Gedankonomist

Stunning Facts About Public Sector Unions

Too bad the states can't get the FED to print money for them too.

Chicago Fed Index Increase Suggests the Recession Is Over

Question: How is the "National activity index" defined? In these days where the federal government considers hamburger flipping "manufacturing," I'm a bit skeptical. What sort of "activities" are being considered? Standing in the unemployment line? Illegal immigrants running for the border? The FED ratcheting up the printing presses?

Here's Why Asia Must Eventually Ditch the Dollar

What's the difference?

On Oct 26 02:43 PM Mad Hedge Fund Trader wrote:

> bdc Will people pleeease stop incessantly talking about the possibility
> of China dropping the dollar as a reserve currency? What else are
> they going to use? Monopoly money?

Gold Suggests Global Inflation Is Approaching

Inflation is not rising prices. Inflation is [the act of] increasing the money supply.

The central banks have been increasing the money since the days they were started; the FED for example has been doing it since 1913. So how is it now all of a sudden, there will be inflation approaching? Of course it's approaching. It's been "approaching" for hundreds of years.

Look at a 1964 quarter. In 1964, that quarter bought you a gallon of gas. Today it buys what? Still a gallon of gas (and then some). Know why? Because it is made of 90% silver. They are worth over $3 in paper money. The government cannot create silver at whim. It can create paper at whim however. That's inflation.

A Radical Solution for Healthcare: Kill the Hybrid

"As someone who has greatly benefited from the “free market” and innovation, I’m a strong advocate of the free market example set by Switzerland."

Well, it's not really a "free market" when the government subsidizes it.

The reason why "healthcare" is so expensive in the US is because people over-use it. A rise in demand holding supply constant creates an increase in price. Why is the demand high? Because if the insurance provider (and/or gov't) "pays" for it, then people don't worry about paying for it when they use it. But you do pay for it, sooner or later. It's the same principle behind credit cards.

You want to lower "healthcare" costs in the US? Start by getting the government out of it. Uncle Sam is like the movie character "Beetlejuice." You don't want his help.

Toward a New Macro Economic Theory

"Ironically, Keynes had the answer there too. He said it takes an idea to beat an idea."

Here's my idea, skipper: Toss the rascal and his bogus theories overboard.

Toward a New Macro Economic Theory

"Ironically, Keynes had the answer there too. He said it takes an idea to beat an idea."

Here's my idea, skipper: Toss the rascal and his bogus theories overboard.

Employment in Crisis

Imagine you have a small village where everyone manufactures useful items, and exchanges them with some medium--say gold coins, with one exception; there's an old woman living at the village who was once productive, but is now retired. But since she has gold which she accumulated from her hard work, and gold is accepted as wealth, she is able to exchange her wealth for useful goods produced by people still doing useful work.

Now imagine a different situation where the woman has spent all her gold living frivolously. And after realizing all her money is gone, she issues paper notes to the producers, so she can still get useful things from them. Perhaps at first, the woman's paper notes are accepted, but eventually the producers will realize the true value of those notes. And since there is nothing that the woman is giving them in exchange for their useful products made from hard work, they will begin to decline the woman's paper notes.

That old woman is US. The useful producers are foreign nations which still manufacture things.

The Recovery Process: It Takes Time

What about the inventory of cash manufactured by the FED (i.e. the "bailout")?

I hear that only about half of that "inventory" has been "liquidated." When that "inventory" finds it's way into the economy, it might increase GDP, but only before you adjust for inflation.

"Economists have been ramping up their estimates for third quarter GDP because they understand that the record pace of inventory liquidation must cease, which will benefit manufacturing."

Will Ignoring Past Mistakes Result in a 20-Year Bear Market?

More mature, perhaps. Like a man in his 80's ready to keel over. But stable? The FDIC?

Consider when a bank fails and the FDIC takes over. Where does the money come from? The US government is broke. It spends more money than it takes in. Some of the FDIC money comes from China. But alot of it is simply printed out of thin air. This is stability? This is SOCIALISM!

"I have said that the current deleveraging cycle is actually not all that similar to the Great Depression – primarily because our economy is much more mature and stable, and also because there are certain safeguards in place that help prevent such an event from occurring again (the FDIC is a great example)."

No Inflation in Sight

There is one BIG problem with this article. Inflation is NOT rising prices. It is an INCREASE IN THE MONEY SUPPLY. (And the money supply has been increasing since 1913.)

If you really got your money's worth from the college you went to, you'd know this one simple fact.

New 'Crash' Warnings for U.S. Markets

Or, what he means is if he had the money just handed over to him, he'd invest it as such.

It's like when you have two teenagers, one is given money only after he has done his chores, and the other is simply handed the money. Which of the two is going to "blow his wad of cash?"


"Interestingly, though, two days later Rogers also said (in a CNBC interview) that if he “had a million dollars” to spend today that he would be buying commodities, specifically coffee, cotton and silver – calling the prices for these commodities “very depressed”.

Presumably, if Rogers were to buy any stocks at the the present time it would be companies who produce those commodities. While it is very difficult for most retail investors to buy into coffee and cotton producers, likely Rogers would not be averse to buying silver producers (i.e. miners).

Indeed, this seems to be exactly what Rogers was implying, since he advised “shopping around” for countries where these commodities were undervalued. "

Will This Economy Ever Create Job Growth?

"Economists missed the jobs estimates by a wide margin Friday morning. The nonfarm payrolls report showed the economy shed -263,000 jobs in September, far more than the consensus of -175k jobs. "

Kinda makes you wonder why they are being paid $100,000 plus per year at the academic institutions who employ them? Or why parents spend $40,000 plus per year continue to send their kids to there? How long will it be before these people learn?

Communist China Only in Name

This comment (cited below) is a perfect example of how the educational establishment in this country has dumbed-down our population.

First of all, define "personal politics." What is this "personal politics?"

Second, the US is not a democracy, it is a REPUBLIC! Democracy is majority rule. And majority rule does not necessarily imply "reigning in corruption." More often than not, it means the exact opposite. Especially if your population is a bunch of doofuses who are easily manipulated by the boob tube and and an educational establishment controlled by those who run "predatory and corrupt" companies.

On Oct 05 09:23 AM Billy1iron wrote:

> Sorry Alphameister, your personal politics cost your comment some
> credibility. Providing better services for the majority of a country's
> people and reigning in corrupt and predatory companies and financial
> practices is not a tenet of socialism but one of democracy - the
> premise on which this country is built.

What Recovery? Unemployment at 25-Year High

Considering that the government does not account for unemployed no longer seeking employment, unemployment is probably much higher. It will continue be high until Americans go back into manufacturing. This "service economy" is what is really unsustainable. We need to make stuff again. The government needs to get off our back before that happens though.