tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post6717746814273607731..comments2024-02-29T03:21:35.007-08:00Comments on The Great Depression of 2006 : History and DebtJim in San Marcoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-24945484179482637142010-02-14T07:12:24.275-08:002010-02-14T07:12:24.275-08:00Production is important, but how. Building factor...Production is important, but how. Building factories takes capital. If private capital, who wants the risk right now? <br /><br />Paradigm change is inevitable, but may not be recognized by the prevailing powers until they are behind the curve. Is China the future? Perhaps, but it could be anyone...Canada....Brazil...Indonesia?<br /><br />In the short run, getting people back to work is imperative. Idle hands....not good. Rural America has suffered in the last 40 years. Why not promote some old fashioned labor based production. At the same time promote Green production. How?<br /><br />Labor intensive organic farming is one idea. No machines, no chemicals, just man power. Crazy? Like a fox...<br /><br />Urban labor moves to rural America to dig, plant, weed, rake and harvest. Not for much money, but a job nonetheless. <br /><br />It could work...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-74272380639479906252010-02-08T22:46:42.106-08:002010-02-08T22:46:42.106-08:00agree with you, but at the time of the Roman Empir...agree with you, but at the time of the Roman Empire were of precious metal money, while now they are without value in itself (paper not worth too much).daniel cazangiuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03252370338165156691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-29013126784404265012010-02-08T22:10:20.732-08:002010-02-08T22:10:20.732-08:00When it comes to derivatives I am at a total loss....When it comes to derivatives I am at a total loss. Can anyone give me a quick primer? What is it about this part of the market that is prime for failure? $30T is an enormous number...but is it accurate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-69913358373531212022010-02-08T20:54:07.342-08:002010-02-08T20:54:07.342-08:00Wow.....quite a dissertation... very enlightening....Wow.....quite a dissertation... very enlightening...<br /><br />Yes the key to recovery is production... and that increases earnings... you have to let private businesses find ways to make money which they can then share with their employees.... government has to get out of the way...<br /><br />this keynesian create demand and consumption formula by stimulating, etc. is wrong... our problem isn't demand... out problem is purchasing power... americans won't be able to get out of debt and be able to consume unless they are earning good money for creating products and services...<br /><br />the collective IQ of our government leaders is below that of a plantAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-8090932191163382182010-02-07T21:02:23.276-08:002010-02-07T21:02:23.276-08:00We need the truth and accurate statistics and all ...We need the truth and accurate statistics and all the vital data that has been withheld from us by government (and The Federal Reserve) in order to fix our economy. We can not depend on politicians to enact a solution as they are only concerned about the short term view of re-election.<br /><br />Socialism, government intervention and taxation has degraded us. Unions are pure Marxism and will drive the final nail into our coffin if not stopped. The consumer wants the lowest price but labor wants the highest wage. This poses a real conundrum to a business laden with unnatural expenses. Manufacturers leave the USA out of survival not avarice. Taxes and the costs of benefits are stifling and they double or treble the cost of wages. That is why we are losing service jobs to India, the Phillipines, Mexico, etc.<br /><br />The only way out of this mess is PRODUCTION. But first you need to create the proper environment that is conducive to production. And you need to reward the producers and penalize the non-producers (the opposite of what the US government is doing).<br /><br />We need productive capacity. New technology. We need to be able to exchange our needed and wanted products and services on a domestic and global level. We need to create competitive labor that is exportable.<br /><br />What do we need to do to create the environment for this? Here are a few big steps for starters…<br /><br />1. How about stopping the Keynesian philosophy of debt, spending and stimulus—a totally unworkable method of restoring the economy?<br /><br />2. Jettisoning Marxism in total?<br /><br />3. Monetize expenditure as a percent of GDP?<br /><br />4. Begin program to make government smaller and privatize every activity that they shouldn’t be doing?<br /><br />5. Eliminating income, payroll and benefit taxes?<br /><br />6. Bringing in real true tort reform so tha we can then create a real national health care system?<br /><br />7. Bringing our military home and shutting down 80% of our offshore military bases?<br /><br />The pendulum has swung from CONFIDENCE in the private sector to CONFIDENCE in the government (this breeds Socialism). If it doesn’t swing back soon we are going to go the way of the past empires that have collapsed due to debt crises. It is all about the public CONFIDENCE. The moving force behind economies is this psychological aspect. Our past and current government system and its fiscal and monetary policies is destroying the public’s CONFIDENCE.