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A nice "upbeat" commentary on America's futureUser Forum Topic
Submitted by stockstradr on September 24, 2008 - 3:39pm
Here's my "upbeat" thought of the day... Last night I was reading the economic news, and watching congress feign criticism of the one trillion dollar bailout, prior to their inevitable approval of it. I thought and felt, "The condition of America implied by this has got to be the most depressing thing I have ever witnessed in my entire life." I'm not depressed because stocks or housing values are down. I'm depressed because, like you, I understand economics well enough to see the dark future this implies for America over the next ten years and beyond. The spasms in America's financial markets and economy are really the first undeniable death spasms signalling the inevitable decline of much of what we know and love about America. Any American and patriot can only be deeply depressed about this. And our government's refusal to responsibly apply correct economic treatment at this last opportunity, means what lies ahead is dreadful, and inevitable. During rough the next ten years America's dominance of financial markets with a dollar-based hegemony will now collapse. The value of the dollar will collapse. Inflation will soar as our government prints money to inflate our way out of ponderous national debt. The under-funded Social Security and medical system will collapse before our generation can draw out our benefits. The world order will turn upside down, with America's military and economic dominance ending forever. China and other nations will rise and fill the vacuum. The recession will get much deeper. Many of us will lose our jobs. America's economic decline is like a forest fire seen raging on the horizon, burning its way across the land towards your property. You just know with dread it will continue roaring toward you, and burn down your house. I have to give this all some deep thought as to best way to protect ourselves from all of it. A few thoughts: - My instincts are stronger than ever that gold will become a safe haven, while the world now enters the anxious, fretting phase searching for what will unseat the dollar as the world's new de-facto reserve currency. Good grief, this is incredibly depressing. Your thoughts?
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By the way, Rich's article on related topic of gold vs. dollar value is BRILLIANT:
http://www.pcasd.com/the_case_for_gold_a...
I'm starting to come around to a similar conclusion. The US$ losing value as prices keep decreasing for many asset classes. Thus, I have increased my position in gold to 50% of my assets.Both Elliott wave and candlestick charts are bullish gold now. And financial panic is building as well as future pressure of US$ devaluing.
Who knows what the future holds? But I think it's not going to be good for a while. Articles in the FT lately are pointing towards a Eurozone recession and rate cut. I'd say, work where you can. RE prices may surprise you in the future. You may not need a mortgage. I cant believe I just wrote that. But it's not that outta line looking forward.
downsize
Hold you vibration/your light. Do not become overwhelmed with fear and then react to the current drama, the illusion we call reality from your fear.
Meditate
Be in nature
Do yoga
sing
dance
paint
play
allow your creativity to flow.
Remember we are all sovereign and this is our creation. The outer always reflects the inner.
Normally I'm one of the most bearish people here, but really, come on? First off, China has issues we could only fret about in our worst nightmares. Second Europes structural problems (aging population and high fixed benefit costs are more staggering than our own.)
We have problems no doubt. We have a huge debt and worse a crisis in confidence. Those however are much more fixable than the problems of many other nations. Its just that we like most people would rather take the easy path. Recessions and depressions happen because the easy path is no longer available. We are going to have lower prosperity and quality of life for quite a while, of that I have no doubt. America still is the greatest wealthiest nation on earth. Its economy is basically solid (except for our huge pileup of debt) and as a nation we are for less rigid in our economy than most. We will adapt albeit at a poorer level.
It may take a while but the end is not nigh. Unless of course you are a merchant of debt.
Josh
In between my yoga and singing I'll be at the range with my new .357 magnum. Being an accurate shooter does involve breathing techniques, and in a way, meditation. I actually can't pick it up for another 10 days. But, it's a mint condition smith & wesson, model 66-1 with a 6 inch barrel. Woo Hoo! And, it will only increase in value.
In between my yoga and singing I'll be at the range with my new .357 Mag....
Well that Magnum may come in handy if this all ends with "riots in the streets" as predicted in the words of a "a prominent executive."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...
I have once shot a .357 Mag in target practice. SCARY GUN, really scary. Almost knocked me over and I weigh 220 lbs.
-
I read a great quote today in one of the papers that I think Americans should take to heart.
"There is no education in the second kick of a mule."
Until we learn from our own history and the history of others we are doomed to repeat it at out own peril.
Stocks,
I am looking at Australia. Going to go through a downturn like most everywhere else, but I think they will weather the storm much better then most. Not sold yet.
I have once shot a .357 Mag in target practice. SCARY GUN, really scary. Almost knocked me over and I weigh 220 lbs.
