Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
We are seeing the first signs that the more rare (and expensive) REE stockpiles in the West are once again being consumed quicker than the export quotas from China (who provides nearly 100% of this category's world supply, unlike the "lighter" REEs) will support.
Prices will firm up due to this factor almost regardless of overt market demand.
I still think the more common elements will remain cheap through most of this year, though I anticipate a slow improvement as the remnants of the private Chinese REE operators close down their businesses and sell off their remaining goods. After that happens, the Chinese REE cartel will be in full control...
And then we see what they want to do with that control. They could elect to drive prices down to destroy their Western competition (like MCP and Lynas), which of course the idiot leaders in the West will doubtless not even notice so long as supplies are plentiful NOW (which millisecond existence so neatly aligns with their collective attention span)...
OR they could let prices float, crank up their pet Inner Mongolian REE Exchange, and make loads of money selling overpriced REEs.
Unfortunately, I believe this decision will not be made based upon capitalistic guidelines.
So this is as it was, a broken sector with massive geopolitical risk.
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
One could hope that the bank leaders would have known better, LT, but obviously not. The near-death experience of every large bank in the country SHOULD have taught them a lesson, but again, obviously not. I discount their faith in the derivative scheme (after all, does the Ponzi operator ever believe in his own product?), but the universal truth is that in a crony capitalist/socialist system, the banks benefit from all three aspects. They are cronies of the top rank - able to abuse the remnants of the capitalist system with apparent impunity - and their risks are transferred seamlessly to the society they prey upon. Having skirted corporate death by a whisker, however, even this sort of support (which after all is merely political, and the political winds can shift in an instant, and have in the past) should leave them chastened and more aware of their own mortality.
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
I wonder if, as was done by American banks during the early days of the meltdown, any refinancing terms are strongly punitive. There was a time, early on, when many (most?) of the now long-since foreclosed and shadow-inventoried properties were still inhabited by gainfully employed inhabitants who might well have managed to make payments based upon something other than a subprime contract festooned with fees, fines and escalating interest rates...
The banks held onto these things like a lead life preserver as they sank along with their underwater and long-abused customers.
By this point its doubtless far too late for resetting terms to help the floundering Spanish economy. Too bad.
Interesting Times For All Commodities And Investments!! Part 2.... [View instapost]
For REEs check my concentrator (click my profile and look under Instablogs...
Its hard to summarize, but the way I see it is laid out there. Are REEs bottomed out? That's part of my comments about China above, really, and the answer is "it depends on which way they jump" (just as their slot in the currency wars could go either way).
My opinion is that they are still consolidating their new 10 year plan (they just had their usual once-a-decade change in leadership among the rotating oligarchies that rule the Chinese Communist Party politburo), which is built around shifting from a form of "state managed" capitalism to a more fascist model featuring fewer small fry, less for the middle class, and more power and wealth concentration through cartels. Oddly enough, we are seeing this same strange determination to imitate the European fixation on fascism here as well...
Anyway, REE prices dropped because the Chinese rulers wanted them to. The method they used to cause the drop was the elimination of literally thousands of small and middle-sized mines, processors and brokers in their REE sector. All production was centralized in a small handful of companies (primarily those owned and operated by the government/oligarchy). If all this supply destruction sounds counterintuitive when looking at a crash in prices for the things those same companies produce...
It really isn't. When the cartel was formed and all the little guys were shoved aside, most of them saw it coming and had been squirreling away extra REEs for a long time. When push came to shove, they sold off their hidden stockpiles, all of a sudden, which flooded the illiquid REE market and crashed prices. The Japanese keibatsu (major corporate organizations, ie, uniquely Japanese groups of huge conglomerates usually centered around major industrial players) control the middlemen that buy and sell REEs shipped out of China. They have scooped up the sudden surplus of supply, so the pricing mechanism (such as it is - the only "exchange" for REEs is the cartel's pet exchange China setup in Inner Mongolia) is sending all the wrong signals.
Other than the most common (and by far the cheapest) 'light' REE elements (like Cerium), which are looking at low prices going forward due to large operations opening up in the West (MCP and Lynas), the prospects for most REEs are actually quite bright... As soon as the world works through the one-time surplus.
