The US fiscal cliff - would it really be a bad thing?

[Cormac]

Your cash won't be worth a damn, Seth, if the Fed keeps printing 400 billion a month in new, baseless "money" and the debt ceiling is raised to "infinity". Ain't gonna be worth the paper it's printed on.

What a spectacle, eh? The (formerly) Greatest Republic On The Planet down on it's collective knees, sucking China's cock for enough money to keep the havenots in free cellphones and birth control pills and the corporate haves in Mercedes and Beluga. It would be funny if it wasn't so goddamned tragic. All the while patting ourselves on the back for being so fair and compassionate, and saving penguins by driving our Prius down to Starbucks for a cup of overpriced pumpkin latte. Time for an asteroid strike, it's the only solution.

Don't worry. The Chinese are just printing money too.

[JimC]

It's the Aussies doing all the real work for the world economy, as usual...

Iron ore don't just grow on trees, folks!

[Cormac]

It's the Aussies doing all the real work for the world economy, as usual...

Iron ore don't just grow on trees, folks!

Unfortunately, Australia is almost entirely dependent upon China, and it has a large amount of risk stored up in the banks BECAUSE they have not securitised mortgages off their books. There seems to be a bit of a property by bubble there too.

[JimC]

A somewhat deflated bubble, at least in Melbourne these days...

[Cormac]

A somewhat deflated bubble, at least in Melbourne these days...

Oh really?

I am not looking forward to Australia being hit. Apart from having Aussie mates, my sister and her family emigrated to Perth a year ago after her business became a victim of the crash in Ireland.

[Seth]

Your cash won't be worth a damn, Seth, if the Fed keeps printing 400 billion a month in new, baseless "money" and the debt ceiling is raised to "infinity". Ain't gonna be worth the paper it's printed on.

That's probably true. Still, in the short term, having cash on hand is a good idea. At least they can't just suck it out of your bank account. My backup investment is not gold, it's guns and especially ammunition, which will be more valuable than gold if the balloon goes up, and can always be sold for about what I paid (or much more if Obama does his expected gun control thing) if things don't go south.

What a spectacle, eh? The (formerly) Greatest Republic On The Planet down on it's collective knees, sucking China's cock for enough money to keep the havenots in free cellphones and birth control pills and the corporate haves in Mercedes and Beluga. It would be funny if it wasn't so goddamned tragic. All the while patting ourselves on the back for being so fair and compassionate, and saving penguins by driving our Prius down to Starbucks for a cup of overpriced pumpkin latte. Time for an asteroid strike, it's the only solution.

Couldn't agree more. If I were in charge, I'd ban any and all trading with China or any other Marxist/communist regime (including the EU and UK) and I'd repudiate all foreign debts held by our Marxist/Socialist/Communist enemies.

Then I'd bring the troops and ships home to defend the homeland and nuke the ever-living fuck out of anyone who gets uppity or aggressive with us.

[JimC]

Reading Seth's posts always reminds me of the guy in Dr Strangelove who road the nuclear bomb down, whooping with delight...

[Seth]

Reading Seth's posts always reminds me of the guy in Dr Strangelove who road the nuclear bomb down, whooping with delight...

Slim Pickens as B52 pilot Maj. T.J. "King" Kong. Yeehawww!

[Seth]

Reading Seth's posts always reminds me of the guy in Dr Strangelove who road the nuclear bomb down, whooping with delight...

Slim Pickens as B52 pilot Maj. T.J. "King" Kong. Yeehawww!

[Tero]

wiki

In his last years Pickens lived with his wife in Columbia, Tuolumne County, California. Slim was a civilian pilot with a multi-engine rating and enjoyed flying in a green U.S. Air Force flight suit while wearing a cowboy hat, similar to the wardrobe worn in Dr. Strangelove. He died on December 8, 1983, after surgery for a brain tumor.

[JimC]

That's the guy! I'd forgotten his name...

