sell! sell! sell!

[tiznow]

And don't get me started on immigration ... Out post 9/11 protectionism is going to destroy us long term ... Young bright foreigners coming here searching for a better life I what made this country great ...

Now we've made it hell to get in (the legal way... Yet we allow the uneducated border jumpers in hoards)... Don't understand why anybody (with any intelligenxe that is)would want to come here at this point much better off going to canada Australia something like that ... Less headache and long term prospects much better

 

[PatsFan1283]

How can you skew that people are saving less now (with stock market at all time highs and a dubbed "recovering economy") then they wee in 2009

The disconnect between wall street and main street continues to widen

In 1991 lets say or then further along like in 2006, 2007 before bubble burst how many people had 2K handy? I realize maybe a little more than now but I'm sure not many more. There have always been a lot of broke people in any society. I'm not saying it isn't bad that 1/2 people don't got 2K just saying it doesn't surprise me and I doubt it was much different pre-crash.

 

[tiznow]

Comparing raw dollars to the past is meaningless unless you factor in inflation

Just cannot fathom how our leaders like Ben can say thing like inflation is tame

Yes yes yes it's tame for the 1% that don't spend almost every dollar on necessities ... But for the lower class/middle that spends a bulk on food, health care, energy, rent, college education etc its humongous

Who needed 2k in 2006-2007? A home was your own private ATM machine

 

[tiznow]

Just cannot fathom the plight of your average family of 4 these days ...

My personal situation is fine but throw a couple of kids into the mix ... I might be standing in the food stamp/local pantry
line lol

Generations going backwards I have a better education than my parents yet I'd struggle way more if I had kids

 

[PatsFan1283]

Comparing raw dollars to the past is meaningless unless you factor in inflation

Just cannot fathom how our leaders like Ben can say thing like inflation is tame

Yes yes yes it's tame for the 1% that don't spend almost every dollar on necessities ... But for the lower class/middle that spends a bulk on food, health care, energy, rent, college education etc its humongous

Who needed 2k in 2006-2007? A home was your own private ATM machine

You are really overanalyzing what I said tizz. Even factoring in inflation, you think 7 years ago a whole bunch of people in this country had say $1600? Or 15-20 years ago make that $ like 1K? I agree the gap between haves and have nots is growing rapidly and many haven't saved for retirement and will need to work until they are 75, I'm just saying I think that particular 2K stat is a little deceiving, we've always had tons of broke people.

It is going to be pretty hard for people of avg means to get ahead when gas, food, college tuition, health care, utility bills costs skyrocketing. Yes I understand that, but I'm surprised you don't agree with what I said re: the 2K, it is not like we haven't always had a lot of broke people.

 

[tiznow]

Obviously always gonna be poor people ... And obviously I'm going to go off on tangents with my stream of consciousness ranting lol

But I'm guessing if you go back through American history and ask them if they have 2k (converted to dollars at that time equal amount in terms of inflation) ... I highly doubt you'd get a 50% no I don't have it answer and it would be significantly less

Weve become a now now now society that lives beyond their means in general no denying that... Throw in stagnant wages for decades couple with massive necessity inflation and picture get worse

 

[PatsFan1283]

Obviously always gonna be poor people ... And obviously I'm going to go off on tangents with my stream of consciousness ranting lol

But I'm guessing if you go back through American history and ask them if they have 2k (converted to dollars at that time equal amount in terms of inflation) ... I highly doubt you'd get a 50% no I don't have it answer and it would be significantly less

Weve become a now now now society that lives beyond their means in general no denying that... Throw in stagnant wages for decades couple with massive necessity inflation and picture get worse

Everything is fine Tiz.

Top 2 indicators: S&P 500 and my Nuggs/OKC 2nd half under won last night. Saw you are a big UFC fan, should I start tossing you questions about betting UFC in here to breakup the monotony of hearing about fear of Obama siphoning $ from peoples deferred-compensation plans and WW3 starting?

 

[PatsFan1283]

sent PM tiz

 

[PatsFan1283]

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/pricebasket.html

Inflation figures for last 5 years on most consumer durable/discretionary items.

 

[tiznow]

[h=1][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Forget Cyprus, Nobody Is Stealing from Depositors More than Bernanke[/FONT][/h][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
After the Federal Reserve reaffirmed its easy money policy Wednesday, Chairman Ben Bernanke was asked whether the U.S. would ever think of taxing bank depositors as Cyprus has done. He said that was very unlikely but Jim Rickards, senior managing director of Tangent Capital Partners, says the Fed already has its hands in depositors’ pockets.

“Nobody is stealing more money from bank depositors than Ben Bernanke,” Rickards tells The Daily Ticker. Bernanke's doing that, Rickards says, by maintaining interest rates near zero.

Related: There are No Bubbles, QE is Working

“At this stage of a recovery normalized interest rates should be around 2-3%,” says Rickards. “Apply that 2-3%…to the entire multi-trillion-dollar deposit base of the United States of America and that’s a $400-billion per year wealth transfer from savers to bankers so they can pay themselves bigger bonuses or make crazy bets.” Over time, Rickards says, that wealth transfer could reach $1 trillion.