And so on. Its an incredibly complex story, and one frought with geopolitical peril (Western companies entering this field in a serious way like MCP or Lynas are literally facing off against a very determined nation state opponent in China).
bd4: As for Japan, the effort to cut the value of the yen back to something around 100/$ is obviously intended to aid their remaining export industries. Whether this can be sustained long term, or under the pressure of a determined currency war (which might even see the US participating, since we, too, are supposedly trying to repatriate some factory jobs to our own shores)... I doubt it. Japan would make a good trade (assuming you could enter and depart before a dramatic setback such as we saw today), but not for the faint of heart.
I think the author has pegged it. The Bernank should have stuck with his prepared remarks, which were very dovish (and imply QE to infinity for at least another year or more). He is unwilling to admit (ever) that QE has been ineffective, but he did a poor job of dodging the bullets.
The Bernank will clarify things shortly, putting all back to status quo (for now).
Gold had a good day, but naysayers will point to the Bernanke drunkard's walk and blame it on that... Whereas the day's charts say Gold was strengthening in step with equities before he stepped in the manure.
More worrisome is the debacle in the Japanese markets today, which I attribute to worries that a currency war is spinning up (it is) featuring the yen as the number 1 target in the shooting gallery. If the Chinese start to ease the yuan dollar peg, all hell could break loose (good for the dollar, though). I see BOJ desperately trying to keep the yen weak against the dollar and the Chinese undercutting their plans (and in a position to stick a katana in them because they are sitting on tons of resources). The Chinese are in a position to force the yen to go either way, make it drop dramatically in value (igniting inflation in Japan) or make it go up despite all that the BOJ can do, destroying all their recent "gains".
I believe that China WILL pick a yen strategy, and very soon. Whichever way they decide to proceed will tell us whether they are now content with successfully raiding the West (and particularly Japan) for high technology factories, in which case they are unlikely to enter the currency battle by fighting the BOJ and driving the value of the yen upward... This would keep their existing long term strategy intact, and allow them to nail down some final technology transfers. This would prop up the dollar short to medium term, and give the BOJ the illusion of success at something like 100 yen to the dollar.
My opinion is, however, that the Chinese have just about finished with their old plans, and we are about to see a new China! In this case they will cease fishing for Western companies to relocate their manufacturing and technology to China, and begin to battle for market share in a "full court press", particularly in the key tech areas still dominated by Japan, Europe or the US. An important tool to accomplishing these goals will be the ending of their "expensive yuan" program, followed by likely cuts in the dollar peg intended to put massive pressure on any manufacturing competition still remaining in the hollowed out industrial base of the West (and particularly Japan).
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
LOL, there was no lack of a regulation, just the fact that they had to leave enough time in the regulation for their cronies to make their pound of flesh before it went into effect...
The problem is not that there is no regulation, but that its inept/incompetent in nature, if not outright corrupt. A sweeping housecleaning is desperately needed in the regulatory agencies. They must have deadwood stacked around like, well, deadwood.
REE/Strategic Minerals Concentrator, March 29, 2013 [View instapost]
Some Lynas thoughts...
LYC tanked (as did the overall Aussie market) last night, down about AU$.05, nasty...
But we have recently seen events in LYSDY trading "leading" events down under, a situation which I believe at least hints that the moves are the result of actions by large players. The norm is of course for the American shares to trail meekly behind the Sydney trading, so when we see this relationship swap ends, it pays to take note.
I would not be surprised to see LYSDY (and perhaps LYSCF as well) buck the trend from last night... Although we could also see even deeper drops as the trend is led lower.
With another 5 weeks until the next quarterlies (Due June 30 I believe), and the short action still running very hot from the pre-Malay election days (when it hit very high levels, much of it extending well past the elections of course), I see efforts to extricate large short positions prior to reports from new management detailing the first quarter of ramping production and commercial sales.
I view this situation as offering good arbitrage opportunities for the traders among us, and low prices for those seeking to build longer term positions. I am a buyer in the $.50's at this time, though I am trading when the arbitrage becomes noteworthy to reduce my average share cost.
Axion Power Concentrator 238: May 21: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
On the idea of Axion selling PbC's to a retail audience...
I use AGM batteries all the time in my art business (outdoor festivals often don't offer electricity, and the better ones also ban generators). The "portable power" units currently sold share the usual drawbacks, dreadfully slow recharge times and a short service life for the way we customers use them. A typical day in the field means that I will exhaust even the larger available units down to a very low state of charge, and they will need all night to recapture a useable charge (at which point we will once again run them to death). As we have seen with the SS numbers, using batteries (other than the PbC) like this is a formula for high costs, poor service, and short battery lifespans.