Eh? It is my favorite gun, and I don't find it so difficult to fire... I only weigh 175.
Nost, I'm a little lighter than you and I haven't had any problems either. Could just be chalked up to proper technique with holding the weapon appropriately. Most of my shooting has been either .45 or 9 mm, so this new revolver will be a bit different. It won't get used much, tho. This particular gun is somewhat rare so I want to keep it in it's original condition. This is the actual gun:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIte...
Didn't mean to hijack this thread. It's just happens to be a fine weapon that will last longer than any of us.
The kick depends on how much gunpowder is loaded in the cartridge - for target practice you might want a lighter load. If you are looking to blast through walls to kill the bad guy on the other side, go with a hotter load (of course you wont mind the kick so much under that scenario). Ask at the range, they can steer you to the right ammo.
It may take a while but the end is not nigh. Unless of course you are a merchant of debt.
Josh
actually, not. there are many countries in Europe whose average standard of living is superior in terms of per cap income, health care, etc., so quit smokin weed son. besides, you left out the cost of empire and war waging, with expensive weapons, costs which none of these other countries have. factor those in, your argument is a huge loser.
pablo: Always shoot your combat load, even on the range. A common mistake that inexperienced shooters make is to fire a "target" load on the range and then load the weapon with a hotter load for protection. Big no-no.
Many .357 shooters use .38 Special on the range and then load .357 Mag loads for protection. In a combat situation they are then unused to the recoil and muzzle flash of the heavier Magnum load and therefore are ineffective at the most crucial time.
Definitely don't ask at the range, unless your rangemaster is an experienced combat trained shooter.
Federal makes an excellent load for the .357, the 158gr Hydra-Shok. Takes a little getting used to, especially with the recoil and muzzle flash, but a real stopper, especially coming out of a 6" tube like your K frame Smith.
Bookmarking this thread and will revisit a year from now.
- As the dollar will crash, what else (besides gold) to trade our dollars into as protection from this devaluing. EUROS? Chinese RMB?
- In terms of career, the Smart Move is obviously to take a job overseas that pays salary in foreign currency. Then as the dollar falls in value, you get an effective raise as your salary is paid in a currency that is rising against the dollar. A job (paying western scale salary but in RMB) in China is the obvious choice.
Um, if you really want to downgrade you benefit of living, sure go to china and be a worker bee there and see how well you get treated. I think most people here have a misconception about opportunities in China. First, the wealth that people associate to seeing here wrto folks from China is the top 1% of the population that has the economic and political clout to do whatever the hell they want, include coming here. They are business owners/factory owners/etc. (BTW: great to be friends with some of these folks, because I never have to buy any kids clothes at Gymboree or BabyGap when your friends are suppliers to those retailers).
There was a time when people moved from here overseas (people of ABC background or from mainland that went over there to start a business), but it's really too late for this. China has already caught up, and you (especially as a enginerd) really don't bring any additional value to the table, plus you can't speak the local language or read or write.
Next, it should be obvious that the RMB is state controlled and pegged to the U.S. dollar (sort of). While it's no problem to convert usd to RMB, there are limitations on how much you can convert RMB to USD or any other currencies. Without having a shell company, common people can't convert back masses of RMB to foreign currency.
Did I mention that the european markets aren't looking too good these days also?
As far as the private sector, American's will just have to learn to deal with living with less.
Bookmarking this thread and will revisit a year from now.
- As the dollar will crash, what else (besides gold) to trade our dollars into as protection from this devaluing. EUROS? Chinese RMB?
- In terms of career, the Smart Move is obviously to take a job overseas that pays salary in foreign currency. Then as the dollar falls in value, you get an effective raise as your salary is paid in a currency that is rising against the dollar. A job (paying western scale salary but in RMB) in China is the obvious choice.
If you really want to downgrade your living standard, sure go to china and be a worker bee there and see how well you get treated. I think most people here have a misconception about opportunities in China. First, the wealth that people associate to seeing here wrto folks from China is the top 1% of the population that has the economic and political clout to do whatever the hell they want, include coming here. They are business owners/factory owners/etc. (BTW: great to be friends with some of these folks, because I never have to buy any kids clothes at Gymboree or BabyGap when your friends are suppliers to those retailers).
There was a time when people moved from here overseas (people of ABC background or from mainland that went over there to start a business), but it's really too late for this. China has already caught up, and you (especially as a enginerd) really don't bring any additional value to the table, plus you can't speak the local language or read or write.
Next, it should be obvious that the RMB is state controlled and pegged to the U.S. dollar (sort of). While it's no problem to convert usd to RMB, there are limitations on how much you can convert RMB to USD or any other currencies. Without having a shell company, common people can't convert back masses of RMB to foreign currency.