<br /><br />PRODUCTION is the only way out and the above points are some of the key barriers to America becoming as productive as it needs to be to climb out of this hole. <br /><br />Confidence will never be restored unless these points begin to be addressed and real reform begins.<br /><br />The Dems and Repubs have failed us. They have unwittingly morphed into a two-headed, single party. Congress has become a whore house. A new party will have to emerge based on tenets such as the ones enumerated above if we have any chance of making it through this crisis and avoiding a global depression of devastating proportion. <br /><br />Maybe The Tea Party, Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, and other such movements will coalesce into a major grassroots wave that will form a new party. <br /><br />We all need to live, work, speak and VOTE in this direction. Otherwise, God help us.<br /><br />Anon On A California MountainAnon On A California Mountainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-20306500874660659262010-02-07T20:38:28.256-08:002010-02-07T20:38:28.256-08:00Hoover, in his ignorance, declared: “Prosperity is...Hoover, in his ignorance, declared: “Prosperity is around the corner.” Yet, it never manifested. Why? The collapsing debt structure.<br /><br />Our crisis today stems from leverage in debt, not stocks. If our leaders don’t soon understand this, history will duplicate itself. With the combination of collapsing leverage and the unfunded federal, state and city entitlements... you can double the money supply and lower interest rates until the cows come home but it will be to no avail.<br /><br />Wall St. and the salaries paid to CEOs and corporate officers is the wrong target. That doesn’t hurt the economy any more than the equally high payouts to sports heros.<br /><br />The correct target is the leverage generated by Investment Bankers, that is the cause. Leverage sometimes at 50:1!<br /><br />Let’s create an analogy that everyone can understand. Our country in microcosm: If you had a building worth 100k and the bank loaned you 5M. Even doubling the money supply to 200k would not stop the contraction in leverage. <br /><br />The cost of this bailout will be in the trillions and the domino effect that is just beginning will be overwhelming and will spread into all areas of the economy. Add the tsunami of entitlements that is on the way and you’ve got a recipe for massive collapse.<br /><br />The Investment Bankers are who have done it. The unregulated derivative market they created has done it. Their hiring government attorneys to gain inside protection from prosecution and regulation have done it. The investment models they created that have nothing to do with reality created it. (Look what happened to the model they created for AIG). And now they are becoming commercial bankers to get longer term deposits to play with and to be protected by the government.<br /><br />No, we don’t need more regulation on Wall St., we need regulation on banks and leverage. Debt and leverage has historically been the source of all major economic declines.<br /><br />There are solutions. Let’s call this Post I. Solutions will follow in Post II.<br /><br />Anon On A California MountainAnon On A California Mountainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-73835015643069161592010-02-07T20:38:01.778-08:002010-02-07T20:38:01.778-08:00Our economic system is damaged and out of order do...Our economic system is damaged and out of order domestically and internationally. It has been creating excess money supply and credit on a global basis and resultantly has birthed one giant bubble after another. It has encouraged bankers—and most everyone else—to take excessive risks. What have we ended up with? A monumental cascade of liquidity and debt combined with financial deregulation, saturated with moral hazard. <br /><br />When the bankers are right, they keep their rewards. When they are wrong the government absorbs their losses. Can you really blame bankers for picking the ripe fruit from the trees that the politicians have planted? We elected these politicians and keep them in office. Privatize gains, socialize losses: a formula for destruction. <br /><br />It’s taken us close to 100 years to get to this severely damaged state. Some of the key causalities are: <br /><br />1. Creating the Federal Reserve in 1913; creating the FDIC and Fannie & Freddie; Nixon taking us off gold standard in Aug of 1971; termination of Bretton Woods; all the bailouts (Mexico/early 80’s and early 90’s, emerging markets/late 90’s, Long Term Capital Management/1998; the post NASDAQ bubble, and now this crisis/2007-2008). <br /><br />2. The existence of fiat currencies have allowed countries to manipulate their currency for export. Japan and China are examples. (Have you ever thought about what this has done to the US worker?)<br /><br />3. Allowing institutions to become “to big to fail”.<br /><br />4. Our government has become the real capital of banking system—resulting in minimal reserves and excessive leverage.<br /><br />Don’t confuse the stock market with the economy, they are two different things. <br /><br />Astute economic historians (unbiased and with a global view) have documented that it was not the market crash of ’29 and "the greed of Wall St." that caused The Great Depression. Yes, they agree that there was excessive leverage in stocks. Yet, what isn’t pointed out within the “approved” history books is that this was largely caused by The Federal Reserve creating abundant liquidity throughout the 20’s. Another key point you won't find in the standard history books was that Europe was collapsing then. The debt bubble there had burst and the disease was spreading to the US. Almost all of EU had defaulted on public debt. The capital fleeing to the US pushed the USD up to record highs and this damaged our trade. (As a solution the Smoot-Hawley Act was created and began an era of protectionism.)Anon On A California Mountainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-3391853650344660362010-02-05T20:02:09.427-08:002010-02-05T20:02:09.427-08:00Hi Rob