[laklak]

That's probably true. Still, in the short term, having cash on hand is a good idea. At least they can't just suck it out of your bank account. My backup investment is not gold, it's guns and especially ammunition, which will be more valuable than gold if the balloon goes up, and can always be sold for about what I paid (or much more if Obama does his expected gun control thing) if things don't go south.

Agree about the banks, I keep a fair bit of cash handy but not in the house. If somebody breaks in when I'm not here they won't find it. If they break in while I'm home then one of us will be dead and it's a moot point. Guns and ammo are good, .22LR will be ones, .223 will be a sawbuck and 30.06 and mag loads will be tens. In the short term and in suburban or urban areas alcohol and tobacco will be worth a lot. If it goes on long enough somebody will fire up a still and grow tobacco. Of course dope, both pharmaceutical and recreational. Antibiotics will be worth their weight in gold. But the big one, the gold standard, is toilet paper. I was reading an article on CNN that toilet paper was worth massive bucks in New Jersey just after Sandy. Takes up a bit of room, but you can use those vacuum bags they advertise on TV to store a shitload (pun intended). It's going to take a while to come back if TSHTF, the industrial infrastructure needed to manufacture toilet paper is non-trivial.

[Cormac]

Your cash won't be worth a damn, Seth, if the Fed keeps printing 400 billion a month in new, baseless "money" and the debt ceiling is raised to "infinity". Ain't gonna be worth the paper it's printed on.

That's probably true. Still, in the short term, having cash on hand is a good idea. At least they can't just suck it out of your bank account. My backup investment is not gold, it's guns and especially ammunition, which will be more valuable than gold if the balloon goes up, and can always be sold for about what I paid (or much more if Obama does his expected gun control thing) if things don't go south.

What a spectacle, eh? The (formerly) Greatest Republic On The Planet down on it's collective knees, sucking China's cock for enough money to keep the havenots in free cellphones and birth control pills and the corporate haves in Mercedes and Beluga. It would be funny if it wasn't so goddamned tragic. All the while patting ourselves on the back for being so fair and compassionate, and saving penguins by driving our Prius down to Starbucks for a cup of overpriced pumpkin latte. Time for an asteroid strike, it's the only solution.

Couldn't agree more. If I were in charge, I'd ban any and all trading with China or any other Marxist/communist regime (including the EU and UK) and I'd repudiate all foreign debts held by our Marxist/Socialist/Communist enemies.

Then I'd bring the troops and ships home to defend the homeland and nuke the ever-living fuck out of anyone who gets uppity or aggressive with us.

With whom would you trade?

[Seth]

Your cash won't be worth a damn, Seth, if the Fed keeps printing 400 billion a month in new, baseless "money" and the debt ceiling is raised to "infinity". Ain't gonna be worth the paper it's printed on.

That's probably true. Still, in the short term, having cash on hand is a good idea. At least they can't just suck it out of your bank account. My backup investment is not gold, it's guns and especially ammunition, which will be more valuable than gold if the balloon goes up, and can always be sold for about what I paid (or much more if Obama does his expected gun control thing) if things don't go south.

What a spectacle, eh? The (formerly) Greatest Republic On The Planet down on it's collective knees, sucking China's cock for enough money to keep the havenots in free cellphones and birth control pills and the corporate haves in Mercedes and Beluga. It would be funny if it wasn't so goddamned tragic. All the while patting ourselves on the back for being so fair and compassionate, and saving penguins by driving our Prius down to Starbucks for a cup of overpriced pumpkin latte. Time for an asteroid strike, it's the only solution.

Couldn't agree more. If I were in charge, I'd ban any and all trading with China or any other Marxist/communist regime (including the EU and UK) and I'd repudiate all foreign debts held by our Marxist/Socialist/Communist enemies.

Then I'd bring the troops and ships home to defend the homeland and nuke the ever-living fuck out of anyone who gets uppity or aggressive with us.

With whom would you trade?

Non-Marxists or nobody at all. The US is perfectly capable of surviving without international trade.

[MrJonno]

Non-Marxists or nobody at all. The US is perfectly capable of surviving without international trade.

Seth possibly might be able to no country can