[ocrenter]

All complex issues of the day involve multiple factors. Such was the case with the housing bubble. We blamed the realtors, we blamed the ignorant buyers, we blamed George Chamberlin, we blamed the builders. But ultimately it was the toxic mortgage that were EVERYWHERE. Toxic mortgages that everybody could get cheaply (as in zero down). That was the driver of the bubble. When the ultimate source of the toxic mortgages died, everything did as well.

Same thing here, you can blame cars, video games, increase of single parent families, air condition, and TVs that have more than one knob. But ultimately one key issue is still the food. Food and drinks are packed in with so much calories and at such a cheap price that I would imagine if someone graphs a $/cal graph it would probably look like the reverse of the housing bubble graph of yesteryears.

The perfect example is Chili’s, where a couple can literally go in, spend $20, and get 4500 cal per person out of that $20. (btw, the food industry of course fought tooth and nails to prevent mandatory calorie information in restaurants. now that they are mandated, they hide the calorie info in small prints at the back of the drinks menu. Bottom line, they DONT want you to know what you are really getting. And while Piggs WILL ask and find that calorie info, the vast majority of WE THE PEOPLE would not).

There is absolutely no way the energy saving from having TV remote, using AC, and sitting all day in front of TVs and video games can begin to compare to the fact that someone in this society can obtain 450 calories with a single dollar. To put into better prospective, that Chili’s meal that only cost $10 per person but yield 4500 calories needed 45 miles of fast paced walking to burn off. I dont care how your parents walked uphill in the snow to go to school and back and now your kids are now chauffeured to the corner elementary school. None of the other factors account for the obesity crisis as much as the food factor.

Bottom line, it is the food supply, people.

[ocrenter]

All complex issues of the day involve multiple factors. Such was the case with the housing bubble. We blamed the realtors, we blamed the ignorant buyers, we blamed George Chamberlin, we blamed the builders. But ultimately it was the toxic mortgage that were EVERYWHERE. Toxic mortgages that everybody could get cheaply (as in zero down). That was the driver of the bubble. When the ultimate source of the toxic mortgages died, everything did as well.

Same thing here, you can blame cars, video games, increase of single parent families, air condition, and TVs that have more than one knob. But ultimately one key issue is still the food. Food and drinks are packed in with so much calories and at such a cheap price that I would imagine if someone graphs a $/cal graph it would probably look like the reverse of the housing bubble graph of yesteryears.

The perfect example is Chili’s, where a couple can literally go in, spend $20, and get 4500 cal per person out of that $20. (btw, the food industry of course fought tooth and nails to prevent mandatory calorie information in restaurants. now that they are mandated, they hide the calorie info in small prints at the back of the drinks menu. Bottom line, they DONT want you to know what you are really getting. And while Piggs WILL ask and find that calorie info, the vast majority of WE THE PEOPLE would not).

There is absolutely no way the energy saving from having TV remote, using AC, and sitting all day in front of TVs and video games can begin to compare to the fact that someone in this society can obtain 450 calories with a single dollar. To put into better prospective, that Chili’s meal that only cost $10 per person but yield 4500 calories needed 45 miles of fast paced walking to burn off. I dont care how your parents walked uphill in the snow to go to school and back and now your kids are now chauffeured to the corner elementary school. None of the other factors account for the obesity crisis as much as the food factor.

Bottom line, it is the food supply, people.

[ocrenter]

[quote=carlsbadworker]A. I hope 2011 will at least not bring bad news to those who haven’t bought. I felt hoping for good news is really asking too much at the moment.

B. Although I hate cash as well, I think as an asset class, it is hated so much now that the a contrarian investor should love it at the moment. That’s why Seth Klarman has a stockpile of cash at the moment.

C. The Chinese inflation analogy is mis-applied. If every government wants to help 10% of the people to screw 90% of the remaining population. Keep in mind that in China, 90% of the people save, therefore inflation screw 90% of the people. Whereas here in US, inflation would help the majority of the people who are deep in debt. Only deflation will screw 90% of the US population.[/quote]

uh… did you forget wages are always behind inflation. and in our scenario, we will likely see stagnate wages with the inflation. so 90% of the people will be hurt in the US.

[ocrenter]

[quote=carlsbadworker]A. I hope 2011 will at least not bring bad news to those who haven’t bought. I felt hoping for good news is really asking too much at the moment.

B. Although I hate cash as well, I think as an asset class, it is hated so much now that the a contrarian investor should love it at the moment. That’s why Seth Klarman has a stockpile of cash at the moment.

