The U.S. Dollar Is Sliding Into Collapse.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

The U.S. Dollar Is Sliding Into Collapse.
(posted with permission from http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/11/us-dollar-is-sliding-into-collapse.html )

This week, nations across the world have been aggressively buying dollars, trying to stop the dollar's continuous fall. For the dollar is the world's underlying currency and if it collapses, it could take their economies with it.

On Wednesday, speaking from Tokyo, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner tried to calm the situation by repeating the Obama Government's often made assurances that the U.S. is committed to a strong dollar.

But as there has been no U.S. action to support the dollar, his statements were not taken seriously. Japan is America's second largest creditor and Mr. Geithner is likely there to assure them their investment in U.S. government debt is safe and that they should buy more in the face of rapidly growing U.S. deficits.

Nations across the globe have good reason to be worried. So do you and I. If you have not yet done so, please buy some one ounce or even 1/10 of an ounce gold coins. Buy and store them as an inflation hedge and if we are fortunate, they will never be needed and become over-priced keepsakes.

And enjoy every day of your life, as you also bring joy into the lives of others. And if you can afford to, make charitable donations to help others in need. Together we will get through this mess and hopefully build a better, more compassionate nation, not one burried in bailouts, earmarks, weapons and wars.

[BootinUp]

1. please stop the panic posts about the dollar

Its just another effort by some to spread fear imho.

[Deja Q]

2. Thank you.

+1

[Zynx]

4. Specifically it is to fuel gold speculation which increasingly has gotten more and more extreme.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

9. I have a question for you...

"And enjoy every day of your life, as you also bring joy into the lives of others. And if you can afford to, make charitable donations to help others in need. Together we will get through this mess and hopefully build a better, more compassionate nation, not one buried in bailouts, earmarks, weapons and wars."

Does that sound like it was written by a greedy, money hungry speculator?

The author does not need more money. He's just trying to help you.

Peace.

[anigbrowl]

20. Talk is cheap. Unlike the frothy price of gold.

Of course, if the author has invested in gold recently, he has every interest in saying the price will increase and that paper currency is dangerously unreliable.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

22. What you say is true. But I can assure you that is not his motivation. nt

[anigbrowl]

25. Are you the writer of this blog? You seem awfully sure about the content.

I don't think the writer is necessarily being mendacious, I just don't think his opinions are terribly valuable. Nobility of spirit has little or nothing to do with forecasting ability.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

27. Nobility of spirit has little or nothing to do with forecasting ability...

I agree with you, again. And no, The author is not me. But I have helped him with his sites for years.

You should read his column from Nov. 2007 titled:

How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis
http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-protect-yourself-from-coming.html


....So he clearly has some forecasting ability. I hope he's wrong and we pull out of this tailspin. But he has predicted all of this.

[anigbrowl]

30. I'm not really persuaded, sorry

OK, pointing out the risk of recession in 2007 was a good call, but hardly a unique one - the structural flaws in the US economy have been obvious for a while...and indeed, you might want to consider his words in that column about gold being as much of a speculative investment as any other kind.

[NashVegas]

34. People Who Bought In at $1116 Need That Propped Up

And soon.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

5. This post will hopefully help some people protect their assets and future.

Don't say you were never warned.

[depakid]

7. ironic that they come on a day the dollar strengthened.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

17. This column was written yesterday....

so we can take irony ot of the equation. What is ironic is how many posters have attacked the author's motives, yet no one had opined as to why his conclusions, based on the facts today, are wrong.

[depakid]

29. Heard these arguments for years...

[Igel]

33. To a large extent.

I would note that some people have been consistent in arguing that ultimately lots of deficits are bad.

Then again, back in June I argued with a guy who said that rampant price inflation was right around the corner. I argued back that since the money supply had contracted when credit contracted, it might balance itself out reasonably well, or allow for later balancing.

Nonetheless, I've made a point in the last year or so to buy from abroad those things that I need to, things that are not manufactured in the US and which it's highly unlikely would be. (Things like the new multivolume Russian dictionary, a few decent Persian dictionaries, or even the large bilingual dictionaries that are being shipped, literally, by slow boat from China.)

[elehhhhna]

3. if we are fortunate, they will never be needed and become over-priced keepsakes.

hahahaha.

[mamaleah]

6. yes gold prices aren't high enough already. Drive those babies up with fear!

While you're at it, 2012 is right around the corner. Stock up on dry goods and get that bunker built!

:sarcasm:

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

14. The author does not wish for these things to happen...

But he thinks it is important enough to warn his friends.

2 years ago this month (Nov. 2007) this same author wrote:

How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis

Are you prepared for the coming financial crisis?

We Americans haven't seen one like this since The Great Depression, as the dollar's value will get cut in half, real estate will lose 1/3 of its value and millions of people will lose their jobs.

As a veteran businessman and long term investor, I offer you suggestions to help protect you and your family and as many other people as you and I can reach.

Soon, everything you buy in dollars will cost more. The price of gas is just the start, and that price will fluctuate up and down, but the long term trend will be up.

And with it, so will the cost of groceries and other products you buy because the rising fuel prices make it more expensive to deliver them to the markets.

Those businesses not in a strong enough position to pass along price hikes will either fail, or have to slash expenses such as by laying off employees. continued at http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/04/how-to-protect-yourself-from-coming.html

[EmeraldCityGrl]

18. I agree completely with your OP.

It amazes me given the events of the last ten years anyone would interpret good solid advise
as fear mongering. Some will always choose to bury their heads in the sand while others make
reasonable preparations for all scenarios.

