isaac the terrible

No Economic Joy for Joe Six-Pack

Question for you Moon- since you don't trust the policy makers, and question their motives, what would you be doing if you were in their place?
I generally find much of what you write to be very inciteful, but I also see so many people throwing stones at Bernake who are just good at complaining, but have have no realistic alternative policies of their own. Would you really want his job? I think its a very tough job- it seems like an error of several %, or several months, can get leveraged into a huge error of results, and he is acutely aware of the pitfalls. Who would be better?

Should Biased Bernanke Coverage Matter to Investors?

I totally agree with the content of this article.

What Will the U.S. Economy Look Like in 10 Years? Look to Greece

Yes Davewmart,
Accountability would be good. We (collectively) elect people to public office, and they set the rules and regulations by which everyone operates under. The congress, and presidents have failed miserably to oversee the whole thing. Both parties are to blame for putting their party line over the greater good of the country, and for basically being asleep at the wheel.
For example, I really don't think either party can come out and tell the public that "hey we can't afford even half of our current medicare entitlement promises, let alone adding more people to the roles". And, I don't think the public wants to hear the truth when it comes to this reality. And so we spiral.
However, I caution that it really important to not start talking about offhandedly about stringing people up like Evelyn did. That in the past has lead to mob mentality, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
Maybe, I better start cleaning my cleaning my gun because although I work hard for a living, I'm sure someone will see me as richer than them, and therefore a target. Shades of Cambodia, Berlin.

What Will the U.S. Economy Look Like in 10 Years? Look to Greece

Evelyn,
Wouldn't that be be an easy cure for everything- NO,
You are starting to sound like a poster girl for Nazi Germany in 1936.
Get a grip, and realize that Greenspan didn't force the corporate chiefs of Enron to commit fraud beyond belief. The errors of judgment and greed affect people at all levels of society, and of all races and creeds.

What Will the U.S. Economy Look Like in 10 Years? Look to Greece

For Greece and the US (among others), its really pretty simple.
If you live and spend and grow beyond your means, then will come a time of reckoning and you've got make up your shortfall.
We can't simply grow our debts away. We must/will-
1. devalue our currency
2. learn to not spend more than we can afford
3. drastically scale back our entitlements (and sense of entitlement)
4. get used to a lower standard of living, and a lower life expectancy.
5. learn to cherish good deeds and creativity, rather than status and "things"
Some of this is bad, and some is good.
It will be good when the USA comes to feel that it can't afford to embark on wars of choice.
It will be good when people realize that to live beyond their 70's is a curse on the wealth of the nation, and a curse on financial well-being of their offspring.
Change will be real tough, but it only gets tougher by kicking the can down the road.

Bear Market Rallies and Lessons of History

Three big factors that make this all so difficult to predict
- first, the velocity of change is very high now. Information goes around the globe in seconds.
- secondly, the global economy is so interconnected. Demand for iron in China effects stock pricing in Brazil.
- third, there has never been more capital more poorly allocated in the history of the world. Much more money chasing interest rates than being put to productive use (creating jobs in meaningful industries, for example).

Quantum Shift in Economic Baseline: A 'Black Hole' Recovery

To User 353732-
Good summary of major trends. I would add two points-
1. The diminished ability of the US to fund its military and diminished appetite for the citizenry to tolerate being the worlds policeman. Taiwan, South Korea, and Isreal are countries who would be well-advised to adopt policies that would lead to a decreased dependence on the US for their security.
2. The lack of a robust energy policy over the last 30 yrs will leave us vulnerable to rapid escalation in the price of fuel, and thus food and most other things. The resultant increased costd will be a huge drag on the economy. Local producers of energy will be big winners (oil sands, shale gas, solar, nuc developers).

Dow/Gold Ratio and the Dollar: What Does It Mean for Value Investors?

Excellent article. Even if people don't believe that inflation will be severe (hyper), it nonetheless will be strong. Others can debate the severity, but we will have to wait and see. I'm looking at a mix of metals, ag commod, energy, and emerging markets as a base growth/inflation/shortage strategy.

How Will Obama's 'Trillion Dollar Deficits' Affect the Markets?

Just how big will the new US economy be, once excess debt and leverage is wrung out through currency devaluation, higher interest rates, and a massively increased national debt? Much smaller, it seems to me. It will be painful to digest these "adjustments", very.
I belive a crucial question is timing. Can we get some solid footing before devaluation and inflation come roaring in, and before our national fuel bill re-escalates? I'm not too optimistic about this timimg. we're going to be extremely lucky for things to happen so fortuitously.
Secondly, Partisanship is for fools (or smart people acting foolishly).
Thanks for the article.