Mystery Economic Theatre 2013

[jasonp]

Sincere question: if a government presides over 'good times' and wants to 'save for bad times', what should it do? What store of value is applicable at the scale of a US or UK-size government, that can be 'cashed in' later for whatever purpose?

[xilman]

Originally Posted by jasonp

Sincere question: if a government presides over 'good times' and wants to 'save for bad times', what should it do? What store of value is applicable at the scale of a US or UK-size government, that can be 'cashed in' later for whatever purpose?

Simple, possibly simplistic response: pay off incurred debt, if any, to reduce future interest payments.

[Xyzzy]

Sincere question: if a government presides over 'good times' and wants to 'save for bad times', what should it do?

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/41?lang=eng



?

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by ewmayer

ZHs Bruce Krasting is likening the Reinhart/Rogoff tempest to Climategate,

... but he gets it backward:

Originally Posted by Bruce Krasting

In 2009 there was “Climategate”, where scientists who wanted to see action on reducing greenhouse gases fudged data to “prove” their point.

No, none of the climatologists fudged any data. It's only science-education-deficient conservatives who still believe that climate scientists fudged data. I guess Kasting's on their side, so beware the soundness of his conclusions.

[jasong]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

a rough compound interest of 8% per interest period shows me that based on the basics of compound interest as I know it to pay a 90% GDP debt off in just over 10 interest periods would take around 12.5 to 13% GDP/interest period and that assumes you use all saved interest towards the debt and no borrowing occurs, and it's all at the same interest rate ( which most debt that I have heard of isn't) just my two cents.

The problem here, at least with the US, is that American paper money is debt-based. A Federal Reserve Note, erroneously referred to as a dollar, is a promise to pay back a dollar's worth of gold to the Federal Reserve Bank. So we have a situation which is kind of like paying of a credit card debt with the same credit card.

Off-topic(feel free to ignore):

The situation continuously generates profits for the owners of the Federal Reserve Bank, so they have no reason to suddenly call in the debt. They'll continue like this for another hundred years, I'm guessing, if they can get away with it.

This is also connected to how we got away from the type of taxing system I approve of. You'll notice that Federal Reserve Notes and the Great Depression are linked together. Debt-based banking created a boom, then the creaters of the boom pulled out the rug from under things and bought out a ton of American companies for pennies on the dollar.

[Fusion_power]

This is also connected to how we got away from the type of taxing system I approve of. You'll notice that Federal Reserve Notes and the Great Depression are linked together. Debt-based banking created a boom, then the creaters of the boom pulled out the rug from under things and bought out a ton of American companies for pennies on the dollar.

While I agree with some of the basics, the conclusions above are unsupported. You might review the gold backed currency and Nixon taking us off of a gold backed currency. This did not happen in the 1930's or even the 1940's, but in 1971 and was a direct result of an inflationary environment where we had more dollars floating than gold to back them.

DarJones

[Xyzzy]

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013...se-news-flash/

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013...se-news-flash/

Pitiful, jest pitiful. -JC

[jasong]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

While I agree with some of the basics, the conclusions above are unsupported. You might review the gold backed currency and Nixon taking us off of a gold backed currency. This did not happen in the 1930's or even the 1940's, but in 1971 and was a direct result of an inflationary environment where we had more dollars floating than gold to back them.

DarJones

Yeah, because a guy like Nixon was so damn honest. I mean he couldn't possibly have sided against the American people for his own political gain.

[Fusion_power]

This one should get Literka's blood seething. Greece is laying off public sector employees! They have already cut loose a policeman who was stealing debit cards and another person who had 110 days of unexcused absences. At this rate, they might fire a yoyo or two in the next 3 years.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europ...-entryNineItem

DarJones

[Fusion_power]

This one is not a surprise. None of the big players have been taken down. They get some small bit player and nail them.

http://news.yahoo.com/mortgage-proce...162938188.html

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- The former president of a mortgage document processing company has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on a racketeering charge in a Michigan case.

Lorraine Brown pleaded guilty in February. The attorney general's office says she was sentenced in Kent County on Thursday. Circuit Judge Mark Trusock ordered Brown to serve 40 months to 20 years.

The state says the 51-year-old Brown orchestrated a robo-signing scheme in which employees fraudulently signed another authorized person's name on mortgage documents to expedite foreclosures.

DarJones