I think we are looking at both. All of the...Hi Rob<br /><br />I think we are looking at both. All of the things that we have overproduced are dropping in price. Whereas everyday consumables have doubled and tripled in price. Potato chips, chicken and steak are out of sight now. Four dollars for 11 ounces of potato chips is outrageous. <br /><br />The odd thing is the low interest rate being paid by the banks. There is no incentive to save, and no real rate of return. Very low interest rates are inflationary. Assume you have a saving account of $200. If you went to an auction with $100 cash and bid on say a painting for $100. The guy next to you, if he borrowed $200 from your bank, could outbid you using your money.<br /><br />If people start stuffing the mattress or a safety deposit box with their saving, interest rates have to rise.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-64249303965861663952010-02-05T14:49:31.365-08:002010-02-05T14:49:31.365-08:00Put your savings into Everbank in Florida. Very so...Put your savings into Everbank in Florida. Very sound bank. No fees. 1.75% interest. A money market account is FDIC insured up to 250k. You get a checkbook. And you can set up a free world account that allows you to transfer your money into it and change into any currency or basket of currencies you'd like (good to have if you need to jump out of your currency into something else).<br /><br />This is where I have my cash.<br /><br />This isAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-80284334130889526812010-02-05T08:22:39.128-08:002010-02-05T08:22:39.128-08:00Jim
The more I think about it the more I agree wi...Jim<br /><br />The more I think about it the more I agree with Anon about deflation. A savings account my wife and I have is paying .0015% interest. So after I pay all the service charges it is costing me money to keep it in bank. Government would like my wife and I to spend it and start borrowing. It makes more sense to take that money and pay down mortgage or just sit on it. Literally! This from what I gather is deflationary, am I correct? I could go out and buy a flat screen TV but they are getting cheaper by the week. They soon could be practically giving them away.Rob in NSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-53470597358363497392010-02-05T00:40:24.473-08:002010-02-05T00:40:24.473-08:00"a full study of true free markets and capita..."a full study of true free markets and capitalism at work"<br /><br />I'd like to know what, if any, countries are free market. Can any government resist meddling?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-39945500775439328482010-02-04T23:11:51.456-08:002010-02-04T23:11:51.456-08:00I vaguely recall a story about Christus who was ki...I vaguely recall a story about Christus who was king of Haiti. He kicked the British, Spanish (or whoever was ruling) out, declared all gourd trees in the country as government property and then made the gourd the new currency for the country. Pretty smart for a savage.<br /><br />AIMAIMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-36774279958941947012010-02-04T21:12:55.738-08:002010-02-04T21:12:55.738-08:00Hi Tyrone
You crack me up. I can't believe th...Hi Tyrone<br /><br />You crack me up. I can't believe that they are going to that. I wrote a piece in 2007 on <a href="http://greatdepression2006.blogspot.com/2007/02/stealth-of-inflation.html" rel="nofollow">Inflation</a>, complaining about the coin quality.<br /><br />The coins they are turning out now, are pathetic if you are a collector.<br /><br />I'd like them to come back with silver coins again. We could print $20 on the silver dollars and $5 on the quarters. That way, a penny might actually buy something.<br /><br />Of course at the present rate of inflation, the $20 silver coin could go the way of the 20 dollar gold coin. It never went away, it just went out of circulation<br /><br />Hmmmm--gold--silver---hmmmm.<br /><br />Take care.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-56742700032452850402010-02-04T20:36:27.905-08:002010-02-04T20:36:27.905-08:00Hi AIM
I think we are both in agreement that Spai...Hi AIM<br /><br />I think we are both in agreement that Spain Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Japan and China are in worse shape than we are.<br /><br />It was a great economic party and no country stood in the way to protect us from ourselves. This is going to be one hangover that no one will enjoy.<br /><br />Government intervention now, won't fix anything, but it could stretch this mess out a few more years.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-73268868573711512912010-02-04T19:35:04.095-08:002010-02-04T19:35:04.095-08:00How about some debasement of our current coinage?
