IMO, Manipulation. The reality curve will be very steep when it hits. $.02, $.20, $2.00, never mind

I think Russ is right. We're sliding down the slippery slope, but we haven't reached bottom yet.

And if you look closely, you may notice that stuff HAS gone up, but not ALL stuff has gone up. My makeup, dog and cat food, chicken feed and scratch, motor oil, manila envelopes, Spam, and tons of other stuff has gone up. Eighteen pounds of cat food has gone up from $19 to $26. Stove pellets are up. Firewood is up. Windshield de-icer has almost doubled. The last time that I looked at a magazine, it had gone up from $5.95 to $7.95.

But we're not finished yet. Still sliding...

Sue

I know a lot of people who work in finance. Most of them have no idea ohow the system works. Many of them have no idea how their companies work. They know the products and services on which they work, and they know the factors that go into how they get paid. So, if the person is someone who works at analyzing credit for companies seeking to enter the capital markets to finance debt, then they'll know how to analyze the company from a credit perspective, figure out what the company needs to do to get debt financing, and figure out how their company and they will get paid to arrange for such financing. If they work at providing financing for pension obligations, then their knowledge will encompass the information needed to do that and will less focused on analyzing the companies credit. If they work in lease finacning, then they will know that information. And if they work in securitizing mortgage-backed securities, then that wll be their area.

The key I've seen to understanding how these companies functioned is that the people who worked in given area only get paid if they work on deals that are executed. This works the same for a mortgage broker, a real estate agent or broker, or almost anyone selling anything; no sales means no revenue. The system created an incentive for anyone in any of these positions to sell products and services, and there was little incentive to care about the future of the investment.

The large financial houses did not function as traditional banks, and anyone who looked at their businesses should have known this was the case. Community and regional banks are generally doing better, relative to the big houses, because they took a different approach to business. They did not use as much leverage, they knew their customers better, and they did not expect to returns on capital that were as high as the big financial houses.

Their are many reasons for why and how the economy has gotten to this stage, but how the big financial houses worked is part of it.

Manipulation is right. That's the whole idea behind how our Federal Reserve operates.

Our Federal Reserve has attempted to manage growth historically by seeking to manage the amount of money flowing in the economy and by seeking to manage the cost of money. The Fed lends money to banks at low interest rates. Of course, this allows banks to add capital at inexpensive rates for periods of time.

I also have issues with how our government even calculates the rate at which the economy grows or shrinks, but I will be getting political if I write more, if I have not already.

Oliver Wendell Douglas did.
He was one of Mr. Haney's favourite customers.
But he still needed the help of Eb Dawson, Hank Kimbal and Sam Drucker to make a go of it.
---------
Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.....

Ah well, there goes another $1000,000,000,000 of taxpayers money, this time on spending buying up some of the banksters toxic assets (such as financing the type of deals that allowed the Eskimos to move their Igloos to the Sahara then spreading the risk of these mortgage backed AAA rated securities onto the world economy with the Wall street and City of London Masters of the Universe walking away with their multimillion dollar bonuses and pension schemes) on top of another $1200,000,000,000 in quantive easing on top of another $850,000,000,000 stimulus package which was piled on top of the original $700,000,000,000 bank bailout or was it $750,000,000,000 (the memory is getting a little fuzzy). Hmm what's worse than trickle down economics, thats right trickle up economics. They seem to be spending money like there's no tommorow, no wait could there be no.......

And I have in the last six months ensured that I have enough new footware and clothing to last for the next 5+ years (spent around £2000 on heavily discounted items 50-70% off the RRP) and household cleaning and chemical materials and personal toiletries for 18-24 months.

Umm, hello... we all read thread on deciding wether to keep or close this section down right? And Martin's comments on where we need to focus...

I have enough footware and clothing to last five lifetimes.

Can't say it was part of a survival plan.

I just like to shop.

Oliver Wendell Douglas and I have a few things in common. But hopefully, I'll have fewer encounters with the likes of Hank Kimball.

Well, the more I think about it these days, the more doom & gloom I read in the newspaper, not to mention the torture porn (AKA news) on TV... the less I care. Once you get past a certain point, enough is enough. I've decided I'm not going to lose any more sleep over whatever may be coming next. The same people predicting TEOTWAWKI these days were busy extolling the strengths of the free market just a year ago.

Life is full of variables and we're in for a ride, whichever way it goes. Just reminds me of a good old hardcore song by Iron Maiden... Dang, those Brits sure know what heavy metal is all about.


IRON MAIDEN: DIE WITH YOUR BOOTS ON

Yeah! Another Prophet of Disaster
Who says the ship is lost,
Another Prophet of Disaster
Leaving you to count the cost.
Taunting us with Visions,
Afflicting us with fear,
Predicting War for millions,
In the hope that one appears.

(Chorus)
No point asking when it is,
No point asking who's to go,
No point asking what's the game,
No point asking who's to blame.
'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,
'cos if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die,

If you're gonna die, die with your boots on.
If you're gonna try, just stick around,
Gonna cry, just move along,
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die.

In 13 the Beast is rising,
The Frenchman did surmise,
Through earthquakes and starvation,
The warlord will arise.
Terror, Death, Destruction,
Pour from the Eastern Sands,
But the truth of all predictions,
Is always in your hands.

(Repeat chorus)

They died with their boots on, yes they diiieeeed...
The day they die with their boots on, we dieeeeeeeeeee
WE DIE!
WE DIE!
WE DIE!
WE DIE!
WE DIE!