These things are also quite heavy, and the weight advantage for the PbC appeals to tired old artists having to schlep them over hill and dale every weekend.
These portable power units (Sears makes truckloads of them under their DieHard brand, and Black and Decker sells them in all sizes) represent a potential retail market, but probably the mass market would be accessible only after the technology is thoroughly commercialized and the economies of scale realized.
BUT small businessmen like myself who simply need a battery that can quickly recharge and last for a long life under the abuse of deep discharges might be a good market that scales well to an Axion-sized company.
rbf: Unless something has radically changed, durable goods (which would include things like cars, trucks, houses, etc.) would be taxed at sale when new, but not thereafter. The obvious impact on the sale of new items would doubtless do much to lift the value of "used" items... One positive aspect which might flow from this change would be the strong likelihood that durable goods would become more "durable", since the purchaser would insist on a long life in order to get the full benefit of the purchase. We can hope that this would tend to mitigate some of the worst abuses of a disposable culture.
I believe that treatment for "land" could be an interesting study. For instance, I suspect that some more clever pols will, at some point after introduction of a federal Fair Tax, encounter problems with the local and State versions which will often follow (though of course they are not a requirement). The temptation to treat a change in zoning as somehow creating "new" land which can then be taxed once again will be overwhelming for some areas. Subdividing land parcels... probably the same sort of danger.
Much as I have long supported the concept of a NRST to replace our moronic Federal income tax system, I have also privately believed that it can only succeed if first we toss out the Demican/Republicrat duo from power. The FairTax proposal has strong Libertarian props (though it contains elements taken from the Leftward end of the political spectrum as well), and would probably be most trustworthy if installed in tandem with a new Libertarian administration.
LOL, and given the astronomical odds that will every happen, it truly is a desultory conversation on a level with things like the weather and the local college's softball team.
The operative phrase in those quotes is "proposed projects". In this sort of environment, where government makes it clear they are open to funding requests, the projects spring out of every crook and granny...
Before we get alarmed at the prospect of creating NG shortages due to shipping half our supply elsewhere, it might be wise to remember that most of the proposals will die, and many of the few survivors will be merged together or greatly downsized. This is particularly likely since many of them involve novel or experimental technology, and will (if implemented at all) be preceded by a lengthy series of R&D experiments and small pilot plants. Those that are most likely to actually get the nod medium term will be the ones based upon existing, commercialized technology. If doing an analysis of this topic, I would start with the list of proposed projects, (and see if the author can back up his claim that there is another list which is at least as large and known to him as real, but he somehow didn't feel like including that data in his article).
I have invested in NG years ago, but have been out of it over the past few years (essentially since the advent of the new drilling tech and the subsequent drop in pricing). I believe the LNG "threat" is something to track, but not yet present in the scale needed to dramatically alter the NG landscape in the US.
I believe the political dimension (NIMBY movements, predatory tax schemes, and the opening salvos in the usual protection racket interaction between a successful industry and corrupt politicians) is just starting to settle out, and is much more likely to impact production than LNG shipping infrastructure (still largely absent in the US).
Axion Power Concentrator 237: May 16: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
Then management purposely kept this under a bushel basket while the share price sank during the averaging period leading up to this round of funding? I guess HTL has confirmation for his complaint.
"ALL" goods sold at retail. Everyone knows that this also includes larger capital goods like automobiles, trucks, appliances, etc, not just "short lived goods and immediately consumed services".
Perhaps the confusion comes with the term "retail". For instance, we often refer here to "retail investors". In that case, would the FairTax include a tax on the purchase of stocks, bonds and options on the various exchanges? IMO, the answer would be "yes". Defining what would and would not be a taxable trade (and depending on the definition, wouldn't THAT put a large hole in the HFT quantmonkey garbage scow?) would be one of the all-time wild debates in Congress, though. I would come down for equal treatment for ALL traders, big and small, with trading desks at banks viewed as "retail" every bit as much as the smallest account for individual investors. Would manipulative option actions such as the long time JPM (and friends) silver trades be considered "retail"? I hope so, for if the premise of paper PMs and PM ETFs and ETNs are to be believed, ALL such trades are the same as buying and selling the physical metal (OK, I really DON'T believe that, but one has to smile anyway)...