...How about some debasement of our current coinage?<br /><br />Proposed 2010 Budget<br /><br /><a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/TRS/" rel="nofollow">Terminations, Reductions, and Savings</a><br /><i><b>Greater flexibility in the composition of coinage materials could enable the Mint to utilize less expensive metals in the minting process</b> and substantially reduce its production costs. Using <b>alternative coinage materials</b> could save $150 million annually after an initial period of development and capital adjustments. These savings result from increased seigniorage, or the difference between the face value of the coin paid by the Federal Reserve and the cost of production. Seigniorage increases the available means of financing, but has no direct budgetary impact. Specifically, the Budget includes provisions that authorize the Department of the Treasury to approve alternative coinage compositions and weights across five denominations (half dollar, quarter, dime, nickel, and penny).</i>Tyronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04226876002855072090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-40966515904611731412010-02-04T12:56:50.303-08:002010-02-04T12:56:50.303-08:00Good points Jim. Thanks.
I don't have a much ...Good points Jim. Thanks.<br /><br />I don't have a much of a grasp on our economic history in the 1800's. I'll need to study up. I do know that the Fed's creation of liquidity in the 20's was one of the key causes that set the stage for the Great Depression (so there is the government intervention).<br /><br />Forbes and also Thomas E. Woods have helped to clarify that the whole story of the robber barons in the USA was not totally accurate.<br /><br />We have to look at the facts that the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Vanderbilts, etc. created lots of jobs, donated billions to the country, and brought prices down and standards of living up en masse.<br /><br />As an example, sure Vanderbilt made a lot of money but he cut the cost of ferrying across to NYC down to almost nothing. And he made railway passage affordable to almost everyone.<br /><br />With the bad comes a lot of good too I guess.<br /><br />It would be good to make a full study of true free markets and capitalism at work and functioning in the USA (not sure how much of it there ever was) as opposed to government controlled capitalism with interventions, etc. and determine with which we were better off.AIMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-55322490162547193272010-02-03T20:24:08.578-08:002010-02-03T20:24:08.578-08:00Hi Frakrak
I tend to think that this mess could b...Hi Frakrak<br /><br />I tend to think that this mess could bypass Australia.<br /><br />If you compare the size of Australia to the United States, they are about the same size (without Alaska).<br /><br />Your country could be the new frontier. Loads of resources and low population. That's how the US started out.<br /><br />Australia could "grow out" of this mess, where the US just isn't going to do that. We have too many people and not enough of them paying taxes.<br /><br />Take careJim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-1356905175244180582010-02-03T19:47:45.807-08:002010-02-03T19:47:45.807-08:00Hi AIM
Your quote " capitalism and free mark...Hi AIM<br /><br />Your quote " capitalism and free markets are not and have never been the cause of problems," has some issues. We had unsupervised capitalism in the late 1800's into the 1920's. The government ended up breaking up a lot of monopolies. A very few people were amassing great fortunes at the expense of the worker.<br /><br />In a Democracy, a government is expected to defend the country, build roads and provide regulating services for commerce. If farmers overproduce pigs or builders overproduce houses, it isn't the governments fault and they really are not part of the solution.<br /><br />People look to government to get them out of problems or blame government for the problems they are in. It's a great concept, blame someone else for your present problems.<br /><br />We are not talking politics or religion here, just government in general. Governments tax a percentage of our gross and regulate the state. It is not very efficient but that's the trade off for a Democracy.<br /><br />From my perspective, it is very hard to expect a government solution for this mess whether it be Japan or the US.<br /><br />If you go back to my second post on this blog, you will see an article on the <a href="http://greatdepression2006.blogspot.com/2006/05/surfing-kondratieff-wave.html" rel="nofollow">Kondratieff Wave</a>, it has to do with economic cycles. Most of what is happening now was predicted. It is really hard to hold government accountable for the short comings of human nature.