Right on, The Recusant. In a severe liquidity crisis, gold is a risk asset. But there's no sign of severe inflation yet. I agree that one day, when leverage finally recovers, central banks will not have enough political will to withdraw money in time ("you're killing the fledgling recovery!"), thus leading to severe inflation. But that day is still beyond horizon of the US.
China, India, and Brazil is another story. They've had their own printing, plus the indirect printing from the Fed, and lack of deleveraging.
Of course, any change in the Euro structure would be a historical event. And it will happen. I just don't think it'd be soon. But then again, black swans are by definition unexpected....
Yes, I think Bernanke does realize the risk of diminishing return of QE. But so far there's no indication of any change in Bernanke Put's strike level.
With U.S. Dollar As Carry Currency, Fed Can't Tighten [View article]
The evil of Krugmanism, the al Qaeda arm of Keynesianism, is that it completely ignores the individuals, assuming people can generate income in perpetuity. Modern economics views savers as enemy of the society. Herein lies the core of the Ponzi nature of modern economics. Savers are the foundation upon which the game could sustain as long as it has; yet they must be trampled on and destroyed.
This is where baby boomer gen can and should make one, last transformation to the society for the better. You're being screwed, boomers.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
lol, I guess this got hijacked into a warlike racial thing after Davewmart brought up "peace loving orientals". As I emphatically said in the earlier comments, I do not believe the reason why east Asian history is relatively more peaceful compared to that of Europe has anything to do with race. It's an irrelevant detour.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
Neutrinoman, A few weeks ago I was browsing some Chinese forum. Somebody was trying to send some viral msg about Japs shipping some radioactive fish to China. I said "um, who imported the radioactive fish, or did the Japs force it on China with guns? Isn't the importer the bigger asshole here? If somebody is willing to buy, who's the Japanese to refuse to sell?" The parallel between this and Americans cursing cheap Chinese sh*t is, for the lack of a better word, delicious.
Yes, somebody has to run the deficit. But it doesn't have to be you, nor does it have to be chronicle.
Both the core and the peripheral, both the elite and the people, got something out of the euro experiment. It was good while it lasted. Now the game is up. I have equal sympathy and apathy for all, as long as they get it over with. ;>
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
Oh, the mongols. They were barbarians, not peace-loving orientals! Even Europeans were no match! They were the Vikings of Asia!
OK, that was a bad joke, appropriate only the context of this jabbing thread.;> The mongols were extremely effective militarily. They revolutionized warfare by introducing and perfecting cavalry. But they were quite incompetent as administrators. Don't bother googling for more oriental history. I'm very much aware of the history of war, revolt, famine, and oppression in east Asia. The keyword, again, is "relative".
And my bringing up Britain pushing drugs in China with invasion is somewhat uncalled for. It was not the first time European powers kicked China around, nor the last. In fact there were two Opium Wars, the second time joined by the French and backed by US and Russia (yes, in the name of free trade but let's be serious ok?). But I've found through the years that, when discussing history with a British, bringing up the Opium War often has various kinds of interesting and amusing effects. ;> It seems to be something the British psyche has yet to come to full term with, somehow.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
From the Warring States until the Brits came selling opium with gun ships, if you call that 2000 years in between as cherry picking my timeframe, then I'll cherry pick my timeframe.
Internal oppression, at least in the explicit and violent systemic form, in China is also a very recent phenomenon. The Confucius society has always been extremely oppressive, which I detest deeply. But it's not the same as Cultural Revolution or holocaust.
Relax, nobody is claiming any superiority here, at least not the "orientals", yeah? But it pays to have a detached view of history.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
Davewmart, please read my reply to Ricard above. "Peace loving orientals," as you put it nicely, is a historical fact. But the fact is NOT due to some sort of superiority, as I presume you were afraid of me saying; it's a product of historical happenstance and simple geography.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
I don't mean to deny Lincoln's greatness but I happen to think that a big part of the reason why he was so "merciful" towards the south was that state power had been intentionally made strong, and federal power weak, by the founding fathers. The POTUS had been largely a figurehead. There was little budget, little power, and he could call for war only when allowed.
Personally, I see the emphasis of state power over federal power as THE defining characteristic of American sociopolitical structure. No other major countries in human history are formed this way, from bottom-up. If we lose this, as we have been gradually ever since the civil war but much more rapidly since WWII, I fear US will gradually lose its uniqueness. Washington naturally uses every excuse to expand federal power. And people gradually give away their power in exchange for perceived security, unaware of how precious it is.
Why QE3 Is Still Not Coming [View article]
Why QE3 Is Still Not Coming [View article]
Why QE3 Is Still Not Coming [View article]
China, India, and Brazil is another story. They've had their own printing, plus the indirect printing from the Fed, and lack of deleveraging.
Why QE3 Is Still Not Coming [View article]
Why QE3 Is Still Not Coming [View article]
With U.S. Dollar As Carry Currency, Fed Can't Tighten [View article]
This is where baby boomer gen can and should make one, last transformation to the society for the better. You're being screwed, boomers.
With U.S. Dollar As Carry Currency, Fed Can't Tighten [View article]
The Market's Bipolar Tantrum Will End Soon [View article]
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
A few weeks ago I was browsing some Chinese forum. Somebody was trying to send some viral msg about Japs shipping some radioactive fish to China. I said "um, who imported the radioactive fish, or did the Japs force it on China with guns? Isn't the importer the bigger asshole here? If somebody is willing to buy, who's the Japanese to refuse to sell?" The parallel between this and Americans cursing cheap Chinese sh*t is, for the lack of a better word, delicious.
Yes, somebody has to run the deficit. But it doesn't have to be you, nor does it have to be chronicle.
Both the core and the peripheral, both the elite and the people, got something out of the euro experiment. It was good while it lasted. Now the game is up. I have equal sympathy and apathy for all, as long as they get it over with. ;>
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
OK, that was a bad joke, appropriate only the context of this jabbing thread.;> The mongols were extremely effective militarily. They revolutionized warfare by introducing and perfecting cavalry. But they were quite incompetent as administrators. Don't bother googling for more oriental history. I'm very much aware of the history of war, revolt, famine, and oppression in east Asia. The keyword, again, is "relative".
And my bringing up Britain pushing drugs in China with invasion is somewhat uncalled for. It was not the first time European powers kicked China around, nor the last. In fact there were two Opium Wars, the second time joined by the French and backed by US and Russia (yes, in the name of free trade but let's be serious ok?). But I've found through the years that, when discussing history with a British, bringing up the Opium War often has various kinds of interesting and amusing effects. ;> It seems to be something the British psyche has yet to come to full term with, somehow.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
Internal oppression, at least in the explicit and violent systemic form, in China is also a very recent phenomenon. The Confucius society has always been extremely oppressive, which I detest deeply. But it's not the same as Cultural Revolution or holocaust.
Relax, nobody is claiming any superiority here, at least not the "orientals", yeah? But it pays to have a detached view of history.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]
Personally, I see the emphasis of state power over federal power as THE defining characteristic of American sociopolitical structure. No other major countries in human history are formed this way, from bottom-up. If we lose this, as we have been gradually ever since the civil war but much more rapidly since WWII, I fear US will gradually lose its uniqueness. Washington naturally uses every excuse to expand federal power. And people gradually give away their power in exchange for perceived security, unaware of how precious it is.
The Dawn Of The Franco-German Empire [View article]