Rickards says zero interest rates are just one way the Fed is fleecing depositors. Others include increasing inflation, which Bernanke is trying to do, and taxing deposits like Cyprus is pushing for. “Bernanke is stealing more money from depositors than Cyprus is... looting everyday Americans—teachers, firemen and retirees,” says Rickards.

There’s another way, of course, to view Fed policy: that near-zero interest rates and $85 billion worth of asset purchases every month are helping to boost economic growth and employment and maintain low interest rates for both short-term and long-term debt. Bernankehimself, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee late last month, said, “The benefits of asset purchases, and of policy accommodation more generally, are clear…monetary policy is providing important support to the recovery.”

But Rickards says the easy money policy is creating asset bubbles that may feel good for now but will eventually crash. Cyprus could crash much sooner than that.

Related: Cyprus is a Game Changer for Investors: Jacob Kirkegaard

The ECB today set a Monday deadline for the island nation to finalize an agreement with the bank, the European Union and IMF in order to qualify for emergency funding. If no deal is reached by the Monday deadlineCyprus will lose access to emergency funds and its banking system could collapse. That’s especially bad news for the Cypriot economy because not only does it depend on its banks, as most economies do, but its banking system is 7 to 8 times the size of its 70-billion-euro GDP.

About 30% of those deposits are reportedly from Russia.Talks are expected to continue throughout the weekend and now reportedly include Russia.

"‘At least now the Russians and the Europeans are talking…so there’ll be some kind of resolution,” Rickards says.

There's even speculation that Russia’s gas producer Gazprom(OGZPY),which has its own bank, could lend Cyprus some money.[/FONT]

 

[tiznow]

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/pricebasket.html

Inflation figures for last 5 years on most consumer durable/discretionary items.

Tide 8 to 18 in 4 years lol

Tide a hot commodity on the shoplifting front as its hard to track/trace ... PPeople waltzing into Walmart filling up a cart and walking out... To resell

 

[tiznow]

[h=1][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Texas May Start Hoarding Gold…Secession Next?[/FONT][/h][FONT=verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif]
We all know the cliché: ‘Don’t mess with Texas.’

Well, a new piece of legislation is being proposed to send that message to Washington, when it comes to protecting Texas’ gold.

A lawmaker has proposed a bill to create a Texas Bullion Depository, which would allow the state and its citizens to store gold bullion in its own facility in Texas, with the protection of the state.

If passed, the Texas bill would tell Washington to “shove off” under the 10th amendment power given the states, if we ever saw the kind of currency craziness we saw during the Great Depression when President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandated citizens hand over most of their gold.

Texas isn't the first state to think about hedging its monetary destiny with precious metals.

Related: Don't Sell Your Gold and Silver Coins: Jim Rogers

Citing concerns over the value of the U.S. dollar, Arizona lawmakers are the latest to pursue legislation that would declare privately minted gold and silver coins legal tender. In2011, Utah became the first state in the country to legalize these precious metal coins as currency. Lawmakers in states including Minnesota, North Carolina, Idaho, South Carolina, and Colorado have debated similar laws.

As for the Texas proposal, Jim Rickards, senior managing director of Tangent Capital Partners and author of Currency Wars, tells The Daily Ticker you can think of it like the “Fort Knox of Texas.”

And on the legal side Rickards says, “you’ve got the state of Texas standing up for you if the federal government tries to do what they tried to do in 1933, which is take the people’s gold." Rickards is also a lawyer and has read the legislation.

Related: Central Banks Repatriate Gold: How Will This Affect Investors?

So, is Texas making preparations to start hoarding gold?

“It may end up that way,” Rickards says. “Personally, I think this is a game changer in terms of the way institutional investors are going to look at gold.”

That’s because large Texas pension funds haven’t been allowed to invest in physical gold, but Rickards explains this law would change that.

Gold is considered a hedge against inflation. And while inflation is currently low in the U.S. right now by official figures, Rickards doesn’t expect that to remain the case, projecting an uptick to come later this year or early next year.

Related: The Uptrend in Gold Is Broken, Next Stop Could Be $1000: Don Hays

If people were to lose faith in the dollar, Rickards concedes Texas could have the foundation for its own currency, of sorts.

Which could come in handy if they, say, push forward in trying to secede.

You may recall, more than 100,000 people signed an online petition calling on the Obama administration to allow Texas to secede from the U.S., according to New York Times. In January, the White House declined but the secession movement has pressed on.[/FONT]

 

[snoop]

The Keynesian nuthuggers and MMT morons do not have a clue how to grow the economy except propping another housing bubble by pumping liquidity into the zombie banking system then hoping and praying fiat currency will do its magic. Forget about Cyprus. Bernanke has been robing savers hundred of billion dollars a year to fund the government deficit and subsidy his Wall Street buddies with his ZIRP to infinity and QE4EVA policy.

The US is doing exactly what the Japs have been doing for the last 20++ yrs without success yet we have entire US media outlets to cheerleading the US policymakers on every step of the way.

