When Does It Stop

[Southside Playa]

Read this article.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6186669

Here we go, more job losses. Everything is up in price, except what we all take home. All while the ric, keep getting richer. Big oil keep posting Big Profits, while the lower people on the totem pole struggle to stay afloat.

Airlines, automakers, truckers, etc.

When does this sick roller coaster ride end?

To hell with Democrats & Republicans, we need somebody to look out for all of these presently and soon-to-be unemployed folks.

 

[Mr Bogus]

have you seen how airlines tend to operate? bloat... and a lot of it.. flying planes around with 5 passengers just is not going to work anymore...

I must say that their pay rates have suffered over the last 10 years however... but then again, you want to pay me 125K-175K a year to fly? anytime brother, anytime....

I would still say that most of this "economy crisis" is media borne... they need news, they make it.. I am doing just fine here in the midwest....

 

[Charlesbusa]

Prices on everyday things will continue to rise because diesel is soo high. 99% of everything is trucked at some point...

 

[HRHDi]

Food prices have increased more than fuel.

 

[CrashBomb]

Prices aren't increasing, the culprit is inflation. The value of the dollar is plummeting, consequently, it takes more of those dollars to purchase whatever goods or services you're talking about. The value of the goods hasn't changed, but they become more expensive to the end consumer because the value of the dollar has gone down.

The problems are caused by our fiat currency. They're further compounded by deficit spending and a fiscal policy controlled entirely by private banking firms operating with carte blanche and no oversight at any level. No matter what Ben Bernake tells you, you can't solve the problem of inflation with more inflation.

It won't stop. It doesn't just "stop." It's been building for nearly 75 years and it shows no signs of reversal. What can you or I do about it? Absolutely nothing. The representative process has failed miserably and the only thing the average American can do is make sacrifices.

These problems will continue until we start electing politicians who understand economic theory and accept the fact that this fanatical devotion to failed Nixon/Regan era "supply side" policy has to end now. The Mundell/Fleming model is a triangle of impossibility. It simply can not function in a 21st century global economy with conflicting pegged rates and little or no capital control. The only acceptable answer is a return to convertibility and a focus on autarky until the situation improves enough that the country is able to reemerge on the world's stage as an economic superpower.

We need a real fiscal policy. We need a standardized economy. We need a real economic plan, not more of these pointless presidential platitudes and 11th hour stimulus checks.

 

[Shanling]

Prices aren't increasing, the culprit is inflation. The value of the dollar is plummeting, consequently, it takes more of those dollars to purchase whatever goods or services you're talking about. The value of the goods hasn't changed, but they become more expensive to the end consumer because the value of the dollar has gone down.

The problems are caused by our fiat currency. They're further compounded by deficit spending and a fiscal policy controlled entirely by private banking firms operating with carte blanche and no oversight at any level. No matter what Ben Bernake tells you, you can't solve the problem of inflation with more inflation.

It won't stop. It doesn't just "stop." It's been building for nearly 75 years and it shows no signs of reversal. What can you or I do about it? Absolutely nothing. The representative process has failed miserably and the only thing the average American can do is make sacrifices.

These problems will continue until we start electing politicians who understand economic theory and accept the fact that this fanatical devotion to failed Nixon/Regan era "supply side" policy has to end now. The Mundell/Fleming model is a triangle of impossibility. It simply can not function in a 21st century global economy with conflicting pegged rates and little or no capital control. The only acceptable answer is a return to convertibility and a focus on autarky until the situation improves enough that the country is able to reemerge on the world's stage as an economic superpower.

We need a real fiscal policy. We need a standardized economy. We need a real economic plan, not more of these pointless presidential platitudes and 11th hour stimulus checks.

Are you saying that we should not just close our borders but seal them shut until we stabilize ourselves? No one in/out and nothing in/out?

 

[CrashBomb]

Are you saying that we should not just close our borders but seal them shut until we stabilize ourselves? No one in/out and nothing in/out?

No...I'm saying that we need a standardized economy instead of the inflation prone one we've got now. The only way we're going to achieve that is to focus less on global markets and deficit spending and focus more on domestic growth to develop a more self sufficient economy than the one we've got now.

