Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AC Flyer who wrote (26256)	12/17/2002 8:56:23 PM
From: TobagoJack	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

GDP is inflated?

To: AC Flyer who wrote (26256)	12/17/2002 11:15:14 PM
From: lisalisalisa	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

>>>>>>>>>>>>The article you posted was written by an extreme left-wing "journalist" for a fringe scandal sheet.>>>>>>>>>>>>>> small maybe insignificant point, but sometimes the extreme left and right are hard to distinguish<g>..... "...Maybe even more, since Americans have been corrupted by welfare and programmed by the public schools and the mass media for several generations more than were the Germans of that time...."

To: AC Flyer who wrote (26256)	12/17/2002 11:45:38 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Why you are using the label "left" to discredit an opinion? And where is written that military budget has to be correlated to GDP? Do you mean that Thailand -which grew 4.9% this year must increase its military budget accordingly? US "defense" budget is another way of parachuting the economy. Lets say that the "defense" budget was justified with the dry "The Russians are coming". Now that there's no enemy to "defend" from, why the budget is justified? To bomb mountains in Afghanistan? Looking for weapons of mass destruction in a country that was -for the last ten years- forbidden to export oil for anything more than food or medicines?

To: AC Flyer who wrote (26256)	12/18/2002 12:21:12 AM
From: energyplay	Respond to of 74559

Doug Casey was/is a RIGHT wing gold bug type. But still pretty marginal, as AC says. Bonner's Daily Reckoning has some mainstream people they quote, like Jim Grant and Bill Fleckstein, and then an array of commentators who range towards the fringe. Big portion of U.S. Defense budget is for pensions and very high personnel costs. A comparison based on purchasing power parity, especially for defense goods, would show different numbers. A low end example : Current M-16 is about $800 -1100 (newer squad automatic weapon is more) AK-47 from Norinco (China North Industries) is maybe $200 -250. About 10 years ago, North Korea sold AK-47s to Peru at $47 each (big quantitiy order, Peru was going after Shinning Path) You should take number for Russia and multiply by 3, for China by what ? 4 or 5 ? The "Imperial Overreach " issue is something which is being discussed heavily in foreign policy circles. At some point, I expect the Bush administration to target a much more limited set of objectives. Looking at fringe publications is often useful, by the time something is in Foreign Affairs or Time it's already been priced into the market. I would expect Ashcroft to get dumped either before the next election (2004) or shortly after, like Harvey Pitt and Paul O'Neil. If the Bush people keep Ashcroft around it will only be if they feel they need to get the hard right social conservative vote.