C. The Chinese inflation analogy is mis-applied. If every government wants to help 10% of the people to screw 90% of the remaining population. Keep in mind that in China, 90% of the people save, therefore inflation screw 90% of the people. Whereas here in US, inflation would help the majority of the people who are deep in debt. Only deflation will screw 90% of the US population.[/quote]

uh… did you forget wages are always behind inflation. and in our scenario, we will likely see stagnate wages with the inflation. so 90% of the people will be hurt in the US.

[ocrenter]

[quote=carlsbadworker]A. I hope 2011 will at least not bring bad news to those who haven’t bought. I felt hoping for good news is really asking too much at the moment.

B. Although I hate cash as well, I think as an asset class, it is hated so much now that the a contrarian investor should love it at the moment. That’s why Seth Klarman has a stockpile of cash at the moment.

C. The Chinese inflation analogy is mis-applied. If every government wants to help 10% of the people to screw 90% of the remaining population. Keep in mind that in China, 90% of the people save, therefore inflation screw 90% of the people. Whereas here in US, inflation would help the majority of the people who are deep in debt. Only deflation will screw 90% of the US population.[/quote]

uh… did you forget wages are always behind inflation. and in our scenario, we will likely see stagnate wages with the inflation. so 90% of the people will be hurt in the US.

[ocrenter]

[quote=carlsbadworker]A. I hope 2011 will at least not bring bad news to those who haven’t bought. I felt hoping for good news is really asking too much at the moment.

B. Although I hate cash as well, I think as an asset class, it is hated so much now that the a contrarian investor should love it at the moment. That’s why Seth Klarman has a stockpile of cash at the moment.

C. The Chinese inflation analogy is mis-applied. If every government wants to help 10% of the people to screw 90% of the remaining population. Keep in mind that in China, 90% of the people save, therefore inflation screw 90% of the people. Whereas here in US, inflation would help the majority of the people who are deep in debt. Only deflation will screw 90% of the US population.[/quote]

uh… did you forget wages are always behind inflation. and in our scenario, we will likely see stagnate wages with the inflation. so 90% of the people will be hurt in the US.

[ocrenter]

[quote=carlsbadworker]A. I hope 2011 will at least not bring bad news to those who haven’t bought. I felt hoping for good news is really asking too much at the moment.

B. Although I hate cash as well, I think as an asset class, it is hated so much now that the a contrarian investor should love it at the moment. That’s why Seth Klarman has a stockpile of cash at the moment.

C. The Chinese inflation analogy is mis-applied. If every government wants to help 10% of the people to screw 90% of the remaining population. Keep in mind that in China, 90% of the people save, therefore inflation screw 90% of the people. Whereas here in US, inflation would help the majority of the people who are deep in debt. Only deflation will screw 90% of the US population.[/quote]

uh… did you forget wages are always behind inflation. and in our scenario, we will likely see stagnate wages with the inflation. so 90% of the people will be hurt in the US.

[ocrenter]

Here’s the deal.

If 3/10 has a weight issue, yes, blame that 3 out of 10. Yes, those folks probably have self control issues.

If within 50 years suddenly 7 out of 10 has a weight issue, what, all of the sudden everyone just decided to get completely out of control with their food choices?

Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. A huge part of this is secondary to government subsidies which artificially suppress the food prices. Another issue is the food industry grew rapidly and became extremely powerful, it is minimally regulated, it is allowed to use misleading labels, and it is allowed to target the kids with billion dollar ad campaigns aimed at getting them hooked on sugar.

There is a huge imbalance when it comes to the food supply that are presented to WE THE PEOPLE. Most of the food is highly salted to increase flavor and improve shelf life. Most of it also overly refined and overly processed. The portions also grew significantly. And because of the extra processing as well as the subsidies, this food got a whole lot cheaper.

So you tell me that there is no food supply problem in this country.

When it came to the housing bubble, the lending industry CREATED the loans that enabled WE THE PEOPLE. Of course there was personal responsibility, and that’s why the bubble bloggers were trying to rescue people from making bad mistakes. But ultimately the bad loans had to stop for the general population to stop buying.

Same thing with the obesity crisis. Of course it is up to the individual. And most folks on this blog probably do a decent job navigating away from cheap bad food. But do you think WE THE PEOPLE do a good job in general? Of course not.

The same WE THE PEOPLE that fell for the toxic loans offered to them are also buying 2L cokes for 99 cents and loading up on extra large pizzas for $5. Someone is offering that to them and they are taking it.

The masses ultimately will fall inline with what is available and what is cheap. That is what the masses do.

In the 19th century the Chinese masses were offered cheap opium by the British and huge numbers got hooked.

In the 80’s the masses in our inner cities were offered cheap crack and huge numbers got hooked.

This last couple of decades the American masses were offered cheap food by the giant food industry of this country and they too got hooked.

So don’t tell me we do not have a food supply issue.