Funny, people were saying the same thing when I bought gold in the $300's. I didn't listen then
and I'm not listening now.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

19. Thank you, EmcityGrl, for your comment on this thread...

..as you said beautifully, "make reasonable preparations for all scenarios."

That is the point of the author's column.

:hi:

[ddeclue]

8. Sell gold much?

:eyes:

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

12. Me? I don't have the assets to buy or sell gold...

And the author does not need to play games with his, or your money.

But thank you for your comment, and your kick of this thread.

[Xolodno]

10. Things like this...

...just want me to run my head through a wall.

If the dollar tanks, owning a tenth of an ounce of gold won't do didly squat. We're talking massive and catastrophic global collapse, China, Russia, Europe, etc. all have reserves of dollars and if they thought the dollar was going to go down, there would be huge sales of it in the foreign currency market. Add to that, they all trade with the USA and if we suddenly couldn't buy their products due to a currency collapse....guess what, they get hit hard too. All the sudden those customer service reps in India become way too expensive. They would be unemployed almost instantly.

This is nothing more than unfounded "panic" to scare people to buy more gold which coincidentally is at an all time high. Its days of being there are numbered and everyone knows it.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

13. OK...

Maybe this thread is more to your liking:

CNBC: Dollar Will be "Utterly Destroyed"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6998933&mesg_id=6998933

And before you go, you really should have a look at this site: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Good luck!

[Xolodno]

15. Oh brother.....

The thread you referred to not only have I seen already...I called bullshit on it.

The U.S debt clock is a joke. There is only debt provided there is another country willing to buy it. There willing to buy the debt because...*gasp* they still have faith in the US economy. Its when they stop buying it, then you have reason to worry.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

16. Well, I guess time will tell if there was cause to be concerned...

The thread I referred to was not mine, and just cause you call BS on it, doesn't make it so.

But thank you for adding to the discussion.

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Quick question... do you think the US is so damn unique

that it can escape its fate as a declining Empire?

Rumblings abound as to the transfer or national reserves to NON US DENOMINATED coin.

You did know that right?

Oh never mind.

[CreekDog]

11. A slide in the dollar will devalue our debt and reduce the cost of our exports

if you keep the dollar strong during a recession, that might actually be more harmful than the alternative.

[anigbrowl]

24. Quite so.

So our spending power overseas goes down, this is pretty much what you would expect. On the upside, our exports become more attractive to overseas buyers and our balance of payments improves. Right now the market is just factoring in the Fed's recent statement that they plan to keep interests low for a good while. If they had hinted at raising rates and the dollar was sliding, then I'd be really worried, because that would indicate an actual loss of confidence.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

21. DU member 'Malaise' said it best on another thread...

"When you borrow money for illegal wars, allow robber barons to steal gazillions and remove taxes from the ,expect your currency to crash."

That pretty much sums it up.

[Angry Dragon]

26. Then this is where we need to expend our energies.

Buying gold just gives them commissions, breakup Wall Street, break up banks, put everything under anti-trust laws with teeth. Tax the money and make government accountable. Make it a level playing field and then maybe you will see expansion in jobs. No reason to expand now large corps just buy they do not build anything.

[dmallind]

23. Meanwhile we can still sell USD bonds at low interest rates

Obviously somebody still wants to have dollars around.

What is it about goldbugs who get all messianic about bubbles and fail to realize gold is also prone to the same bubbles? Gold is a pretty metal and a decent conductor. It is in no way shape or form an unimpeachable medium of exchange, and just like houses in SF or Phoenix, only worth what people think it is.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

31. Another interesting thread making the rounds in GD, today...

posted by kentuck

We all have to agree, Barack Obama inherited a helluva mess.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6998357

[hunter]

32. Gold is a superstition. Its value goes away when people stop believing it.

The best personal investment is to develop an extended family and community who will support you when you are down just as you will support them when you are up.

Cultivate basic skills within yourself that are useful to your community, especially if you happen to have a job that is extremely specialized and not especially useful to most people. Nobody cares if you were a hotshot aerospace engineer working for the defense industry who just got laid off. Who the hell cares if you can do the structural analysis of a complex composite material that cost too much for civilian use? Maybe now you can support your community as a friendly handyman fixing stuff for old ladies or by cooking and serving inexpensive meals at the recreation center. Who the hell cares if you were shuffling billions of dollars around Wall Street? Maybe you can help someone with their taxes.

Gold? No thanks. I'd rather buy more insulation for my attic and plant a bigger garden. Or maybe I could go back to school and get that doctorate I was always shooting for, after my kids get what they want out of college, of course...

[exboyfil]

35. While not a perfect inflation hedge

Individuals should consider Treasury Inflation Protected Securities. I hold 40% of my retirement portfolio in them (acquired in November of last year). Right now they are trading at pretty low rates of return (2% over inflation) but they appear to be a pretty good floor on dollar denominated inflation (which anyone who is living in the U.S. should be concerned about).

I am not sure what will happen to their price if long term interest rates take off. I think they will have a tendency to hold their value (at least the value at which I paid for them in November) better than other long term debt instruments - otherwise I would sell them and get the profits.

Gold is a shiny metal that gives you nothing back unless you can sell it. It is expensive to store and quite a roller coaster in value. Maybe it will go to $2,000/oz or back to $700/oz who really knows. It is probably good to have a small percentage of your portfolio in gold, but I think I missed my buying opportunity (also it is hard to hold gold in a 401(k) - it is just another piece of paper).

[Morning Dew]

36. Is this like the Iraqi Dinar scam?