So don't be worrying, Tizdoom.
The government is here to take care of you. :grandmais

 

[snoop]

Tide 8 to 18 in 4 years lol

Tide a hot commodity on the shoplifting front as its hard to track/trace ... PPeople waltzing into Walmart filling up a cart and walking out... To resell

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Then 14164.5; Now 14512
• Regular Gas Price: Then $2.75; Now $3.73
• GDP Growth: Then +2.5%; Now +1.6%
• Americans Unemployed (in Labor Force): Then 6.7 million; Now 13.2 million
• Americans On Food Stamps: Then 26.9 million; Now 47.69 million
• Size of Fed's Balance Sheet: Then $0.89 trillion; Now $3.01 trillion
• US Debt as a Percentage of GDP: Then ~38%; Now 74.2%
• US Deficit (LTM): Then $97 billion; Now $975.6 billion
• Total US Debt Oustanding: Then $9.008 trillion; Now $16.43 trillion
• US Household Debt: Then $13.5 trillion; Now 12.87 trillion
• Labor Force Particpation Rate: Then 65.8%; Now 63.6%
• Consumer Confidence: Then 99.5; Now 69.6
• S&P Rating of the US: Then AAA; Now AA+
• VIX: Then 17.5%; Now 14%
• 10 Year Treasury Yield: Then 4.64%; Now 1.89%
• USDJPY: Then 117; Now 93
• EURUSD: Then 1.4145; Now 1.3050
• Gold: Then $748; Now $1583
• NYSE Average LTM Volume (per day): Then 1.3 billion shares; Now 545 million shares

:thumbsup2:

:toast:

 

[PatsFan1283]

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: Then 14164.5; Now 14512
• Regular Gas Price: Then $2.75; Now $3.73
• GDP Growth: Then +2.5%; Now +1.6%
• Americans Unemployed (in Labor Force): Then 6.7 million; Now 13.2 million
• Americans On Food Stamps: Then 26.9 million; Now 47.69 million
• Size of Fed's Balance Sheet: Then $0.89 trillion; Now $3.01 trillion
• US Debt as a Percentage of GDP: Then ~38%; Now 74.2%
• US Deficit (LTM): Then $97 billion; Now $975.6 billion
• Total US Debt Oustanding: Then $9.008 trillion; Now $16.43 trillion
• US Household Debt: Then $13.5 trillion; Now 12.87 trillion
• Labor Force Particpation Rate: Then 65.8%; Now 63.6%
• Consumer Confidence: Then 99.5; Now 69.6
• S&P Rating of the US: Then AAA; Now AA+
• VIX: Then 17.5%; Now 14%
• 10 Year Treasury Yield: Then 4.64%; Now 1.89%
• USDJPY: Then 117; Now 93
• EURUSD: Then 1.4145; Now 1.3050
• Gold: Then $748; Now $1583
• NYSE Average LTM Volume (per day): Then 1.3 billion shares; Now 545 million shares

:thumbsup2:

:toast:

"Then" is late '07 right? It doesn't specify but with that Dow price makes it obvious.

Only thing I would say is go back further than late '07 because obviously in late '07 shit was fucked too, it just wasn't totally known then. Consumer confidence/UE/household wealth #s obviously gonna look a lot better in a time period where we gave people 300K loans that couldn't qualify for 70K loans and this wasn't universally considered a bad idea yet.

 

[snoop]

The macro econ picture is worse now than 2007. The DOW is the only difference.
6 yrs since the crash and the economy is still in a very fragile stage.
One downturn and shit will hit the fan again. BANK ON IT.
But then Keynesians would argue the government didn't print and spend enough.

Sound familiar?

 

[snoop]

They attached the MarketPlace Fairness Act to the budget resolution amendment. If it becomes law, meaning, Amazon/eBay would have to collect and remit sales taxes to states where buyers are from. Don't they know most folks who purchase stuffs from Amazon & eBay are low income earners? The Government strikes another one at average Joe. Hah.

 

[PatsFan1283]

The macro econ picture is worse now than 2007. The DOW is the only difference.
6 yrs since the crash and the economy is still in a very fragile stage.
One downturn and shit will hit the fan again. BANK ON IT.
But then Keynesians would argue the government didn't print and spend enough.

Sound familiar?

Yeah I understand all that. Was just saying some of the #s in the '07 column were deceiving, whereas today we pretty much have what we have. I agree though both had a lot of propping up to them.

 

[PatsFan1283]

They attached the MarketPlace Fairness Act to the budget resolution amendment. If it becomes law, meaning, Amazon/eBay would have to collect and remit sales taxes to states where buyers are from. Don't they know most folks who purchase stuffs from Amazon & eBay are low income earners? The Government strikes another one at average Joe. Hah.

Most people who purchase from Amazon are low income earners? I dunno about that. Low income earners are who it will hurt though with another tax to deal with.

 

[snoop]

According to the survey, Amazon/eBay biggest shopping block makes between $40k-$65k annually and they spend an average of $3K/year shopping at Amazon & eBay. The sale tax probably hurt Amazon & eBay in a short term, long term, not so much because shopping online has became a behavioral trend and it's growing. Also, Amazon & eBay still have a lot to offer traditional retails can't do. Amazon prime membership has free access to videos/books library at no cost on top of FS. It's pretty good deal.