[ocrenter]

Here’s the deal.

If 3/10 has a weight issue, yes, blame that 3 out of 10. Yes, those folks probably have self control issues.

If within 50 years suddenly 7 out of 10 has a weight issue, what, all of the sudden everyone just decided to get completely out of control with their food choices?

Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. A huge part of this is secondary to government subsidies which artificially suppress the food prices. Another issue is the food industry grew rapidly and became extremely powerful, it is minimally regulated, it is allowed to use misleading labels, and it is allowed to target the kids with billion dollar ad campaigns aimed at getting them hooked on sugar.

There is a huge imbalance when it comes to the food supply that are presented to WE THE PEOPLE. Most of the food is highly salted to increase flavor and improve shelf life. Most of it also overly refined and overly processed. The portions also grew significantly. And because of the extra processing as well as the subsidies, this food got a whole lot cheaper.

So you tell me that there is no food supply problem in this country.

When it came to the housing bubble, the lending industry CREATED the loans that enabled WE THE PEOPLE. Of course there was personal responsibility, and that’s why the bubble bloggers were trying to rescue people from making bad mistakes. But ultimately the bad loans had to stop for the general population to stop buying.

Same thing with the obesity crisis. Of course it is up to the individual. And most folks on this blog probably do a decent job navigating away from cheap bad food. But do you think WE THE PEOPLE do a good job in general? Of course not.

The same WE THE PEOPLE that fell for the toxic loans offered to them are also buying 2L cokes for 99 cents and loading up on extra large pizzas for $5. Someone is offering that to them and they are taking it.

The masses ultimately will fall inline with what is available and what is cheap. That is what the masses do.

In the 19th century the Chinese masses were offered cheap opium by the British and huge numbers got hooked.

In the 80’s the masses in our inner cities were offered cheap crack and huge numbers got hooked.

This last couple of decades the American masses were offered cheap food by the giant food industry of this country and they too got hooked.

So don’t tell me we do not have a food supply issue.

[ocrenter]

Here’s the deal.

If 3/10 has a weight issue, yes, blame that 3 out of 10. Yes, those folks probably have self control issues.

If within 50 years suddenly 7 out of 10 has a weight issue, what, all of the sudden everyone just decided to get completely out of control with their food choices?

Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. A huge part of this is secondary to government subsidies which artificially suppress the food prices. Another issue is the food industry grew rapidly and became extremely powerful, it is minimally regulated, it is allowed to use misleading labels, and it is allowed to target the kids with billion dollar ad campaigns aimed at getting them hooked on sugar.

There is a huge imbalance when it comes to the food supply that are presented to WE THE PEOPLE. Most of the food is highly salted to increase flavor and improve shelf life. Most of it also overly refined and overly processed. The portions also grew significantly. And because of the extra processing as well as the subsidies, this food got a whole lot cheaper.

So you tell me that there is no food supply problem in this country.

When it came to the housing bubble, the lending industry CREATED the loans that enabled WE THE PEOPLE. Of course there was personal responsibility, and that’s why the bubble bloggers were trying to rescue people from making bad mistakes. But ultimately the bad loans had to stop for the general population to stop buying.

Same thing with the obesity crisis. Of course it is up to the individual. And most folks on this blog probably do a decent job navigating away from cheap bad food. But do you think WE THE PEOPLE do a good job in general? Of course not.

The same WE THE PEOPLE that fell for the toxic loans offered to them are also buying 2L cokes for 99 cents and loading up on extra large pizzas for $5. Someone is offering that to them and they are taking it.

The masses ultimately will fall inline with what is available and what is cheap. That is what the masses do.

In the 19th century the Chinese masses were offered cheap opium by the British and huge numbers got hooked.

In the 80’s the masses in our inner cities were offered cheap crack and huge numbers got hooked.

This last couple of decades the American masses were offered cheap food by the giant food industry of this country and they too got hooked.

So don’t tell me we do not have a food supply issue.

[ocrenter]

Here’s the deal.

If 3/10 has a weight issue, yes, blame that 3 out of 10. Yes, those folks probably have self control issues.

If within 50 years suddenly 7 out of 10 has a weight issue, what, all of the sudden everyone just decided to get completely out of control with their food choices?

Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. A huge part of this is secondary to government subsidies which artificially suppress the food prices. Another issue is the food industry grew rapidly and became extremely powerful, it is minimally regulated, it is allowed to use misleading labels, and it is allowed to target the kids with billion dollar ad campaigns aimed at getting them hooked on sugar.

There is a huge imbalance when it comes to the food supply that are presented to WE THE PEOPLE. Most of the food is highly salted to increase flavor and improve shelf life. Most of it also overly refined and overly processed. The portions also grew significantly. And because of the extra processing as well as the subsidies, this food got a whole lot cheaper.