Did I mention that the european markets aren't looking too good these days also?
As far as the private sector, American's will just have to learn to deal with living with less.
Many .357 shooters use .38 Special on the range and then load .357 Mag loads for protection. In a combat situation they are then unused to the recoil and muzzle flash of the heavier Magnum load and therefore are ineffective at the most crucial time.
Federal makes an excellent load for the .357, the 158gr Hydra-Shok. Takes a little getting used to, especially with the recoil and muzzle flash, but a real stopper, especially coming out of a 6" tube like your K frame Smith.
Thanks for the tip Allan. I've never owned a revolver, let alone a nice K frame .357. I understand that I should stay away from 125 gr rounds because they have a potential to crack the barrel forcing cone. I'll probably only put a box or two of rounds through this gun in its lifetime. I want to keep it in fairly desirable condition. This will spend most of its time locked away, and will never be used for home defense. For that, I have my Sig 9mm. I'm comfortable with that and fairly proficient. Plus, it has the night sights and the high capacity magazine. I've been fortunate enough to having never needed to pull my weapon on someone, but I'm sure the nerves/panic kick in. I like knowing I can miss 6 times and still have 9 more rounds to go before reloading:)
In matters of home defense the shotgun is still superior. Hard to avoid the target under pressure. Increase magazine and other modifications for more practical applications. Hand guns are for bravado.
peterb: Yup. Good ole 12ga does the trick. I carried a shotgun in the Army and swear by it for close in stuff.
I have a Remington 870 Police with a mag extension and use a mix of 3" Magnum slug and 00 Buck loads. If you can't stop someone with 9 shots of 12ga, you deserve to be dead.
Veritas: That thing (the Desert Eagle) is a complete boat anchor. Fun to shoot and completely worthless in the real world. I've fired it in .44 Mag and .50 AE and it makes a big boom, but you can hit the broad side of a barn with it. Any handgun that weighs nearly as much as a rifle is kinda pointless to begin with.
I have a Remington 870. It always goes bang.
I totally agree with Allan and peterb, go with a shotgun for home protection. I also like the fact that with the proper ammo it won't go through walls or kill innocent people across the street. Yet it will make a modern art masterpiece out of the person right in front of you! (usually a paper target)
Such violent talk here! Let's get back to the collapse of the dollar!
nost: Uh, you do see the inherent contradiction between agreeing with the wonderful utility of a pump shotgun in turning a perp into wallpaper and then decrying the violence of the topic?
Speaking of wallpaper, I'll leave off with one last little tidbit: For those shotgun aficionados out there, try the BRI Sabot Slug. It is a .50cal round chambered for the 12ga. Extremely nasty, but highly fun to shoot. I shot up a load of watermelons and an abandoned refrigerator with these for s**ts and giggles one time.
As the Mazda folks would say: Zoom-zoom.
I went shooting in the Ortegas and my brother "humorously", secretly loaded one of those magnum loads into the 12 gauge I was shooting... All of the other rounds were standard buck shot, and I was blasting away at the side of a hill when I got to the magnum slug (the slug looks like a pinball!!!) which damn near knocked me on my ass and started a mini-landslide on the hill I was shooting at!
It was a scene straight out of "Reno 911".
Hey Allan can you recommend a good 12ga?
nost: In a pump, I would recommend either the Remington 870 Police with magnum receiver (meaning it can handle the 3" shells) or the Mossberg 590. I'd get it with rifle sights, so you can shoot slug loads and if you get the Mossberg, I'd get the ghost ring sights.
The Remmie has a smoother action than the Mossberg, which is rough IMO, but the Mossberg is cheaper.
I'd add a mag extension (that will give you an 8 round capacity), and a sling and you're in business.
The Remmie has a smoother action than the Mossberg, which is rough IMO, but the Mossberg is cheaper.
I'd add a mag extension (that will give you an 8 round capacity), and a sling and you're in business.
I'm leaning towards the remmi. The 870 comes with a folding stock option, any thoughts on that? I would imagine it would be better for use in small areas.
nost: I've got an aftermarket top folder on my 870 (Choate) and it does cut down on the length, but the recoil is brutal (compared to a standard stock with pad). Sort of a six of one, half dozen kind of thing.
Definitely more maneuverable in tight spaces (like a hallway) than a full stock.
I don't know what your budget is like, but Wilson Combat Shop (www.wilsoncombat.com) offers Scattergun Technologies shotguns and they have some really trick s**t (if you're willing to spend the money).
Nay I'll go with the tried-n-true remmi...