 

[Shanling]

The only acceptable answer is a return to convertibility and a focus on autarky until the situation improves enough that the country is able to reemerge on the world's stage as an economic superpower.

When you state that we need to focus on autarky you realize that we would be even more hated worldwide, don't you? Simply put, autarky is a policy that attempts to create a self-sufficient national economy entirely insulated from international trade. Hence my comment on sealing the borders. Not saying that it wouldn't work but you are talking the ultimate in revolution. A true closed economy would require a shutdown of the borders in just about every sense of the word. I don't see how we could do that without closing our borders. What is the next step?

 

[CrashBomb]

I'm not advocating an absolutely closed system, I guess I'm not arguing for a true "autarky" in the most basic sense of the word, or as "simply put" as you stated. Fiscal policy is never absolute, it can't be, it's far too fluid. All I'm saying is that we have a serious deficit problem that can't be solved through MORE debt and MORE inflation. I'm not suggesting that we seal all the borders and stop all international trade a la Hoja's Albania or Maoist China, I'm simply saying that we need our economy to become more self sufficient (autarchist) than we are at this point, and to do so we're going to have to shift our focus inward toward domestic growth rather than outward toward foreign investment. This is going to require a huge fundamental shift not only in American policy but in the way Americans think.

We no longer own our own country.

As for the rest of the world hating us; we're already a long way down that road and it's getting harder and harder every day to turn around and walk back.

 

[Shanling]

I'm not advocating an absolutely closed system, I guess I'm not arguing for a true "autarky" in the most basic sense of the word, or as "simply put" as you stated. Fiscal policy is never absolute, it can't be, it's far too fluid. All I'm saying is that we have a serious deficit problem that can't be solved through MORE debt and MORE inflation. I'm not suggesting that we seal all the borders and stop all international trade a la Hoja's Albania or Maoist China, I'm simply saying that we need our economy to become more self sufficient (autarchist) than we are at this point, and to do so we're going to have to shift our focus inward toward domestic growth rather than outward toward foreign investment. This is going to require a huge fundamental shift not only in American policy but in the way Americans think.

We no longer own our own country.

As for the rest of the world hating us; we're already a long way down that road and it's getting harder and harder every day to turn around and walk back.

Actually, fiscal policy in an autarky is not fluid. It is totally controlled. And if you look at how China got to be the economic powerhouse that it is, it built itself up in a predominatley closed economy or better yet, a highly controlled one. I am not argueing against what you originally posted at all. In fact, I think you were pretty much on the money if we were looking for a certain or absolute fix. In doing this, we would be giving up our economic "freedom" so to speak. I just don't see us ever able to take such drastic steps no matter how beneficial they would be. We are too controlled by a global ecosystem.

I did find your posts to be most interesting.

 

[CrashBomb]

I think we're getting too hung up on "autarky," a poor choice of words on my part and I apologize. I wasn't talking about an absolutist autarky, I was advocating slightly more autarchist fiscal policy than we've got now, not a "closed economy" in the fundamental sense.

The more important issue, self reliance and sustainability not withstanding, is convertibility. A standards based economy caps inflation much more effectively than a fiat currency can ever hope to. The root cause of the problems we're seeing now is simply too many dollars and too much inflation over too many years.

And I agree that the country is incapable of taking such a drastic step. This is all theoretical anyway. It's going to take a massive restructuring of the way we think about money and the way our government operates. Abolishment of the I.R.S., a return to the gold standard, re-implementation of a convertible economy, public oversight, FED accountability, huge cuts in the amount we spend and the amount we borrow (to a post Bretton-Woods level), income taxes on corporate income rather than on personal exchange of service for pay; no one except Ron Paul is even talking about these things, and it certainty won't get him into the White House, not when the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

"Give me control of a country's money and I care not who makes her laws, who fights her wars or defends her shores."
-Mayer Rothschild

 

[Mr Bogus]

gee seems to me our inflationary issues have been well below that of any country... I personally feel our economy is just fine. The press and election cycle make a big "to do" about a simple cycle that has repeated itself a great number of times..

