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 : The coming US dollar crisis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: dybdahl who wrote (4118)	2/10/2008 4:55:06 AM
From: dybdahl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71455

I have looked at bit at some figures about USA, and found out, that: - Americans work a bit fewer hours than we do, probably because you have more wives that are not working. This means that you have potential to increase GDP simply by working more hours. - Both Obama and Clinton seem to want to raise tax and cut federal costs (Iraq), while I have trouble to find out exactly where McCain is on this. I have trouble to find really good documentation for the difference between real inflation and official inflation numbers. Does anybody have good links? When looking at the price of a computer, a rocket scientist will say "You get 1000 times more computer for your money today than 10 years ago, and we can do many things not possible before", whereas an enduser would say "Computers today are much nicer to look at today than 10 years ago, but basically do the same stuff". For the rocket scientist, computer power prices have dropped a lot, but an enduser may actually spend more dollars on a computer today than 10 years ago, while still perceiving to do the same things with it. Are there any economic theories on how to calculate consumer price indexes on this? Norway just had a significant inflation hike because of the release of a new Harry Potter book, which increased the price level of an average book a lot, which became clearly visible on a national inflation indicator level.

To: dybdahl who wrote (4118)	2/10/2008 8:18:57 AM
From: Elroy Jetson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71455

People in Norway and the US can think they are relatively affluent, until they spend time in Luxemberg. Only 1,000 square miles but serious per capita wealth. .

To: dybdahl who wrote (4118)	2/11/2008 9:57:55 AM
From: Bubble Watcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71455

Dybahl, Really interesting to read an educated European's POV, especially one from my own industry (IT.) One of your statements struck me as wrong. I had to get back to my computer to respond (I use a little Nokia Internet Tablet when am travelling.) According to this data, the US is the third world oil producer: infoplease.com The only European country on the list is Norway, which is way far down. Let me tell you, as someone whose family has owned land in California with oil on it for 50 years which is virtually worthless because California forbids drilling, we have some pretty formidable bans on drilling where there isn't a current producing well. We could produce a lot more. We tax oil a lot. I lived a few years in Europe where you make US government taxation look like amateurs. It beats the heck out of me how it makes economic sense to allow socialistic government parasites to suck many times corporate profit out of the energy system. Suppose you had the VAT tripled on your medical systems. Would you see the same rate of improvement and investment? I'll bet US food and other commodity production is also very high on the world list. I have been interested to see European leaders beat up on Ireland for having too low a tax structure and being too competitive, as they have the US. I agree we have been very willing to export US manufacturing (by supporting free trade.) IMHO we have made a long-term bet that is very risky in assuming our financial services sector could export high-cost manufacturing to low wage countries and then, long-term, own the results of that capital investment. I have concluded the US is being managed through a major economic adjustment. I am not saying that the decision to do so was good or the management of it is wonderful. Nonetheless, it may be successful. If so, I would expect that some manufacturing would grow rather rapidly in the US with more automation and less unions. At the moment I am almost completely in gold, commodities, bear and foreign funds. I expect to move back into US based stocks, starting this month (if we don't get a crash.) European manufacturing which competes internationally directly with S&P 500 companies do not look good to me now. BWdik