WilliamJH, somewhat OT,
Clerk in a store was telling me about one of his customers, in the papers here, who sold the basketball he (age14 at time) got from the game where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points. He sold it for $550,000.
Evidently, money value has become very relative?
When collectibles begin to rise, that is a good real life indicator of inflation, along with housing prices, rents (up 30 out of 32 years) and of course rental cars, etc. While the interest rate increases help contain, I wonder if liquidity is still being pumped into the economy. I'll bet (w/o looking) that it is and that the Fed and Treasury have themselves in a bit of a conundrum.
Not to worry, the taxpayers will bear the burden eventually, as they have always, like the S&L scandal, for the incompetence and greed of the moneychangers and taxgetters.
While not legal tender, gold is one of the few, if not the only "money" that is not a debt, sentiment now is so LOW, the central banks (basically admitting manipulation) have agreed to only abuse it to a certain level, though I believe this is partly to hold in the speculators and hedge funds from getting in too much mischief. The value of gold I therefore believe, is distorted at this time by mischief, as it is a threat to a system where old basketballs are worth over half a million dollars. Sometime, when the different colored carry trades and various derivatives have to be unwound, gold may return to its true indicator status. Even a partial return to indicator status could reap a bonanza to speculators in it.
One thing I like about black gold, oil, is it also something of value, similar to gold, a limited resource of which the price represents not only supply and demand but also the cost of wresting it from the ground.
It's main superiorities, is that people BURN IT, and it is an essential commodity to modern life.
Now, I'm going back to fresh air and sunshine.
VBG
Roebear |