You start telling everyone how bad things are and eventually they will respond in kind. There is no simple solution to inflationary cycles and the govt needs to stay as "un-involved" as possible and let our "somewhat" free enterprise system do its job like it has for 200+ years...

What you are seeing is a major shift in the "gluttony" of the average US consumer for petroleum. The era of "almost free" gas is over. You can get rid of your 8 MPG SUV/Gas hog and get on board with the rest of the world with vehicles that do the job and get 3 or 4 times the economy.. it is not that difficult to see or understand.. Auto manufactures and the people that work for them have been riding free and clear of the real world issues concerning "oil" for a long time.. It is now time to put the "blacksmith" out of business and figure out the next step in our history..

Yes the price of fuel is affecting food costs...but not like you might think.. what does it cost in fuel to move 40,000lbs of lettuce 750 miles? I can assure you it cost more for you to jump in your gas hog, drive 10 miles to the store and back..

100 Gallons of diesel at 4.60 is $460/40,000= 0.011 per lb of produce ...

People seem to need more and more trauma/drama to feel like they are involved in their own lives... I am going to go out and burn another $20 in gas to visit my buds in Indy....

 

[Shanling]

I am going to go out and burn another $20 in gas to visit my buds in Indy....

Let me know when your coming. You got a free room waiting. Really wanna see those wheels too!

 

[CrashBomb]

gee seems to me our inflationary issues have been well below that of any country... I personally feel our economy is just fine.

How is 5% "well below" what Japan and parts of Europe are experiencing at less than 2%?

How is a rate that hasn't dipped anywhere near 0 in over 50 years making a big "to do" over nothing?

It WAS a simple cycle that repeated itself a number of times, and now it is running out of steam. Just keeping your fingers crossed and hoping it will all go away with the next bubble is what got us into this mess in the first place.

With currency trading and pegged exchange rates the inflation in the U.S. actually drives inflation in other countries. We have pushed this country (and the world, to a lesser extent) so far into the red that the only thing the FED knows how to do is hemorrhage money like a Vegas gambler on a losing streak and hope it all comes around before we end up spending $10,000 for a package of gum or $20,000 for a pack of cigarettes.

This isn't just media blather, this has been coming for years. It is a serious problem facing millions of people in this country and around the world. Tell the people who can't afford to work because of rising transportation costs that it's just election year pandering. Tell the people who are working three or more jobs work because they can't pay for health insurance that it's not a problem. Tell that to the millions of people who are one diagnosis away from absolute destitution. Tell the people who are making a decision between eating dinner tonight and driving to work tomorrow morning. Tell the millions of people who are losing their homes that everything is ok.

Alarming? Yes. Alarmist? No. It's real and it's happening, whether you're experiencing it personally or not.

 

[Mr Bogus]

I am going to go out and burn another $20 in gas to visit my buds in Indy....

Let me know when your coming. You got a free room waiting. Really wanna see those wheels too!

Tires are mounted, waiting on my sprocket.. (wheels drop shipped, Greg had to send sprocket from store) feels funny not riding all week...

 

[Shanling]

I am going to go out and burn another $20 in gas to visit my buds in Indy....

Let me know when your coming. You got a free room waiting. Really wanna see those wheels too!

Tires are mounted, waiting on my sprocket.. (wheels drop shipped, Greg had to send sprocket from store) feels funny not riding all week...

My car has not be driven in one week and one day! Longest I have gone since moving back to Indiana. I have my kids this weekend so the car will be driven again, darn it.

 

[Rocket_Man]

1. Silence the nuts and let us drill for our own oil. We have more oil reserves in this country than most people realize, but out stupid elected officials (and environmental nuts) won't let us drill for it. Oh, that's right, WE put them there to make the laws...so that brings us to point 2:

2. Educate the American people. Our schools are a joke and just producing millions of dumb, uneducated idiots is killing us. How do you expect people to have the slightest grasp of economics when most people cannot make change without a cash-register?