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.

Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam Citron who wrote (25087)	12/12/1997 8:45:00 PM
From: Bilow	Respond to of 132070

True, we haven't had a deflation since the 30s, but we have also been constantly at war since then, and deflation never, ever, ever happens during war time. We don't notice it as war time, cause the cost in human lives has been (relatively) light for a world war, but the cost in economic terms is the same: Huge amounts of economic effort is used to produce equipment that is then destroyed (through warfare or going obsolete). Eventually, I hope, the US will return to its traditional peace time military budget. As that happens, deflation is a possiblity. It might be happening already. I am not all a peace-nik, in fact, I put myself through college helping in the war effort. I'm just calling a shovel a shovel. We invent euphemisms like "Department of Defense", cause we don't like to think of us a waging war, but for about 50 years, this country was on a war footing. This is not comparable to the between the wars time, or to the mid 19th century "Pax Brittanica." The cold war conflict is more comparable to the conflicts between Britain and France in the mid 18th to early 19th century. I don't think deflation was much of a problem then, but after the end of Napoleon, it came back. As far as gold as an investment, the TA is pretty bad, but I am going to load up on it with excess cash anyway. My instincts say that when the part of the world that really likes gold as hard money returns to health (i.e. SEA), they'll want their gold back. This is especially true given that they have now had their own currencies sadly and instantly depreciated. -- Carl