<br /><br />I think that between the two of our views, there is probably a common ground to understand what is happening. Nothing is clear cut, there is no right or wrong, only shades of grey.<br /><br />Take care.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-25775173253356240852010-02-03T17:50:57.429-08:002010-02-03T17:50:57.429-08:00Jim previous post should have read “executives of ...Jim previous post should have read “executives of large banks” although Brittain has cut the fat from “large bank executives” by imposing a 50% tax on their “fat” bonuses, so it maybe grammatically correct either way!<br /><br />I do agree with your take on China, they may turn out to be very angry indeed, and they are like children playing the game of capitalism with experts in global capital, so let’s hope this finds a soft landing for all our sakes, and a relatively positive chapter in history!! What do you think?<br /><br />Can only post with an “Aussie” perspective, and China being our largest trading partner (mining exports), Australia is probably the most resource rich nation on the planet, with a population inversely proportionate to its great wealth (25M) people, and its location gives me great interest in how this looming economic catastrophe will effect our own security as a nation! I fear history will re-write this nations existence dramatically! <br /><br />Always felt a little at odds with your call about people’s greed being a factor in the present outcome, I thought that people would always take the lead from government policy, and if easy credit was available, then the responsibility for the mess trickles from the top down! But you have a convert here, in the past year Australians have been aware of developments in the world, aware that China is facing its own meltdown, and yet have taken on more debt, than ever before. As a result we have a “bubble” in many sectors of our economy! Our banks were not immune from the meltdown over a year ago, loosing Billions, but because of tighter regulation, survived a little better than most other nations. The outlook is bleak, banks have lent so much money in the housing market, and even the smallest interest rate increases will increase the delinquency in mortgages substantially. <br /><br />There is no common sense with government policy or our citizenry, when it comes to debt, recent history has been ignored by both sides. ALL economic growth in this country has been fuelled by debt for the past fifteen years, clearly unsustainable. <br />I would place this country where the U.S. was two to three years ago, and what makes it worse these recent historical facts are being ignored here, the previous post was right about the lack of intellect with governments, but from the Australian perspective I feel we have what we deserve!<br />cheersfrakrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10110027067402980842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-46274473502477717452010-02-03T14:00:33.221-08:002010-02-03T14:00:33.221-08:00Oh... I just did some figuring. I guess the answer...Oh... I just did some figuring. I guess the answer is that government is a reflection or the manifestation of: all the negative, destructive, self-serving, avaricious, and oblivious aspects of that part of the human mind that we'd all be collectively better off without.<br /><br />AIMAIMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-37525574021530427362010-02-03T13:56:12.479-08:002010-02-03T13:56:12.479-08:00Steve Forbe's new book... How Capitalism Will ...Steve Forbe's new book... How Capitalism Will Save Us, is a great read and explains very simply and very well how capitalism and free markets are not and have never been the cause of problems... it has ALWAYS been government intervention or government not upholding its actual responsibilities.<br /><br />I believe Greece will go down (IMF will rescue) and maybe one or more of the other PIIGS might too once they see that they could get bailed out like Greece (Spain, Ireland, Italy, etc.) <br /><br />Then Japan will crash.<br /><br />Then China will... they can't fool everyone and stimulate for that much longer... can't hide fact that they were 100% set up to be an export economy. Well the exporting is over now for some years and their population can't take over as the consumers they need so it's trouble. Plus, they have and still continue to over build and ramp up capacity. For what?<br /><br />Governments have to be the slowest, dumbest and most reckless entities that ever appeared on this planet.<br /><br />The protector and organizer has turned into man's greatest enemy.<br /><br />Go figure.<br /><br />AIMAIMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-9954889353111902572010-02-02T20:06:09.949-08:002010-02-02T20:06:09.949-08:00Hi Frakrak