"Professional" services (doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs) are not exempted from the Fair Tax UNLESS they are rendering those services to a Corporation under rules exempting them from the FairTax.
Indeed, the definition of "retail" is at the heart of the matter. The authors have a very broad concept which will include those things which we would all view as "retail", but will the actual installation be just as corrupt and idiotic as the current income tax methodology? Potentially. As recent political events have amply demonstrated, ANYTHING can happen in an election, and elections definitely have consequences... Similarly, ANYTHING political (and taxes definitely qualify) can be bastardized and create just another roadmap to evil.
I prefer to hold out hope that the original concept can be installed intact, and correctly formulated (preferably starting with the repeal of the 16th Amendment, of course). If the assumption is that venal definitions and the usual trickery enabling the current crony capitalist/socialist system will be superimposed upon the new tax system, then no further discussion is possible. We are without hope and without a future.
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
Prices will firm up due to this factor almost regardless of overt market demand.
I still think the more common elements will remain cheap through most of this year, though I anticipate a slow improvement as the remnants of the private Chinese REE operators close down their businesses and sell off their remaining goods. After that happens, the Chinese REE cartel will be in full control...
And then we see what they want to do with that control. They could elect to drive prices down to destroy their Western competition (like MCP and Lynas), which of course the idiot leaders in the West will doubtless not even notice so long as supplies are plentiful NOW (which millisecond existence so neatly aligns with their collective attention span)...
OR they could let prices float, crank up their pet Inner Mongolian REE Exchange, and make loads of money selling overpriced REEs.
Unfortunately, I believe this decision will not be made based upon capitalistic guidelines.
So this is as it was, a broken sector with massive geopolitical risk.
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
The banks held onto these things like a lead life preserver as they sank along with their underwater and long-abused customers.
By this point its doubtless far too late for resetting terms to help the floundering Spanish economy. Too bad.
Interesting Times For All Commodities And Investments!! Part 2.... [View instapost]
Its hard to summarize, but the way I see it is laid out there. Are REEs bottomed out? That's part of my comments about China above, really, and the answer is "it depends on which way they jump" (just as their slot in the currency wars could go either way).
My opinion is that they are still consolidating their new 10 year plan (they just had their usual once-a-decade change in leadership among the rotating oligarchies that rule the Chinese Communist Party politburo), which is built around shifting from a form of "state managed" capitalism to a more fascist model featuring fewer small fry, less for the middle class, and more power and wealth concentration through cartels. Oddly enough, we are seeing this same strange determination to imitate the European fixation on fascism here as well...
Anyway, REE prices dropped because the Chinese rulers wanted them to. The method they used to cause the drop was the elimination of literally thousands of small and middle-sized mines, processors and brokers in their REE sector. All production was centralized in a small handful of companies (primarily those owned and operated by the government/oligarchy). If all this supply destruction sounds counterintuitive when looking at a crash in prices for the things those same companies produce...
It really isn't. When the cartel was formed and all the little guys were shoved aside, most of them saw it coming and had been squirreling away extra REEs for a long time. When push came to shove, they sold off their hidden stockpiles, all of a sudden, which flooded the illiquid REE market and crashed prices. The Japanese keibatsu (major corporate organizations, ie, uniquely Japanese groups of huge conglomerates usually centered around major industrial players) control the middlemen that buy and sell REEs shipped out of China. They have scooped up the sudden surplus of supply, so the pricing mechanism (such as it is - the only "exchange" for REEs is the cartel's pet exchange China setup in Inner Mongolia) is sending all the wrong signals.
Other than the most common (and by far the cheapest) 'light' REE elements (like Cerium), which are looking at low prices going forward due to large operations opening up in the West (MCP and Lynas), the prospects for most REEs are actually quite bright... As soon as the world works through the one-time surplus.
And so on. Its an incredibly complex story, and one frought with geopolitical peril (Western companies entering this field in a serious way like MCP or Lynas are literally facing off against a very determined nation state opponent in China).
bd4: As for Japan, the effort to cut the value of the yen back to something around 100/$ is obviously intended to aid their remaining export industries. Whether this can be sustained long term, or under the pressure of a determined currency war (which might even see the US participating, since we, too, are supposedly trying to repatriate some factory jobs to our own shores)... I doubt it. Japan would make a good trade (assuming you could enter and depart before a dramatic setback such as we saw today), but not for the faint of heart.