So you tell me that there is no food supply problem in this country.

When it came to the housing bubble, the lending industry CREATED the loans that enabled WE THE PEOPLE. Of course there was personal responsibility, and that’s why the bubble bloggers were trying to rescue people from making bad mistakes. But ultimately the bad loans had to stop for the general population to stop buying.

Same thing with the obesity crisis. Of course it is up to the individual. And most folks on this blog probably do a decent job navigating away from cheap bad food. But do you think WE THE PEOPLE do a good job in general? Of course not.

The same WE THE PEOPLE that fell for the toxic loans offered to them are also buying 2L cokes for 99 cents and loading up on extra large pizzas for $5. Someone is offering that to them and they are taking it.

The masses ultimately will fall inline with what is available and what is cheap. That is what the masses do.

In the 19th century the Chinese masses were offered cheap opium by the British and huge numbers got hooked.

In the 80’s the masses in our inner cities were offered cheap crack and huge numbers got hooked.

This last couple of decades the American masses were offered cheap food by the giant food industry of this country and they too got hooked.

So don’t tell me we do not have a food supply issue.

[ocrenter]

Here’s the deal.

If 3/10 has a weight issue, yes, blame that 3 out of 10. Yes, those folks probably have self control issues.

If within 50 years suddenly 7 out of 10 has a weight issue, what, all of the sudden everyone just decided to get completely out of control with their food choices?

Something happened within the last 50 years that led to the dramatic weight issue. And especially over the last 20 years. The quality of the food got A LOT worse and the BAD food got A LOT cheaper. A huge part of this is secondary to government subsidies which artificially suppress the food prices. Another issue is the food industry grew rapidly and became extremely powerful, it is minimally regulated, it is allowed to use misleading labels, and it is allowed to target the kids with billion dollar ad campaigns aimed at getting them hooked on sugar.

There is a huge imbalance when it comes to the food supply that are presented to WE THE PEOPLE. Most of the food is highly salted to increase flavor and improve shelf life. Most of it also overly refined and overly processed. The portions also grew significantly. And because of the extra processing as well as the subsidies, this food got a whole lot cheaper.

So you tell me that there is no food supply problem in this country.

When it came to the housing bubble, the lending industry CREATED the loans that enabled WE THE PEOPLE. Of course there was personal responsibility, and that’s why the bubble bloggers were trying to rescue people from making bad mistakes. But ultimately the bad loans had to stop for the general population to stop buying.

Same thing with the obesity crisis. Of course it is up to the individual. And most folks on this blog probably do a decent job navigating away from cheap bad food. But do you think WE THE PEOPLE do a good job in general? Of course not.

The same WE THE PEOPLE that fell for the toxic loans offered to them are also buying 2L cokes for 99 cents and loading up on extra large pizzas for $5. Someone is offering that to them and they are taking it.

The masses ultimately will fall inline with what is available and what is cheap. That is what the masses do.

In the 19th century the Chinese masses were offered cheap opium by the British and huge numbers got hooked.

In the 80’s the masses in our inner cities were offered cheap crack and huge numbers got hooked.

This last couple of decades the American masses were offered cheap food by the giant food industry of this country and they too got hooked.

So don’t tell me we do not have a food supply issue.

[ocrenter]

[quote=AN][quote=sdrealtor][quote=flu][quote=waiting hawk][quote=surveyor]Somewhere a piggington is using this to bid $175k on a La Jolla property…[/quote]

no way. 175k is to much i was thinkin 99k. Who would want to live in that dump area.[/quote]

I’d rather live in LJ adjunct.[/quote]

LOL, I know what you are getting at[/quote]
It’s only 10 minutes away.[/quote]

it is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.

[ocrenter]

[quote=AN][quote=sdrealtor][quote=flu][quote=waiting hawk][quote=surveyor]Somewhere a piggington is using this to bid $175k on a La Jolla property…[/quote]

no way. 175k is to much i was thinkin 99k. Who would want to live in that dump area.[/quote]

I’d rather live in LJ adjunct.[/quote]

LOL, I know what you are getting at[/quote]
It’s only 10 minutes away.[/quote]

it is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.

[ocrenter]

[quote=AN][quote=sdrealtor][quote=flu][quote=waiting hawk][quote=surveyor]Somewhere a piggington is using this to bid $175k on a La Jolla property…[/quote]

no way. 175k is to much i was thinkin 99k. Who would want to live in that dump area.[/quote]

I’d rather live in LJ adjunct.[/quote]

LOL, I know what you are getting at[/quote]
It’s only 10 minutes away.[/quote]

it is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving.

[Author]

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