I think that China is like a little ki...Hi Frakrak<br /><br />I think that China is like a little kid with a million dollars in a candy store. The candy store owner will be the one who retires.<br /><br />Two points to consider, it is a socialist country and the people are using free enterprise capitalism in their economic markets (they don't mix well). <br /><br />Their real estate market bubble will collapse just as ours did, only the government will look at the collapse, as just punishment for those that participated.<br /><br />A depression in China would be blamed on the Democratic principles of free enterprise. It would reinforce to the populace the concept that Socialism is a better choice over Democracy.<br /><br />The US owes China a lot of money. China could become a very angry creditor. We could get out of this mess the same way Germany did before WWII . . . . . <br /><br />Any way you look at it, we have front row seats.<br /><br />Take careJim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-31351832845083129152010-02-02T18:40:53.060-08:002010-02-02T18:40:53.060-08:00Jim I can see a time when an American can “come on...Jim I can see a time when an American can “come on down and put a shrimp on the barbie” and not need a passport! From most of what I read there seems to be this expectation that the U.S. has passed its “zenith” and what we are seeing is the end of western dominance of global capital and China looms as the victor!! We’ll see …<br /><br />China’s global exports are down 25% in just one year, real estate is through the roof in China, new developments are being sold for scorching prices (1M plus is not uncommon)! China’s GDP growth is not a good indicator of overall wealth in that country; it excludes a large base of the population. And here you have a dilemma for the Chinese political elite, a population that has had enormous change and looming political instability. Their frustration is becoming apparent with how the U.S, is handling the crisis, I have seen the Chinese premier scolding the U.S. on the news, perhaps the chess pieces aren’t really where they would like them? After all they are playing against an opponent that seems to have quite a few wining runs on the board these past few hundred years!<br /><br />The last year or two I have seen large bank executives, financiers, hedge fund managers shocked by what has happened with global markets, commentators that have been appalled by the lack of simple regulation that, in their minds could quite simply have averted the depth of this catastrophe, leading economist duelling with economic theory and opposing outcomes, so why didn’t these experts predict this? And yet there are the few average citizens that knew the end was nigh just by using plain old fashioned common sense! So what really is going on here? <br /><br />History does seem to repeat, but it is only revealed in its perspective, perhaps America is on the verge of getting rid of the competition and revitalising the empire after a short waltz with deflation? I can see ways it can pull out of its descent and refresh!!<br /><br />cheersfrakrakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10110027067402980842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-28626170564521791162010-01-31T19:51:07.395-08:002010-01-31T19:51:07.395-08:00Hi Anon 2:34
Thank you for the link. It is about ...Hi Anon 2:34<br /><br />Thank you for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQts21QiKTQ" rel="nofollow">link</a>. It is about 15 minutes if you do all three. It is Ron Paul in front of a tele-prompter.<br /><br />It is quite good. It might add some focus and structure to questions that are unanswered.<br /><br />Thank you for your comments.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27697009.post-37919808927161602332010-01-31T19:34:14.478-08:002010-01-31T19:34:14.478-08:00Hi Frakrak
5.7% unemployment is hard to believe. ...Hi Frakrak<br /><br />5.7% unemployment is hard to believe. It sounds like it is time to pick up and move to the "Down Under."<br /><br />It does make sense though, your government is taking a more laid back approach and I give them an A+.<br /><br />Burn a shrimp on the barbie for me.<br /><br />Take care.Jim in San Marcoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09435296419912935381noreply@blogger.com