Interesting Times For All Commodities And Investments!! Part 2.... [View instapost]
I think the author has pegged it. The Bernank should have stuck with his prepared remarks, which were very dovish (and imply QE to infinity for at least another year or more). He is unwilling to admit (ever) that QE has been ineffective, but he did a poor job of dodging the bullets.
The Bernank will clarify things shortly, putting all back to status quo (for now).
Gold had a good day, but naysayers will point to the Bernanke drunkard's walk and blame it on that... Whereas the day's charts say Gold was strengthening in step with equities before he stepped in the manure.
More worrisome is the debacle in the Japanese markets today, which I attribute to worries that a currency war is spinning up (it is) featuring the yen as the number 1 target in the shooting gallery. If the Chinese start to ease the yuan dollar peg, all hell could break loose (good for the dollar, though). I see BOJ desperately trying to keep the yen weak against the dollar and the Chinese undercutting their plans (and in a position to stick a katana in them because they are sitting on tons of resources). The Chinese are in a position to force the yen to go either way, make it drop dramatically in value (igniting inflation in Japan) or make it go up despite all that the BOJ can do, destroying all their recent "gains".
I believe that China WILL pick a yen strategy, and very soon. Whichever way they decide to proceed will tell us whether they are now content with successfully raiding the West (and particularly Japan) for high technology factories, in which case they are unlikely to enter the currency battle by fighting the BOJ and driving the value of the yen upward... This would keep their existing long term strategy intact, and allow them to nail down some final technology transfers. This would prop up the dollar short to medium term, and give the BOJ the illusion of success at something like 100 yen to the dollar.
My opinion is, however, that the Chinese have just about finished with their old plans, and we are about to see a new China! In this case they will cease fishing for Western companies to relocate their manufacturing and technology to China, and begin to battle for market share in a "full court press", particularly in the key tech areas still dominated by Japan, Europe or the US. An important tool to accomplishing these goals will be the ending of their "expensive yuan" program, followed by likely cuts in the dollar peg intended to put massive pressure on any manufacturing competition still remaining in the hollowed out industrial base of the West (and particularly Japan).
QC #257, May 10, 2013 [View instapost]
Also no coincidence: http://yhoo.it/10r3LfU
Stability Of The European Union (19) April 18, 2013 To [View instapost]
The problem is not that there is no regulation, but that its inept/incompetent in nature, if not outright corrupt. A sweeping housecleaning is desperately needed in the regulatory agencies. They must have deadwood stacked around like, well, deadwood.
REE/Strategic Minerals Concentrator, March 29, 2013 [View instapost]
LYC tanked (as did the overall Aussie market) last night, down about AU$.05, nasty...
But we have recently seen events in LYSDY trading "leading" events down under, a situation which I believe at least hints that the moves are the result of actions by large players. The norm is of course for the American shares to trail meekly behind the Sydney trading, so when we see this relationship swap ends, it pays to take note.
I would not be surprised to see LYSDY (and perhaps LYSCF as well) buck the trend from last night... Although we could also see even deeper drops as the trend is led lower.
With another 5 weeks until the next quarterlies (Due June 30 I believe), and the short action still running very hot from the pre-Malay election days (when it hit very high levels, much of it extending well past the elections of course), I see efforts to extricate large short positions prior to reports from new management detailing the first quarter of ramping production and commercial sales.
I view this situation as offering good arbitrage opportunities for the traders among us, and low prices for those seeking to build longer term positions. I am a buyer in the $.50's at this time, though I am trading when the arbitrage becomes noteworthy to reduce my average share cost.
Axion Power Concentrator 238: May 21: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
Axion Power Concentrator 238: May 21: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
I use AGM batteries all the time in my art business (outdoor festivals often don't offer electricity, and the better ones also ban generators). The "portable power" units currently sold share the usual drawbacks, dreadfully slow recharge times and a short service life for the way we customers use them. A typical day in the field means that I will exhaust even the larger available units down to a very low state of charge, and they will need all night to recapture a useable charge (at which point we will once again run them to death). As we have seen with the SS numbers, using batteries (other than the PbC) like this is a formula for high costs, poor service, and short battery lifespans.
These things are also quite heavy, and the weight advantage for the PbC appeals to tired old artists having to schlep them over hill and dale every weekend.
