cheapybob

Another Crisis Looms Right Around the Corner

Yes, cash in a SAFE currency, if there is such a thing, makes sense. Cash in US dollars is dropping in value by 1/2% a day on average, and everyone in banking and our government seem satisfied with the raping of American savers, so you'd need to be a lunatic to be in US dollars.

What Does ETF Money Flow Tell Us About Gold?

There are a LOT more US Dollars out there that could potentially refer to be in gold that there is gold to buy. As the worldwide debts mount, they will become more risky investments, and people will worry about thir potential loss of wealth holding them.

I the words of Will Rogers: "I'm not worried about the return ON my investment, I'm worried about the return OF my investment." Returning debased and devalued paper even with interest, isn't a return in my book.

Buffett's Import Certificates Plan Could Pilot the Economy to a Safe Landing

I've read the WTO rules and it would not be a violation. Note that Buffet's idea doesn't limit the imports from any particular country or for any particular goods, it just limits the availability of certificates to those who exported and for the amounts of those exports. If you implemented the idea, you'd have the certificates expire in 6 months and trade them on the exchanges, and then have them sent electronically to the government as the goods came through customs.

A lower standard of living for the future has already been guaranteed by America's borrowing. The bigger the debt is allowed to become, the worse the fall will eventually be, and the longer the idiocy is allowed to persist, the bigger that debt gets.

Face it folks, we don't "trade" much, we just buy stuff with IOU's to PLUTO and beyond.

Buffett's Import Certificates Plan Could Pilot the Economy to a Safe Landing

The alternative is to keep doing what we are doing till the rest of the world simply REFUSES to lend us another nickel. Not to our people, our corporations, our munis, our states, OR LASTLY, our federal government. The Federal government is now the ONLY one left. How much longer will they continue to lend to it???

Buffet's plan is good because it lets the free market decide what imports are really needed, penalizes imports without tariffs instead of debasing/devaluing the dollar, and provides incentives to production and export of American made goods. The alternative is surely a complete collapse of the dollar, but as always, its a question of when. Without eliminating the trade deficit, I think we will soon find out WHEN.

The Real Cause: Current Account Deficit

You are on the mark. And we are completely DEPENDENT on the rest of the world to LEND us back the money we pay for goods, and if they get scared to LEND it back to us, the music stops....

Just imagine what happens when they realize those dollars are just like confetti.

Recession? I've Got a Solution

I applaud you're actually noticing that there is a problem with thiose deficit twins, and proposing ANYTHING to help bring them down.

I feel the same way that they need to be reduced. I'll throw in some other ideas to improve the situation.

tax non-renewable fuel heavily. I'm talking $2.00 a gallon additional. basically this will increase the price to where people reduce consumption, and imports will drop. offset this tax with equally reduced payroll taxes, either SS or Medicare so that there is no tax increase, just a shift from taxing work to taxing consumption of scarce resources.