[technovelist]

I’d be very surprised if a Democrat were to be president in ’08. About the only way that could happen is if Bush resigns or is impeached and convicted, and Cheney has a heart attack. Then Pelosi would be president. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until ’09.

[technovelist]

Is your business incorporated? If so, you can probably save a lot of taxes by setting up a corporate profit-sharing plan for yourself. If not, you can incorporate pretty easily and then set up the profit sharing plan. You can even roll IRA and 401-K money into such a plan, and invest in almost any investment.

Of course, you should consult a tax professional for detailed information on this possibility.

[technovelist]

I don’t think you have gone wrong at all, except for possibly neglecting the fact that the actual intrinsic value of a “dollar” is zero. So any number of “dollars” per ounce of gold could (and probably will) end up being too low.

[technovelist]

PS,

You are completely correct on all counts, of course. It never ceases to amaze me that some people can’t distinguish between the United States (the country) and the government, including the President. I guess this proves the efficacy of the brainwashing done by the “publik skools” and other instruments of social control. Anyone who can think for him or herself can easily distinguish these two without effort, and see that one can love one’s country and loathe its government. In fact, these days, if you love this country, that isn’t just possible: it’s inescapable.

[technovelist]

Some people have extremely low risk tolerance (All cash). Others have very high (Gold! Gold! Gold is the answer!)

It depends on your definition of “risk”. I have low risk tolerance, but one risk I am very concerned about is hyperinflation. For this reason, I have relatively little “cash” (Federal Reserve Units that can be multiplied endlessly almost without cost to the issuer), preferring gold (actual money that cannot be inflated by governments).

[technovelist]

Here is a link to information about Swiss insurance and annuities.

And by the way, the actual reason the Swiss sold a lot of gold was to keep the Swiss Franc from going even higher due to its link to gold. No central bank sells gold to “make more interest”, even though they give that excuse. It’s either to keep their currency weaker than it would otherwise be (in this case), or to keep the gold price down (in most other cases).

[technovelist]

Obviously it is best to sell at the peak, as you will make the most money that way.

Of course, this is best in the stock market or commodities market too.

[technovelist]

Incorporate your consulting practice. Then you can have your own profit sharing plan that you run yourself. It’s more flexible than most other possibilities.

[technovelist]

Of course, you weren’t talking to me. However, I certainly would have voted against both of those tyrannical scum. They were two of the very worst presidents we have ever had. Georgie boy, however, is doing an “excellent” job of eclipsing their record of trashing the Constitution, getting us into wars for fabricated reasons, and generally lousing up the country.

[technovelist]

Total debt amount per month is what it said, so I assume it is just principal and interest. But what difference does it make? It’s still a suicide loan, albeit of a less complex type than the Option ARM.

[technovelist]

Oh, one more interesting point. The maximum size of the first is $417,000! I wonder what their definition of “low- or moderate-income borrowers” is?

[technovelist]

The issue is not the size of the average mortgage, but the size of the average Option ARM mortgage. Since those mortgages make up the majority of recent mortgages in some extremely high-priced areas such as San Diego, they are undoubtedly much larger than the national average mortgage. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find out they averaged over $400K, or even over $600K, given that the median house price for the last couple of years in San Diego is higher than that, and that these mortgages have recently been used mostly for “affordability”, i.e., for people who couldn’t afford those houses and had almost no money to put down.

[technovelist]

A number of governments are manipulating gold by selling it from their central bank vaults and by backing up “private” investment bankers who are selling it short in the futures market, which can easily knock out weak longs. However, very time they knock the price down, Far-eastern and Mid-eastern buyers who want physical gold see it as a bargain and step up to buy. Unlike the currency markets, no one can print gold. Thus, they have to come up with physical gold to satisfy the physical buyers, and there is a finite supply of physical gold. At some point, the central banks will stop selling either because they don’t want to let go their final tons or because they are completely out. At that time, the price will soar.

[technovelist]

I like gold, but after seeing its high volatility, I am getting more nervous about buying gold. How safe is my money when its value can fluctuate by 20% within a few weeks? That certainly does NOT inspire confidence.

PS, I thought you were waiting impatiently for a big drop in gold so you could buy it cheaper, but now you aren’t buying because there was a big drop?

Gold isn’t for wimps. It is highly manipulated by governments precisely because they want to scare people into sticking with a “safe” asset: namely, their currencies, which they can print at will.

So why buy gold if it is manipulated? For the same reason that governments don’t want you to buy it: they can’t print it. Thus, over the long term it will go up in price in all fiat currencies. The more they manipulate the price lower, the faster it is purchased by strong hands who can’t be scared off. Eventually, there won’t be any more physical gold available to be used in the manipulation, and then the price will go sky-high.

In other words, sudden drops are a gift to the strong buyer. But DON’T USE MARGIN OR ANY OTHER KIND OF DEBT. If you do, you will get killed by these shakeouts. If you don’t, they can’t shake you out.

[technovelist]

There never was any “battle against inflation”; that is government/Fed BS of the highest order, because the Fed can end inflation any time it wants by two simple steps:

1. Stop buying assets with newly created “money”.
2. Require 100% reserves for lending.

Of course, the question is why they don’t do this. The answer is also simple: that would require the government to live within the means of the taxpayers (taxes rather than inflation and borrowing). This would be very unpopular because most people haven’t the faintest idea of how this all works, but they do know they don’t like to pay more taxes, and the government likes to spend money.

[Author]

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