These portable power units (Sears makes truckloads of them under their DieHard brand, and Black and Decker sells them in all sizes) represent a potential retail market, but probably the mass market would be accessible only after the technology is thoroughly commercialized and the economies of scale realized.
BUT small businessmen like myself who simply need a battery that can quickly recharge and last for a long life under the abuse of deep discharges might be a good market that scales well to an Axion-sized company.
QC #257, May 10, 2013 [View instapost]
I believe that treatment for "land" could be an interesting study. For instance, I suspect that some more clever pols will, at some point after introduction of a federal Fair Tax, encounter problems with the local and State versions which will often follow (though of course they are not a requirement). The temptation to treat a change in zoning as somehow creating "new" land which can then be taxed once again will be overwhelming for some areas. Subdividing land parcels... probably the same sort of danger.
Much as I have long supported the concept of a NRST to replace our moronic Federal income tax system, I have also privately believed that it can only succeed if first we toss out the Demican/Republicrat duo from power. The FairTax proposal has strong Libertarian props (though it contains elements taken from the Leftward end of the political spectrum as well), and would probably be most trustworthy if installed in tandem with a new Libertarian administration.
LOL, and given the astronomical odds that will every happen, it truly is a desultory conversation on a level with things like the weather and the local college's softball team.
QC #257, May 10, 2013 [View instapost]
Before we get alarmed at the prospect of creating NG shortages due to shipping half our supply elsewhere, it might be wise to remember that most of the proposals will die, and many of the few survivors will be merged together or greatly downsized. This is particularly likely since many of them involve novel or experimental technology, and will (if implemented at all) be preceded by a lengthy series of R&D experiments and small pilot plants. Those that are most likely to actually get the nod medium term will be the ones based upon existing, commercialized technology. If doing an analysis of this topic, I would start with the list of proposed projects, (and see if the author can back up his claim that there is another list which is at least as large and known to him as real, but he somehow didn't feel like including that data in his article).
I have invested in NG years ago, but have been out of it over the past few years (essentially since the advent of the new drilling tech and the subsequent drop in pricing). I believe the LNG "threat" is something to track, but not yet present in the scale needed to dramatically alter the NG landscape in the US.
I believe the political dimension (NIMBY movements, predatory tax schemes, and the opening salvos in the usual protection racket interaction between a successful industry and corrupt politicians) is just starting to settle out, and is much more likely to impact production than LNG shipping infrastructure (still largely absent in the US).
Axion Power Concentrator 237: May 16: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
QC #257, May 10, 2013 [View instapost]
Perhaps the confusion comes with the term "retail". For instance, we often refer here to "retail investors". In that case, would the FairTax include a tax on the purchase of stocks, bonds and options on the various exchanges? IMO, the answer would be "yes". Defining what would and would not be a taxable trade (and depending on the definition, wouldn't THAT put a large hole in the HFT quantmonkey garbage scow?) would be one of the all-time wild debates in Congress, though. I would come down for equal treatment for ALL traders, big and small, with trading desks at banks viewed as "retail" every bit as much as the smallest account for individual investors. Would manipulative option actions such as the long time JPM (and friends) silver trades be considered "retail"? I hope so, for if the premise of paper PMs and PM ETFs and ETNs are to be believed, ALL such trades are the same as buying and selling the physical metal (OK, I really DON'T believe that, but one has to smile anyway)...
"Professional" services (doctors, lawyers, indian chiefs) are not exempted from the Fair Tax UNLESS they are rendering those services to a Corporation under rules exempting them from the FairTax.
Indeed, the definition of "retail" is at the heart of the matter. The authors have a very broad concept which will include those things which we would all view as "retail", but will the actual installation be just as corrupt and idiotic as the current income tax methodology? Potentially. As recent political events have amply demonstrated, ANYTHING can happen in an election, and elections definitely have consequences... Similarly, ANYTHING political (and taxes definitely qualify) can be bastardized and create just another roadmap to evil.
I prefer to hold out hope that the original concept can be installed intact, and correctly formulated (preferably starting with the repeal of the 16th Amendment, of course). If the assumption is that venal definitions and the usual trickery enabling the current crony capitalist/socialist system will be superimposed upon the new tax system, then no further discussion is possible. We are without hope and without a future.
Axion Power Concentrator 237: May 16: Axion Power Reports First Quarter Results For 2013 [View instapost]
Hey, I RESEMBLE that remark!