoe and say get the hell out of here. On an investment level, I understand it.

    Posted by: JST | Feb 22, 2008 5:07:23 PM
    ………………………..

    you know nothing about the history of mankind, in those circumstances, people would start using gold as currency for hard goods and food

  15. Shane commented on Feb 22

    JST,
    I completely agree that Xers have not had to feel the pain of a receding economy. I think we will have to learn the hard way. However, I would also add that in general a bad receding economy is pretty much extinct from the the public conscience.

    The last really bad one was 1980 . . . 1990 was hard, but still you talking at least 20-30 years of no societal memory of a bad recession-which wipes out a huge chunk of the working population. If you were 25-30 at the last bad recession you’re pushing 60 and retirement now. That’s pretty much an entire working generation that has relatively no clue what bad times are like.

    And it’s not just that, it’s the fact that for an entire generation relatively few children have been taught to be frugal. How many parents just go out and buy their kids new iPods, cell phones, computers, cars? Why? not b/c they need it but just b/c they want it. Parents are now “expected” to pay for college. Upper-middle class parents are now starting to pay for the downpayment on houses like they started to fund college education 20 years ago. So as a society we teach our children “don’t worry, be happy” someone will be there to pull your bacon out of the frying pan. We have 25-30 year-old adults living with their parents b/c it’s cheaper than renting or buying. Seriously what lessons as a society do we teach our kids when we do these things for them-no responsibility and no self sufficiency.

    Prosperity is wonderful . . . the problem is that if used unwisely we end up teaching our future generations the exact opposite of what brought about that prosperity.

    One of the great lessons my dad taught me . . . we were in a store and I wanted toy .. . he said no .. . I persisted . . . He said before you buy it wait 12 weeks, if you can save your allowance for the next 12 weeks and afterwards you still want it . . .then I’ll consider helping with the rest of the cost. The concept of delayed gratification took root in my brain-and 12 weeks later I realized I neither needed nor wanted that item. 20 years later, I’ve paid for college on my own, and I would never think about moving back in with my folks, or borrow money from them, after 3 years of working I’m completely self-sufficient with enough financial stability for over a year . . . now if I can just knock that house thing down :-).

    Funny . . . all the great lessons my dad taught me about money he now ends up asking me for money . . . go figure!. I guess it shows you sometimes it’s hard to practice what you preach :-).

  16. Pat G. commented on Feb 22

    Ross…no problem. We’re all entitled to our opinion which makes this blog so very interesting.

  17. Middyfeek commented on Feb 23

    I don’t understand why some people denigrate gold. Isn’t gold the ORIGINAL money? Everything else that is used as money is just a substitute for gold.

    I don’t think young people understand hyperinflation. If it happens here, you can be damn sure that the farmer mentioned above isn’t going to take paper money for his bushel of wheat.

  18. Will Rahal commented on Feb 23

    Barry,
    Pulling on those $100 barrells is one reason for a shrinking P/E.

    I thought you might be intersted on the relationship of relative inflation and P/E.

    I have shown on my site that a typical contraction of 2/3 in P/E takes place when
    commodities prices soar.

    See “Honey I(nflation) shrunk the P/E”

  19. JST commented on Feb 23

    Ruderick,

    I agree with you that gold would become a currency. I am not denying or criticizing the notion. I will tell you that we as a society would probably be much better off if we were gold backed.

    On a personal level, why invest in gold unless you actually have the gold in your hand. Not the paper saying you bought gold but the actual gold itself. The piece of paper saying you own gold or gold futures is worthless if it all hits the fan. It is no better than what we are seeing playing out in the markets. Insurers not being able to honor policies.

  20. Ross commented on Feb 23

    Gold

    Gold is money? If you think it is, it’s ok with me.

    The definition of money is money thought. Money is an illusion. It is what you want it to be. Our current illusion is that money is digits. Debits/credits.

    Gold was money to Greco- Romans. It had a name and was represented by a weight of gold. Change the weight per name and voila, inflation even on a gold standard.

    Our money thought is very akin to ancient Egyption. A notation on papyrus carried to another city was honored in goods and services equal to the notation.

    Maya Aztec civilization had a lot of gold and silver. What was their money base? Cocoa.

    I’m sure there was a mastadon tusk based economy at some point in history.

    People who view gold as money simply lament a long lost decipline. When FDR increased the price og gold from roughly $25 to $35 an ounce, he did not make gold more valuable, he debased the currency.

    Look at gold any way you want. To me it is a long lived ware.

    A little bloody meat before the lions on a Sundy morning. Pounce!

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